The covenant of marriage is a godly analogy that parallels Jesus’ relationship with His church. Viewed this way, divorce is a human abandonment of this godly equivalence. In Ephesians 5:22-33, husbands and wives are called to relate to each other in ways analogous to Jesus and His bride. He loves the church and does not abandon her – despite her sinful shortcomings.

God the Father also portrays Himself as a husband: To drive a point home, He uses marital relationships throughout the book of Hosea. Marriage is one way God shows the world a picture of His fervent love for people. He doesn’t want a “divorce” from His people, sinful though we have been. He wants reconciliation for Himself and among His people. His greatest joys are tied up in the reconciliation that has set the table for the Marriage Feast of the Lamb recorded in Revelation 19:6-9. That passage concludes with

the angel said to me (John), “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”