The Greatest Valentine

“Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgements. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know the I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD.’” —Exodus 6:6-8 NKJV (emphasis mine)

This Scripture passage isn’t one we would typically associate with Valentine’s Day, but I can’t think of one that would be more fitting! It’s a wedding vow of the grandest kind from God to His people Israel that points to another vow on the grandest scale of all—to His Bride, the Church.

In Bible times when a man was taken with a certain young lady, it was the custom that he and his dad would go to her dad asking permission for them to marry and then to come to an agreement on a “bride price.”

Once that was done, the prospective groom would take a cup of wine from his dad’s hand and offer it to his beloved. As he held it out to her, he would tell her he loved her and was offering her his life. If she accepted, she would drink from the cup and would offer her love and life back to him. The groom vowed with a promise that he would return and bring her to his dad’s house, and all he had was to be hers.

Afterwards, son and father would go home to add a room on to dad’s house. No one but dad knew when everything would be ready for the son to come for her, so she had to be watchful and ready at all times.

Look at the words God spoke to His people Israel: “I will bring you out … I will rescue you … I will redeem you … I will take you as My people … I will be your God … I will bring you in … I will give you ….”What did Jesus do? He came from His Father’s House. He came to His Bride. He offered her the cup of redemption. He promised her that He would go back to His Dad’s house and prepare a room for her and that when it was ready, He would come back and take her to be with Him. He told her that only His Father knew when the room would be ready and when the time was right for Him to come for her, so she’d need to be ever watchful and always ready. Then He paid the Bride price with His life—and now He’s Home getting things ready. And He’s coming back!! In the meantime, He has written His Bride Love Letters so that she can get to know Him while she waits.

We make our earthly vows from the frailty of the human heart, whether our wedding vows or ordinary promises. Sometimes we fail at keeping them. God makes His vows from perfection—and He never fails. He always keeps His Word! It’s the one thing we can truly trust with our very lives. His promises, His wedding vows to us, His promise of intimacy with us. We can spend time with Him anywhere, any place, any time. When we’ve failed, He forgives. When others fail us, we can lean on Him. Jesus is the One Person who will never do less than keep His Word and who will love us to the very end. And, since there is no end, that’s a wonderfully long time to be loved. What a Valentine!!

Thank You, God, for loving me to the end. Thank You for giving me life and Your life. You are the One who holds my life, my all, in Your hands, and in whose promises I can trust. Help me to trust and love You to the very end. I so look forward to Your return. I love You, Lord!

“My love, my love I give to Thee,
Thou Lamb of God who died for me;
O may I ever faithful be,
My Savior and my God!”
—Ralph E. Hudson

Safe in His care,
Donna Perkins

Sweet Selah Ministries

Vision
To inspire a movement away from the belief that “busy is better”
and toward the truth of God’s Word that stillness and knowing
Him matter most—and will be reflected in more effective work and service

 Mission
To offer biblical resources and retreats that help women pause (Selah)
and love God more deeply as they know Him more intimately (Sweet)

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