Bride-price

I remember him sitting next to me in the chairs banks always have with minimal padding to make them seem like they are less uncomfortable than they really are. Handsome with his close cropped hair, red polo shirt, muscular and tan. At the time he was my boyfriend, now he is my husband. He had offered to do something for me that made me uncomfortable but I was boxed into a corner. My dad had co-signed for me when I bought my little SUV and he didn't want to be on the loan anymore. I had my job just a few months, was barely making any money and no bank would loan me the money. More than that my credit was crap. I had a crazy phone bill I was paying on from the past. I am pretty sure I was eating back then mostly because the boy bought the food and I cooked it. So there he was offering to co-sign my car with me. Practically perfect credit, practically perfect boy. Still they didn't want to. My car wasn't really worth anything. He ended up paying the whole thing off. He started sacrificing and taking care of me long before I was his bride. There are some hinky parts to our story. Places we went wrong. God showed up in them. Thats another story for another day.
The reason I share this story to start is to show that love require something from us. Sacrifice. Sitting in uncomfortable chairs, giving up our time, our resources.

I was in the car yesterday listening to a song on the radio that I currently can't find even though I remember song lyrics like gang busters. (bless)
It talked about being a bride of Christ.
I thought of a bride, someone loved, beautiful to her beloved, loved, adored.
Realizing how far from that I felt, I knew I need to do a word study on bride in the Bible.( I am really into word studies lately.)  It led me down a little rabbit hole I decided to share.

The first time that bride is used in the Bible is in relation to the story of Dinah.
Genesis 34:12 
Ask for me as a great as a bride price and gift as you will, and I will give you whatever you say of me. Only give me this young woman as my wife.
Sounds good right? Let's see.

Maybe you know this story, maybe you don't. Spoiler alert; Doesn't turn out so great for the prince who didn't hold his peace and took what he wanted and then backtracked. I will try to give you a little synopsis and take you on the journey I went on. You can read about it in Genesis 34.
 Dinah was longed after by a prince named Shechem. He took her and made her his.
Genesis 34:5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.
Immediately that stood out to me, that Jacob held his peace. Even though I was already familiar with the story of Dinah and the words bride-price wasn't mentioned until verse 12, I always want to know the context in which its being used. Because context matters.
Jacob held his peace. He has got some righteous anger here, but he is wise enough to wait. To hold his peace until the right time. I started looking up peace as well.  Specifically I looked up where the verse is that calls Jesus the Prince of Peace is.
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called 
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 
This is the only time in the Bible Jesus is called the Prince of Peace.
Peace always interests me. As someone who does a lot of battling of the mind, and lives with the chaos of two little boys. I am always seeking peace. Not a superficial peace, but a true peace that only comes from above. And I think on how my prince is very different than the prince in this story. One pursued lust, and pays a heavy bride price. One he was willing to pay and one he was not. Shechem was willing to get circumcised to keep Dinah as his bride. Once he did that, when he was weak her brothers came and killed him.  The prince in my story, the Prince of Peace does so much more. He pursues everlasting life for the bride he loves and paid the heaviest price willingly. In the margins of my bible next to bride price I wrote "my bride price was death."
Born to die, he payed the ultimate bride price for my peace.
Peace is never free it requires sacrifice.
All relationships do. In fact sometimes to achieve peace we have to sacrifice a relationship, or our pride, being right, being apologized to.
I did read some more about the word bride being mentioned in the Bible, stuff I won't share here, gushy stuff about adoration and love. But the bride price of the Prince of Peace was my biggest take away. That he would pay that price for me. It did make me feel loved, adored, and important. Hopefully it sparks something  in you today. Teaches you about the sacrificial love of the Lord. The sacrificial love we are called to model day in and out.
Go in peace.

chasing truth always,
Ven