All Beholding Beauty devotionals are written as short, worshipful reflections to help you meditate on God’s Word.
“As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” – Isaiah 62:5
What an incredible truth! How can this be? God rejoices over us?
This verse is found in Isaiah, the very same book in which judgment runs rampant due to the prideful, rebellious, evil ways of all people, even Israel and Judah. And yet, God looks at these very same people and says to them, “I shall rejoice over you!”
The ESV Study Bible says the following about this wonderful verse:
Boldly drawing on a familiar human image of inexpressible joy and delight, God says his delight in his people will be like that of a bridegroom’s delight in his bride. Isaiah explains that in God’s great plan of salvation, he not only forgives his people, protects them, heals them, provides for them, restores them to their home, reconciles them to each other, transforms them so they are righteous, honors them, exalts them above all nations, and makes them a blessing to all nations, as he called them to be—but more than all these things, he actually delights in his people.
I cannot imagine anything more breathtaking than the thought that our God delights in us! Perhaps it is because I feel a sense of total unworthiness. I know how sinful my own heart can be, and I know that God sees much more of my sin than I’m aware of. How could God delight in me?
This verse certainly highlights the intensity of God’s beautiful attributes, especially His grace, mercy, compassion, patience, and love. Moreover, this verse reminds me of the glorious nature of our union with Christ! We know that for all of eternity, the Father has delighted in the Son, and the Son has delighted in the Father. Now that we are united to Christ through faith, the Father’s love for us is no less than the love that He has for His Son! This should blow our minds!
So now, when we read verses like Isaiah 42:1 and Matthew 17:5 that express the Father’s delight in His Son, we can get a glimpse of the same kind of love that both the Father and the Son have for us!
Oh, may we behold this glorious truth and fall to our knees in worship of the Lord God Almighty!
Matt became a joyful follower of Jesus at the age of 21. He is very grateful to be a husband to Lindsey, and a father to four boys. He is an ordained minister (teaching elder) in the PCA. He previously served as a pastor of biblical counseling and is currently a corporate chaplain in southern Delaware. Matt received his Master of Divinity degree in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds an advanced certification in biblical counseling from the Association of Biblical Counselors. In his free time, he loves playing with his boys, traveling with his wife, and reading (and buying!) books.
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