Bible Study Online Article
Sometime had passed after Abraham had buried his wife Sarah; and now we find that the man of God was about one hundred and forty years old. Abraham knew that the Lord had blessed him in every way and that his time on this earth was coming close to an end. He began thinking about his son Isaac and it concerned him because his son had not yet married. Isaac would be about forty years old at this time and it was custom that men should be married by their thirtieth birthday. Because of this, Abraham would call his chief servant over; the one that was in charge of all that he had. Now this chief servant is not named during this Biblical account, but most Bible scholars believed that this servant was Eliezer of Damascus. This viewpoint is based off this scripture: "But Abram said, 'O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?'" (Genesis 15: 2) Now after Eliezer had came before Abraham, the man of God would say to him: "Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac." Abraham would ask this of his chief servant Eliezer, because of his concerns when it came to the Canaanite people. Abraham knew that the Canaanites practice idolatry and were sinners in the eyes of the Lord. He did not want to take the chance of having his name or his son's name tainted by their reputation of wickedness. Also keep in mind, that they were also the civilization that God had cursed back during the days of Noah: "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers." (Genesis 9: 25) Understand that Canaan was the son of Ham, grandson of Noah; and Shem and Japheth were the other two sons that Noah had as well. Abraham would eventually come form the family line of Shem, so it would be idea for him to stay with the family linage that God had blessed: "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave." (Genesis 9:26-27) It was for these reasons, that Abraham would instruct Eliezer to go out into his country amongst his own relatives to get a wife for his son Isaac. Now the country that Abraham is referring to, would be the one that God had called him out of. The name of this country is Mesopotamia; in which the city of "Ur of the Chaldeans," was found to be located within its southern parts. Understand that right before Abraham's wife Sarah had passed; Abraham did receive some good news concerning his brother Nahor. According to the report, Milcah the wife of Nahor had bore him eight sons. Now those sons were having families of their own, so this would explain why Abraham felt confident in sending Eliezer on this particular mission. But Eliezer had some concerns of his own: "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?" Abraham would reply: "Make sure that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land.' "The Lord will send His angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there." Understand that Abraham felt that there could be a chance that Isaac could be influence by the Canaanites, who were wicked idolaters. When it came to Isaac going to the woman who was to be his wife, Abraham didn't want to take that chance. For he probably thought, that if Isaac was around people that he was more familiar with, and surroundings that he was accustom too? The influence would be even greater and could cause Isaac to take up residence within that country, far away from the land that God had promised him. If this were to happen? This would not be good for the future of Abraham's household. We must understand, that if Isaac were to leave the land of Canaan, he would find himself operating outside of God's powerful "Abrahamic Covenant" that He had made through Abraham. Simply put, this would not be a wise thing to do. "I am God Almighty walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers. As for Me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. "No longer will you be called Abram, your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. "The whole land of Canaan, were you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." (Genesis 17:1-8) So Eliezar placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore on oath to him concerning this matter that dealt with finding a wife for his son Isaac. Start at the Beginning: The Introduction of Abraham 16) Abimelech Angry with Abraham 18) Hagar & Ishmael - Sent Away 20) Abraham & The Well of Oath 21) Abraham & The Great Sacrifice 23) <-CURRENT PAGE-> 25) Rebekah gets Permission to Leave 28) The Twelve Rulers of Ishmael  CrossDaily.com Web Search where you can VOTE FOR THIS SITE & other great ones. Christian search engine, directory & voting index. You'll find Bible, chat, churches, jobs, music, reviews, software, theology, & more. See the best sites!
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