"If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers—would you now return to me?" declares the LORD. – Jeremiah 3:1

Today's Scripture Reading (March 28, 2020): Jeremiah 3

For Larry King, the math of marriage is little complex. King married eight times, but to only seven women. And King admits that he was in love with only three of them. The others, well, according to King, it was just the thing to do. But one of the women that King was in love with was Alene Akins. She was the one woman that Larry married twice. And when Alene died in 2017, her ex-husband mourned her passing, calling her "a grand lady."

Jeremiah asks a question, if a man divorces a woman and she goes and marries another man, should he return to her? Maybe a better question is, why would he return to her. The question that Jeremiah is asking is not really about marriage; it is about the spirituality of the children of Israel, both in the now defeated Kingdom of Israel, and in the still very much alive Kingdom of Judah. Spiritually, Israel had been promised to God as his bride. It was a common theme among the writings of the prophets. But Israel and Judah had both proven themselves to be unfaithful spouses. They had cheated on their commitment to God with other gods who had originated with other nations. So, the real question that God was asking was this; why should I allow you to come back to me. Why would I want to resume the relationship that we once had together? We committed to each other, and yet you walked away from me to be with someone else.

Jeremiah doesn't really give us the answer, but we know what it is. We see it in our own relationships. After all, Larry King walked away from his commitment to Alene, and Alene walked away from her commitment to Larry, in 1963, after only two years of marriage. Yet, four years later, the pair came back together and tied the marital knot one more time, and this time they stayed together for five years. Why? The answer is too simple – it is love. Maybe they couldn't work together long enough to produce a successful marriage, but that didn't mean that they didn't love each other enough to try again and to remember the good times.

So, why does God call Judah, and Israel, back into a relationship with him? Why did he chase them through the generations? And when they did come back, why would God want to accept them back into his family? The answer is again deceptively simple – it is love.

And why does God pursue us? Why does he faithfully watch over us while we chase after other priorities, seldom giving to him the attention that he deserves? And why does he run to us when we turn around and call his name? The answer still hasn't changed. It is always love.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 4