THE FOUR CUPS OF BETROTHAL IBD

Sinopse

Eldredge has suggested that there are three things a man needs to feel successful in life: 1) an adventure to live, 2) a battle to fight, and 3) a damsel to rescue.áBecause man is fashioned in the likeness of God, one can assume that He himself had the same drives.áLeaving His position in Heaven and taking the form of a man gave Him the adventure to live.áHis adversary gave Him the battle to fight and His nature (God is love) drove Him to rescue a damsel.áThat damsel was the nation of Israel.áBy His death on the cross, the barrier between Jew and Gentile has been removed through faith in Jesus, and we are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit (Ephesians 2: 14-22).áNothing and no one can ever come between the covenant of marriage established as betrothal on the cross.áBetrothal has occurred for all who have embraced Jesus.ááTracing the Jewish roots of Christianity in the ancient writings, Dr. Richard Sharp examines how the ancient ritual of betrothal has framed the meta-narrative of GodâÇÖs relationship with man.áThis ritual of betrothal is suggested by scriptural texts from Genesis to Revelation and suggests that a formal wedding between God and man is in the offing, and that the legal marriage has already occurred through the act of betrothal.ááMerriam WebsterâÇÖs Collegiate Dictionary describes the word 'meta' as situated behind or beyond (Webster, 1996).áIt is this notion that there exists a story of betrothal behind or beyond a simple narrative of a particular story in the Bible that is implied.áIt is that meta-narrative that ties the sixty-six books of the Bible together and allows the reader to view, for example, the books of Hosea and Ephesians, not as single pieces of literature, but as stories which fit within a grander story.