Marriage Covenant Study

Marriage Covenant Study

What is a Covenant?

1. The Covenant is a Union confirmed by Blood.

2. A treaty

3. An Alliance or Friendship

4. A Pledge

5. A Contract accompanied by Signs, Sacrifices and a Solemn Oath which seals the relationship.

6. It is a Declaration of Absolute Faithfulness.

You will find a part or all of these in a Marriage Covenant between a man and wife. We will consider a few in our study - A Pledge and Absolute Faithfulness.

To enter into a Covenant, you must have two parties so in the marriage covenant we have the two parties. In this we make promises and vows to one another. If one breaks the covenant, the covenant is nullified. But what is allowable to break a covenant. You must look back to the promises you and your mate made to one another.

We will start in the Book of Matthew and carefully look at the Scriptures and then try to break them down and then we will trace the line or thread throughout the New Testament.

Our method of study will be Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. These questions can be answered by all who are in this study and we need to add our own to them.

Now we know under the Law that only a male could break the marriage covenant, it was unallowable for the female to do so, as she was considered under the man in this time. In today's time, we are still under the same headship, Christ over the man, the man under Christ, and the woman under the man so we must do this study in that vein. Now saying that I must say this, I am not under a man if it goes against my conscience to the written Word of God, in other words I will not risk my walk with God in order to be pleasing to a man.

We need to look at the Sermon on the Mount which is Chapter 5 thru 7 of Matthew, it talks about marriage here, but we must also look at the whole of the three chapters to get the whole of the meaning. First off, if I am a Christian my mate is also my brother or Sister and in context I must also treat them as such in the Body of Christ. So in order to do this right, study these three chapters first and just look closely at how we are to treat one another in the body of believers and you then can look at your marriage a little differently.

Now we will just take the Scriptures out of the body of these works and do a complete study on marriage but always remember to study the verses in their original context first.

Matthew 5:31 & 32 31. It hath been said, whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. 32. But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife saving for the cause of fornication,causeth her to commit adultery, and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Let us first consider the meaning of these words in the Greek.

Divorcement -also used in Matt. 19:7 and Mark 10:4, (if you want to include the OT(Old Testament) you may look up Deuteronomy. 24:1, 24:3, Isaiah 50:1 ) Greek word- Apostasion, adj. something separative, going back to the root word- to fall away, (comparative language the same as the church when it falls into apostasy from Christ.)-to remove, act, to revolt, to desist, to desert, depart, draw away, refrain, withdraw self. WOW!

Writing- biblos- a bill, a book, a scroll, a writing.(same word as used for Bible)

Fornication- porneia- harlotry, includes adultery or incest, Figuratively- Idolatry.

root word= to act the whore, indulge unlawful lusts, (of either sex) to practice idolatry, whore, harlot, commit any of these acts. Same definition when used anywhere in the NT(New Testament).

Adultery- adultery or apostate in action. to have a paramour, meaning is the same throughout the NT.

Well, now you can ask yourself the questions. The answers will depend on your individual walk with Christ, But always remember that we must include our mate as a Brother or Sister in the Lord.

Again go back and look at what a covenant is, Realize that when you and your mate got married, you made a covenant together. So far in our study, we have seen that divorce is an option that is only given to men, it may later take a turn and include women, I feel this is a subject of dire importance. Enjoy your study and take it as far as you can. Our Bible studies are always continuing, this is a base, my Biblical context.

Matthew 19:3-12. Read the first two verses, to get Who Jesus was talking to.

Matthew 19:3. The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

4. And he answered and said unto them, Have you not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female.

5. And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and the twain shall be one flesh?

6. Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

7. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

8. He said unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away you wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

9. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commiteth adultery: and who marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

10. His disciples say unto Him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to be married.

11. But He said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

12. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some enuchs, which were made eunuch of men: and there be eunuch, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

Again we have some pretty heavy Scriptures here, and we still see the only one that can give a writ of divorcement, is still the man. Also remember that we are dealing with people who are under the Jewish law here. But we still see that there is only one reason given wherewith we can break the Covenant of Marriage between two people. I think that these Scriptures are self explanatory and need not be explained.

Cleave- proskollao- to glue, to adhere, cleave, join self. root word- pros- in this context a strengthened form of direction.

Asunde- chorizo- to place room between, to part, to go away, depart, put asunder, separate. ( this definition is only used twice in the NT also used in Mark 10:29)

One- mia- one or first,or only

Remember to ask your 6 good friends to help you with this study and see how far you can take it. Always keeping in mind the definition of Covenant. Mark comes next.

Mark 10:1 And He came from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto Him again; and, as he was wont, He taught them again.

2. And the Pharisees came to Him and asked Him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting Him.

3. And He answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?

4. And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement and to put her away.

5. Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.

6. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

7. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

8. And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain but one flesh.

9. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

10. And In the house his disciples asked Him again of the same matter.

11. And He saith unto them, whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another commitheth adultery against her.

12. And if a woman shall put away her husband and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

Well, I do not think we need to look up any of these words for the explanation of them. It is very clear, so now I will give you the setting of this story on Marriage and Divorce.

Well we know from the setting here, that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, looking to the Crucifixion. We see the religious Pharisees trying to trap Him, they were trying everything in their power to give them an excuse to kill Jesus. So this was one marriage where they tried to trap Him. They full well knew the law and they were looking for a loophole to call Jesus on and as we study these Scriptures, He gives them none.

