- Name 55 of 70Thy Maker, Thine Husband
- HebrewBo'alayikh osayikh
- In plain wordsThe God who made you is the God who is faithful to you like a loving husband
- Where to find itIsaiah 54:5, a song for a city that felt abandoned
Thy Maker, thine husband is how God describes Himself in Isaiah 54:5. It means the One who made His people is also the One who is faithful to them, the way a loving husband stays with his wife. God spoke it to a nation that felt rejected and alone, and the verse speaks of it as already true: thy Maker is thine husband, not "will be."
Two kinds of shame
In the ancient world, two hard things could leave a woman with almost no protection. One was having no children. The other was having no husband, whether she had been widowed or sent away. A woman like that often had no one to speak for her, no income and no place of honor.
The prophets used that picture for Jerusalem. After the city fell and its people were carried off to Babylon, it was like a wife left sitting in an empty house. Isaiah 54 speaks right into that pain. And it begins in a way nobody would expect.
Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 54:1
Barren means unable to have children. Travail means the pain of giving birth. God tells the lonely, childless woman to sing, because her family is about to grow beyond what she can imagine. Then He takes on her shame directly. She will forget the shame of thy youth
and no longer remember the reproach of thy widowhood
. Reproach means disgrace, the kind of looks and words that make a person feel small.
Another prophet, Hosea, had already acted this picture out with his own life. God told him to love a woman who had been unfaithful, whom many readers take to be his own wife: Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel
. Hosea paid to bring her home (Hosea 3:2). His marriage became a living sermon about a God who goes after people who have walked away from Him.
It is worth noticing where this chapter sits. It comes right after Isaiah 53, the chapter about the Servant who was wounded for the sins of others. The song of the lonely woman follows straight after the Servant's suffering.
Maker and husband in the Hebrew
The verse uses two Hebrew words with a lot inside them.
- Maker comes from asah, the common Hebrew verb for making or doing. It is a reminder that the people did not create themselves. God formed them.
- Husband comes from ba'al, a verb that means to be master or owner, and also to marry. In that culture a husband could be called his wife's master.
That second word carries a sharp edge. Baal, the same word, was also the title of a Canaanite storm god, and Israel kept running after him for generations. So when God says "your husband," using that very word, He is saying: the one you chased was never your true husband. I am.
In the Hebrew, both words are written in a plural form even though they speak of one God. Hebrew grammar books discuss why. A common explanation is that the plural shows greatness, as in the name Elohim, but not every expert explains it the same way.
The prophet Hosea uses the same family of words in a tender way. God promises His people a day to come: thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali
. Ishi means "my husband," a word of closeness. Baali means "my master." God does not want His people to relate to Him like servants afraid of an owner. He wants the trust of a marriage.
The King James verses behind the name
For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Isaiah 54:5
Look at how many names are packed into one verse. Maker: you are not an accident. Husband: you are not alone. The LORD of hosts, the Lord of heaven's armies: you are not defenseless. Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: Someone close to you will buy you back. And this husband of a forgotten woman is called the God of the whole earth.
For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
Isaiah 54:7-8
God does not pretend the exile never happened. He calls it a small moment. Next to His everlasting kindness, even those long, hard years were short.
For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.
Isaiah 54:10
A covenant is a binding promise. Mountains are the most solid thing people can see, and God says His kindness will outlast them.
Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
Jeremiah 3:14
Jeremiah heard the same message. Backsliding means sliding away from God after once following Him. God's answer to people who wandered was not "you are finished," but "come back, I am married to you."
What this name means for you today
A lot of people relate to God like an employee relates to a strict boss. Do the job, avoid trouble, keep your distance. This name asks for something better. God wants love, not just duty.
If you have wandered from Him, Isaiah 54 is good news. God calls the time apart a small moment and promises great mercies. If shame has followed you since you were young, read verse 4 out loud. The God who made you says that shame will not have the last word.
A word of care: this picture of God as husband never gives cover to any husband who is harsh, unfaithful or violent. God's kind of husband protects, keeps His promises and gives Himself for His bride. If someone at home is hurting you, the loving thing is to get to safety and talk to a trusted adult, pastor or counselor.
- Ask yourself honestly: do I relate to God more as a master to fear or as Someone who loves me?
- Name one thing you have been running to for comfort instead of Him.
- If you are single, widowed or divorced, read Isaiah 54 as written to people who felt the way you feel.
This is name 55 of the 70 in the book. Before it comes the Creator of the ends of the earth. Next is Our Father, another family name for God from the last chapters of Isaiah. For the meaning of every name on one page, see names of God and their meanings.
