Abraham is shrewd
Abraham understands human nature. He remembers GOD’s promise. He has compassion for his son and yet, he arranges a marriage without sending his son away. Abraham protects the promised land through the arrangement of his son’s marriage.
Preparing the Bride for GOD’s Story
How do we prepare as the Bride of Christ? One aspect is to learn GOD’S STORY. He created us in His image…. Piece by piece, and peace by peace, we learn to walk as He has walked. And we learn His perspective.
Genesis 24:1-9
“Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the 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 you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
“And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?”
“But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.”
Isaac is lonely
Without his mother, without a wife and family, Isaac is presumably lonely. Full of compassion for his son, aware of his own imminent passing, Abraham recognises Isaac must have a wife. And yet, there are no suitable women locally. A woman must be sought from the country of their origins.
Abraham knows the importance of bloodline and cultural compatibility. He knows the LORD has a plan, and he knows his son must marry to carry on the bloodline. He trusts the LORD yet is also practical. Isaac will marry and his father will find him a bride.
GOD’s choice of man
The LORD saw in Abraham a righteousness from which He could build a nation.
He also must have seen in Abraham a wise, intelligent and reliable character. The promise he would be a father of many nations needed cooperation and vision to come to pass. In Abraham’s arranging a marriage for his son, we see a simple act which is crucial to the plan, and a major strategy to build on.