If you’ve been to any wedding before, you’ve probably heard the bride and groom share their commitment for one another, “I,Bill, take you, Kathy, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward.” 

These are what we refer to as wedding vows. The origins date back to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, but even further than that we see the vows that God gives for His bride. In Hosea 2:18 and 19 He says, “I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.” 

Betrothed is a more old-fashioned way to say ‘engaged.’ When a couple is engaged, they’re pledged to marry, and the vows made are then pledged to be upheld in their marriage. God’s promise for us as His people is to do what is right, what is fair, to love us with unswerving commitment, tender affection, and to be utterly dependable. 

What’s amazing is that because God’s character doesn’t change we already get a foretaste of this on earth, but in glory we’ll be able to uphold our vows and obey him perfectly.