A Bride for Isaac

The title of our study this evening… sounds a bit like a Hallmark Movie. A Bride for Isaac.

Isaac was Abraham’s son through his wife, Sarah. The time had come for him to be married, but they were living in a land away from their people.

Sarah was now gone. She had passed away. Abraham was doing all that he could to help his son… and to stay within the promise God had given Him.

So let’s talk about that for just a moment… Abraham STAYED within the promise.

There’s a few things we have established about the promises of God.

One - They are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. God will ALWAYS make good on His promises according to His plan and time.

Two - God will often take our problems, and turn them into promises. With Abraham, the problem was no offspring. God took that problem and promised… a nation of offspring.

Three - (what I want us to see from the get go) The promises of God can help keep us focused as we navigate through life. They serve as a path of sorts - a path we do not have to create… a path we must simply follow.

It means we do not become distracted or lost on a detour.

It means we CONTINUE in the journey… especially when the destination may not be in sight.

Abraham knows He does not need to “manufacture” God’s final outcome on his own. He had been there, done that, and failed miserably.

However, Abraham knew that he couldn’t just sit around and place no action to his faith either. God’s promise WOULD be fulfilled through his son, Isaac. And the time had come for Isaac to take a bride.

Courting and wedding traditions then, are much different than traditions of our day. That’s not the point of this story. The point of chapter 24 in Genesis is clear: God will show the way to those who remain faithful to His promises.

This means… we must TRUST in Him. This means we cannot allow for our understanding or limited knowledge to get in the way of what God is wanting to do.

God will sometimes do things… that go against our traditional way of thinking. And when He does such things, we must remember a truth that is found in Isaiah 55:8-9

Isaiah 55:8–9 NIV

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

This last Sunday serves as an example of trusting God in His ways over our ways.

We know what the tithe is and how important it is to the function and operation of the church. The tithe, according to Scripture, is to be brought to the storehouse so that there may be “food” in the Lord’s house according to Malachi 3:10.

Yet God, through His Holy Spirit, directed this pastor to do something I have never done or seen done. Whatever was going to be given in tithe last Sunday was released to be given to people in need this week. Not through the operations of a church office… but through the hands of those who ARE the church.

This resource is not to be saved or hoarded… but given with God’s blessing. We give for His honor and glory and in obedience to what His Spirit is leading us to do.

Immediately after trusting in His leading and making this announcement, I received a confirmation from one our members and I realized… God’s got this. In obeying the Lord’s direction, I had not doomed us financially for April, we were trusting in the leading of the Lord. And… I believe we are going to see God do AMAZING things so long as we remain faithful in His instruction.

We are living in unprecedented times… and I believe we are going to see God do things we have never seen before. And I believe we will KNOW they are from God.

One - they will line up with His Word.

Two - they will bring honor and glory to HIS name.

Three - they will be anointed and led of His Spirit.

So let’s jump back to Genesis 24 where Abraham is looking for a bride for Isaac. We see the breakdown given in the first nine verses.

Genesis 24:1–9 NIV

1 Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. 3 I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 4 but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?” 6 “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. 7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. 8 If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

Right out of the box we see Abraham doing something very important:

Abraham REMAINED in the PROMISE of God.

Abraham recruits his servant to assist with the search… and this was not going to be an easy task.

It wasn’t because Isaac was a hard guy to please. Abraham wanted to remain in the promise God had given him.

This required that the servant find a bride that is NOT from the land in which they were dwelling.

The land had not yet been given to them and it was inundated with the Canaanite culture. Why would Abraham say no to the ladies who might be available within arms reach of where they were?

Because the Canaanite culture was not God’s culture. Abraham did not want to risk his son falling out from God’s promise under the influence of a wife who did not believe as he did.

Abraham understood that what or who we attach ourselves to in life will have a great deal of influence in the direction we go.

The cultures we follow, the people we trust, the relationships we foster and… the person we marry… will have a great impact on our days ahead.

OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD Should be concern NUMBER ONE as we consider our attachments in life.

Abraham knew that God had called him and his descendants to live in a way that was distinctly different from the people around him. We see this truth influence Abraham to make two very important decisions regarding his son:

One - Abraham did not a local bride for Isaac for the people in the land where they were living were of a different culture.

