Israel as a nation, the wife of God Jehovah
The story begins with Moses who went back to Egypt to lead God’s chosen people, children of Israel, out of Egypt. Although, the first instance of matchmaking in biblical record is in the book of Genesis chapter 24, when Eliezer was tasked to go find a wife for Isaac. Here, we can identify the similar role of Moses as a matchmaker, known technically in Hebrew as Shadchan, going to Egypt to find a wife for God.
When we looked into the book of Isaiah 54, verse 5, we see God empathically stated that HE, the Lord of Hosts and the Maker of Israel is her husband. Then we beg the question, where and when did the marriage of God and Israel took place? That is where the role of Moses, as the Deliverer or Shadchan comes into the play. Like Eliezer who was tasked by his master to go look for a wife for Isaac. Moses adhered to the call of God. However in this case, the bridegroom here is not Jesus Christ, His son but God Himself. Moses did what God wanted him to do in Egypt and brought the children of Israel out from Egypt, en-route to the bridal home in the Promised Land known as Canaan. So, did the customary and traditional processes of a Jewish Wedding happen between Israel, his betrothed and God, the groom? Yes, it did happen. The marriage contract known as Ketubah, a Chuppah, Kiddushin and Niu’sin were all done after they crossed the Red sea, arriving at foot of Mt. Sinai. At this place, the marriage contract composed of the Torah was given to the bride, Israel, by Moses after his tedious and copious record of God’s Laws during his 40 days’ absence. The people of Israel, together with the 70 Elders agreed to the marriage contract that was given to them by God through Moses. In Exodus 19, 7-8, the children of Israel and the 70 Elders agreed to the marriage contract by saying, “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do”. With that consent, the marriage contract was, thus sealed, between the Bridegroom and His bride.
Next, Israel as a nation, after receiving and accepting the Ketubah (God’s covenant, words and the betrothal contract) was instructed to purify herself. This acts of sanctification and separation is similar to the biblical and modern day Jewish Wedding’s practice of Baptism of Bride, also known as Bridal Mikvah.
Baptism of the bride ritual requirements for Israel was done soon after they left Egypt. At the mighty Red Sea, although we saw the panic and the terror of the plight of the Israelites on the edge of the Red Sea and the relentless charges of the Egyptian’s chariots, the significance of this event was “planned.” Israel, as God’s chosen people and the prospective bride of God Jehovah, needed to go through this process of sanctification before they entered into a marriage contract with God. The events that took them to the Red Sea were not co-incidental, it was essentially demanded that God’s wife to be, must go down into the watery grave of the Red Sea, the symbolism of baptism or immersion of the water for the purification and sanctification of His bride. There was another exercise of this sanctification and purification of His people at the foot of Mt. Sinai when God commanded through Moses to ask the whole nation to wash their garments. These were required before the meeting at the Chuppah on Mt. Sinai for the materialization of the marriage contract.
After the purification, on the third day, Moses and the people were told to gather at the foot of Mt. Sinai to meet with God their husband. In this meeting, Israel the bride was represented by the 70 Elders with Moses, Aaron and his 2 sons as witnesses when the marriage contract was read out. Again, when asked, all the people of the Israel in unison agreed and said, “We will put into practice and obey everything that the Lord has decreed.” With that proclamation, the covenant was finally sealed with blood of bulls that Moses sprinkled.
The ascent of the 70 Elders, 2 sons of Aaron, Aaron and Moses to Mt. Sinai to meet with God is similar to the Rapture. This phenomenon is an imminent, momentous and interesting event that will catch the world in surprise. We will delve with it in the next sub-topic below. Bearing in mind, the mountain was so filled with the presence of God that it was thickened with clouds of smoke because of the holiness of the Almighty. For the chosen few to meet with God on the mountain, both parties can only do it at the mid- level of the mountain. The thick and overwhelming clouds with lightning and thunder make it a metaphor for the Chuppah. In a Jewish marriage, the chuppah, is an essential covering tent which was intended for the wedding ceremonious practices and sealing of the covenant between the couples. This solemn scene was enacted in public at Mt. Sinai where the bride meets her groom after the reading of the Ketubah. Sadly, the wedding bliss was short-lived. Soon after that, while Moses was busy up in the mountain, his spiritually promiscuous people of Israel broke their covenant with God, her husband. At the foot of the mountain, they erected a golden calf to worship which God detested greatly and regarded it as idolatry. The rest is history.
The newly marriage union God had with Israel, His legally married spouse was fraught with marital woes and difficulties such as spiritual harlotry and adulteries. Israel’s propensity to spiritual idolatry was an iniquitous sin that grieved God greatly.
In Ezekiel 16: 8-21, the passages clearly painted a sad love story of God with His beloved, Israel, guilty of the heinous spiritual transgression.
In the end, God divorced Israel His legally wedded wife and it was recorded in the book of Jeremiah chapter 3: 6-8. But did He abandon His adulterous wife forever? The answer is simply no. Read Isaiah 54: 5-8, Jeremiah 3:1, and then the book of Hosea, where the prophet Hosea was commanded to marry a prostitute. This unusual directive from God to Hosea was to illustrate His broken marital relationship and status with her estranged wife, the nation of Israel. When Hosea was again commanded to redeem and reconcile with Gomer, his wife, He illustrated His future promise to redeem and renew His relationship with Israel. This perplexing story of Hosea and Gomer summed up the unique portrayal of a stubborn love of God for His egregious wife, the covenanted people of Israel. God has not abandon Israel.