The Wife of God
1. “For your Maker is your husband… he is called the God of all the earth.” (Isaiah 54:5) 2. “Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion..." (Jeremiah 3:14) The phrase בָּעַ֣לְתִּי bā·'al·tî can also be translated two ways as "ruler" or "husband". The phrase was translated in the original Hebrew and English books as "Though I am your husband" or "Though I am your Lord." 3. “…because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 31:32) The Hebrew Bible and the English Bible read, "I was a husband to them." "It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. (NIV) Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord (KJV) not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.(NASB) 4. “Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.” (Ezekiel 16:8) וַתִּ֥הְיִי לִֽי׃ is translated in the original and English Bible as "You are mine." Because God and Israel made a covenant, it is acceptable to write, "You became my spouse." Husband and wife belong to each other, don't they? 5. The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. 3 They became prostitutes in Egypt, engaging in prostitution from their youth. In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed. 4 The older was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem. (Ezekiel 23:1-4). Therefore, Israel is the wife or spouse of God. God took care of Israel from birth The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices 3 and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. (Ezekiel 16:1-3) The Lord commanded the prophet Ezekiel to speak to the people of Israel to know their background. He said, 'The land of your birth is the land of Canaan' because the ancestors of Israel, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob stayed in the land of Canaan. God changed Jacob's name to Israel. Because Jacob was born in the land of Canaan, his body was buried in the land of Canaan. Canaan is the land of the Amorites and Hittites, so God said the Amorites and Hittites were Israel's mother and father. On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. 5 No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised. (Ezekiel 16:4-5) Could it be that “your umbilical cord was not cut” means Jacob would have to go to his uncle Laban? Even though Jacob was born in the land of Canaan, he fled to Paddan Aram, where his uncle Laban was, because he was afraid of his brother Esau (Genesis 28:1). No one cared for Jacob who ran from his brother who despised and wanted him dead. He could find no compassion nor mercy. It was as though he was abandoned in the field. ‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood, I said to you, “Live!” 7 I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked. (Ezekiel 16:6-7) God saw Israel (Jacob) in his lowest point in life and commanded him to come alive. From there on, his progress was compared to the likes of the growth of grass. Although not planted nor taken care of, the grass can grow faster than food plants such as rice and corn. When Israel (and his descendants) moved into the land of Egypt, they grew in numbers greatly. The king of Egypt said, " The men of Israel are more than us. They are stronger." (Exodus 1:9). The increase of the Israelites even alarmed the king of Egypt. Therefore, he said to his people, “Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.” 11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them ruthlessly. 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. (Exodus 1:10-14) God said of Israel: You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown. So was Israel full of beauty in Egypt. Israel was compared to a virgin, whose breasts were raised and her body hairy. A woman's beauty depends a lot on her breasts and hair. These qualities in woman attracts the attention of man. God said of her that she previously had no clothes, thus she was naked. Ruth said to Boaz, “I am your servant Ruth.” “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.” (Ruth 3:9) “Cover me with the edge of your garment” means “Take me as your wife”. Women without a man in her life is like a naked person. Therefore, such women are taken advantage of and bullied by men. Women with men are safe; In a sense, men are like the wardrobe of women. Women are like wearing clothes when they are married to a man. Jesus said to the Laodicean church: You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” (Revelation 3:1-18) In human eyes, the church of Laodicea was rich with earthly treasure. However, in the eyes of the Lord Jesus, she was shameful because she was poor and naked. Jesus asked her to buy a white garment from him. That is to say that the church of Laodicea was like a woman without a man, so she was naked. Only if she took him for marriage would she be safe and free from shame. That's the reason Jesus asked her to buy white clothes from him that means he asked her to accept him as a husband. Because the presence of Christ was not in the church of Laodicea, Christ said: " I stand at the door and knock. Whoever hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he will eat with me. " (Revelation 3:20). Paul also said to the church of Rome; " Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 13:14). One who accepts Jesus as a husband is like a person who puts on a wardrobe. Doing as such would free a person from being shameful. Are you worshiping Christ but are without Christ? You should be aware that if you don't have Christ, you too are a naked person in the eye of God. "Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine." (Ezekiel 16:8) God did not choose Israel. God himself wrote, as seen above, that he had been looking after her since birth. Israel came out of Abraham: Abraham's son was Isaac; Jacob the son of Isaac; Jacob was renamed as Israel. They lived in the land of Canaan where the Amorites and Hittites lived. For that reason, God said, “Your father was an Amorite. Your mother was a Hittite.” God likened Israel as a virgin. When God brought up Israel from childhood and reached virginity, he engaged and married her to be his wife. This is explained step by step below. God betroths Israel After rescuing the Israelites from Egypt and when they reached Mount Sinai, God betrothed them to marry Him like this. “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” 7 So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” (Exodus 19:5-8). A covenant is an agreement. Israel must keep God's covenant and obey His commandments. It is like the bridegroom and the bride swear their vows. God will accept them as his treasure. The treasure is precious gold, silver and stones. Just as those things are valued by the owner, men must value their women like treasure, protect, and love them. Jesus said, " For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."