Ecl. 4:9 12 9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. In Gen1 we read, God after each day of the creation saw that it was good except on the 2nd day. On 6th day before man was created he saw the creation of animal life on land was good. After man was created male & female, God saw that everything he created was very good!! Man therefore was the crowning glory of Gods creation. Gen 2:18 God says "it is not good that man should be alone". That is Man without woman was not really good. So God says I will make him a helper. It is after God made the woman that he saw all that he had created was very good. So without woman man is no good and man and woman together make his whole creation very good. How very significant man and woman is in Gods creation! Even as we read in Gen2:18 that It is not good that man should be alone Thats what the Spirit of God says in Ecl. 4:9 Two are better than one. That these couple are seated here before us is proof enough that 2 are better than 1. The Spirit of God says why it is better. Because, He says they have a Good Reward It is not just a reward but a Good Reward. Only good is expected out of this union and only good should be the outcome of this union. Only good will and should come as a reward. 5 aspects of life which will help to bring out the good in this union. 5 is the number of grace, and it is the grace of God alone that can help you achieve this. The illustration appears to be that a traveler. Marriage is beginning of life journey together. It is to do with your Working: Vs 9 because they have a good reward for their labour. Not both working to earn but working into the relationship - working out the marriage. Phil 2:12 Work out your own salvation i.e. to face various adverse situations in life of faith. Likewise in married life. The covenant with each other - In joy, pain, health, sickness, richer That is, in very situation the Lord leads each of you into, you will face those situations together. A good reward means a good return. Therefore Marriage is an investment. Heb 13:4 Marriage is honorable in all. Honorable in most other places is translated as precious Marriage is precious. Investing time, energy, wealth etc. in marriage will yield precious returns.

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2. It is to do with your Walking: Vs 10 for if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. Man is a Weak vessel - He needed a helper. Woman is a weaker vessel 1Pet 3:7 Each with their own individuality and their own limitations In lifes journey there are pitfalls; you may stumble, you may fall. In such situation it is each of you to lift up the other.

To lift the other, is to accept the other person as he or she is, and help the person to overcome any weakness with the others strength. To lift up a person means not keeping a list of each others faults and failures. You are to bring in your strengths into this relationship. Each of you should give your strength to fill the weakness of the other. This picture of Marriage is of two intertwined strands of a cord. When you pull it together it is strong because it gives strength to each other. When you pull each strand at opposite direction then it slides over each other causing lots of friction. If perhaps at any time you are upset with the other and angry within, then it is always better to keep silence until things have cooled down. When Adam & Eve sinned surely God was upset and grieved and angry But he did not intervene immediately. We read that God came to the garden in the cool of the day. It is to do with your Warming: Vs 11 Again if two lie together, then they have warmth. Two coals lit and left separate extinguish quickly but if kept together lasts longer preserves heat. Heat of each keeps each other warmer. True also us our emotional and physical relationship. God joined man & woman - it is expected you enjoy intimate emotional and physical relationship. Warmth speaks of the closeness, the communion and the intimacy between the two. That both will be close to each other. Let not career, parents, assembly or any other matter keep you away from the nearness between you too. That you rejoice in the wife of thy youth and be thou always ravished in her love. Have an healthy communication between each other each day. Woman will have lot to say - at times it would make no meaning - but listen and do your best to enjoy it. Men in general have very less to say and many times do not know what to say, Woman understand it. The very thought of your spouse should bring warmth into your life. That you would love each another with an intense love. The rose of Sharon & the lily of the valley. It is to do with your Watching: Vs12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him We considered Heb 13:4 teaches Marriage is precious. What would one do to precious things? You will preserve it and guard it and care for it. Let not anything rob you of its preciousness. Preserve it It is God who joins - What God has joined together let not man put asunder. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and cleave unto his wife. She shall forsake her family and her father house. Until now you looked to your father and mother for support and strength in all situations of life. Now you should look to each other for support and encouragement. You should uphold and defend each other. Care - Nourish & Cherish

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5. It is to do with your Waiting or Wraping: Vs 12 And a Threefold cord is not easily broken. I mentioned earlier that when two strings wound together and pulled at each end individually it causes friction, it can separate or break. But when there is a third cord in between the two and it is entwined as a threefold cord then whether you pull at one of them or two of them or all three of them it cannot be easily broken. It is a proven fact that the strongest of the cords is a threefold cord.

Have the Lord Jesus Christ as the centre of your life and you will succeed and prosper. He is the third Cord. He was the one you drew you both individually with his cords of love. Till today in the individual life these two people had one person common. That person is the Lord Jesus Christ. Both of them knew the Lord at different times. Both of them love the LJC. Both of them obey the Lord Jesus Christ. Let Christ be the third thread in your cord of married life and let your life be entwined with the love & submission of Christ. In Ish. 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; The word wait actually means entwined. Or in other words the verse means they that are entwined with the Lord shall renew their strength. Thus, for a successful Marriage, we are not just to wrap ourselves around each other, but around the Lord, whose will be there with us in every circumstances of life. It is He who is our life-long traveling companion. Jacob left his father and his mother to find his bride. When he sees Rachel he kisses her and wept. He wept with joy on seeing his bride. He labored, sacrificed his comfort, spent energy in order that he might take her as his wife. He waited 14 years - such was the intensity of his love for her. Scripture exhorts that the husbands love their wives as Christ loved the Church Sacrificial and intense. Thats how Christ loved us. When the fullness of time was come, he came into this world. He left his fathers house and he came down to this world to seek his bride. We were not clean and presentable as his bride. We were unclean because of sin and were not fit to dwell with a holy God. For without shedding of blood there could be no remission of sin. So great was his love for us that in order to make us clean, he suffered for us on the cross and shed his precious blood for the forgiveness of our sin. He suffered and bled and died for us. This marriage is also a witness of the love of Christ for you and for me. If anyone here has not experienced this love, I would exhort you to come to the Lord Jesus Christ this evening. He loved you and gave himself for you as a sacrifice and sweet smelling savor unto God. He died, he was buried and he rose up from the dead and now waiting to come again to take his bride. He is waiting for you to trust in him and if you do that today I will be eternally for ever with him in heaven in glory. If then you both entwine your life with Christ, then you can fly to glorious height and sky shall be your limit. Your life will be then be for the honour and glory of our God and our Lord Jesus Christ. May God help you both in the journey ahead that your life be fragrant to God and to each other and to all those you come across in your life.