The Marriage of Isaac

October 28, 2018 Background Scripture: Genesis 24 Lesson Passage: Genesis 24:12 – 21, 61 – 67 Genesis 24 is a very long chapter. It details the events of Abraham sending his faithful servant into a far country to retrieve a bride for his son, Isaac. Please note that there is no biblical record that Isaac requested a bride be sought for him. His father, Abraham, saw that Isaac was grieving because of the death of his mother and he sent for a bride who would bring comfort to Isaac. This account in the book of Genesis is very much a portrayal of the eastern culture of prearranged marriages. This is not the western culture idea of “Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love. Boy and girl get married and live happily ever after.” In the eastern culture, parents did not leave it up to the inexperienced, and often unwise, young people to make a decision that had such far-reaching implications for the entire extended family and the family’s wealth. Therefore, marriage was considered a family decision that was pursued by the parents of the prospective groom and bride. It was often conducted as a business arrangement between the two families. You can see this by the great amount of wealth the servant of Abraham took on the trip to locate a bride for Isaac. He had a caravan of ten camels laden with a variety of good things from the stockpile of Abraham’s wealth. The goods he carried along would allow the servant to bargain for the best available bride. The arrangements and all of the details for the wedding were all planned by the parents. Sometimes the marriage arrangements were made when the prospective bride and groom were still infants. Remarkably—or not—those arranged marriages often outlasted the ones initiated by the emotional and physical attractions of young adults. Again, sometimes those arrangements were made while the couple were still children. At other times, the arrangements were made when the parents thought the young adults were now of age and settled into careers. In either case, the parents took the initiative to arrange for a marriage to take place—which included selecting who would be the bride and groom. Abraham decided it was time for Isaac to have a wife and his trusted servant was charged with going to the land of Abraham’s family and selecting an appropriate bride. The servant was no doubt influenced by the religious faith of his master. This showed when the servant prayed that God would divinely intervene and make the selection on behalf of the servant. The servant’s prayer was so specific that there was no way to miss that God had answered his prayer and showed him who the bride would be. After God identified Rebekah as the bride, the servant proceeded to the home of Rebekah’s parents to begin the business part of the arrangements. When all was concluded, and Rebekah had consented to the arrangement, the servant of Abraham, his servants, Rebekah, and her maids started out to return to Isaac. Isaac met them in the field and received Rebekah and took her into his mother’s tent. Genesis 24 might seem strange to many westerners, but it would seem quite ordinary to many residents of the Near East and Far East even today. I imagine that easterners might take great pride in the longevity of such a well-protected and honored tradition. This biblical account seems almost an allegory of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Even today, the Holy Spirit goes throughout the world bearing spiritual gifts in search of those who would become the bride of the Son. There is no biblical record that the Son requested it. But Father knows best. Robert C. Hudson September 5, 2018