What does the statement mean when it speaks of marriage as a covenant commitment?
I think the committee was trying very hard to bring out what we find in Genesis 2:24, which expresses God’s principle for marriage in its briefest form. Marriage involves leaving father and mother, joining yourselves to one another and becoming one flesh. By using the terms “covenant commitment” we were trying to express the idea that not only is marriage a total commitment, but it is also a permanent commitment. When the Pharisees tried to get Jesus to take sides in the rabbinical debate over divorce, Jesus went back to this covenantal understanding of marriage found in Genesis. It is one man for one woman, permanently. This understanding of marriage has fallen by the wayside to a considerable degree, not just in the world, but also among evangelicals. A covenant commitment is not dependent on circumstances. It is not dependent on whether the husband does what he’s supposed to do, or whether the wife does what she’s supposed to do. A covenant commitment is one that is unconditional. W
