The Bridegroom Cometh
Jesus is called the Bridegroom of the church. The church is the Bride.
In a Bible study I’m giving, we started studying the Sabbath. I came up with an illustration of why we want to prepare for our weekly ‘date’ with our ‘Bridegroom.’ I hope this helps you.
This is how I explained it.
We had spoken of Jesus being a Bridegroom. We are His bride. I told her consider that He works out of town and can only come see His fiance on Saturday.
How would she get ready?
First, she would make sure the house was as clean as she could get it. She would not want Him to think her a poor housekeeper.
She would plan the activities for them to do together, so they could best enjoy their day.
All the meals would be prepared ahead of time, but for the need to warm up. She sure would not have to waste time cooking on the one day He is able to visit.
Her clothes would be all ready and laid out. She would wear her very best outfit because she wanted to look her best. She wanted Him to find her attractive and pleasing to be around.
She would make sure nothing was happening that would distract them from focusing on each other. This was such a special day to spend with her Lover. She wanted to focus on sharing about what is going on, and finding out more about Him.
He arrives early Sabbath morning (We did discuss how Sabbath actually starts at sunset, but this was for an illustration.) She had been up in plenty of time to get dressed, etc. She did not want Him to catch her running late.
All her plans went smooth. They had a wonderful day together. She was able to share some of her concerns. He shared ideas for her to try. He also reassured her that this separation would not be much longer. He told her of the wonderful plans HE had in store when they were together forever.
At the end of the day, when the sun was fading in the west, He went to the door in preparation to leave. He held her close, whispered how much He loved her. How much He loved these days they spent together. How much He appreciated the efforts she made in making sure nothing infringed on their time.
As He left, her mind skipped ahead to the next visit. She could hardly wait.
**How does this affect how you feel about Sabbath now?
I hope this helps in understanding why we would want to set aside the special day.