Marriage

"...for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married."

 - Isaiah 62

The ultimate wish for God and Israel, is to become "married" to the land of Israel.

What? If marriage is defined as we have come to define it in human history, then the connotation is all sexual. It's what people do, not when they're really "in love," but when they can't wait any longer to consummate their relationship. Or if they have already done that ahead of time, it gives their relationship some legitimacy. That is, if the copulating couple have scruples.

No, that can't be what is meant by "marriage," in God's eyes. It does make sexual activity "legal."

But there is much more. It's a full union. Something that cannot be separated. Period.

What we want is for someone that will never leave us. That's love./

Never. Leave. Us.

That's what God promises. It's the solution to all our insecurities. It's our deepest desire.

It's love.

It's marriage.