Jeremiah 3:8  “I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce.”

Have you noticed the Bible describes God’s relationship with the nation of Israel as the husband to Israel His wife, while God’s relationship with the church as Jesus the Bridegroom and the Church His Bride?

God as Israel’s Husband:

Isaiah 54:5  “Your (Israel) Maker is your husband; The Lord of hosts is His name; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.”

Jeremiah 3:14 “Return, O backsliding children,” says the Lord; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.”

Jeremiah 31:31-32 “’Behold, the days are coming’, says the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah – not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,’ says the Lord.”

God as the Church’s Bridegroom:

Revelation 21:2  “I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

2 Corinthians 11:2  “I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”

Ephesians 5:27  “That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

In the Bible, God Himself clearly distinguishes between Israel and the Church. So, how can anyone claim the Church is “True Israel”?

We have explained that Jesus Christ, not the church, is “True Israel” by examining the biblical evidence for Jesus Christ as the “True Vine”, the “Root of the Olive Tree”, and the “Firstborn Son out of Egypt.”

And although Israel has a biblical distinction as God’s wife, the problem with their marriage is Israel’s sinful behavior throughout history, committing spiritual adultery (“harlotry”) by worshiping pagan gods around them, breaking Commandments 1 &2 (love and worship only God). Here are a few examples:

Exodus 32:1-4 (1,400 BC)  “When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, they gathered together to Aaron and said, ‘Come, make us gods that shall go before us; as for Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’

Aaron said, ‘Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, sons, daughters, and bring them to me.’ So, all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. He received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’”

Psalm 106:19-20 (1,000 BC)  “They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped the molded image. Thus, they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass.”

Hosea 2:2-3,7-8,13 (750 BC)  “Bring charges against your mother, bring charges; for she (Israel) is not My wife, nor am I, her Husband! Let her put away her harlotries from her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts. Lest I strip her naked and expose her, as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.

She will chase her lovers, but not overtake them. She will seek them, but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, for then it was better for me than now.’ For she did not know that I gave her grain, new wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold – which they prepared for Baal.

I will punish her (Israel) for the days of the Baals to which she burned incense. She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry, and she went after her lovers; BUT ME SHE FORGOT,” says the Lord.”

Ezekiel 16:31-34 (580 BC)  “You erected your shrine at the head of every road, and built your high place in every street. Yet you were not like a harlot, because you scorned payment. You are an ADULTEROUS WIFE, who takes strangers instead of her husband. Men make payment to all harlots, but you made your payments to all your lovers, and hired them to come to you from all around for your harlotry.

You are the opposite of other women in your harlotry, because no one solicited you to be a harlot. In that you gave payment but no payment was given you, therefore you are the opposite.”

Just before Ezekiel was ministering to the southern kingdom of Judah during their captivity in Babylon, Jeremiah was warning Judah about their spiritual harlotry that would cause God to send Babylon to take them captive. He told Judah He divorced Israel for their adultery, sending them into Assyrian captivity (2Kings 17:5-7). And now, Judah – Israel’s southern sister – has committed the same adultery.

Jeremiah 3:8-10 (600 BC)  “I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the Lord.”

But before God divorced Israel in verses 8-10, verse 1 asks an interesting question about the law of divorce, closing verse 1 with a plea for Israel to return to Him, her husband:

“They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, may he return to her again? Would not that land be greatly polluted?’ But you (Israel) have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me,” says the Lord (Jeremiah 3:1).

Answering the Question on Divorce – Examining the Law: Deuteronomy 24:1–4

“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.”

The answer to the question people asked on divorce (“If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, may he return to her again? Would not that land be greatly polluted?) is:

NO according to the Mosaic Law. If a man divorced his wife, he could not later remarry her.

The Law demands Israel be permanently separated from her Husband – God – due to her uncleanness.

God has divorced her in Jeremiah 3:8. The Law says Israel as the wife can never be accepted back.

So, why does God end verse 1 by saying “Yet return to Me.” Didn’t we just show the Israel cannot return based on the Law? So, why does God tell Israel to return? He actually does it again in Jeremiah 3:12-14:

“Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not remain angry forever.

Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the Lord your God and scattered your charms to alien deities under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.

‘Return, O backsliding children,’ says the Lord, ‘for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.’”

This is in direct violation to the Mosaic Law. God Himself – the Author of the Law – is breaking it! How is this possible? James, the author of the New Testament book bearing his name, tells us:

James 2:13 “Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

King David, the main author of the Old Testament book of the Psalms, agrees with James:

Psalm 89:14  “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.”

And, Jesus Christ confirms this in Matthew 9:13, quoting Hosea 6:6: “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

God invites Israel to “return” to Him in humility and repentance of their sin of adultery, promising that He will forgive them and take them back as His wife! This is a constant theme throughout the Bible – God’s willingness to forgive anyone – including Israel – who humbly repents and returns in faith:

God’s True Character: He always Forgives the Humble and Repentant

2Chronicles 7:14  “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray, seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

2 Kings 22:19  “Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord… and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the Lord.”

James 4:10  “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Zephaniah 2:3  “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth who have carried out His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.”

Luke 14:11  “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

1Peter 5:5-6 (Proverbs 3:34)  “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”

Psalm 25:9  “He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way.”

Psalm 34:18  “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Psalm 138:6  “God regards the lowly, but the proud He knows from afar.” 

Psalm 149:4  “The Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.”

Isaiah 61:1 (Luke 4:18)  “The Lord sent Me to heal the brokenhearted.”

Isaiah 53:10   “It pleased the Lord to crush Him (Messiah).” 

This is a constant theme throughout Scripture. This is another element of the GOSPEL.

When God declares His anger will end when Israel repents, returning to Him in humility, He is revealing His character – loving, merciful, forgiving.

God’s love and mercy is stronger than His Law, and can overcome Israel’s (and anyone’s) adultery!

What prevents the power of the Gospel from reconciling people to God is when people are unwillingly to humble themselves before Him.

By holding onto their selfish pride, they are blind to the Gospel, never seeing the love and forgiveness available to them at the Cross of Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul explained this same “divorce” situation in Jeremiah with the word “rejection” in Romans 11 (see article #641), where Paul explained how God can indeed, according to His grace, “graft them back into the Olive Tree” (whose root we defined in article #639 is Jesus Christ) if they return in humility, repent and place their faith in Jesus Christ:

“Did God reject his people? By no means!… God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew… At the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

Again, I ask: Did they (Israel) stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” (Romans 11:1–6, 11, 23).

When we consider how God will, after such horrible rejection of Him by His chosen people Israel, forgive and “remarry” any who return to Him and ask for His forgiveness (even though His Law says to divorce them), we should ourselves be broken and humbled because of the greatness of His love.

This is exactly Paul’s thoughts in Romans 11:33, as he rejoices in the character of the God he serves, whose wisdom, knowledge and judgments are so beyond us: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!”

“The Evidence of Faith’s Substance” _ Article #642