What does the Bible say about marriage?

A covenant, not just a contract

From Genesis on, marriage is described as two people leaving their old homes and being united. A covenant is a promise of loyalty that holds through good and bad seasons, not a deal that ends when one side underperforms.

Companionship and care

"Two are better than one." Marriage in Scripture is about not being alone: helping each other up, carrying each other's burdens, and growing together over years. The New Testament calls spouses to love, honour, and serve each other.

A picture of God's faithful love

The Bible often uses marriage to describe how God loves his people: patiently, faithfully, and with forgiveness. Faithfulness in marriage is a small, daily echo of that bigger love.

When marriage is hard or has ended

Many marriages go through seasons of distance and pain, and some end in divorce. Scripture holds marriage in high regard, but it never says people who have walked through divorce are beyond God's love. If there is abuse in a marriage, safety comes first. Abuse is never God's will, and seeking protection is right.

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh., Genesis 2:24

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up., Ecclesiastes 4:9-10