Answer:
The relationship of Israel as YHWH’s wife is viewed throughout the Scriptures in various ways and facets. Its development may be traced in six stages.
In the first stage of her relationship as the wife of YHWH, Israel entered into a marriage contract, and this marriage contract is the book of Deuteronomy (Deut. 5:1-3; 6:10-15; 7:6-11; Ezek. 16:8).
The second stage is Israel’s great adultery. Although Israel was sternly admonished to remain faithful to her Husband, she became guilty of a great adultery, described by several prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures (Jer. 3:1-5, 20; 31:32; Ezek. 16:15-34; Hos. 2:2-5).
The third stage is the separation between God and Israel in the days of Isaiah because of Israel’s adultery (Isa. 50:1).
The fourth stage is the divorce. Even after about one hundred years of separation, during which time the blessings of Deuteronomy continued to be withheld, Israel still failed to return to God, her Husband. Thus, God finally divorced His wife. The bill of divorcement is contained in Jeremiah 3:6-10.
The fifth stage is the punishment. The original marriage contract, the book of Deuteronomy, clearly declared that if Israel proved unfaithful as YHWH’s wife, it would become necessary for God to punish her (Ezek. 16:35-43, 58-59; Hos. 2:6-13). To this day, Israel is still in the period of punishment. This is proven by the persecutions of the Jews around the world and by the present worldwide dispersion.
The sixth stage is the remarriage with restored blessings. The Jewish prophets did not leave things in a state of hopelessness. They spoke of a day when Israel will become the restored wife of YHWH. Of course, this will require a brand-new marriage contract (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 16:60-63; Isa. 54:1-8; 62:4-5; Hos. 2:14-23).
Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Ariel's Bible Commentary: The Book of Isaiah (San Antonio, Tx: Ariel Ministries, 2021), pp. 537-538.
