Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“If a man divorces his wife
and she goes from him
and becomes another man’s wife,
will he return to her?
Would not such a land be greatly polluted?
You have played the whore with many lovers;
and would you return to me?
says the Lord.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, November 25, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
A spouse can be a husband or a wife. Yes, the imagery in this text (and most others) talks of God as the husband, the dominant role in a patriarchal marriage, and Israel as the wife, the submissive, dependent role. But indulge me as I refuse to accept such a view of marriage and maybe see it from a little different angle. While at no time do I believe that humans are equal to God, I do believe that we are in a covenant relationship with God and have responsibilities to one another. Thus can the husband fail to live up to his promises as much as the wife. And just as God has been long thought of as male, there has been a wonderful movement to recognize the femininity of God (in fact, I refer to God with female pronouns in my personal spiritual discourse, not because I believe God is female, but as an intentional practice of de-programming my 53-year-old brain from automatically envisioning God as male.) So imagine God as the wife in this diatribe, and Israel as the husband. Imagine God’s pain and grief in seeing the way her husband goes around after other women (gods) because they’re more attractive and seductive and promise an easier, softer way. Imagine all the ways in which God has sacrificed for this “man,” all the things she has given him, only to see over and over that it’s not enough. That he cannot be made to commit to a monogamous relationship. Can you blame her for her anger? Can you blame her for wanting to leave him to the consequences of his actions?
However you envision it, God loves God’s people (that is, all people) so terribly much that when we turn away, when we seek after money and material comforts, when we choose again and again to act in ways counter to God’s most simple command to love God, neighbor, and self (in a healthy way), God grieves. And at the same time, God will always be there ready to take us back.
How does patriarchal imagery affect my feelings about Biblical texts?