(Matthew 6:21). Therefore, a man's hearts is wherever his wife is. As a man if you are on a trip to somewhere, your heart is always in the place where your wife is. It may not necessary be the house the two of you bought and live. Likewise, God's heart will also be wherever His betrothed Israel is. "All the earth is mine." Why did God say that all the earth was his? When the rich man engaged the poor girl to marry, he said that there was nothing for her to worry about such as food and living arrangement. God was essentially saying he could take all the responsibilities of housing, car, and their daily needs. As long as Israel lives on the earth, she would not be in need of anything. As long as Israel stayed married to God, she would not have anything to worry about. “You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." When God married Israel, he said she would be a kingdom of priest. A priest is a man of God. They would enjoy the privileges that comes with being a priest. When people approach God, they cannot approach to him directly. They have to approach through the priests. "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth." (Malachi 2:1). " All the people answered with one accord, ``We will do whatever the Lord has said''. '' (Exodus 19:8) When the bride marries the groom, she promised that she will faithfully care for the bridegroom until death. In the same way, on that day Israel promised to listen faithfully to God. God and Israelites get married The wedding usually takes place at the appointed time. God made a record of the marriage to his betrothed Israel as follows: And the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2 but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.” (Exodus 24:1-2) As God decreed, Israel was preparing to enter into a covenant with God, in other words, to enter into a marriage contract. When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” (Exodus 24:3) Moses was like a pastor who presided over the marriage ceremony between God and the people of Israel. God's words and judgments were communicated to the people. The people then vowed with one voice that they would do as God had said. It was similar to how the minister would read the vow, and the bride then repeat after what he said. "After Moses had written all the words of the Lord, he got up early in the morning and set up the altar at the foot of the mountain and the twelve pillars of the twelve tribes of Israel." It is like the vow has been pre-written on a paper and the bride and groom affix their signatures on it. Here, Moses was said to have written down the words of the Lord. These words cannot be the ten commandments because the Ten Commandments were written by God himself with his own finger. " When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God." (Exodus 31:18). In Exodus 24, the word of the Lord written by Moses is called the covenant. In the book of Hebrew 9:19, it is called the scriptures. "Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord." (Exodus 24:4-5) The marriage ceremony between the Lord and Israel was marked by slaughtering and sacrificing young bulls. “Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.” (Exodus 24:6-7) Moses took the bull's blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Here, Moses read the covenant between the husband and wife in front of the audience and they promised to obey. That was the promise (vows) made by the the bride to the groom. “Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these word" (Exodus 24:8) Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people which is said to be the blood of the covenant. That was how the marriage between God and Israel took place, affirmed by the blood as stated. The marriage was called covenant between the two parties. Later when Israel rebelled against God, they got separated from God and the covenant then became the old covenant. God loves his wife much It is written that God loves his wife Israel very much. “But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt." (Deuteronomy 8) Not everyone might know the reason why God's redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt. According to the passage above, it was because God himself loved Israel. “…Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10) Thus was how God described his love for Israel. The great mountains might shake and the small mountains might move but his love for Israel would not change, and his covenant would not be moved. This is what the Lord says: “I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown.” (Jeremiah 2:2) When Jeremiah wrote this, the northern kingdom of Israel was no longer there. But God looked back and remembered how much he loved Israel. God asks Israel to love him without reservation God asked Israel to love him the way he had love her without reservation: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:5-9) Just as he loved Israel so much, God wanted Israel to love Him with all their heart and all their strength. Not only from head knowledge, but also from the heart. Not only that, God asked the Israelites