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Isaiah 62:5

“For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.”

Commentary

“Our sons” are the loyal inhabitants of Zion (here, the eternal city of God; cf. Psalm 87). A poetic image
indicating that the inhabitants of Jerusalem will love and cherish their city: the inhabitants of Zion
will forever be committed to and delight in their eternal dwelling place, for the Lord’s people are there,
and the Lord himself is there. Isaiah’s poetic imagery leaves an overwhelming impression of joy,
delight, righteousness, beauty, safety, and peace. Boldly drawing on a familiar human image of
inexpressible joy and delight, God says his delight in his people will be like that of a bridegroom’s
delight in his bride. Isaiah explains that in God’s great plan of salvation, he not only forgives his
people, protects them, heals them, provides for them, restores them to their home, reconciles them to
each other, transforms them so they are righteous, honors them, exalts them above all nations, and
makes them a blessing to all nations, as he called them to be—but more than all these things, he
actually delights in his people.

1 Corinthians 7:2–5

“But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own
husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does
not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own
body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote
yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”

Commentary

The Corinthians are commanded to be faithful in their marriages, to avoid divorce, and to be content in
their calling. Paul uses the phrase "now concerning" for the first time here to signal a switch from
matters raised in the oral report from Chloe’s people (1 Cor. 1:10–11) to issues raised in a letter from
Corinth. This same phrase is repeated in a number of places throughout the rest of 1 Corinthians (see 1
Cor. 7:25; 1 Cor. 8:1; 1 Cor. 12:1; 1 Cor. 16:1, 12) where it introduces additional topics from the
Corinthians’ letter. Some Corinthian Christians appear to have adopted the view that sexual relations
of any kind, even within marriage, should be avoided. Paul seeks to carefully refute this view
throughout this chapter (see 1 Cor. 7:2, 5, 9, 10, 28, 36).

God designed marriage as the place for the expression of human sexuality. Sex within marriage has
both relational and spiritual benefits (Gen. 2:24; Eph. 5:31; see also 1 Cor. 6:17). It also has the practical
benefit of reducing the temptation to engage in sexual sin (see 1 Cor. 7:9).