Most of the time freewill deals are made under a contract. You make a trade, for example you trade your work for income or income for a car. You do not own the employer or auto dealership and they don’t own you. That is how things are in a contract, but things are different in a covenant. Marriage is not a contract but a covenant. In a covenant, you own everything that your covenant partner does and they own everything you own- all assets and liabilities. There are two covenants that you as a Christian may have come in contact with: the marriage covenant, and your covenant with God whereby you are saved.

At a Christian wedding reception, the bride and groom feed each other cake. This is a symbol of their bodies. They are each saying ‘in this covenant my body is yours’. Likewise, at the Lord’s supper, Jesus said ‘this bread is my body which is broken for you’. He was saying ‘in this covenant, I, God, am not withholding my body from you, it is yours.’ Peter tells us why Jesus’ body was broken in 1 Peter 2:24. When Paul says that our body is bought with a price, that the body is for the Lord, he is referring to this covenant.

At a Christian wedding reception, the bride and groom link arms and drink wine. In this ceremony they are saying that their lives belong to one another- each is not free to depart and go elsewhere. Likewise, at the Lord’s supper, Jesus said ‘this cup is the blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins’. He was saying ‘in this covenant, I, God, will never leave you or forsake you. Paul tells us that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. When the apostles warn about people forsaking the faith, saying ‘there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins’, they are referring to this covenant.

At a Christian wedding, the bride and groom exchange rings. The rings are a memorial and a declaration of their covenant. Wedding rings are made of costly materials as an earnest. An earnest shows that you are serious to do what you have said. Likewise, at the Lord’s Supper, Jesus said “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.” In 1 Cor 1:22, Paul speaks of this as a memorial, saying “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” Romans 8:16 speaks of the declaration: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God”.

At a Christian wedding, the best man and the maid of honor toast the newlyweds, blessing them believing they will keep their covenant (and implying curses if they break it). Under the old covenant, there were blessings for keeping the covenant and curses for breaking it. Likewise, in our new and better covenant, when Jesus ascended into heaven, having taken away the curse, it says he blessed them (and didn’t curse them), and while he was blessing them, he was taken from them.

At a Christian wedding, the groom gives his last name to the bride. She can sign for any withdrawal from the bank. From now on, the wife is to be treated with the same respect as the husband. She is Mrs. Groom and can use Mr. Groom’s name. His name is her name and she has become as rich as her husband. Likewise, the old covenant speaks of “my people, who are called by my name.” Under the new covenant, we have the authority to use His Name, “which is above every name that is named in heaven and on earth and under the earth, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” 2 Cor 8:9 speaks of this covenant agreement: “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”

The covenant is power. David defeated Goliath by the power of God’s covenant, saying “this uncircumcised Philistine” would be like the lion and bear he beat, because he opposed someone who was under the protection of God’s covenant. He continued “I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts.” David could use the name of the LORD because he was of God’s people, who are called by His name. As a Christian you also are called by His Name.

If a person neglects their spouse, it is a violation of the marriage covenant. If you lack something, God is obligated by His word concerning his covenant to meet your need. The psalmist spoke of this, saying “thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” God answered him in another place, saying “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.”

If an accusation come forth that sexual intercourse did not follow, a marriage is considered a sham. Noncitizens gaining citizenship in this country by marriage are at risk for deportation if the marriage is shown to be a sham. They no longer have the rights. The design of the female body is such that sexual intercourse will produce blood the first time. The blood coats the male appendage, indicating without error who did it. This is proof of intercourse, but more importantly, it indicates a blood covenant. In Genesis 4 we see that when blood is shed, it testifies to God concerning what has occurred. Thus, in Genesis 15, blood was shed for God’s covenant with Abraham. Then in Genesis 17, God asked Abraham to shed blood again, in the circumcising of his flesh. God told him that this was necessary for everyone under the old covenant. In the new covenant, Jesus shed his blood for us. The blood is a witness- the (Holy) spirit, the water (that came from Jesus’ side when he was pierced, and your water baptism), and the blood (of Jesus).

If someone should claim that a marriage is a sham, the accuser is faced in a court of law. In the days of the old covenant, a woman would produce the cloth that caught the intercourse blood to prove there was intercourse- that the marriage was real. She would plead her case before the judge with the blood as a witness. The bloody cloth by itself is no good, she must say how it became bloodied. Her word by itself is no good, she must produce the cloth. Likewise under the old covenant, they took a hyssop and dipped it in blood, using it to sprinkle the blood over things to indicate the witness of covenant. A hyssop is a plant with water in its stems. The angel of death did not pass over any house that failed to apply the blood and water with the hyssop- their word was not enough.

Likewise, under the new covenant, Revelation 12:11 tells us “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” The blood is the power to overcome because of the covenant. That’s why people must confess with their mouth the Lord Jesus- their testimony ratifies the covenant is for them. With the hyssop of their tongue they are applying the blood to their life. When you hear people talking about “pleading the blood” or “applying the blood”, that is what that means. The water baptism is the third witness. Under the old covenant everything was established with the testimony of two or three witnesses. “They loved not their lives unto the death” refers to keeping their end of the covenant, ready to do God’s will whether they wanted to or not. Their lives were clearly no longer their own.

Let me be bold. If you want to get married but haven’t found the right one yet, don’t let anyone tell you that God has given you a gift of singleness unless you heard clearly from God that you’ll be a martyr. God explained in Malachi why He established marriage: He was seeking a godly offspring. If you want to have babies someday, God can get you that spouse. God helped Isaac and Rebekah get together because Isaac had a covenant with God and was called by His Name. You also have a covenant with God, and He is no respecter of persons. If He did it for Rebekah and Isaac, He is obligated to do it for you if you ask Him. Don’t stop confessing that you are a child of God, don’t stop testifying about your covenant. After you have patiently endured you will receive the promise.

It’s an unfortionate truth that citizens may not take an interest in government, but government without exception takes an interest in them (and it is only the reasoanbly efficient functioning of government which gives space for said disinterest). What government does or does not do impacts us. What primarily caused the current financial crisis if not the absence of government regulation (capitalism requires rules of the game to provide the superstructure for efficient commerce and to protect capitalism from its own worst excesses)?