God Weds Himself to Zion–Septuagint Isaiah 62:3-5
[… a peek ahead: God has joined believing Israelites with believing Gentiles. There is one God and Lord, one marriage of God to his people, and one bride in the holiest of all matrimonies.]
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless… 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery– but I am talking about Christ and the church. (NIV)
Is There Room in God’s Heart for Bigamy?
Does God have two brides? One–Zion, and the second, the church?
Septuagint Isaiah 62:3-5 And you shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 And you shall no more be called Forsaken; and your land shall no more be called Desert: for you shall be called My Pleasure, and your land Inhabited: for the Lord has taken pleasure in you, and your land shall be inhabited. 5 And as a young man lives with a virgin, so shall your sons dwell in you: and it shall come to pass that as a bridegroom will rejoice over a bride, so will the Lord rejoice over you. (LXE)
A more pointed translation than the above verses is Isaiah 54:5 in the Masoretic texts.
Isaiah 54:5 For your husband is the one who made you– the LORD who commands armies is his name. He is your protector, the Holy One of Israel. He is called “God of the entire earth.” (NET)
Isaiah 54:5 For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. (ESV)
God is one. This is the foundation of Old Testament Israel. There is one God, and from this it follows that God has one bride–his saved people, those of every tribe, nation, and tongue, who love him in return and pledge their allegiance to him.
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (ESV)
The Lord Jesus himself corroborates this in the Gospel of Mark.
Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes… asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. (ESV)
Jesus speaks even more bluntly in John 10:30.
John 10:30 I and the Father are one.” (ESV)
So once again, is God a bigamist? Clearly, to think such would border on heresy. Therefore, one of the strongest evidences of the unity of God’s beloved Zion with Gentile believers through the Servant is the marriage imagery in Septuagint Isaiah 62:3-5, 54:5, and elsewhere in Scripture, especially in the New Testament with regard to Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:25-32; Revelation 19:9).
A Wedding Celebration: Verse 3
3 And you shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. (LXE)
54:11 Afflicted and outcast you have not been comforted: behold, I will prepare carbuncle for your stones, and sapphire for your foundations; 12 and I will make your buttresses jasper, and your gates crystal, and your border precious stones. (LXE)
A reader becomes so accustomed to metaphor in this portion of Isaiah that often its use escapes conscious notice. But verse three in its entirety makes use of metaphor. This statement cannot possibly be concrete-literal. (A people cannot be a physical crown; the Lord, who is Spirit, does not have hands; and so forth.) But the statement is very much spiritual-literal. That is, spiritually, God is doing an amazingly beautiful thing in his transformation of Zion.
Various English translations of Masoretic Zechariah 9:16 parallel Isaiah 62:3.
Zechariah 9:16 On that day the LORD their God will deliver them as the flock of his people, for they are the precious stones of a crown sparkling over his land. (NET)
And in the New Testament, the Apostle Peter thinks similarly.
1 Peter 3:3 Do not let your adorning be external– the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear– 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, (ESV)
The sanctified Zion, made holy by the Servant’s sacrifice of himself, will gladly submit herself to God. Argument and complaint, disobedience, and outright rebellion characterized Old Testament Israel’s relationship with their God. Occasionally, when hard-pressed by their enemies, Old Testament Israel turned to their God. But because of the work of God’s Servant and the outpouring of his Spirit, the newly created Zion will be completely different. Like a crown of beauty and a royal diadem in God’s hand, they will gladly submit themselves to him, as a satisfied woman to her own husband.
Verse 4
Septuagint Isaiah 62:4 And you shall no more be called Forsaken; and your land shall no more be called Desert: for you shall be called My Pleasure, and your land Inhabited: for the Lord has taken pleasure in you, and your land shall be inhabited.
Verse 4 continues to define the context as that of marriage. For some, it may seem a stretch to regard God’s inhabiting Zion’s land as a metaphor for a marital relationship. Readers should remember, however, that God is Spirit. To inhabit the land of his people means that God shall be with Zion in the most intimate of relationships. Hear how the Hebrew versions state this beautiful truth.
Isaiah 62:4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. (ESV)
Isaiah 62:4 You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,” and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.” Indeed, you will be called “My Delight is in Her,” and your land “Married.” For the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married to him. (NET)
God has joined believing Israelites with believing Gentiles. There is one God and Lord, one marriage of God to his people, and one bride in the holiest of all matrimonies.
Verse 5
5 And as a young man lives with a virgin, so shall your sons dwell in you: and it shall come to pass that as a bridegroom will rejoice over a bride, so will the Lord rejoice over you. (LXE)