Chapter Seven     A Lifelong Commitment to the Covenant 

Well it’s time again for self-examination. And please keep this thought in mind as we continue on, “the Kingdom of God is within you.” (See Luke 17:21.) In this next chapter we will begin to take a look at the ten Biblical building blocks that God designed successful marriages to rest upon. I believe it is critical that we seek God’s aid in order learn their practical applications and keep them within our hearts.

Let me start by saying that only God Himself is able to place these things in the heart of any man or woman. Try though you might, you can never put them into anyone’s heart. Why? The answer is because these building blocks are not man-made, but are given to us by the hand of a loving God. He has given us his word, the Holy Scriptures, the Bible as our guide. We need to “trust in the LORD with all’ our ‘heart; and lean not unto’ our ‘own understanding.’ And ‘in all’ of our ‘ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct’ our ‘paths” (See Prov. 3:5, 6). And we must ask Him to search our hearts and lead us in understanding these great truths. The understanding of these things will affect not only our marriage and family, but I believe every relationship that we encounter here in the world. And it will especially affect our view of the Church Kingdom of God. Which, is as we have already seen, the Bride of Christ.

I said that there is a self-examination that must take place by seeking out the will of God and following after His guidance through His word. But perhaps you may already be in a position in which your partner simply refuses to seek neither the LORD nor the authority of the scriptures. And in this case I would like to encourage you who are the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, to seek after the leading of the Holy Ghost and set an example for your mate to follow, to let our light so shine out in darkness (See Matt. 5:16, 1 Cor. 7:12-14). It is only when we follow the leading of the Spirit that we will ever be successful in our efforts.

Let’s move on now and examine the first building blocks for a successful Godly marriage and family. The first building block calls for a man and woman to make a lifelong commitment to the covenant of marriage. Whether you are thinking about marriage or are already married, you must be willing to commit yourselves to one another until one of you dies!

The Lord Jesus Christ went the town of Galilee, and the Pharisees came to Him trying to tempt Him by and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to put away;’ (or divorce) ‘his wife for every cause’ (or reason)?” And Jesus answered them by saying, “have ye not read, that He’ (God) ‘which made them at the beginning made them male and female,” and He said, “for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain’ (or two) ‘shall be one flesh?” And so “they are no more twain’ (or two,) ‘but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (See Mat. 19:1-6).

And the Pharisees said, “why did Moses then command to give’ (her) ‘a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?” You see our Lord Jesus knows the very heart of God, and of man, so He answered that Moses had given them that precept because of the hardness of their hearts, “but from the beginning it was not so.” And He went on to say that “whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth  adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery” (See verses 8,9). Remember that the marriage vow is your promise before God, as well as before several witnesses that you are entering into the covenant, which is a life-long commitment to one another.

The symbol that is usually used to signify that union is a ring. And I think that it may be a good idea to take it off of our finger and look at it every once in a while, and consider what it symbolizes. It is a circle with no beginning, and no end, symbolizing eternity.  Made of gold or silver that will remain untarnished and is most enduring. It symbolizes the covenant that God has created which started in the garden with Adam and Eve, showing the lasting and imperishable faith, which is being pledged. And it is still continuing today. The vow made by you and your mate is one in which you swear to remain committed to one another in that covenant until you are parted by death. The very first words of your vow are, “from this day forward.” You are saying that your marriage relationship starts right then, as soon as the words are spoken and extends through your entire lifetime. The exchanging of rings is done and witnessed by God, and the witnesses that stand before you signifying that this is a vow that can never be broken. Solomon said, “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it;” which means that you are to be loyal to the word of your vow because God “hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.” It is far better “that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay” or to not remain loyal to your vow! (See Ecclesiastes 5:4,5)

God takes the giving of vows seriously as is shown in the scriptures where He commands the children of Israel by saying, “if a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.” And “if a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth; and her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.” (See Numbers 30:1-4.)

And when the question is asked, “if there be anyone who can say why these who have vowed themselves before God should not be joined together let him speak now or forever hold his peace?” And with no objections the answer is, “then I pronounce you Husband and Wife, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”

We will close this chapter now with this final thought from the Word of God, “marriage is honourable’ (noble, exalted, self-denying, self-forgetful, and whole-souled) ‘in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your conversation’ (the things that you talk to each other as you go about every day,) ‘be without covetousness;’ (selfishness, grudging selfish desires) ‘and be content’ (comfortable, happy, and satisfied) ‘with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (See Heb. 13:4,5).

Beloved child of grace, this was written so that when troubles come, and they most certainly will come,  “that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper,’ (my assistance and aid, to advise, uphold, and encourage me, to stand by me, to intercede, to befriend, sustain, and take me under His wing,) ‘and so I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” (See Heb. 13:4-6.) Believe me when I say that there is nothing that this old world can offer you that can ever surpass the blessings that come from a commitment to the covenant of a Christ centered marriage and family. The world will promise you everything, but it will never be able to deliver on its promises, because it gives only falsehood, lies and deception.  It will only leave us feeling worthless, useless and empty, leaving us always looking for something else.  Beloved   if you are thinking about abandoning your marriage commitment, stop! Stop and prayerfully consider these things for a while. And keep in mind what Solomon says, in Proverbs 3:5, 6, “trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

We have looked at the necessity of a lifelong commitment to the covenant, and in the next chapter we will attempt to look at the second building block, which is the necessity of remaining faithful to one another. God bless you my brothers and sisters.