Mankind's Spiritual Husband: The Courtyard Experience
Written by Melodee Kerr
“For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to the Messiah.” 2 Corinthians 11:2
YHWH, our heavenly Father, is drawing all men unto Himself through the fellowship of His Son. YHWH knows that when we realize the magnitude of the gift He has given us in His Son as the “greatest dowry every paid” and the “largest inheritance ever received”, that “His goodness will lead to humanity’s repentance (Romans 2:4).
This series shows how one grows from a baby born again Christian into the bride of Yahushua waiting for His soon return and how that growth corresponds with the different segments of the sanctuary.
We continue with a look at the key personalities, a brief overview of the marriage parallels in the Bible, the only door into the Sanctuary Courtyard, the Dowry Price, and the Courtyard experience.
The Bridegroom
Who is our spiritual husband? “Thy Maker is thy husband” (Isaiah 54:5). Who is my maker? “The Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel (Ibid). My marriage was promised by an oath from YHWH the Father to Israel’s forefathers (Hebrews 6:17). The marriage has not taken place yet; it happens when Yahushua returns to this earth (Rev. 19:7).
The Virgin Bride
If Yahushua is the Bridegroom, then who is the bride? “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body” (Eph. 5:23). The body of Yahushua is His bride. How then do I become a part of Yahushua’s body—the church? Using the illustration of marriage from different angles, we will begin to see the beauty of being a part of the body of the only begotten Son.
Comprehension of the Timing
Just as one does not think of dating another man when engaged because we are committing our lives to one man, we are to think in our mind as already being married to Yahushua because we are uniting our SPIRITS together after our baptism. We become engaged to Yahushua while on earth. We will learn that an engagement biblically is just as binding as if one was married. One was considered married when one became engaged. We learn from the story of Joseph and Mary, Yahushua’s earthly parents, that if one wanted to break an engagement, one had to write up a certificate of divorcement. During Joseph and Mary’s engagement, Joseph wanted to divorce Mary when he found out Mary was pregnant with Yahushua before they were married (Mat.1:19).
We have a Jewish cookbook that lists foods for the different Biblical feasts, as well as the traditional feasts. This book shares with us that when a couple becomes engaged, there is a feast held for both families of the engaged couple. At that feast a marriage contract is drawn up between the two families. (1)
Our Heavenly Father draws humanity to Him
His Son is represented by the only door into the Sanctuary Courtyard
Our Heavenly Father draws us to Himself by presenting to us the loveliness of His Son. “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44). “God is faithful by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” 1 Corinthians 1:9. The loveliness of YHWH’s Son is in the fact that He was willing to die the eternal death for sinful humanity. “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). YHWH shows us that the only way to Him is through His Son.
The Dowry Price—the Death of YHWH’s Son
A marriage license for all humanity
The Courtyard experience
When a man asks a woman to marry him, he will give her a gift. This gift is a sign of his commitment to her. When she accepts it, the woman is telling the man she is committing herself to him only. We call this becoming engaged. In ancient times a dowry had to be paid to the father of the bride before the couple could get married. By requiring a dowry, the commitment of the suitor was tested. If the suitor could pay the dowry, it showed his initiative in being prepared to provide for a bride and their future family. The dowry can be many things--for Johnny Lingo in part one of our study it was 10 cows; for fallen humanity it was the death of YHWH’s Son.
Marriage is a judicial transaction. A couple needs to go to the courthouse and get the license from the judge’s office. No one can get married without a license. Likewise, we enter into a marriage covenant with Yahushua telling Him that we want to be united with Him by the Spirit. The gift of our Heavenly Groom was to die the eternal death for our sins. Yahushua provides the marriage license (contract) and signs it with the blood of His life. Humanity’s engagement gift was the death of YHWH’s Son whereby He would provide a legal document for our spiritual marriage to Him. Baptism is a public expression of our signing the marriage license with Yahushua by accepting the death of the Savior in our behalf. We are justified with YHWH by the blood of His Son.
The wedding preparations don’t begin until the couple becomes engaged. When that happens, the invitations are sent, the ceremony and honeymoon are planned, etc. Marriage preparations begin.
Next we will look at the Largest Inheritance ever received, and the Holy Place experience.
(1) Jewish Cookery, Lea Leonard, Crown Publishers, July 1957, page 8
