1111- God Expects Faithfulness in Our Covenant Marriage 神期待我们忠诚地对待盟约婚姻

Malachi 2:13-16 And this you do with double guilt; you cover the altar of the Lord with tears [shed by your unoffending wives, divorced by you that you might take heathen wives], and with [your own] weeping and crying out because the Lord does not regard your offering any more or accept it with favor at your hand. 14Yet you ask, Why does He reject it? Because the Lord was witness [to the covenant made at your marriage] between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously and to whom you were faithless. Yet she is your companion and the wife of your covenant [made by your marriage vows]. 15And did not God make [you and your wife] one [flesh]? Did not One make you and preserve your spirit alive? And why [did God make you two] one? Because He sought a godly offspring [from your union]. Therefore take heed to yourselves, and let no one deal treacherously and be faithless to the wife of his youth. 16For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I HATE divorce and marital separation and him who covers his garment [his wife] with violence. Therefore keep a watch upon your spirit [that it may be controlled by My Spirit], that you deal not treacherously and faithlessly [with your marriage mate].
The Christian covenant marriage is one which is binding, unbreakable, closest, most solemn and sacred of all contracts whereby the absolute union of two parties mutually share all assets, talents, debts and liabilities, till death do you part. It reflects God’s covenant with His people in the Bible.
The Lord was the unseen and most important witness at the time we exchanged our marriage vows to enter into a marriage covenant. God looks at the marriage covenant seriously and expects us to honour it because He is a covenant watching God. God is not pleased when we treat our spouse in a way which violates the covenant. God expects faithfulness in our marriage covenant.
Proverbs 2:16-17 To deliver you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words, Who forsakes the companion of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God.The wife of one’s youth (Malachi 2:14) points to the faithfulness over a long period of time from young to old age. Because a man has known his wife from the time they were married in their youth, he should be always faithful to her throughout the years. It was by covenant that the woman became the man’s wife. God is calling the man to be loyal to his marital vows. Marriage is not to be based on feelings of romantic attraction, but on the solid rock of covenant commitment.

If we treat our spouse treacherously, we have violated a fundamental covenant and have disqualified our integrity before God. If we are to be successful in our spiritual life, we, both men and women, must give attention to the faithfulness in our marriage relationship.

Sermon: Marriage covenant

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神期待我们忠诚地对待盟约婚姻

玛拉基书2:13-16你们又行了一件这样的事，使前妻叹息哭泣的眼泪遮盖耶和华的坛，以致耶和华不再看顾那供物，也不乐意从你们手中收纳。你们还说：「这是为什么呢？」因耶和华在你和你幼年所娶的妻中间作见证。她虽是你的配偶，又是你盟约的妻，你却以诡诈待她。虽然　神有灵的余力能造多人，他不是单造一人吗？为何只造一人呢？乃是他愿人得虔诚的后裔。所以当谨守你们的心，谁也不可以诡诈待幼年所娶的妻。耶和华－以色列的神说：「休妻的事和以强暴待妻的人都是我所恨恶的！所以当谨守你们的心，不可行诡诈。」这是万军之耶和华说的。
基督教的婚姻盟约是所有契约中最有约束力、牢不可破、最亲密、最庄严和神圣的，双方借以完全结合并分享所有的资产、才干、债务和责任，直到死亡将你们分开。这反映了神与祂的子民在圣经中的盟约。
在我们交换结婚誓言进入婚姻盟约的时候，神是那无形而又最重要的见证人。神严肃地看待婚约，祂期待我们遵守它，因为祂是守约的神。当我们以违背盟约的方式对待我们的配偶时，神是不悦的。神期望我们忠诚地对待盟约婚姻。
箴言2：16-17智慧要救你脱离淫妇，就是那油嘴滑舌的外女。她离弃幼年的配偶，忘了神的盟约。

幼年的配偶（玛拉基书2:14）指的是从年轻到年老长期的忠诚。因为在他们年轻结婚的时候，那男人就认识他的妻子，他要在今后的岁月里始终对她忠诚。那女人是按盟约成了那男人的妻子。神呼召男人要忠于他的婚姻誓言。婚姻不是建立在浪漫吸引力的感觉的基础之上，而是建立在信守盟约的坚固基石之上。

如果我们背叛配偶，我们就违反了一个基本的盟约，在神面前失去了诚信。如果我们要灵程亨通，我们，无论男女，都必须关注婚姻关系中的忠诚。

讲章系列：婚姻盟约