“I will take you to be My wife forever.
I will take you to be My wife in righteousness,
justice, love, and compassion.
I will take you to be My wife in faithfulness,
and you will know Yahweh.”

~ Hosea 2:19-20

One of my favorite parts of the wedding planning process was planning the ceremony.  Of that, my very favorite part was choosing my vows to Andrew.  To speak promises of Hope into your future and your spouse’s future is a powerful thing.  It is a promise that you are making before God and before witnesses – and you will be held to it, in this life and the next.

And so it was with great joy that I found God’s vows to us, tucked away in Hosea.  Like many millennial Christian women, I was familiar with Hosea through books like Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge and Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.  Hosea 2:14-17 were rivers of comfort and solace to me in college; but somehow, I never made it to verses 19-20. 

That was a gem I got to uncover in this process, and I certainly treasure it more now than I ever would have back then.  Interestingly, I have no idea how I “fell upon” these verses.  I read them one day and was stunned by the wedding-like quality of the words.

The Importance of Vows

I will actually not be delving into these verses today – there’s too many treasures held within these two verses to blithely write about them in one blog.  I could probably write a small novella.  So for today, I shall suffice with a couple things I want to point out about vows in general. 

First, a vow is a promise of what you’ll do in relation to another person.  Andrew and I have decided not to use traditional vows, but rather to use ones taken from scripture as complied by the authors of A Christ-Centered Wedding.  I especially liked these because they focus on what I will do for Andrew – because my actions are the only ones I can control.  Likewise, God’s vows in Hosea focus on what He will do for us.  That’s important, because it’s so easy to look at the Bible and see a list of “to-do’s.”  Hosea 2:19-20 does not contain rules; it contains beautiful promises of love and devotion. 

Second, remember the nature of wedding vows: they are promises of Hope that the giver is to uphold.  Now, it’s impossible for us to always uphold our wedding vows, even if we try.  You will not always “love and cherish” your spouse the way you ought; and goodness, the vows Andrew and I chose are impossible without Christ.  We live in a sinful world, and we will fail at all of our vows from time to time.  God, however, is quite different.  His vows speak of Hope for the future, and He continues to uphold His ancient vows to this day.     

Read the vows again.  Put your own name in them to make them more real – for they are yours, beloved, for that is the beauty of grace. 

I will take you to be My wife forever.
I will take you to be My wife in righteousness,
justice, love, and compassion.
I will take you to be My wife in faithfulness,
and you will know Yahweh. ~ Hosea 2:19-20


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