Read with Me
Genesis 24:1-9 (HCSB)
Abraham was now old, getting on in years, and the LORD had blessed him in everything. Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh, and I will have you swear by the LORD, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live, but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac.”
The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I have your son go back to the land you came from?”
Abraham answered him, “Make sure that you don’t take my son back there. The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from my native land, who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘I will give this land to your offspring’—He will send His angel before you, and you can take a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are free from this oath to me, but don’t let my son go back there.” So the servant placed his hand under his master Abraham’s thigh and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
Listen with Me
Two years had passed since the death of Sarah, and Abraham began to wonder how much time he had left before he joined her. There was one important thing that needed attending to before he died. Isaac was as yet unmarried, a severe impediment to his producing the descendants who were promised the land, and he was still grieving over his mother’s death.
Part of the problem in acquiring a wife for Isaac was that the whole family lived on the fringes of society, out in the wilderness, where they could oversee their vast flocks and herds. That meant that Abraham and Isaac’s opportunities to interact with men who had available daughters with whom a marriage might be arranged were few.
But the second problem was more significant. The people among whom Abraham and his family lived were pagans who served many false gods. Abraham knew that a marriage to one of those women would most likely result in Isaac’s heart being pulled into compromise with idolatry, or perhaps a total rejection of the one true God who had promised to give him and his descendants the land. Abraham is not willing to risk that, so he declared the local women to be off limits for consideration.
Abraham knew that his extended family worshiped the one true God, even if they did so imperfectly, making their daughters better candidates. But Haran was several weeks away, and Abraham didn’t feel that he could make the trip himself. So, he recruited the oldest of his slaves to do the legwork for him. Abraham made this slave swear a solemn oath that he would find a suitable wife for Isaac and bring her back. He would not allow Isaac to go back to Haran. It would be far too easy for him to be persuaded to just settle down there among the girl’s family, thus forsaking both the land and the promise.
Abraham was confident that the God who had directed his steps up to that moment would lead his servant to the right woman. But on the off chance that the girl’s family refused to let her go, or if the girl herself refused to come back with the slave, he would be released from his obligation, and other plans would have to be made.
The slave was willing. He swore his faithfulness to the mission, and he began to make plans to depart right away.
Pray with Me
Father, I know that when most Americans hear the word slave, they have a very negative reaction. The institution in Abraham’s day was clearly much different from that practiced here before the Civil War. This slave wasn’t a beaten and intimidated person seen as property by himself or Abraham. He loved Abraham and served him faithfully, always keeping the best interests of the family in mind. When he was given an assignment or sent on a mission for his master, he gave that mission his complete attention until it was done. This is a good model for us to follow as slaves of Jesus (Roman’s 1:1). Though we were bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23), we entered into our service to You voluntarily, and now should serve You with single hearted devotion, no matter what role Tou call us to play, always keeping Your agenda foremost. Help me, Lord, to be that kind of slave to You. Amen.