to teach their children to love him as well whether they were just sitting around at home or going out, whether sleeping or rising up. He asked parents to teach their children at every opportunity to love God. Not only that, they were asked to place an object between their eyes as a reminder of God’s love. For that reason, Jewish men nowadays can be seen binding tefillin onto their forehead in fulfillment of this scripture. The idea behind this is that if an ant walks between the eyes of a man, he cannot gnore it. In the same way by placing the object between the eyes the person would be reminded of God's love. They are also commanded to write God’s love on the door and the gate of the city. This is so that they would be reminded of God’s love at any given time and place. But did the Israelites love God as commanded? Israel's commits adultery Although Israel married God and made a covenant (vow), they commit adultery as follows while Moses was on Mount Sinai for forty days: " When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” 2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry. (Exodus 32:1-6) Idolatry may not be seen of as a great sin in human eyes, but it is in God's eyes. It is equivalent to sinning against the husband by a cheating wife. As stated above, when the Israelites practiced worshiping of idols, God was very angry and told Moses to destroy them all (Exodus 32). Had Moses not pleaded with God to the point of risking his own life, they would all have died. If you look at the history of the people of Israel, only when good leaders such as Joshua, Samuel David, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Josiah ruled the country, the people worshiped God in proper manner. But the people worshiped idols during the reign of kings who did not care about God and did not believe in him. During the four hundred years when judges ruled the country, God gave them over to their enemies because they worshiped idols, and the country went through utter hardship. Then God usually delivers them by sending judges to save them. But it would not last long, the Israelites, like the people around them, commited fornication by making and worshiping idols. Israel did not love God Why did Israel betray and not keep the covenant made with God? It was because they did not love God. There is no benefit in teaching a wife how to behave as a wife if she does not love the person she is married to. No matter how much you’re convincing her, showing her the benefits of loving her husband, she would no listen. Therefore, everything you do is in vain. A skipping of a heart beat is a necessity if love is to blossom between husband and wife and feel that love. Throughout the history of Israelites, they did not love the One who fed them, watched over them, and protected them. Instead, they lusted after worthless idols that did not give them anything in return. For that reason, they did not listen to God nor put trust is God. Everyone knows that living with, giving care for, and listening to someone he or she doesn’t love is a big burden. Israel committed adultery because she did not love God. God recounts the past God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah about how the Israelites deserted him. But nothing good came out of it: The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: “This is what the Lord says: “‘I remember the devotion of your youth, as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown. (Jeremiah 2:1-2) God was reminiscing about the early days of marriage between him and Israel just like people would do. “…Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 2:3) When they were newlywed, God loved his wife Israel so much, and valued her as the firstfruits. Are not the first-fruits from the center of the farm highly valued, and being loved. Israel was God's firstfruits. God found fault on those who robbed her and punished them by sending disasters. God said to his wife Israel, whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye (Zechariah 2:8). Therefore, those who attacked Israel were immediately retaliated by God. God is a very jealous God (Exodus 20:5). Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob, all you clans of Israel. 5 This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your ancestors find in me that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. (Jeremiah 2:4-5) By running away from God, Israel followed the path of vanity and became just vanity. God was asking what had he done so wrong that she would leave him. There is no sin in God. Good fulfilled all the responsibilities of a husband with regard to loving, feeding, and protecting. There isn't any logical reason for Israel to desert God other than not being able to love him. “They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’” (Jeremiah 2:6). God wished for Israel to love him by remembering how they were rescued from Egypt, protected and leading them through a very dangerous wilderness. This love affair was similar to a rich man who married a peasant girl who could not thank him and unable to love him. Like the Israelites of old, were we not overjoyed when we first heard the gospel of salvation and accepted God, but our love toward him gradually dissipated, and we could not give our time and our offerings to God? "I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable." (Jeremiah 2:7) Like a poor woman who got married to a rich man committed adultery, the Israelites defiled God's land then committed idolatry while enjoying God's blessings all the more in the land of Canaan. The rich man’s wife was having the affairs with her lover right in her husband’s bed. Likewise, we too were saved from our sinful life and have been enjoying many blessings of God, but are we not having an affairs with our lustful worldly life afterward? The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols. (Jerimiah 2:8) The priests were servants of God, so they should know God better. But