Devotional 3
Guarding the Promise
Isaac and Rebekah
1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 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, 3 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, 4 but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6 Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. 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. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.\n
10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor.
(ESV)
Realise that there is a reason why God called a man far away nation to come to the land of Canaan. Because he had chosen him and his household not the Canaanites, to his chosen people. So Abraham makes sure to keep it that way.
He sends his servant back to the homeland of his family, in the city of Nahor, to find a suitable wife for his son Isaac, so he does not marry the Canaanite daughters. Now the wisdom hidden implicitly in this, which is far more explicit in exodus, is that the Canaanites did not worship God, nor would they have taken well to a man saying his God has promised him all their land. But a wife from his father’s family not from Canaan would happily come under such promises.
To marry a Canaanite, would have caused much chaos to the plan of God, and likely led Isaac astray into worshipping other Gods, as it would one day for his descendants, most notably Solomon.
The purpose of it all, is the protection of the promises, that Isaac not be led astray from worship of the one true God. Therefore that is why God commands Christians to only marry other Christians, and in an even deeper sense, it is why we cannot mix our love of the world with a love for God, they are mutually exclusive.
The things of this world, money, sex, power, influence, prestige, make promises to us, empty promises saying they will fulfill us. The great danger is if we choose to believe them. Then we exchange them for the true, and rewarding promises of God.
Beware Christians, who and what you yoke your life to. Be careful you are not unyoking yourself from one who saves you.
Reflection:
What influences in your life pulls your heart away from God’s promises rather than toward them?
Prayer:
Father, thank You for the Holy Spirit, the guarantee of my inheritance. Strengthen my hope as I wait for the day You make all things new. Amen.