When The Cord Is Torn Series

WHEN THE CORD IS TORN

Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Joined basically means "cling to" or "stick to," the same word is used in Deuteronomy 11:22 when the Jews were commanded to "stick to" or "hold fast to" the Lord. This was part of their covenant with God.

God is a covenant God – no relationship can reach its full potential until the possibility of betrayal, rejection or separation has been eliminated – the more we fear these areas the less we will give ourselves to “Building Relationships”

There are four basic levels of relationship we are seen in different types of relationship:

Different types of relationship

Friends - Family - Marriage - Church

Four basic levels of relationship

Carnally Based – to fulfill a carnal desire – finance, sex, promotion or other self-benefit

Consumer Minded – has an outward appearance of being more committed but the thought is as long as the benefit is available I’m willing to pay a price for it

Conditionally Committed – has an appearance of being committed but there spoken or unspoken conditions of abandonment

Covenant – total assuming the flesh has been cut away

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

The Cord = a twisted fiber used to bind or secure – to interlace – to pledge – Isaiah 33:20

The place were we see the symbolism of the scarlet cord the clearest was in the tabernacle. If you remember what the tabernacle looked like, you might remember that throughout the tabernacle, its walls, its curtains, its embroidered cherubim, its clothing for the priests - throughout it all, there was interwoven scarlet thread. To the Israelites, the scarlet thread interwoven throughout the tabernacle, along with the repeated ceremonies of sacrifice were for them symbols of covenant, of their agreement with God, sealed through the shedding of blood that their sins were forgiven and they were God’s very own people.

It was for good reason that the spies in Joshua, who were about to be let down by a scarlet rope to escape from the city, insisted that the sign of their covenant agreement with Rahab, to save her and her family, would be the sign of that scarlet rope hanging out of her window. They were giving what Rahab had demanded, a sure sign, the covenant was sealed. Having made the agreement with the spies, Rahab quickly tied the rope so that it hung out of her window, a visible witness to an agreement made. She would have to trust that rope, that it would secure her future because of that agreement.

• CORDS SPEAK OF TRUST THROUGH COVENANT Joshua 2:15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.

• CORDS ARE A COVENANT OF LOVE Hosea 11:4 I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them.

• CORDS SPEAK OF A BINDING COVENANT THROUGH SACRIFICE Psalm 118:27 God is the LORD, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

• CORDS LENGTHENED ARE THE COVENANT OF GOD RECEIVED BY FAITH Isaiah 54:2 “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.

• CORDS DESCRIBE THE EVERLASTING COVENANT Isaiah 33:20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home, a tabernacle that will not be taken down; not one of its stakes will ever be removed, nor will any of its cords be broken.

The Benefits of Covenant Relationship

FRUITFULNESS Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.

CARING Ecclesiastes 4:10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.

SECURITY Ecclesiastes 4:11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?

Dark nights and cold winds will still blow regardless of how close and harmonious you are as a family, so you need to draw near to one another when times of crisis come. Crisis usually will serve to draw families together or push them apart, all depending upon the degree to which they have learned that they are loved and can find comfort together.