based on love; that it involves a sharing of our very lives—and His very life; that it is unlimited in scope. And that it is forever. In all of this, the divine covenant is very much like a marriage. When God spoke through the prophets, He taught Israel always to hope and strive for the renewal of His covenant. And, again, He portrayed the covenant as a marriage. He spoke of Himself, or His Messiah, coming as a bridegroom to take His people as His bride (see Hos. 2:16–24; Jer.
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