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If we enter into the deep thought of the Bible, we will realize that the Bible is a romance, in a most pure and holy sense (2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:7-9):
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The male in this couple is God Himself, who desires to be the male of this universal couple (Isa. 54:5-6; 62:5; Jer. 3:14; 31:32).
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The female of this couple is a corporate chosen and redeemed people, including all the saints of the Old Testament and the New Testament (Rev. 19:7-9; 21:9-10; 22:17).
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Throughout the centuries God has had a romance with man; thus, the Bible is a record of how God courts His chosen people and eventually marries them (Gen. 2:21-24; S.S. 1:2-4; Isa. 54:5; 62:5; Jer. 2:2; 3:1, 14; 31:32; Ezek. 16:8; 23:5; Hosea 2:7, 19; Matt. 9:15; John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25-32; Rev. 19:7; 21:2, 9-10; 22:17):
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In this union God is His people's life, and they are His expression; in this way God and His chosen people become a universal couple (v. 17):
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When we as God's people enter into a love relationship with God, we receive His life, just as Eve received the life of Adam (Gen. 2:21-22).
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It is this life that enables us to become one with God and makes Him one with us (John 3:3, 5-6, 15-16, 29-30).
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By loving the Lord as our Husband and thereby partaking of His life and nature, we become one with Him as His counterpart, enlargement, and expression (2 Cor. 11:2; 2 Pet. 1:4; John 3:15-16, 29-30).
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God chose Israel to be His spouse; in typology certain women in the Old Testament reveal that the church is the counterpart of Christ (Hosea 2:19-20; Jer. 2:2; 31:3; Ezek. 16:8; Gen. 24:67; 41:45; Ruth 4:13; 1 Sam. 25:40-42; S.S. 6:13):
Morning Nourishment
Isa. 54:5-6 For your Maker is your Husband; Jehovah of hosts is His name. And the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth. For Jehovah has called you, like a wife who has been forsaken and is grieved in spirit, even like a wife of one's youth when she has been rejected, says your God.The Bible is a romance. Have you ever heard this before? It may sound secular and unreligious. However, if you have entered into the deep thought of the Bible, you will realize that the Bible is a romance, in the most pure and the most holy sense, of a universal couple.
The male of this couple is God Himself. Although He is a divine person, He desires to be the male of this universal couple. This very God, after a long process, has resulted in Christ as the Bridegroom.
The female of this couple is a corporate human being, God's redeemed people, including all the saints of the Old Testament and the New Testament. After a long process this corporate person results in the New Jerusalem as the bride.
This holy romance is repeatedly revealed throughout the Old Testament. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 1-2)
Today's Reading
Because of the Lord's enlightening through His word, I have the confidence to say that the entire Bible is a book of engagement. In the Scriptures we have a record of how God courts His chosen people and eventually marries them. For eternity, the Triune God as the Husband will enjoy a sweet married life with His wife, His chosen and redeemed people. New Jerusalem will even be called the wife of the Lamb (Rev. 21:9). The conclusion of the Bible is the marriage of God and His people. Since the Bible ends in this way, it can truly be called a book of engagement. The main subject of the Scriptures is God's engagement to His people. If this were not the main subject of the Bible, the Bible would not conclude with a word concerning the universal marriage of God and His redeemed ones. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 636-637)In order for God and His people to be one, there must be a mutual love between them (John 14:21, 23). The love between God and His people unfolded in the Bible is primarily like the affectionate love between a man and a woman (Jer. 2:2; 31:3). As God's people love God and spend time to fellowship with Him in His word, God infuses them with His divine element, making them one with Him as His spouse, the same as He is in life, nature, and expression (Gen. 2:18-25 and footnotes).
The entire Bible is a divine romance, a record of how God courts His chosen people and eventually marries them (Gen. 2:21-24; S.S. 1:2-4;...Rev. 19:7; 21:2, 9-10; 22:17). When we as God's people enter into a love relationship with God, we receive His life, just as Eve received the life of Adam (Gen. 2:21-22). It is this life that enables us to become one with God and makes Him one with us. We keep the law not by exercising our mind and will (cf. Rom. 7:18-25) but by loving the Lord as our Husband and thereby partaking of His life and nature to become one with Him as His enlargement and expression. (Exo. 20:6, footnote 2)
The Old Testament indicates clearly that God came in to choose Israel to be His spouse. In Jeremiah 31:3 Jehovah said, "Indeed I have loved you with an eternal love, / Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness." When God appeared to His people, He "dated" them and later even courted them. According to Ezekiel 16, God loved Israel when He saw her in the wilderness. Verse 8 describes this love: "Then I passed by you and saw you; and then was your time a time of love. And I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness; indeed I swore unto you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord Jehovah, and you became Mine." By entering into a covenant with Israel, God betrothed her to Himself. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 645-646)
Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msg. 1; Truth Lessons—Level Four, vol. 1, lsn. 17