Verse 8

“‘Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing that you had reached the age for love. I spread my cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I swore a solemn oath to you and entered into a marriage covenant with you, declares the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine.

Referenced Verses

  • Ruth 3:9 : 9 He said,“Who are you?” She replied,“I am Ruth, your servant. Marry your servant, for you are a guardian of the family interests.”
  • Isa 43:4 : 4 Since you are precious and special in my sight, and I love you, I will hand over people in place of you, nations in place of your life.
  • Exod 19:4-8 : 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I lifted you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine, 6 and you will be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you will speak to the Israelites.” 7 So Moses came and summoned the elders of Israel. He set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him, 8 and all the people answered together,“All that the LORD has commanded we will do!” So Moses brought the words of the people back to the LORD.
  • Jer 2:2-3 : 2 “Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem:‘This is what the LORD says:“I have fond memories of you, how devoted you were to me in your early years. I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted. 3 Israel was set apart to the LORD; they were like the first fruits of a harvest to him. All who tried to devour them were punished; disaster came upon them,” says the LORD.
  • Rom 5:8 : 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
  • Jer 31:3 : 3 In a far-off land the LORD will manifest himself to them. He will say to them,‘I have loved you with an everlasting love. That is why I have continued to be faithful to you.
  • Ezek 16:6 : 6 “‘I passed by you and saw you kicking around helplessly in your blood. I said to you as you lay there in your blood,“Live!” I said to you as you lay there in your blood,“Live!”
  • Ezek 20:5-6 : 5 and say to them:“‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On the day I chose Israel I swore to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore to them,“I am the LORD your God.” 6 On that day I swore to bring them out of the land of Egypt to a land which I had picked out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.
  • 1 Sam 12:22 : 22 The LORD will not abandon his people because he wants to uphold his great reputation. The LORD was pleased to make you his own people.
  • Isa 41:8-9 : 8 The Lord Encourages His People“You, my servant Israel, Jacob whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend, 9 you whom I am bringing back from the earth’s extremities, and have summoned from the remote regions– I told you,“You are my servant.” I have chosen you and not rejected you.
  • Deut 7:6-8 : 6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. He has chosen you to be his people, prized above all others on the face of the earth. 7 The Basis of Israel’s Election It is not because you were more numerous than all the other peoples that the LORD favored and chose you– for in fact you were the least numerous of all peoples. 8 Rather it is because of his love for you and his faithfulness to the promise he solemnly vowed to your ancestors that the LORD brought you out with great power, redeeming you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
  • Isa 63:7-9 : 7 A Prayer for Divine Intervention I will tell of the faithful acts of the LORD, of the LORD’s praiseworthy deeds. I will tell about all the LORD did for us, the many good things he did for the family of Israel, because of his compassion and great faithfulness. 8 He said,“Certainly they will be my people, children who are not disloyal.” He became their deliverer. 9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. The messenger sent from his very presence delivered them. In his love and mercy he protected them; he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.
  • Exod 24:1-8 : 1 The Lord Ratifies the Covenant But to Moses the LORD said,“Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance. 2 Moses alone may come near the LORD, but the others must not come near, nor may the people go up with him.” 3 Moses came and told the people all the LORD’s words and all the decisions. All the people answered together,“We are willing to do all the words that the LORD has said,” 4 and Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Early in the morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and arranged twelve standing stones– according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 He sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls for peace offerings to the LORD. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and half of the blood he splashed on the altar. 7 He took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people, and they said,“We are willing to do and obey all that the LORD has spoken.” 8 So Moses took the blood and splashed it on the people and said,“This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
  • Exod 32:13 : 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and told them,‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about I will give to your descendants, and they will inherit it forever.’”
  • Deut 4:31 : 31 (for he is a merciful God), he will not let you down or destroy you, for he cannot forget the covenant with your ancestors that he confirmed by oath to them.
  • Hos 2:18-20 : 18 New Covenant Relationship with Repentant Israel“At that time I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will abolish the warrior’s bow and sword– that is, every weapon of warfare– from the land, and I will allow them to live securely.” 19 I will commit myself to you forever; I will commit myself to you in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love and tender compassion. 20 I will commit myself to you in faithfulness; then you will acknowledge the LORD.”
  • Hos 11:1 : 1 Reversal of the Exodus: Return to Egypt and Exile in Assyria When Israel was a young man, I loved him like a son, and I summoned my son out of Egypt.
  • Mal 1:2 : 2 “I have shown love to you,” says the LORD, but you say,“How have you shown love to us?”“Esau was Jacob’s brother,” the LORD explains,“yet I chose Jacob
  • Jer 31:32 : 32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” says the LORD.
  • Rom 9:10-13 : 10 Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our ancestor Isaac– 11 even before they were born or had done anything good or bad(so that God’s purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling)– 12 it was said to her,“The older will serve the younger,” 13 just as it is written:“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”