Genesis 24:3, commentary and pictures

Old and expecting soon to die, Abraham bound his faithful, God-fearing head servant by a solemn oath in the name of the Lord, the God of heaven and earth. The oath forbade taking a wife for Isaac from the idolatrous Canaanites among whom they dwelt and sent the servant to Abraham's kindred in Mesopotamia, while Isaac himself was not to leave Canaan and the servant would be freed from the oath if no woman was willing to come. He did this because marriage with unbelievers would draw the soul into idolatry, so he sought a wife who knew and feared the true God in order to preserve pure worship and guard Isaac from apostasy. Parents are thereby to guide and restrain the affections of their children toward suitable, God-fearing companions rather than leaving them to be controlled by Satan. At forty, Isaac submitted in obedient trust that God would direct the choice, leaving a tender example that youth should not choose a spouse by themselves but in the fear of God seek parental counsel and divine guidance through prayer.

Abraham's Oath and Commission

Abraham was old and expecting soon to die when he moved to secure a wife for his unmarried son Isaac. He entrusted the matter to his faithful, experienced servant who ruled over all that he had. That servant was God-fearing and long proved in Abraham's service. Abraham required him to bind himself by a solemn oath by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth.

The oath forbade taking a wife for Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom Abraham dwelt. It directed the servant instead to go to Abraham's kindred in Mesopotamia to seek the wife there. Among that kindred some still knew and worshiped the true God. The restriction thus guarded Isaac against the idolatrous influence of Canaanite society and the danger of being led away from God into apostasy.

The commission further provided that Isaac himself must not leave Canaan and must not be taken back to the country from which Abraham had come. Nearly all in that country were affected with idolatry. God would send His angel before the servant to direct him in his choice. If no woman was willing to leave her kindred and come with the servant, he would be released and clear from the oath. This important matter was not left to Isaac to decide for himself independently of his father.

Reason for the Restriction

The Canaanites among whom Abraham dwelt were idolaters, and the Lord had commanded His people not to intermarry with them lest they be led into idolatry. Abraham feared that corrupting influence surrounding Isaac and was anxious to have a wife selected who believed in the true God and feared Him, so that she would not lead his son away from God. The restriction was to preserve the pure worship of God in Isaac's household and to guard him against being drawn away into apostasy through marriage.

Abraham was determined that Isaac must not marry a Canaanite or any heathen woman unacquainted with God, because such an idolatrous, irreligious wife would exert an influence to lead her husband away from God and would imperil his moral and religious character. He had marked that unhappy result of connecting with companions who knew not and feared not God from the days of Cain to his own time, and he had seen it in Ishmael's miserable, undisciplined, discourteous home. He knew Isaac's yielding disposition would endanger his adherence to right if joined to one of opposite character, for to avoid disagreeable consequences he might yield principle. Though the women of other nations were attractive in outward beauty, they lacked beauty of character, since true dignity and elevation are found only in those who love and fear God, trust Him, obey His requirements, seek His glory and fear His displeasure, while the godless are debased by following the imagination of their own hearts. Therefore connection with one known to be irreligious is contrary to God's order and cannot fail to draw the soul away from Him, even when the person is moral, intellectual, refined, fashionable, wealthy, agreeable and entertaining.

Guidance for Parents and Youth

Genesis 24:3 binds parents to feel responsibility for guiding the affections of their children and directing them toward suitable companions for both sons and daughters. That responsibility grows out of training children to love a life of noble obedience and to yield to and respect parental authority. The record stands to lead parents to command their households in the same way, instructing their children to yield to and respect their authority. Abraham's care for Isaac's choice rebukes parents who leave the affections of the young entirely unguided and unrestrained, or who refuse to guide and restrain them. Leaving those affections so unguided allows Satan to control them to a great extent.

At forty years old, trained in the fear of God to a life of obedience, Isaac submitted to having his father's trusted, experienced, God-fearing servant choose his wife rather than choosing independently for himself. He yielded to his father's judgment and arrangement, trusting and believing that God would direct in obtaining a wife. The marriage that followed is set forth as a tender and happy one.

His course is left on record as an example for children in after generations, especially for those who profess to fear God. Youth from fifteen to twenty years should not consider themselves competent to make their own choice of a spouse by themselves without the consent of parents. They should instead move in the fear of God and make the matter a subject of prayer, seeking parental counsel and divine direction and accepting godly guidance.