1. The Will of the Father (24:1-9)
Abraham was now 140 years old (Gen. 21:5; 25:20) and would live another thirty-five years (v. 7). His great concern was that, before he died, he would find a wife for his son Isaac. Only then could God fulfill His covenant promises to bless Abraham with many descendants and give them Canaan for their inheritance (12:1-3; 13:14-17; 15:18; 21:12). In those days, the parents made the marriage arrangements. A man and woman got married and then learned to love each other (24:67). In much of the world today, the pattern is different.
We do not know who this “eldest servant” was. If it was Eliezer (15:2), then he must have been very old; the events recorded in Genesis 15 occurred more than fifty years earlier. Abraham made him swear to three things: (1) he would not select a wife for Isaac from among the Canaanite women; (2) he would choose her from Abraham’s relatives; and (3) he would not take Isaac back to Abraham’s former home.
Knowing that he had assigned his servant a difficult task, Abraham also gave him some words of encouragement (24:7, 39-41). God had guided and blessed Abraham for sixty-five years and would not forsake him now. Furthermore, God had given Abraham a specific promise that his seed would inherit the land, so this meant that his son had to have a wife who would bear him a child. Finally, God’s angel would go before the servant and guide him to the right woman.
Abraham was a man of faith who believed God’s word and knew how to apply it to specific situations and decisions. He sought to obey God’s word because true faith always results in obedience. The more you meditate on God’s Word, the more truth you will see in it and the more direction you will get from it. This applies to decisions about marriage, vocation, ministry, or any other area in life. Unless we trust God’s Word and obey it, He will not direct us (Prov. 3:5-6).
Just as Abraham wanted a bride for his son, so God the Father elected to provide a bride for His beloved Son. Why? Not because Jesus needed anything, for the eternal Son of God is self-existent and self-sufficient and needs nothing. The bride is the Father’s love gift to His Son. We usually emphasize that the Son is the Father’s love gift to the world (John 3:16) and forget that the church is the Father’s love gift to His Son (17:2, 6, 9, 11-12, 24).
In the divine counsels of eternity, the Father elected to save lost sinners by His grace, the Son agreed to die for the sins of the world, and the Holy Spirit agreed to apply that work to the lives of all who would believe. This is revealed in Ephesians 1:1-14, where you see the work of God the Father (vv. 3-6), God the Son (vv. 7-12), and God the Holy Spirit (vv. 13-14). Note especially that the reason for this great plan of salvation is the glory of God (vv. 6, 12, 14). Those who trusted Christ would be a special people, His inheritance (v. 18) and His bride (5:22-33). His bride would bring glory to Christ on earth and throughout all eternity. One day Jesus Christ would have the joy of presenting His bride in glory to the Father (Heb. 12:2; Jude 24).
The next time you have the privilege of witnessing for Jesus Christ, remember that you are inviting people to come to the wedding!