‘“Therefore, obey the terms of this covenant so that you will prosper in everything you do. ‘ Deuteronomy 29:9 https://my.bible.com/bible/116/DEU.29.9
‘Here is another thing you do. You cover the Lord ’s altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure. You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.’ Malachi 2:13-14 https://my.bible.com/bible/116/MAL.2.13-14
‘A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.’ Ecclesiastes 4:12(NLT)
A young girl was playing with her grandmother’s hands one day when she suddenly stopped to examine her grandmother’s wedding ring. After a few minutes, she asked her grandmother why the ring was so large and heavy. It was nothing like the thinner more delicate rings she saw. The grandmother smiled and said, “Because back when I got married, rings were made to last.”
One reason so many couples turn in their rings is because they view marriage as a contract. A contract is a conditional agreement between two or more persons signifying that all parties will do something. Contracts get made for limited periods of time and are based on “if, then” statements. “If they do this, then I’ll do that.” People enter into contracts because of what they’ll get out of them. When they no longer receive what they want, or if they find a better-looking option, then they will justify terminating it.
However, the Bible doesn’t describe marriage this way, but defines it as a covenant. A covenant is a divinely created bond meaning it is permanent. It has rules, responsibilities and benefits. Covenants are intimate relationships initiated for the benefit of the other person. In it, the good of the relationship takes precedence over the needs of the individual. This is why covenants make unconditional promises. Basically, it’s where God makes something official in the spiritual realm to be lived out in the physical world. After all, the wedding vows are made “before God” and therefore with God as well as the spouse. To break the covenant with your spouse is to break it with God.
When a husband and wife live out a covenantal marriage instead of contractual terms, they will receive a covering. It’s like an umbrella. When it’s raining, the umbrella doesn’t stop the rain, but stops it from raining on you.
Living under God’s covering won’t stop the challenges in your marriage, but those challenges won’t affect you same way they normally would if you weren’t underneath His covering.
How can you begin relating to your spouse on covenantal terms?
from Kingdom Marriage