Hosea 2:18-20, “And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will betroth you to Me forever. I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. And you shall know Yahweh.”
“I will betroth you to Me forever,” God says to all creation. “I will betroth you to me in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love and in mercy… in faithfulness. And you shall know Yahweh.” What does it mean to be betrothed to someone? Simply put, it is to be engaged—or promised—to be married to someone. The Hebrew word used for “betroth” here is understood as paying the price so as to “gain the right of possession” (BDB, 77).
This is God’s eschatological promise to all creation. Here, God has promised to restore all creation in His righteousness, justice, steadfast love, mercy, and faithfulness. Here, God promised to make Himself known. This is precisely what God accomplished in Christ. In Christ, Yahweh is fully revealed (John 14:9). It is in Christ whom we are betrothed to righteousness, justice, steadfast love, mercy, and faithfulness; for in Christ, God worked and accomplished His righteousness, justice, steadfast love, mercy, and faithfulness for us. We are, furthermore, betrothed to the promise of Christ’s return to restore all creation to its former glory in Christ.
©Featured image from Bride of Christ by Danny Hahlbohm, 2014.
The Lutheran Column 
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