Question
There are apparently times in the Bible ‘where God speaks of Israel ) as a son, and ) as a wife; have you found a reason for this?’”
Response
Yes, I believe there is a very good reason for why God speaks of Israel in both of these ways. First of all, both the term “son” and “wife” describe a *relationship* that a man can have with another person. Israel possesses a very special two-fold relationship to God in His plan and purpose with them and these two terms describe the two aspects of the relationship they hold. Note first the issue involved in being a “son.”
A man’s “son” is his offspring; someone he is the father of because he brought him into the world. The relationship is one of *belonging* and *identification.* A “son,” by reason of birth, belongs to and is identified with the one who begat him. The one who begat him is his father and he is his “son.” Hence, “son” is a term used by a father to refer to one whom he begat and so belongs to him and is identified as his.
Moreover, because he belongs to his father and is identified with him, a “son” is the heir of his father. What his father has belongs to him and will become his by inheritance when the father appoints him his heir and establishes him as the possessor with him of his estate. Hence, the term “son” also describes this aspect of belonging to and being identified with another. All of this, and more, is involved in the issue of being a “son.” And all of this is involved in God calling Israel His “son.”
The nation Israel is God’s “son” because they are the nation of His own creation. He created them. He begat them as a father would a son and brought them into existence in this world. Hence, He says unto them things like the following: “Thus saith the L, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb,…” (Isa 44:24). And they say unto Him things like, “Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O L, art our father, our redeemer: thy name is from everlasting.” (Isa 63:16)
God says He is Israel’s father because He brought them into existence. They are His own nation holding the relationship with Him of a “son” to the father. They belong to him and are identified as His because He begat them.
But that is not all. In calling Israel His “son” God is also identifying them as His heirs. Just as a “son” is the heir of his father, so Israel in God’s plan and purpose is the heir of all His possessions in the earth. For this reason when He sent Moses unto Pharaoh, God told him, “And thou shall say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the L, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:” (Exodus 4:22) As God’s “son, even (His) firstborn,” Israel was His heir, designated by Him to possess the earth with Him and administer His estate for Him.
God, therefore, calls Israel His “son” for these reasons. He begat them as His own nation, distinct from all the other nations of the world. And as such Israel is His heir, destined to possess and rule over the earth with Him as a son with the father. This is the first part of the special two-fold relationship that Israel holds with God.
The term “wife” describes another relationship; one that is the result of marriage and that involves the joining together of two persons to form a unity of being. A marriage is a living union relationship and the terms “husband” and “wife” describe the man and the woman as being in that kind of relationship one with another. In marriage a man and a woman join themselves together, cleaving unto each other in a covenanted bond, to produce a living union relationship in which they will live selflessly for each other. As such it is a relationship designed by God to provide for the joys of intimacy of fellowship associated with a living union of persons and for the expression of agape love in all areas; spiritually, soulishly, and physically.
In designating Israel as His “wife” this is the kind of intimate relationship that God had entered into with his nation. He had joined Himself to them in a living union relationship. He had cleaved unto them in a covenanted bond producing a living union in which He would live selflessly for them and they were to live selflessly for Him. As His “wife” Israel is in a relationship with God in which He has provided for them to experience the joys of intimacy of fellowship with Him and to receive, and respond to, the expressions of His agape love for them. And as His “wife” they are to be His glory, just as the woman is to be the glory of the man. (I Cor 11:7; Isa 46:13) They are to glorify Him in this world as His “wife.” (Isa 60:21)
Though a lot more could be said about these two terms and the significance of them, this gives you the basic reason for why Israel would be spoken of by God as both a “son” and a “wife.”
Keith R. Blades
Enjoy The Bible Ministries
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