Key Passage
“God has joined those two people together. So no person should separate them.”
— Mark 10:9 ERV (Read Full Text)
Key Thought
God has the power to make two people one. Marriage is not about a wedding, but about a man and a woman entering into a covenant relationship with God. God is the greater party in the covenant. The man and the woman give their highest allegiance and commitment to God when they marry. There will be times when their spouse will unfortunately disappoint them or let them down. But, God wants them to remember that their highest priority is not treating their spouse as he or she deserves, but as God would have them be treated. Honoring God in the way they treat each other is the key to marriage as God sees it. God wants husbands and wives to understand that breaking a marriage apart is an offense against God—he is the one who makes couples one and the one with whom they enter into covenant relationship. God hates covenants made with him to be broken.
Prayer
O God, please give your people a deeper appreciation of what it means to enter into covenant with you when they marry. I worry about all the money we spend on wedding ceremonies when there is so little appreciation for the covenant relationship that begins when a couple is married. Help me, O God, to be a covenant-keeper and a person who encourages others to be loyal to you and the covenants they make with you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Related Scriptures
You can cry and cover the Lord’s altar with tears, but the Lord will not accept your gifts. The Lord will not be pleased with the things you bring to him. You ask, “Why are our gifts not accepted by the Lord?” Why? Because the Lord saw the bad things you did—he is a witness against you. He saw you cheat on your wife. You have been married to that woman since you were young. She was your girlfriend. Then you made your vows to each other—and she became your wife. {But you cheated on her}. God wants husbands and wives to become one body and one spirit. Why? So they would have holy children. So protect that spiritual unity. Don’t cheat on your wife. She has been your wife from the time you were young.
— Malachi 2:13-15
So now I tell you to obey my commands. Keep my Agreement. If you do this, then you will be my own special people. The whole world belongs to me. But I am choosing you to be my own special people. You will be a special nation—a kingdom of priests.’ Moses, you must tell the people of Israel what I have said.”
— Exodus 19:5-6
The Lord is kind and true to people who follow his Agreement and promises.
— Psalm 25:10
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