Your Spouse is Your Covenant Partner
ICS Daily Devotions
Mark 10:7-8 (NKJV) “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.”
God views marriage as a covenant. Scripture says that a man shall leave his father and mother and stick like glue to his wife (nothing but death should be allowed to separate them), and they shall (become one flesh as they) enter into a covenant relationship. It is a decision that no matter what happens in life, nobody quits or walks away from each other.
Covenant partners lay down their lives for each other. Jesus came as the promised Messiah to save us. Through the Abrahamic covenant, He took upon mankind’s problems despite men’s rebellion. He loves us so much that He laid down his life for us. Therefore, we should also lay down our lives, rights, and privileges for our spouse, and let them know that besides God, they matter most to us; they are more important than any material thing or our jobs.
Joshua 9:6,19 (NKJV) And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us. “…Then all the rulers said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel; now, therefore, we may not touch them.
Marriage covenant partners will not hurt each other. Despite God’s instruction to His people to destroy the inhabitants of the land, Joshua did not destroy the Gibeonites because even though the Gibeonites had deceived him, he had to honour his covenant commitment to them. Similarly, we must never hurt our spouse verbally, emotionally, physically, or by betraying their trust in us. Though they are imperfect and may have even brought us wrong, we must honour our words of protecting and nourishing them.
1 Samuel 17:37 (NKJV) ” Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Finally, covenant partners look out for and protect each other. King David knew and understood the power of being in a covenant with God and that protecting a covenant partner is part of the covenant promise. He testified of how God honoured His covenant with him when his flocks were attacked by the bear and lion. Because God helped him destroy the lion and the bear, God will also help him destroy Goliath.
As marriage covenant partners, our spouse might encounter insurmountable challenges such as sicknesses, lack, or even physical threats. Nonetheless, we will honour the covenant by standing with them in good and bad times. It is a commitment—a conscious decision to stay and stick to each other despite the challenges to make the marriage work. It is reflected in the marriage vow uttered at the altar with God as the witness.
Sermon Series：Before You Say I Do
