God Takes Israel as Wife

This meditation is based on a passage for September 28, 2010 in the Daily Lectionary Year 2 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).

Text: Hosea 2:16-23

Reflection and Question: This passage marks the beginning of a shift in the human sense of marriage. From an economic transaction in which the husband takes the wife as property, marriage shifts here to the life-long mutual commitment of love that we assume today. God takes Israel as wife “in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.” God, through Hosea, used this marriage imagery to capture the connection between God and us. That began to change everything, leading the way to our present day ideas about marriage. Where do you see your ideas of marriage in this passage?

Prayer: Most Powerful God of All Creation, from all the ways humans relate to one another, You chose marriage to capture Your connection with us. May our marriages rest in righteousness, justice, love and mercy as Yours does with Your people. Amen.