Genesis 24:2-4 – And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
In Genesis 24, we’ve just read about Abraham losing his beloved wife Sarah and now he is looking towards the end of his life and wanting to set up his son, Isaac, and the next generation. Though he hasn’t always taken care of his family well, Abraham is a great example that it’s never too late to course correct and do the right thing.
Abraham asks his servant to go find a wife for his son, Isaac, and wants her to be godly. Abraham and Sarah were not following God when they were married and he wants better for his own children, as Isaac has been raised in a believing household.
In last week’s sermon, we learned about what’s called the Millennial Success Sequence, which essentially confirms everything God said is true about men, women, and marriage as studies just now are catching up to the Bible. It basically said that if you do things in the order God intended it (though they didn’t name God or the Bible in this study), graduating school, getting a job, then getting married and having kids, you were way less likely to be in poverty. Who would’ve guessed it?
In this part of the story, we see what we could consider the “Success Sequence” for men. Isaac is a good example of this as follows:
- Isaac is living as a believer before marriage
- Isaac has a career and income
- Isaac invites God into his marriage with faith and prayer
- Isaac seeks help from a godly parent and wise counsel
- Isaac does not cohabitate or father a child out of wedlock
- Isaac marries a believer, and they live as believers
- Isaac is drawn to all of Rebekah
- Isaac chooses his love and keeps loving his choice
For those of you who either got it right, got it wrong, or are raising boys who you hope will get it right, I pray this is encouraging and helpful to see example of Isaac in Genesis. Though he’s not perfect, he’s been raised in a godly household and does marriage the right way. I pray this for you and for your children and, if you didn’t get it right, know that God has grace for you and it’s not too late to have a godly relationship with your spouse.
Men, if you’re not yet married, is this how you have been living? If you’re not, pray for God to help you course correct so you can set yourself up for the most Godly, healthy, happy life in the future. If you are married and didn’t start things this way, God wants to comfort you in that your marriage doesn’t have to be ruined because of it. Pray for ways to right your wrongs and to pass on these habits to your future kids.
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