they did not. The scribes were also those who study the Bible. So, they should know God. But they did not. The rulers were leaders from the people who should know the real situation better. But because they did not know, they sinned against God. Prophets were not God's prophets since they were prophets of Baal, so they had no knowledge of God. Therefore, the whole Israelites followed a path that did not benefit them. "Therefore, I will judge you and your children," says the Lord. (Jeremiah 2:9) As shown above, because they went astray without knowing God, they were not allowed to go easy; God said he would judge them. Likewise, if we fail to rely on God, fail to worship him by following a futile path and do only whatever we want to do, we are vulnerable to be judged by God " Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this:11 Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols." (Jeremiah 2:10-11) The gods worshiped by the Gentiles are not really gods. But the Gentiles never abandon their gods by worshiping other gods. They worshiped their gods faithfully. Their god does not change. As for the people of Israel, they had forsaken the God who blessed them, the God who loves them so much, the God who protects them, the God who made a covenant and married their forefathers. The Lord is the glory of the people of Israel. Rahab the harlot thus said to the Israeli spies; “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea[a] for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” (Joshua 2:9-11). Nations were very much afraid of the Living God. The Lord is the glory of the people of Israel. Yet it was saddening, heartbreaking, and devastating to have exchanged their exceptionally good Glory with worthless idols that cannot offer them anything good. Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror, “declares the Lord.13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. (Jeremiah 2:12-13) God was devastated because the people of Israel forsook him, the fountain of their life. They committed two sins by digging cisterns that did not have enough water. Because there was no place to let out his feelings, God looked up to the sky and uttered those words. The Lord is an inexhaustible fountain of life for the people of Israel. However, they were digging a hole that does not produce enough water. Digging a hole means leading one's life on his own without building a life by relying on God. Like the Israelites of old, are we not building our own life without relying on God? Separation of God and Israel (Highlights from Jeremiah chapter 3) 1. "If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers— would you now return to me?” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 3: 1 ) The wife who left the husband was Israel. God commanded this; "If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, 2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, 3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, 4 then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance." (Deuteronomy 24:1-4) How much did God love his wife? He loved her so much so that he broke his own commandment for her, and even though his spouse had become the wife of idols, he asked her to come back to him. 2. “Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness" (Jeremiah 3:2). Just like pagodas are built on top of the mountains in some countries of the world, the Israelites placed and worshipped idols on high places. Those idols were the husbands of Israel. Just as the Arabian in those days lay in wait for a woman in the wilderness, so did the Israelites lie on the roads and practiced idolatry, which was a fornication. Doing so was as impure in God's eyes as if a spouse were to commit adulterous acts with another person. Therefore, it was said that God has considered the land unclean. Remember, their land belongs to God. 3. "Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen.Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame." (Jeremiah 3:3) Because Israel committed fornication by worshiping only idols and defiled the land, God judged and punished them by allowing drought in the land. Not only the first rain, but it did not fall until the latter rain. Even then Israel did not repent. There is no shame. For that reason, God said that she had the forehead of a harlot. 4. " Have you not just called to me: ‘My Father, my friend from my youth, 5 will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue forever?’ This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can.'' (Jeremiah 3:4-5) How much does God love his wife? God was saying: If you have cried, “ You my father have taken care of me when I was young,” will God be angry forever? Will he remember your sin to the end? To such extend God had called Israel to return to him; But she never returned. How stubborn and unloving had she become? 6. During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. (Jeremiah 3:6) 8. " I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adult." (Jeremiah 3:8) 9. " Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.” (Jeremiah 3:9) 10. "In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 3:10) God and Israel will remarry 31. “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah." (Jeremiah 31:31) 32. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 31:32) 33. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." (Jeremiah 31:33) 34. "No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, “declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34) The Wife of Christ Just Israel was the wife of God, the church is the wife of Christ. Engagement of Christ and the Church “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.” (2 Corinthians 11:2) Marriage of Christ and the Church "Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." (Revelation 19:6) “Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people (Revelation 19:8) "Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:9)
