Abraham was growing old. His beloved Sarah had died three years ago, and Isaac, their long-awaited son, was now in his late thirties. One of the most treasured promises God had made to Abraham was that through Isaac he would become a mighty nation. The patriarch now became increasingly occupied with a great obstacle to that blessing. In order to have many descendants, Isaac urgently needed to find a wife.
It was Abraham’s duty, by the custom of the time, to obtain a suitable bride for his son; and yet, because Isaac was born so late in life, Abraham was now too old to take an active part in the necessary preliminaries. It is quite likely he could have solved the problem by negotiating with one of his wealthy Canaanite neighbours to pay the dowry for a well-bred daughter. However, this did not appeal to Abraham. He wanted Isaac to marry into his own God-fearing stock. The problem was, his nearest relatives were over 400 miles away in Mesopotamia, and he could not face the journey.
After much deliberation, the old man decided to send the steward of his household on a wife-finding mission in his place:
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 (Genesis 24:3–4).
The steward is not named, but he was probably Abraham’s chief servant Eliezer (Genesis 15:2).
After suitable preparation he set off with provisions for the double journey and rich gifts for the father of the bride-to-be, while an anxious Abraham and his son settled down to await the expedition’s outcome.
Eliezer Seeks a Sign
The tale of Eliezer’s arrival at the city of Haran, and the remarkable way he was guided to the household of Abraham’s nephew Bethuel, is deeply moving. After a weary journey, he arrived at the gates of Haran, where he knew his master had relatives. But how would he find the right girl in this foreign city he had never visited before? His master had taught him what to do in a situation like this. He said a prayer. He asked God for guidance.
Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac (Genesis 24:13–14).
To his amazement, while he was still speaking silently to God, a beautiful woman came to the well to draw water. He asked her for a drink, and she not only gave him, a complete stranger, all he needed but offered to water his camels as well. She was generous, because a thirsty camel can easily drink 40 gallons (200 litres) of water in five minutes. With beating heart, he asked her what family she came from. When she told him she was the daughter of Bethuel, Abraham’s nephew, he knew his prayer had been answered. She was not only a kind woman, but related to his master, and so from a God-fearing family. Next morning she said farewell to her family and set off for the south. Rebekah was to become one of the ancestors of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Finding a Marriage Partner
In many parts of the world, marriage is regarded with very much less respect nowadays than previously. Yet marriage is regarded in the Bible as a serious undertaking. It is considered a contract lasting for life, and a marriage between disciples of Christ is one which will only be entered after much prayer and self-examination. There is no liberty for the Christian to “try out” marriage, and divorce their partner if it is found unsatisfactory. ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her,’ declared Jesus, ‘and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery’ (Mark 10: 11–12). The Apostle Paul in his beautiful chapter on marriage, Ephesians 5, instructs that followers of Christ should model their marriages on the love between Christ and his church. It is a patient, fault-forgiving, self-denying love, much deeper than the commercialised emotion of today’s lyric writers. But he also advises that the choice of a marriage partner needs great care. ‘Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers,’ he says elsewhere (2 Corinthians 6:14). Tolerance and self-sacrifice may save a marriage, but life will be easier if both partners at least start out with the same ideals.
Abraham, to return to our story, did not want his son paired off with a local Canaanite whose moral code would be depravity and her religion the licentious worship of images. On the other hand, he could see dangers in Isaac setting off by himself for Mesopotamia, and being tempted back to the life Abraham had left behind. ‘You must not take my son back there,’ he warned Eliezer (Genesis 24:8). Abraham told his steward that God ‘will send his angel before you’ (v. 7). There is a lesson in the faith of the old man. In all our ways, God will lead us if we seek His aid.
A Failed Promise?
This is the last detailed episode in the adventures of faithful Abraham, who died peacefully some years later and was buried by his sons. But it is certainly not the end of his story. There is still one great mystery about him we have left unsolved. What happened to that great promise God made to him, that He would give him the land of the Canaanites for his very own? ‘I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess,’ He had sworn (Genesis 15:7). ‘O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?’ Abraham had countered (v. 8). God responded with a solemn blood-
sealed covenant that it would be so (v. 18). For years Abraham camped in the land, declining to settle down, purchasing only a field in which to bury his wife. He was waiting for God to act. But nothing happened, and he died without his inheritance. ‘He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length,’ Stephen declared (Acts 7:5). What extraordinary treatment, you might protest, at the hands of a God who epitomises truth and faithfulness!
The solution to the enigma is staggering. The Bible insists that God did mean what He said. Abraham will yet inherit the promise, even though he is dead! Jesus decreed that so far as God is concerned, Abraham is not deleted from his plan. Hundreds of years after Abraham had died, God introduced Himself to Moses as ‘the God of Abraham’ (Exodus 3:6). This means, Jesus said, that Abraham will live again at the resurrection of the dead (Matthew 22:32).
The book of Hebrews also spends some time on this glorious theme. Speaking of Abraham and his family, it states, ‘These all died in faith, not having received the things promised’ (Hebrews 11:13). They wait in the grave for the day of resurrection. The interval allows us an opportunity of sharing in the same promise. ‘All these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect’
(vs. 39–40). The perfection of immortality they will receive, in that morning of joy, will enable them to inherit the land not just for a few brief mortal years, but for ever. And we have the opportunity to be with them.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ… And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise (Galatians 3:27,29).
Abraham never gave up believing God, even on his deathbed. If we share his faith, we too will be rewarded in the age to come. ‘I tell you, many will come from east and west,’ said Jesus, ‘and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 8:11).
David Pearce
(to be continued)