GOD’S MARRIAGE COVENANT – THE PURPOSE OF THE KETUBAH
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery,” Exodus, 20:2
The Ten Commandments or God’s Ten-word Ketubah was prefaced with the words, “I am the Lord your God”, in Hebrew “Anochy Yahweh Elohim “.
The letters in the word A-N-CH-Y are pictures, each of which has a meaning:
A = an oxhead going into a yoke, signifying authority,
N = fish multiplying
CH = a hedge or fence
Y = upraised hand, implying worship or submission
The word anochy, then, literally means, “Your authority is multiplying inside the hedge of praise and submission.” This was God’s promise in the preamble to His ketubah. “A relationship with me will increase you, not diminish you.” Unlike the gods of the pagans, God did not make demands but promises based on the kind of behaviour that promoted unity within the nation.
In Hebrew thought, life is hell in any area where there are no boundaries. The significance of the ketubah was to set boundaries around a couple’s marriage relationship so that, within those boundaries, their lives would be happy and free. If they crossed the boundaries, they would be committing marital unfaithfulness and there would be consequences for both. If one partner persisted in transgressing the boundaries without repentance, that would be reason for divorce.
We cannot dismiss the Ten Commandments as irrelevant for us who live in the era of the New Covenant. God’s ketubah was not intended to be set of rules which, if we keep them, will guarantee the continuation of our relationship with Him. They are a protective boundary fence within which we will experience the greatest amount of freedom, peace, happiness, and the best kind of life. They were not given to make us good but to set us free. This is not a check list for Brownie points. Each commandment contains a deeply embedded principle which exposes more than behaviour. It uncovers the heart.
God’s purpose in giving the Ten Commandments was to teach the people of Israel, who were in covenant with Him, the best way to live in order to show the world what He is like. The purpose of the Ten Commandments is to protect love, to preserve unity and to promote contentment. Each one of the commandments fits into one of these categories.
In His ketubah, God was saying to the people, “This is who I am and this is the way I want you to relate to me and to one another. If you stick faithfully to these instructions, you will experience a full, free and happy life. I am not giving you these rules so that I will love you because I love you already. I am giving you this ketubah so that you live the best kind of life to show the world what I am like.”
God knows that we have the power to destroy ourselves. He made provision in His ketubah to save us from disaster.