Nothing is sweeter in life than the joy of a good marriage. Nothing hurts worse than its opposite. Sadly, too many of us know intimately the grief of bad marriages. But there is hope. The Scriptures provides us with a glorious vision of what marriage might be. That marriage is built upon a divine and creational foundation. Christian marriage is rooted in the Garden of Eden and more importantly founded upon the relationship that exists between Christ and His Body, the church (Eph. 5:25). Marriage is an earthly model of a heavenly reality. No wonder a good marriage can transport we mortals to such heights of delight and joy. No wonder a bad marriage can plunge us so very low.

The biblical model of marriage, given us first in the Garden of Eden, prior to man’s Fall, is predicated upon essential differences between man and woman. Those differences, largely sneered upon in our day, are the root of the Christian notion that marriage is a complementary bond, not a competition between equals. No one would dare suggest that the relationship which exists between Christ and the church is a competition between equals. Instead, as Christ is to the church her head, her savior and her provider/protector, so too is the husband to his wife. In the same way, as the church is to Christ a faithful partner, a submissive receiver, and a glad responder, so too should the wife be to her own husband.

To be united together in this kind of marriage, embracing the biblical roles assigned to husbands and wives, does not, it turns out, limit and curtail joy and freedom. On the contrary, biblical marriages are like trains running on a track. A train off its track can’t go anywhere. Like the train, men and women who reject the roles assigned to them by God’s design will only flounder. No one ought to be surprised when covenant marriages work. They are operating according the right set of instructions. We can help with that. The books offered below boldly chart the course toward this kind of God given, God pleasing, covenant marriage.