Wednesday 26 June, 2019

24 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[a] 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.

This passage paints such a strong image of a good father’s desire to provide for his child. We see this as Abraham desires to provide for his son Isaac, but also in the way Abraham was provided for as a child of God.

Abraham is coming to the end of his days, and he is aware of the need to help secure a wife for his Isaac.

However not just any wife will do – Abraham instructs his servant to make an oath with him that he will find Isaac a wife from Abraham’s own people. When his servant has questions, Abraham is so confident that the Lord will provide guidance by way of an angel so that the servant will know which woman is right.

Abraham wants Isaac to have a wife from his own people that will be a blessing to him in marriage, because he is a good father who wants to provide well for his son.

He knows that the Lord will provide guidance here because He himself has been the recipient of the blessings of God – the best father. In fact, this passage tells us that God had blessed Abraham in every possible way!

I love Abraham’s confidence in God’s ability to provide. He has seen God at work so many times in his life, that he can speak with such faith that God will continue to provide for his son Isaac. May we also live with the same faith, trusting God to provide for all our needs.

God, thank you that you are a good father. Thank you that you love to provide for us, your children. Help us today to live in faith, remembering all the ways you have provided for and blessed us. We thank you for all that you do in our lives. Amen.

Written by Ps. Madelaine Tarasenko