Pages of Love

Part 2

And we’re back and today our couple of focus is Isaac and Rebekah. Isaac is the son of Abraham and Sarah, and the father of Jacob renamed Israel.

Rebekah and Isaac would be sort of an arranged marriage.

Backstory on how it all went down. Isaac’s daddy Abraham was old, and I mean really old. He pulled one of his most loyal servants, who had been with him for the longest and said, there’s a chance God will call me home soon. Plus, the chances of you outliving me is high, so swear to me that my son will NOT marry a Canaanite woman.

Now that in itself is interesting because, that’s the land which God sent Abraham, after he told him to leave his father’s house. With that too, it was promised that Abraham and his descendants would inherit the land. What better way to make sure you inherit a place that’s not your own by marrying into it right? Wrong! We don’t bend our moral compass just to get what we want.

The Canaanites were not God’s people, they practiced idolatry and were very much out of alignment with God.

In those times, families intermarried…a lot. Abraham suggested that the servant go back to Abraham’s birth country and choose someone from his bloodline. Mind you, Isaac knows absolutely nothing about this.

After some back and forth, about whether Isaac would even like this blind match, the servant in obedience, heeds the voice of his master and goes. The instructions were clear, Isaac was never going to step foot into the birthplace of his father. And, if the woman chosen wasn’t in agreement to this blind matchmaking, the servant would be free from the vow.

Backtracking a little bit, though not explicitly mentioned (I don’t think), Isaac’s mother Sarah was a beautiful woman. So much so that as they traveled as husband and wife, Abraham would tell Sarah to tell people that she was his sisters so he wouldn’t get killed over her.

However, those weren’t necessarily the criteria the servant chose this blind matchmaking from. His request to God was simple. The servant asked the Lord that whoever is kind enough to fetch him and his camels water from a well would be the chosen wife.

Picture it with me, its about 400 – 600 miles between Canaan where Abraham resided with his family to Mesopotamia area which was were his birth family was from. Calculating that with the average speed of a camel, this was about a month journey for the servant.

The servant chose a woman for Isaac based on character, he looked for a compassionate woman.

He meets Rebekah, she fetches water for both him and his camels. He goes back to her family house, gets approval from her family and they travel back to Canaan together.

Mind you this whole thing is described in one chapter.

Now this is how the couple meets, Isaac was in the field doing his job and he saw the camels coming. Rebekah pointed him out and said “who is that?” and the servant told her it was Isaac his master. She then covers herself with a veil before he even gets close enough to really see or appreciate her features.

NOW, after all that is when Isaac is being told by the servant all that his father had asked to be done, and how things were executed. Isaac, the obedient child he’s been since birth just agrees to Rebekah and takes her to his mother’s tent and she became his wife.

Isaac and Rebekah never met until that day in the field. Similar to Ruth and Boaz, he saw her in the field. Their union was two-fold, Isaac’s mother had recently passed away and Abraham did not want his son seeking comfort from the wrong arms. The second is that to keep a clean bloodline.

Once again, there was no dating or courtship period. Rather the servant could be seen as a sent intercessor. He spoke well of Isaac and the character of Rebekah through her actions, made her a worthy partner to Isaac.

Now, whether married, single or dating ask yourself. Does my character positively reflect me, or should I be working on something? If a stranger had a first impression of me, would they be willing to make conversation even or would they run for the hills.

Reflect.

…. which Bible couples should I focus on next?