Genesis 24:1-6 - Abraham was old

24:1

The closure of the Abraham story, before moving on to the next phase, continues with Abraham finding a wife for Isaac through his servant. This is a very long chapter, devoting a lot of space to the matter. We might object to the concept of arranged marriages, which was the common practice throughout the Old Testament. Arranged marriages can be a greatly abused practice leading to all sorts of evils. However, we should reflect on the fact that our own society’s practices in this area also lead to all sorts of evils. The key thing is to trust in God and to love the wife or husband that we have. The narrative we have here demonstrates that God is in control of the situation, and shows the servant putting his trust in God. The story opens with a reminder that Abraham was now very old (he wasn’t exactly young at the beginning of the story!), and that the “the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things”.

24:2-6

Abraham entrusts the matter of finding a suitable wife for Isaac to his oldest servant. The “hand under thigh” method of confirming a promise is used. Abraham’s primary concern is that Isaac should not have a Canaanite wife. Abraham lived among the Canaanites, so he knew what they were like, and it would have been quite easy for Isaac to get a Canaanite wife. The servant is instructed to go to Abraham’s own country to find a wife for Isaac. But Abraham is adamant that the servant must not take Isaac back there. We could draw a parallel with taking people out of the world to come into God’s kingdom, but we must not become part of the world.