Two - Abraham did not allow for Isaac to travel with the servant. Abraham believed the Lord would lead the way. Isaac remained under the care and influence of his father throughout this process.

I see this as very significant. Why? Because of what can happen when our children begin to venture out into a world full of corruption. I do not see Abraham trying to keep Isaac in a bubble… but I do see a father who wants the best for his son in accordance to the promise given to him by God.

Bottom line: Abraham was not going to settle for just any common bride. He trusted in God to deliver to his son THE bride for the fulfilment of HIS promise.

The task given was not easy and it would require a great deal of discernment on the servants part. But as we talked about last week, God’s promises will sometimes involve walking through seasons that are not so… easy. Yet so long as we are faithful, God will see it through.

The Servant RECEIVES CONFIRMATION

As the story continues, Abraham’s servant does as requested and takes the instruction given to him very seriously.

He takes it so seriously that… he doesn’t trust in his own judgement and wisdom. The servant leans on God for the success of his journey. How does he do this? The servant prays to God.

Genesis 24:12–14 NIV

12 Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”

What is it that the servant prays for? He prays for confirmation. He prays for God to make his path and choice clear. His prays not for his personal will but for the will of God to be accomplished.

And maybe you can relate to the position the servant is in. He might have been feeling the pressure of the moment. “God, help me to not bring back the wrong girl! God, I DON’T WANT TO MESS THIS UP.”

There was a lot riding on this. The servant wanted to do right by Abraham. The bride needed to be God’s choice for His plan. The servant needed God’s favor throughout the entire process.

Now, we may have not faced a situation quite like this but… we make hundreds if not thousands of decisions every day. Some of those decisions will impact our lives for days, weeks, months, years, or maybe even the rest of the time we have on this earth!

I don’t know about you but… I DON’T WANT TO MESS THIS UP! Not for my sake, but for the sake of following God’s will for my life. How do we know we are doing the right thing? God will bring confirmation.

Confirmation can be found in His Word. If it goes against His Word, it didn’t come from the Lord.

Confirmation will come in who receives the honor. Is it for your glory, or His glory?

Confirmation will come through the voice of the Spirit. This might happen in a variety of ways.

For me… it has almost ALWAYS come through another person.

God used an evangelist to confirm my calling to ministry.

God used a church member to confirm our last ministry transition.

God used a church member to confirm our vision of getting back to the altar.

God used a church member to confirm the direction of the tithe this last Sunday.

The Spirit WILL speak. He IS speaking. The question is: ARE WE LISTENING?

As we read more of chapter 24, we see God bring the confirmation the servant asked for. With this confirmation, the servant knew who God had chosen. The servant knew he was walking in the will of God.

And with this knowledge, the servant does something very important:

The Servant Gives HONOR and GLORY to God.

Genesis 24:26–27 NIV

26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, 27 saying, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

The servant knew God had led the way.

The confirmation brought an awareness to the servant - his journey was successful. Not because of the servant’s wisdom, but because of the Lord’s leading.

So praise and worship are given to God. The servant is quick to give honor to whom honor is due.

When God does great things… God is to receive the glory.

The servant doesn’t get so wrapped up in all that is going on that he forgets who is doing the work. His success was made possible by God.

As you read through the rest of the chapter, you will see Rebekah become Isaac’s wife. God brought the two together in accordance to His will and promise.

It was a work only God could have done… and the servant knew this in the moment that Isaac’s bride was found.

God… is worthy of our highest praise.

Not for what He has done… but for who He is. In the story, as the details come together, praise is given to God.

In our lives, as we see the Lord moving and blessing… we need to be quick to give Him praise. As we come to know Him more, we need to give Him praise.

Praising God helps us to remain in His promises.

When we praise, it moves us from ourselves to Him. When we praise, it helps us to not become complacent… but compliant to His will.

The Lord has all the details figured out. The ONE detail we must concern ourselves with is: TRUST. Will we trust Him and will we place action to that trust?

Closing

Maybe you’re here tonight and you need confirmation. Maybe you’re here tonight and you need reassurance. Maybe you’re here tonight and you feel the pressure… YOU DON’T WANT TO MESS THIS UP.

Hear me clearly: You CAN’T go wrong when you TRUST in God. In that trust, God will show you the way… He will make your path straight.

What do you need to trust God with tonight? Are you willing to give it over to Him?