§8. Abraham's Devotion (Gen. 21:2, 3; 22:1-19)

A. THE SACRIFICE OF THE FIRSTBORN

And Sarah bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken unto him. And Abraham called the name of his son Isaac. And the child grew. And it came to pass, that God did prove Abraham and said unto him, "Abraham."

And he said, "Here am I."

And he said, "Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."

And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went into the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

And Abraham said unto his young men, "Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship, and come again to you."

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together.

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, "My father."

And he said, "Here am I, my son."

And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"

And Abraham said, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son."

So they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

B. THE DIVINE INTERFERENCE

And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, "Abraham."

And he said, "Here am I."

And he said, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me."

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the Lord it shall be provided."

And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said, "By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."

So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.

§9. The Selection of Isaac's Wife (Gen. 24)

A. THE COMMISSION OF THE SERVANT

And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his servant, the elder of his house, that ruled over all that he had, "Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: but thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac."

And the servant said unto him, "Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?"

And Abraham said unto him, "Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. The Lord, the God of heaven, that took me from my father's house, and from the land of my nativity, and that spake unto me and that sware unto me, saying, 'Unto thy seed will I give this land,' he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife for my son from thence. And if the woman be not willing to follow thee, thou shalt be clear from this my oath; only thou shalt not bring my son thither again."

And the servant sware to Abraham his master concerning this matter.

B. THE MEETING WITH REBEKAH

And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed; having all goodly things of his master's in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. And he made the camels to kneel down without the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water.

And he said, "O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, send me, I pray thee, good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand by the fountain of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: and let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, 'Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink;' and she shall say, 'Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also': let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master."

And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon; and she went down to the fountain, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

And the servant ran to meet her, and said, "Give me to drink, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher."

And she said, "Drink, my lord:" and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, "I will draw for thy camels also, until they have done drinking." And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.

And the man looked stedfastly on her; holding his peace, to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold, and said, "Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee. Is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?"

And she said unto him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor." She said moreover unto him, "We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in."

And the man bowed his head, and worshipped the Lord. And he said, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who hath not forsaken his mercy and his truth toward my master: as for me, the Lord hath led me in the way to the house of my master's brethren."

C. THE BETROTHAL OF ISAAC AND REBEKAH

And the damsel ran, and told her mother's house according to these words. And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the fountain. And it came to pass, when he saw the ring, and the bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, "Thus spake the man unto me;" that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the fountain.

And he said, "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels."

And the man came into the house, and he ungirded the camels; and he gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the men's feet that were with him. And there was set meat before him to eat.

But he said, "I will not eat, until I have told mine errand."

And Laban said, "Speak on."

And he said, "I am Abraham's servant. And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and menservants and maidservants, and camels, and asses. And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. And my master made me swear, saying, 'Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: but thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son.' And I said unto my master, 'Peradventure the woman will not follow me.' And he said unto me, 'The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house: then shalt thou be clear from my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give her not to thee, thou shalt be clear from my oath.'

"And I came this day unto the fountain, and said, 'O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: behold, I stand by the fountain of water; and let it come to pass, that the maiden which cometh forth to draw, to whom I shall say, Give me, I pray thee a little water of thy pitcher to drink; and she shall say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed for my master's son.' And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the fountain, and drew: and I said unto her, 'Let me drink, I pray thee.' And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also.' So I drank, and she made the camels drink also. And I asked her and said, 'Whose daughter art thou?' And she said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him.' And I put the ring upon her nose, and the bracelets upon her hands. And I bowed my head, and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left."

Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, "The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken."

And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the earth unto the Lord. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, "Send me away unto my master."

And her brother and her mother said, "Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go."

And he said unto them, "Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master."

And they said, "We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth."

And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, "Wilt thou go with this man?"

And she said, "I will go."

And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, "Our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them."

And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

D. THE MARRIAGE

And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, there were camels coming.

And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. And she said unto the servant, "What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us?"

And the servant said, "It is my master." And she took her veil, and covered herself.

And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

THE MEANING OF THE STORY

21. What promise had been made repeatedly to Abraham? But he had grown old and was still without a son. Yet the Lord repeated the promise and Abraham believed. At last to his great joy the son was born. It makes a man's life strong to believe that God will fulfil his promise. Faith and goodness are very near together (Gen. 15:6). A good boy believes his parents: surely he can believe God.

22 (§8A). In order to understand this story we must consider a strange and fearful custom of the old times. Read II Kings 3:26, 27, and note the awful sacrifice that a king, who was seeking help, made to his heathen god. The ancients felt that God ought to have the best that man has. They had not learned that he is loving and good, wishing our best to be given to him in loving service and not killed in sacrifice.

23 (§8A). Abraham knew that it was the custom of his neighbors to show their loyalty to their gods by killing their oldest sons. He was most anxious to do what God would wish, so what would he naturally think that he ought to do? Is a man wicked if he does what he thinks is right? But if he is pure in his motive and is very anxious to know what is right, he will often come to the truth. This story shows how God led Abraham to know what he really wanted of him.

24 (§8). It is a very striking story. Picture the scenes: (1) The long journey: who went? (2) Abraham and Isaac alone: what did Isaac ask? What was Abraham's confidence in God? (3) The preparation for the sacrifice. (4) The wonderful interference: what did this teach Abraham? What was the promise that was repeated?

25 (§8). Men have often used wrong methods, thinking to please God. What did the Puritans do to the witches? But the Puritans were good men, anxious to do right, and they soon learned that they had been wrong. It is not enough for us to be willing to do right. We must try hard to find out what is right.

26 (§9A). This section is a long one, but is full of interest and need not detain us for special study. It is the charming story of an old-time wooing. Parents often arranged the marriages of their children in those days as they do in many countries to-day. Abraham had a trusted servant who managed his business for him. What did he ask the servant to promise?

27 (§9B). Mesopotamia means "between the rivers." Locate it between the two rivers of Abraham's old country. Recall Abraham's journey (5, 6, §2) and trace the servant's journey.

28 (§9B). Tell the story of the meeting with Rebekah.

29 (§9C). Tell the story of the betrothal. Notice that the betrothal took place although Isaac was not there.

30 (§9D). Tell the story of the marriage.

WRITTEN REVIEW

We have finished the study of the "Father of the Faithful." He was a man who trusted God. Think over all that you have learned about him and write down in your notebook two or three ways in which you think that he showed his trust in God. Think whether there is any way in which you would be willing to trust God.