Roughly one-third of the Bible is written in poetic form, making it more challenging to understand. Poetry, by its very nature, uses a lot of literary mechanisms which leave gaps that the reader has to fill in. Much attention must be paid to each and every detail in the poetry, in order to capture the writer’s original intent. Making matters worse, much of that poetry is prophecy, which is just about always hard to understand in the first place and even harder to interpret correctly.
But prophecy is an important part of scripture. God uses it to inform His people about what is coming. He tells us through the prophet Isaiah that His reason for doing this is so that when those things come to pass, we will know that it is He who has done it and not some other force.
I have declared the former things from the beginning; they went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to heart it. Suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. 4 Because I knew that you were obstinate, and your neck was as iron sinew, and your brow bronze. 5 Even form the beginning I have declared it to you; before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you, lest you should say, “My idol has done them, and my carved image and my molded image have commanded them.” – Isaiah 48:3-5
While I am sure that there are still people in the world who will attribute things that God has prophesied to other sources, whether they be idols or “the science,” God’s people can’t get away with that. We have His Word, so we have no excuse for saying that some other power has done what God has done.
Prophecy is clearly an important part of scripture, necessary for this very reason, that we will know that it was God who did the things that He did. If you think about it, it would have been impossible for anyone to recognize Jesus Christ as being the Messiah or Savior, if the coming of the Messiah had not been prophesied throughout the Old Testament. That not only identified who He is for us, but it also gave Him legitimacy in the eyes of those early followers.
Even so, interpreting prophecy is one of the most challenging parts of studying the Bible. Most things prophetic can be interpreted in many different ways, some of which seem contradictory to each other. But that’s not the biggest problem with interpreting prophecy; the biggest problem is that we all interpret it through the lens of our own understanding. That can cause severe problems, when the prophecy is written for another culture and time than the person interpreting lives in.
As poetry, prophecy says things in different ways than we expect, using words and phrases that may have been understood in the time that it was written, but which make no sense today. In that, it is no different than someone living 500 years in the future trying to interpret a modern sitcom. So much of what is said is steeped in idioms, making reference to cultural norms of our day. It is unlikely those idioms and that culture will survive the next 500 years.
Where Do We Find Beulah Land in the Bible?
The name “Beulah land” only appears once in the Bible, in the book of Isaiah, the largest book of prophecy in the Bible. The specific reference is in chapter 62, which is a continuation of the prophecy which begins in chapter 61. It is a promise from God, as to what He will do for His people.
This prophecy is different from many contained in the Old Testament in that it is a promise from God, rather than God calling people to turn back to Him. There is an implication that the promises here are things that will happen either because the people have already turned back to God or as an enticement to do so. Isaiah starts out chapter 61 talking about his own calling and how that is to minister to those who have been beaten down.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, 3 to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. – Isaiah 61:1-3
This is the same verse that Jesus read in the synagogue, when he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah to read in Luke 4:17-19. At that time, Jesus finished the reading by saying, “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).
A little context is appropriate here, before heading back to Isaiah. The Jewish system of study in the synagogues of that time was to have someone read a passage from either the Law (Torah) or the Prophets (Haftarah). The Jews had a calendar prepared, with specific passages assigned to specific days. Each passage would be what we would know today as several chapters. Whoever was chosen to read the passage would merely read some part of those chapters, whatever he so chooses. In this case, Jesus chose to read these verses from Isaiah 61, which spoke of Himself.
It is likely that what we consider to be chapter 62 was also included in the same day’s scripture reading, even though Jesus didn’t choose to read it. Nonetheless, the fact that He read from chapter 61 and that the two chapters are connected, shows us that what is said in chapter 62 is a part of the result of what Jesus, as the Messiah did, as shown in the quote above and the verses to follow. So, the reference to Beulah land is directly connected to the work of the Messiah.
What is Beulah Land?
With the only reference to Beulah being in Isaiah, it is easy to struggle with understanding it. Most people solve this problem by simply skipping over it, but that passage is there for a reason and the prophet used the word Beulah under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so there is probably something there worth us taking the time to understand.
You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land anymore be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. – Isaiah 62:4
The verses before and after this one can be taken to be part of an ongoing monologue by the prophet. While important, this verse can stand alone, without using them.
The verse makes a comparison between what is or has been and what is to come. When we look at the past, we see words like Forsaken and Desolate; words that we can understand. In contrast, when we look at the future, we see the words Hephzibah and Beulah; words that not only do we not know, but don’t show up anywhere else in the Bible. So just what do these words mean?
- Hephzibah – literally means “my delight is in her.” It is the name of the queen of King Hezekiah and mother of Manasseh, used as a figurative name for Jerusalem.
- Beulah – literally means “to marry, rule over or possess”
While Beulah doesn’t show up anywhere else in the Bible, Hephzibah does; but just once. It mentions her as being the mother of King Manasseh, who became king at the age of 12, in the Second book of Kings, 21:1. As such, we know that she was married to King Hezekiah, who reigned during the time of Isahiah’s ministry. However, the reference to her here isn’t about her, but is rather using her as an example of what will happen to God’s people.
When we look at these two meanings, we see God making reference to His people as a queen, one in which He delights. He makes reference to not only the land being married, but the people being married to Him as well.
This is not a surprising parallel, as we see many references in the Bible to God’s people being called His bride and their unfaithfulness to Him being referred to as adultery. This common parallel is no place more pronounced than in the book of the Prophet Hosea, whom God directed to marry a harlot (Hosea 1:2). Without taking a lot of time to look at that story, the harlot couldn’t leave her old ways behind and went back to harlotry, more than once. Hosea was instructed by God to go and get her, bringing her home.