If they could get Him to make a statement that was contrary to the law of Moses, they would of won and this is what the language here is, so you are looking at the Divine Law of God for Marriage here, what it was supposed to be from the beginning.

Genesis 2:24&25

24. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

25. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Still in today's world, people want to jump into any controversy, to find an excuse for what they want to do. There were two schools of thought under the Jewish law on marriage. Rabbi Shamai taught uncleanness meant only that if the mans wife was not a virgin, that he could divorce her. This is a narrow view point, but that was the only grounds for divorce in Deuteronomy. Now Rabbi Hille taught the liberal side of this, if she yelled for any reason and you could hear her voice next door, then you could divorce her, as yelling women under the law are considered unclean. So with any liberal law you make the true law of the covenant you made with that man or woman mean less. You do this by the hardness of your heart, but Jesus said from the beginning it was not so. Divorce was forbidden by Jesus and God and was very hard under the law to obtain. You as the male, had to take the bill to a Rabbi and he had to witness that it was true, she had committed adultery and he was a witness to it and then two other Rabbi had to also sign it saying they also were witnesses. The reason for this was because of the children that would be destroyed by the divorce. The same as today the children are the losers. God help us!

Gods divine idea from the beginning was man by himself is not complete, a woman alone is not complete and so the two together become one flesh. The wife is complimented by the husband, the husband is to compliment the wife and the two now are no longer two but one flesh. This is the Basic Divine Ideal established by God. But man does not want to live up to Gods Divine Ideal, they do not want to bend or give or forgive. Marriage is and has always been a giving situation and God says only from the hardness of your heart will you get a bill of divorcement.

Today we are faced with the hardness of heart. Gods Divine Law was marriage for life, still there are those who have hardened their hearts toward Gods Divine Idea. They both will not give, will not bend, and will not forgive and they then begin to set out to destroy the other mate, because of the hardness of their hearts and on this path they will get as many others as they can to harden their hearts against that mate, by their constant complaining and negative thoughts, they are saying come over to my side and see how terrible my mate is and then tell me I can leave. Dangerous grounds for all concerned here, but the truth of the Bible must be the answer, it is not feelings, this partner is one flesh with you and you cannot divide one flesh, the only grounds you have are adultery and then neither of you can remarry ever. This is a pretty tough subject and one very hard to deal with. We do not want to broaden the issue to make divorce and remarriage legal. God hates divorce, but if you get a hard hearted person, God also hates that. Our desire should be to please God, we should seek to make a good marriage, to learn to love again and to come to oneness and you can only do this thru forgiveness and looking truthfully at the situation. It is never ever all one sided, Jesus sought here to bring back the sacredness of marriage. It is an outward sign of a Spiritual work. Marriage to the right person can be heaven and marriage to the wrong person can be hell on earth. But Decisions and Covenants once made are hard if not impossible to break, I would like to be easier on this but so far I cannot be.

My advice to all is go to God and fast and pray before you ever think marriage and if you are already married go to God and fast and pray that your heart be softened toward your mate, You are one flesh. We will deal with marriage in the church of today next.

Roman 7:1-4

1. Know ye not brethren,(for I speak to them that know the law) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?

2. For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

3. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

4. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

Paul is saying that to the Christian that we are free from the law or that the law is dead to us, the same as a wife or husband is free from the bonds or Covenant of Marriage if their spouse be dead, they are then free to marry another. In case of death, neither is bound by the Covenant Law of Marriage, for you pledged till death us do part and now death has parted you.

Open your Bible & Read 1 Corinthians 10. Read and study this whole chapter, it all concerns the marriage .

This chapter is very personal and I will have you to read it and then come to the conclusion that the Lord would have you to come to individually as you know the terms and condition of your marriage and I do not.

I do believe that Paul here in verses 12-17, speaks for the Lord here and so ordains it in all of the churches, if the spouse of one is unbelieving and chooses to leave then the brother or sister is not in bondage in that case and can remarry as followed by the rules in verse 15. In all my advice to any would be always that God hates divorce, but God also wants you to be at peace within yourself, I would never advise someone to stay in any relationship in which they can be harmed physically or emotionally or in any way that would hinder your walk with God, but I would also say that you cannot divorce or remarry unless you do it for grounds of adultery and then only if you harden your heart. If you find yourself with an unbeliever that wants to stay with you, then you are required to stay, but if they leave you, you are no longer under bondage.

When all is said and done you must follow God in your life with the best of your ability and always remember that when you entered into the relationship, you made vows and promises and it is a Covenant Relationship. You owe your mate Absolute Faithfulness and Absolute Love and that love should be unconditional, and if it is not ,then I would ask you why? I leave you all in the hands of God and will say what would Jesus do, if he was in your place? Ask yourself that question and then answer it truthfully and not out of your wants or desires but out of the Word of God. Would Jesus break His covenant with you and can you break the covenant with your mate? May God bless all and keep you in Perfect Peace. My love and best wishes to all and I wish you blessed hope in your everyday walk with Christ. May your mate be your complimentary half and may you both walk in the perfect and fulfilling love of Christ and the same love that He gives to His church, if not I wish you still the Grace and Mercy and Peace of God and may God fulfill the bill of being your Spouse for He will surely keep His Covenant with You.

My Love always

Zelma