The Bride of the Lamb of God: Miriam the Celebratory Bride

The Bride of the Lamb of God: Miriam the Celebratory Bride
By Pastor Lonnie C. Crowe,  Rhema Fellowship Church
First Published: June 15th, 2012, The Torrington Telegram, Page 4

    The church has been ordained by God to be the holy, radiant, spotless Bride of Christ, the Lamb of God. Many times women in Old Testament picture the attributes of the church in the New Testament. None is flawless, but each is beloved. Even so, the church, the Bride of the Lamb, though not without flaw,is beloved.
   Miriam, the sister of Moses, is a woman with attributes of the Bride of the Lamb. We remember her often as the woman with leprosy who had complaints against her brother. We must remember her, too, as the one who led the women in the "Song of the Sea" after God had miraculously rescued His people from the Egyptian army.
   Moses, representing the nation of Israel, first leads the men. Then with tambourines and dance, Miriam leads the women (Exodus 15:1-20 ).
   What a triumphant picture of Israel and the Church joining in celebration of Yahweh, the God of deliverance. Miriam began the Israelite tradition of celebrating God's victories through dance.
   Our God is the God of celebration. He encourages our rejoicing in Him because the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10) The "Chabad Weekly Torah Commentary" suggests, "We don't sing when we are frightened, despairing, sleepy or after a heavy meal. We sing when
we are pining after one whom we love, when we are yearning for better times, when we are celebrating an achievement or anticipating a revelation.
   "We don't sing when we are complacent . We sing when we are striving for something, or when we have tasted joy and are climbing it to the heavens. Song is prayer, the endeavor to rise above the petty cares of life and cleave to one's source. Song is the quest for redemption."
   Even a song of yearning is a celebration of the One who can fulfill the longing in our hearts.
   John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, said, "Sour godliness is the devil's religion."  His brother Charles wrote more than 6,000 hymns including "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing My Great Redeemer's Praise." The Wesleys knew the spiritual power and authority that manifest through celebration.
   One of my favorite authors, Graham Cooke, has written, "The Holy Spirit is so good, so strong, so majestic, so intentional , so funny, so powerful, so loving, so gracious, so generous " a genius at life!"
   God knows what is happening in our world and is not overwhelmed by it. Let's go to Him for strategies and solutions . In spite of what is happening around us, we can rejoice in our Redeemer and in our redemption. With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).
   Zephaniah 3:17 says that God will rejoice over us with singing. I love the concept of God, so full of joy, that He bursts into song. We are created in His image. How can we help but be like Miriam?  We must  pick up our tambourines and dance as we sing praises for what the Lord has done, is doing, and will do.
   Miriam, a worship leader, represents the church rejoicing in our Lord. She represents the Bride of the Lamb rejoicing in her Bridegroom.