Through this story, which seems incredibly hard on the prophet, God was showing His people, Israel, both what they were doing in their relationship with Him and what He was doing about it. Just like the prophet, God was always going after his unfaithful wife, bringing her back home, regardless of the price and forgiving her of her adultery. God even makes reference to this in the book of Hosea:
And it shall be, in that day, says the Lord, that you will call Me “My Husband,” and no longer call Me “My Master.” – Hosea 2:16
We need to keep this in mind, as we look at God’s use of Hephzibah and Beulah, for it is much the same promise. God is reaching out to His people, telling them that He will take them back and they shall no longer be harlots, slaves, or unattached and alone. Rather, they will be His, as a woman who is bound to her husband and a man who is bound to his wife. In this, they will abide in a place that is called “marriage” (Beulah) with all the benefits that are included in that word. Why? Because the Lord delighted in them.
The true beauty in this, is that God delights in them not because of anything special they have done; but because He chooses to. None of us are good enough to be considered the Bride of Christ, yet we are chosen to be just that. Going all the way back to the time of Isaiah, God’s grace was forgiving people who turned to Him and accepting them not only as His own, but the closest possible relationship to Him.
What Should We Do?
As believers, we are called to be the Bride of Christ. This is most clearly stated in Paul’s famous passage on marriage, in his letter to the Ephesians. He blends his instruction about the marriage relationship with explaining how we are the Bride of Christ and therefore should act as we are. This works so well, because one of the things a properly operating marriage does is show us our relationship with Christ.
I would have to put the entire second half of the chapter here, in order to fully show what Paul talked about, as it goes from verse 22 to 33. Rather than do that, I’m just going to mention a couple of verses.
For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. – Ephesians 5:23-24
This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. – Ephesians 5:32
The second verse there is the first one I want to talk about. It is this verse which shows us, more than any other, that we are the Bride of Christ. Paul himself states, in the middle of talking about the marriage relationship, that he is talking about Christ and the church. We are obviously not the husband in that relationship, as is seen in the first verse I quoted; we are the bride.
So, what are we to do as the bride, so that we might live in Beulah Land? We are to submit to Christ. Jesus Himself told us that this is how we show our love to Him (John 14:15).
This word “submit” is one that gives a lot of people problems today. We are rebellious people, who don’t want to submit to anyone. I’d have to say that is truer of Americans, than any other nation in the world. But we don’t own the market on rebellion, as that is part of the normal state of mankind. We are born with rebellion in our hearts and it takes much work to get it out of there. Many never succeed.
Submission and obedience aren’t actually synonymous, although many think they are. Obedience deals with the actions, while submission deals with the attitude of the heart. It is possible to be obedient to someone, because we have to, while still not being submitted to them. The classic example of this is the child who is told to sit in the corner and stomps off to the stool in the corner, saying to himself, “I may be sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside.”
How often do we all “sit down on the outside,” while we’re still “standing up on the inside?” Worse, how often do we do this with God? If we are to be the Bride of Christ, how is this showing our love to Him? Are we not instead showing that we love ourselves, more than we love Him. Are we not showing Him that we love our sin more than we love Him?
True submission means that our hearts are in agreement with God’s heart. It is saying and believing, “Your thoughts and my thoughts and your desires are my own.” When we get to that point where God’s desires become our own and we truly want what He does, then we can say that we are truly submitted. We see this modeled by Jesus, as He prayed in the garden, before His crucifixion.
And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” – Luke 22:42
It is clear from the fact that Jesus prayed this, that going to the cross was taking Jesus to the breaking point. He didn’t want to go to the cross. That was probably His humanity speaking, shying away from the suffering He was about to endure. Yet He made it clear in this short prayer, that the Father’s will was more important to Him than His own. He was willing to suffer, no matter how horrible it was going to be, if that be His Father’s will.
But there’s something else to that word submit that I want to show you. That is, the word translated in our Bibles as “submit” also contains the idea “adapt yourself to.” In other words, true submission takes more than actions, more than the right attitude, it requires that we make a concerted effort to become like that other person.
This doesn’t mean that wives have to like everything that their husbands do or that they need to do everything that their husbands do. Rather, it speaks more of character, than any specific actions. A man who is taking his proper place in the home, as the priest of that home, will endeavor to model Christ to his family. As he does that, and his wife works to become like him, he ends up helping her to become more like Christ.
But even without that, all believers are on a journey to become more like Christ. This is God’s number one priority in our lives, after our salvation. It isn’t enough to Him, that we say a “sinner’s prayer,” confessing our faith in Christ. He wants us to become like Christ as well, just as a wife is to become like her husband.
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. – Romans 8:29
While we are all on this same journey, we are not all in the same place along the path. Each of us walks the path alone, being led by the Holy Spirit. Some might be taken around one curve and other around another; but in all cases, the intended destination is the same. That of being made into the perfect Bride of Christ.
We too play a part in this process, for God requires our cooperation with the work of the Holy Spirit. While it is the Spirit who does the work, we can easily impede that work, by standing against what He is trying to do within us. When He is trying to change something within us and we don’t want to let that thing go, we delay the process, forcing Him to wait until we are willing to go on. Although He could force us, He won’t. He will wait patiently until we are ready to submit to His will, constantly prodding us along the way.