Genesis 24:7 – The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
In Matthew 22:32, the Lord Jesus says, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…” What Jesus meant was that He is the same God who saved and led each generation of this family. In Genesis 24, we see the focus shift from Abraham and Sarah, following her death, to the marriage of Isaac and the next generation of God’s people. Importantly, Genesis 24 tells us that Abraham was old and had been blessed by God in every way as God had promised, which sets the stage for the blessing and favor of God to continue for generations as an encouragement to their family and all believing families.
Having fathered a child with a woman who worshipped another god and experiencing the lifelong pain of that sin, Abraham is determined that his son marry a godly woman. We can be encouraged by this part of Abraham’s story in that, though he faltered and failed in his own life, he wants better for his legacy and for future generations. He greatly stumbled in fathering Ishmael with his wife’s pagan, Egyptian servant, Hagar, inciting a conflict between nations that lasts to this day. However, in his imperfection, we see his need for a perfect God to clean up his mess and pick up the pieces.
Thinking now more in terms of legacy and future generations, Abraham wants to ensure that his son Isaac would marry a woman who worshipped his God. So, Abraham sent his servant back to his homeland to find a wife for his son. Abraham did this trusting that the God who had blessed him in every way would be faithful to now provide a godly wife for Isaac by sending an angel ahead to arrange the details.
Tomorrow, we’ll read about the conclusion to the story and whether or not the servant is successful in bringing back a godly wife for Isaac.
What do we learn about the importance of fathers ensuring that their children marry well from this story and from what we’ve read in Genesis so far?
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