SECURING THE FORTRESS: THE MARRIAGE COVENANT

by Pastor James Kimathi
11th May 2025

The three parties identified to authorize marriage include the parents, the state, and the church. The church secures the marriage covenant because, with it, marriage is presented in God’s presence. The other parties, ‘parents and state,’ involve human authority, which is not permanent. Therefore, it is only in God’s authority that marriage becomes a permanent covenant. It is important to note that the parents and state authorities lack consecration. That said, the strength of the marriage covenant, as envisioned in the bible, is strong because it constitutes the parents, state, and church authority.

The Marriage Covenant

            A covenant is a solemn and binding commitment made with honour and respect. Importantly, no lasting relationship can be built without a covenant. The three relationships that should be covenanted include the relationship between a believer and God, between a believer and another believer, and between a husband and wife.

            Malachi 2:13-14 states, “And this is the second thing you do: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, With weeping and crying; So He does not regard the offering anymore, Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been witness, Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion, And your wife by covenant.”

            In the above excerpt, Malachi declares the imminent judgment upon the children of God about how husbands have dealt with their wives. Thus, no one should continue to preach and pray when they have been unfaithful to their partner, and think that God will hear them, because He will not listen to them. We must note that things can never go well with us if we are unfaithful. In addition, giving your tithe and offering is useless when you are unfaithful. That said, any unfaithfulness should thus be repented and forgiven before you continue your spiritual activity.

            Marriage is a covenant and, thus, something profound that God considers vital. A covenant is what God recognizes as a thing. Besides, as Proverbs 2:16-19 elucidates, if someone forsakes the husband, he has forsaken the covenant with her God. Thus, no woman should engage in religious activities when they have forsaken and walked away from the marriage covenant. It is crucial to note that the devil does not throw stones at someone he has already conquered. When you have forsaken the covenant with your God, your house leads to death.

            Proverbs 2:19 postulates, “None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life.” In conjunction with this, strange women have killed pastors, and these pastors can never return to their paths of life. Notably, adultery is a more serious sin than fornication because it breaks the covenant. In this case, a young person who has an intimate relationship with someone who is married sins twice because they fornicate while also committing adultery. Although some say that you can divorce and marry as long as a man of God has blessed the marriage, this is adultery because no man of God can ever be above the word of God.

What fornication does

1. It degrades the covenant: A person comes to a lower grade when they fornicate. For instance, although there are people whom God created to carry great treasures, sexual immorality has degraded them, and they are unable to fulfil God’s purpose. As such, these people have become mere people. However, if they wholly repent and confess their sins, God will cleanse them of their sins.
2. It defrauds the covenant: 1^st Thessalonians 4:3 posits, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality.” Therefore, we should be sanctified and abstain from sexual immorality. It is essential to note that when you enter marriage, when already degraded, you defraud your partner. We should, thus, concentrate our lives.

The marriage covenant is a mystery; the only way to understand it is to be in it. Therefore, you cannot understand marriage unless you have entered into the commitment. As Psalm 25:14 portrays, the God-fearing people will always understand the Lord’s covenant. On the other hand, marriage is a mystery. Mystery is God’s glory to conceal a thing, and it is defined as something hidden in plain sight so that the only people who can access it are committed individuals. Therefore, the fact that an individual possesses a Christian name does not make them open to Christianity. The Lord’s secrets are for those who revere Him, have given their whole, and have entered a relationship with Him.

Conclusively, it is essential to note that the marriage covenant is not a man’s idea. It is God who initiated the marriage covenant. The relationship is ‘Man-God-Woman’  because God, “the super one,” is the initiator of marriage. In this case, the covenant is not an agreement of equals. It is God who authorizes the covenant. Marriage is thus not our right but an invitation to a covenant. We do not marry what we want, but what God wants for us. In layman’s terms, “tupa hio list, ambia God akupe list!” Ask God to call you into the marriage covenant and bring the covenant pattern because He is the initiator. Understand that you cannot enter into a covenant with God because God picks a person and enters into a covenant with him. Importantly, note that your first holy ground is your marriage, and return the consciousness of God to the place of marriage.