1387-Sabbath_School_18May_Wed

Believes Unasp - Sabbath School

A Wife for Isaac
Genesis 24 tells the story of the marriage of Isaac after Sarah’s death.
The two stories are related.
Read Genesis 24. Why is Abraham so concerned that his son not
marry a woman from the Canaanites?
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Just as Abraham wanted to acquire the land in order to bury his wife,
because of God’s promise to his descendants that they would have this
land, he now insists that Isaac not settle outside of the Promised Land
either (Gen. 24:7). Also, Isaac’s move to bring his bride to Sarah’s tent
and the note that Rebekah comforted Isaac “after his mother’s death”
(Gen. 24:67) point back to Sarah’s death, implying Isaac’s pain at the
loss of his mother.
The story is full of prayers and fulfillment of prayers and rich with
lessons about God’s providence and human freedom. It begins with
Abraham’s words. Swearing by “ ‘the Lord, the God of heaven and
the God of the earth’ ” (Gen. 24:3, NKJV), Abraham is first of all
acknowledging God as the Creator (Gen. 1:1, Gen. 14:19), with a direct
bearing on the births of Abraham’s descendants, including the Messiah
Himself.
The reference to “ ‘His angel’ ” and to “ ‘the Lord God of heaven’ ”
(Gen. 24:7, NKJV) points back to the Angel of the Lord, who came from
heaven to rescue Isaac from being slaughtered (Gen. 22:11). The God who
controls the universe, the Angel of the Lord who intervened to save Isaac,
will lead in this question of marriage.
Abraham leaves open, however, the possibility that the woman will not
respond to God’s call. As powerful as He is, God does not force humans
to obey Him. Although God’s plan for Rebekah is to follow Eliezer, she
retains her freedom of choice. That is, it was possible that this woman
would not want to come, and if not, she would not be forced to.
Hence, we see here another example of the great mystery of how God
has given us, as humans, free will, free choice, a freedom that He will
not trample on. (If He did trample, it would not be free will.) And yet,
somehow, despite the reality of human free will, and many of the ter-
rible choices humans make with that free will, we can still trust that in
the end God’s love and goodness, ultimately, will prevail.
Why is it so comforting to know that while not all things are
God’s will, He is still in charge? How do prophecies like Daniel 2,
for instance, prove this point to us?