I have read the book called "The Marriage Covenant" by Derek Prince, it's an older book I picked up about a year ago, scripturally based.
Something that has stuck with me from reading this book is what he calls "A Cord of Three Strands" taken from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:
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4:9 Two people are better than one,
because they can enjoy33 a better benefit from their labor.
4:10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion; but pity the person who falls down and has no one to help him up.
4:11 Furthermore, if two lie together, they can keep each other warm; but how can one person keep warm by himself?
4:12 Although an assailant may overpower one person who is alone, two would be able to withstand him. Moreover, a three-fold cord is not quickly broken.
The author speaks of the three strands in marriage as being the man, the woman, and God. The principle that binds them inseparably together is covenant. What Solomon says of a cord thus formed is still today; it "is not quickly torn apart".
The author then speaks with a professional rope maker, who says the strongest rope is a threefold rope. The following explanation was given:
The largest number of strands that can touch one another is three. If you take away one and leave only two, obviously you weaken the rope. But if you add an extra strand and make four, you do not add to the strength of the rope because all the strands no longer touch one another. If you have a rope of three strands, one -- or even two -- of the strands may be under pressure and start to fray. But as long as the third strand holds, the rope will not break.
This rope maker's explanation made the picture of Christian marriage as a threefold cord so vivid for me (the author) that I went on meditating on it for days. In my mind's eye, I could see the rope under such tremendous strain that two of its strands began to fray. But the third strand remained strong and held out until the strain was eased and two frayed strands could be bound up.
That's exactly how it is, I said to myself, in a truly Christian marriage. There come times of strain when both husband and wife may begin to weaken and feel unable to hold out. But God Himself is that third strand, and He holds on until the strain is eased and both husband and wife can be healed and restored.
In our comparison of Christian marriage to "a cord of three strands", we have said that the principle which intertwines the strands and holds them together is covenant.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">
