The Journey: The Price of the Bride

Well, with the last two posts, I fed you a couple of appeteasers to prepare you for this illuminating journey. If you missed them, we saw that the Church is chosen and is the Bride of Christ.

(You can read them here and here.)

We’re going to stroll through the great field of God’s Word, gathering grains of inspiration and seeking the remarkable parallel between the Christian life and the ancient, Hebrew twelve steps of betrothal. A journey of depth and great discovery.

So, grab your biggest basket and let’s go harvesting!

The second step in the betrothal tradition is the dowry or the price of the bride. In Hebrew, it is “mohar,” which had to be paid in order for betrothal to take place. The bridegroom paid the bride’s father the mohar, an agreed upon amount of money.

This was not a purchase price for a wife but compensation to the father for the loss of his daughter’s help. Sometimes, the bride’s father would also give a gift to his daughter for her dowry. He would then hold the dowry for her in case of divorce or her husband’s death.

As an alternative to money, a payment could also consist of jewelry or other valuable goods. Also, services or an assigned task were acceptable.

This gives us the priceless portrayal of how the Father considered His Son’s Bride to be of great worth, for the heavenly Bridegroom paid an inestimable price for Her, “the church of God, which He bought with His own blood…[purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own].” (Acts 20:28 NIV, 1 Cor. 6:20b Amp)

Jesus gave “Himself a ransom on behalf of all.” (1 Tim. 2:6b RGT) The Greek word for “ransom” is used only this once in the Bible and means the redemption price of a slave or captive or that which is offered in exchange for another.

Christ redeemed us from our sins and ultimate spiritual death, for He “redeemed us from the curse of the Law.” Gal. 3:13a ESV) The Greek meaning for redeemed here describes beautifully what Christ did for us. It means to ransom, to rescue one from loss to improve opportunity, to purchase one for his freedom from another’s power by paying a price to recover him, or to buy up for one’s self or own use.

In other words, He became our Kinsman-Redeemer.

What is the purpose of a kinsman-redeemer?

According to the law of kinship, or Levirate marriage, the next nearest, living, blood relative, was obligated to preserve the life, property, and integrity of the family name by marrying his relative’s widow and producing offspring that the family’s name not be blotted out, to represent a family member’s interests at the gate at the seat of authority, to stand in one’s stead, to redeem from bondage or slavery, and all duties and fulfillment of needs fell to him.

If we miss the meaning of kinsman-redeemer in the Bible, we miss a fundamental principle: God’s redeeming grace. We were redeemed by the Lord, for “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace.” (Eph. 1:7 NKJV)

The tender and affectionate story of Ruth and Boaz depicts this redemption as an earthly representation of the heavenly relationship between God and His people. (Check P.S. below)

Is your basket getting full? Hope so!

Filled with great allegoric meaning, the whole book of Ruth supplies an abundant field of spiritual grains just waiting to be gleaned. Planted thousands of years ago and lying dormant in the soil of time, this book’s historical illustrations awaited the proper harvest time to reveal Christ’s redemption of His Bride as His mohar.

Through a series of divine events, Ruth met her kinsman-redeemer. His name was Boaz, and, as a near kin, he was obligated to redeem her.

Ruth’s heritage, her alien birth as a Gentile, afforded her no earthly rights and barred her from claims to any portion, but God provided for her, grafting her into the family. Her redemption came through her betrothal to her kinsman-redeemer.

Before our spiritual rebirth, we were of alien birth, having no heavenly rights, but through God’s provision of a Kinsman-Redeemer, we were grafted into His family.

How beautifully this exemplifies Christ’s sacrifice and great love for an unworthy people, grafting us in and betrothing us to Himself. Christ became our Kinsman-Redeemer.

May your basket be full of the grains of God’s Word...Lynn

P.S. I’ve written a 32-page pdf booklet on the whole book of Ruth. It is so full of benefits and encouragement that your basket will overflow! I hope you will check it out for free here.

If you or someone you know would like to subscribe, please click here. And thank you!

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