In the prophets there is no real changes in the rules of marriage although some things are reemphasized. In the major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel) some marriage imagery is used to illustrate the relationship God has with his people.Isaiah 54 has some sharp marriage imagery where God talks to Israel calling her a forsaken wife but then he has restored her. Chapter 50 talks of divorce but saying that there is no certificate of divorce barring his way to his servant.
Jeremiah is far more in your face. Over and over he likens Judah and Israel to unfaithful wives who have become whores to foreign gods. This is particularly seen in Jeremiah chapter 3. He uses it again at the end of chapter 31 where he says he would create a new covenant unlike the first one - one in which he would change them to be faithful.
If Jeremiah was harsh, Ezekiel is off the chain. Chapter 16 of Ezekiel is completely about how God's two wives were not only unfaithful and whores but how they went out of their way to outdo the other nations in their harlotry. God even uses the death of Ezekiel's own wife as a sign of what is about to happen to the nation of Judah if they do not turn from this (Chapter 24).
Daniel does not invoke this imagery at all but does mention the whole wives/concubines issue.
In looking at all the imagery of the major prophets regarding marriage the one thing that is emphasized is faithfulness. God uses the image of what is supposed to be the hallmark of any marriage and then shows how Judah and Israel both have been like unfaithful wives. None of the major prophets will compare though to the singular image of Hosea.
Next: Hosea's Marriage
Great post. And I agree, Hosea, by far, gives us the best look into God's heart and how he feels about faithfulness, both to Him and by Him.
ReplyDelete