RUSSELL SANDERS
11-17-2020
ABRAHAM PART 35
A WIFE FOR ISAAC
Sarah had passed away, and Abraham now 140 years old determined to find a wife for his son Isaac. He wished to preserve the integrity of his bloodline. His brother Nahor had remained in his native country of Chaldea in Mesopotamia, the southernmost part of Babylon. Abraham was aware that his brother had twelve sons, who each had children of their own. He should be able to find Isaac a wife of his brother’s lineage.
Abraham called his eldest servant and charged him with the mission to travel to Chaldea and find a wife for his son. It is a truly remarkable story. I will not go into detail, but you should read it for yourself in Chapter 24 of the Book of Genesis.
The servant set out from Canaan (Hebron) with a caravan of ten camels. Gifts (dowry) of gold, silver, gems, and fine raiment (exquisite garments) were loaded on them. Upon arriving at Nahor’s place, he stated his mission. God had by “divine appointment” already had the servant meet the chosen maiden, Rebekah, as she acted as a servant before arriving at Nahor’s place. She was Nahor’s granddaughter, the daughter of Nahor’s son Bethuel, and she was very beautiful. They made an agreement, received the dowry, and sent Rebekah with the servant along with her nurse and her damsels.
As they arrived back home, Isaac was out in the field in meditation. He saw the caravan approaching and went out to meet it. After the servant related the trip to him, Isaac took Rebekah as his wife.
It is noteworthy that Abraham wished to keep his father’s bloodline. We see from scripture that “blood” is of utmost importance in more ways than one. Abraham did not wish his son to have a wife of the pagan Canaanites where he lived. Abraham, Chaldean by birth, would only take a wife from among his kindred. This is the bloodline that 2,000 years later would lead to the birth of Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.
It is also interesting that it was solely the Chaldeans who had a long legacy of spiritual understanding of the creator God. They understood “the times and the seasons.” We see them 1,500 years later in the court of the great Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar as his advisors.
Hebrews (Jews, Israelites) Joseph and Daniel were renown for their supernatural God-given ability to interpret dreams. Daniel was the wisest man in the Bible, and he became the chief administrator of Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all had Chaldean wives, true to Abraham’s bloodline. Jesus descended from it and His blood has now become our bloodline by faith in His redemptive act of sacrifice on the cross at Calvary (Golgotha). His blood cleanses the sin of all who accept Him by faith, a choice of their will, and we now have life eternal through Him.
