Isaiah 50:1

The Lord continued to speak through His prophet. He addressed again Zion’s charge that God had forsaken and forgotten His people (Isaiah 49:14). He had not issued Israel a certificate of divorce (cf. Deuteronomy 24:1-4); He had not stopped desiring to have her for Himself (cf. Isaiah 49:14-18; Judges 2:14; Judges 3:8; Judges 4:2; Judges 10:7). [Note: See Joe M. Sprinkle, "Old Testament Perspectives on Divorce and Remarriage," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40:4 (December 1997):541, and Richard D. Patterson, "Metaphors of Marriage as Expressions of Divine-Human Relations," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 51:4 (December 2008):689-702.] Neither had He sold the Israelites to one of His creditors, since He had none; no one had forced Him to send them into captivity (cf. Isaiah 49:22-26). No, He had temporarily sold the Israelites into captivity because of their own sins (as had been the case with Samaria, cf. Jeremiah 3:8).