You're Married To God. Rejoice In It As He Rejoices

1.23.22 Isaiah 62:1–5

1 For the sake of Zion I will not be silent. For the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth shining brightly, and her salvation burns like a torch. 2 Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings will see your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will assign to you. 3 Then you will be a beautiful crown in the LORD’s hand, and a royal diadem in the palm of your God. 4 You will never again be called Abandoned, and your land will never again be called Desolation, for you will be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land will be called Married, because the LORD delights in you, and your land will be married. 5 For just as a young man marries a virgin, your Builder will marry you, and just as a bridegroom rejoices over a bride, your God will rejoice over you.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Marriage has gotten a bad rap in our society. People who could have and should have given glory to God in their marriage have turned it into an ugly thing, fifty percent ending in divorce. So there are many that don’t want anything to do with marriage.

Nonetheless, God loves marriage. God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman for life’s duration. Jesus blessed the marriage at Cana with His first miracle of turning water into wine. He wants marriage to serve as a beacon of love and light in a dark and selfish world, a picture of His love towards us. Whether you believe in marriage or not, God wants all of us to think of ourselves as married, whether we're married, single, or divorced. Why? Because we are married to Jesus through faith. Today we will see how and why this marriage to God is such a blessing.

You’re Married to God. Rejoice as He Rejoices In It

Look at the alternative. Isaiah used terms like “Abandoned” and “Desolation” when it came to Jerusalem. Jerusalem used to be the epicenter of religious life in Israel. The temple was there. The priesthood was there. The ark of the covenant was there. God was there in His special presence. It was a blessed place. But all of that would change in 586 B.C. at the Babylonian Captivity. Ezekiel prophesied that they would have to resort to cannibalism when Jerusalem was attacked by the Babylonians. (Ezekiel 5) One third would be put to death by plague or famine. A third would die by the sword. The final third would be scattered to the wind. That’s what would happen about 130 years after Isaiah prophesied. Jerusalem would look abandoned and desolate, a shell of her former self.

This would happen because Israel had basically divorced God. They chose to worship other gods. Manasseh, the final king of the Southern Kingdom, was the worst of them all. He set up idols in the temple. He sacrificed his own sons to Baal. Legend says that Isaiah was hiding in a tree and Manasseh had the tree cut in two, killing Isaiah. God said, “That’s it. I’m abandoning you, because you have divorced yourselves from me.” The Babylonians came in and took the Southern Kingdom captive and destroyed the temple and Jerusalem along with it. They deserved what they got, and even more.

“Abandoned” and “Desolation” are appropriate words to describe what happens in divorce. Sometimes it happens over time where the couple spends less and less time together. Sometimes it happens quickly with one affair. The abandoned spouse feels completely alone and worthless, like a failure. They blame themselves. They usually have to move from the place they called “home.” Eventually a step parent is brought into the picture, who doesn’t always treat them with love and nurture since they aren’t their own children. It’s a desolate place to be.

Isn’t that how the church is beginning to look as more and more people fall away from the faith? Less and less people come to worship. Miss for a month. Then two. Then six. Before they know it, they don’t know anyone at church. They become disconnected. More and more families fall apart. Places that used to be bustling with energy and music are now empty and quiet. If we want to keep on ignoring God and living as if He didn’t exist, or acting like He just doesn’t really matter, there are going to be consequences. There always are.

Look also at our society. How desolate do you have to be to make a video and put it online with your body parts showing, just hoping that people will like it or make a mention? Think then of the consumers. They go from one video to the next. Watch one after another. Some are entertaining. Some are dirty. Some are boring. What do you gain after watching video after video after video? Whose life did you improve? You just wasted a half hour of your life. It’s empty and desolate.