20-26 Industrial Ave. 2nd Floor, Fairview, NJ 07022   (973) 338-7800

Marriage is..…… ……

A Covenant and A Promise

בּרית  berîyth  Covenant- alliance, pledge, treaty, league (man to man),divine ordinance with signs or pledges

We do not fully understand the spiritual power of the covenant.

We do know that a man and a woman who become married become a single spiritual unit under Adonai. Eve was taken from Adam’s body. This is the reality and the cause of men and women longing to be together.

The scriptures teach us that when people marry, the two shall be as one. By the power of Adonai’s hand, the two are transformed. Literally, they are restored to a unified condition that dates back to the Garden of Eden. Rightly so, any attempt to separate this union will cause great pain and anguish.

Yeshua recognized this truth with a simple statement and a warning.

AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH;

so they are no longer two, but one flesh.

"What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."

Mark 10:8-9

Covenants are marked, witnessed, binding, and sealed

The marriage covenant today still bears the same requirements and expectations as always. The vows spoken at the ceremony are a part of something far greater. The well being of the man, the woman, their families, their children, the Body, and the community is directly affected by the maintenance of the marriage covenant. For Adonai, the covenant has to do with the blood ..– the very life of a human being is at stake.

The covenant is BINDING between two parties.

For the married couple, there must be a deep understanding of the need to bond to each other. This is not a prison nor is it a chain. Instead, this is an anchor or a tent peg designed for the express purpose of safety, security, and well-being. We see that Adonai considers this step essential to the success and survival of the marriage.

There are clear expectations and requirements on both sides. Even instilled in our modern preparation process, we see elements of the requirements for a binding covenant.

·         We arrange for witnesses (the best man and the maid of honor).

·         We are required even to spill out blood when we agree to take a blood test before obtaining a marriage license.

·          The extended purpose of the test meets a requirement. The results ensure the well-being of our spouse and our future children.

·         Finally, an outward expression is assigned to the covenant participants to remind them of their obligation far into the future.

o   The woman still files legal documents to change her name. Just as a new intimate relationship with Adonai has always been signaled with a name change (Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel, Simon to Peter).

o    We also use the wedding rings as such a sign to the world and to ourselves that a great change has taken place.( Abraham was circumcised. Jacob had a limp).

When Avram was 99 years old Adonai appeared to Avram and said to him, "I am El Shaddai [God Almighty]. Walk in my presence and be pure-hearted. I will make my covenant between me and you, and I will increase your numbers greatly." Avram fell on his face, and God continued speaking with him: "As for me, this is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Avram [exalted father], but your name will be Avraham [father of many], because I have made you the father of many nations. I will cause you to be very fruitful. I will make nations of you, kings will descend from you."I am establishing my covenant between me and you, along with your descendants after you, generation after generation, as an everlasting covenant, to be God for you and for your descendants after you. I will give you and your descendants after you the land in which you are now foreigners, all the land of Kena`an, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God." God said to Avraham, "As for you, you are to keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation. Here is my covenant, which you are to keep, between me and you, along with your descendants after you: every male among you is to be circumcised. You are to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; this will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. Generation after generation, every male among you who is eight days old is to be circumcised, including slaves born within your household and those bought from a foreigner not descended from you. The slave born in your house and the person bought with your money must be circumcised; thus my covenant will be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who will not let himself be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin — that person will be cut off from his people, because he has broken my covenant." God said to Avraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai [mockery]; her name is to be Sarah [princess]. I will bless her; moreover, I will give you a son by her. Truly I will bless her: she will be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her." At this Avraham fell on his face and laughed — he thought to himself, "Will a child be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah give birth at ninety?" Avraham said to God, "If only Yishma`el could live in your presence!" God answered, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you are to call him Yitz'chak [laughter]. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. But as for Yishma`el, I have heard you. I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful and give him many descendants. He will father twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Yitz'chak, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year." With that, God finished speaking with Avraham and went up from him.

Genesis 17:1-22

Notice in this passage, the word covenant appears 12 times. Interestingly, the 12^th Strong’s concordance word is “abdan”, which means perishing. It comes from the same root as the 6^th word, “abad” which means to lose oneself, having no way to flee or escape. This is confirmation, yet again, that to live in the ways of Adonai is to die to self and live entirely for Him. Adonai considered no alternative when He fashioned the covenant with man. For Adonai there is only ONE way and He has fully committed to it.

H12  אבדן'abdân  a perishing: - destruction.

H6 אבד âbad  properly to lose oneself; by implication to perish, not escape, spend, have no way to flee.

The covenant CONNECTS two individuals

Naturally, this requires the application of energy, time, and attention on the marriage and the other person instead of oneself. In modern society, this is an alien, and even negatively perceived, concept. In scripture, however, we see that Adonai considers this step essential to the success and survival of the marriage.

In the Lord, the covenant can never be about the individual. There is no room here for selfish motives or even self protection. The covenant is BETWEEN. It connects in a way that is unlike any other agreement or promise. Once the connection has been made, the two people are intertwined and dependent on each other in a new way.

"Jew & Gentile One in Messiah"

"the biblical truth lives here"

No Talmud (rabbinic teachings) and No Christian doctrine. Straight biblical teachings.

"The Route 66 Highway"...Genesis to Revelation the only perfect word of God!

Always remember Yeshua the Messiah is the same Yesterday, Today and Forever.

He was never a Catholic, Baptist, Evangelical, Pentecostal or any of the other 1,500 denominations of Christianity

He is, and always will be a Jew. And all the Talmidim (Disciples) were Messianic Jews

STATEMENT OF OUR FAITH

ABOUT US/BIO

SERVICE & BROADCAST TIMES

DIRECTIONS

THE REMNANT'S CALL TV SHOWS

EDUCATION