"A Strange Choice, A Sovereign Plan"
Genesis 24:1–4 (NKJV)
"So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house… 'You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.'”
It’s a peculiar moment in Scripture. Abraham, now well along in years, calls his trusted servant and gives him an unusual instruction: Do not let my son marry one of these Canaanite women. Go instead to my homeland, to my family—find a wife for Isaac there. At first glance, it makes sense: keep the covenant line pure, separate from the pagan culture around them. But look closer, and we see something more complicated.
Why would Abraham insist on this, especially when his own family—back in Mesopotamia—were idol worshipers? After all, Abraham himself came out of a family steeped in idolatry (Joshua 24:2). And Rebekah, the woman Isaac marries, is from that same family. Later in Genesis, we’ll even see Rachel—Jacob’s beloved—steal her father’s household gods and hide them.
So why is this the “better” choice?
Abraham Knew the Canaanites Were Spiritually Dangerous
The Canaanite culture wasn’t just different—it was deeply corrupt. Violent, idolatrous, sexually perverse. God would eventually judge it harshly, but even before that, Abraham sensed its spiritual toxicity. He lived among them but knew their way of life could derail the covenant plan.
This wasn’t about race or ethnicity—it was about allegiance. Abraham was guarding the fragile line of God’s promise. Isaac was the child of the covenant, the miracle child, the one through whom the world would be blessed. To entangle that future with the Canaanite worldview could have been a fatal compromise.
Abraham's Family Was Still the Best Option—Despite Their Flaws
Abraham’s relatives back in Haran were not perfect. They worshiped other gods. But they were still a part of his story—people who, while not fully aligned with Yahweh, had some shared heritage, some openness to relationship with the covenant God. In a way, it was the lesser of two spiritual evils.
Sometimes, God works with what’s available. Not perfect people, not perfect backgrounds, but willing people. Rebekah said yes to the servant’s request, yes to the long journey, yes to the call of a God she barely knew.
A Flawed Start Doesn’t Mean God Isn’t Working
Still, we can't ignore the mess that followed. Isaac and Rebekah, though brought together by divine orchestration, struggled in parenting. They played favorites—Isaac loved Esau; Rebekah loved Jacob. That division split the family.
And Jacob himself, choosing wives from that same idolatrous lineage, brought his own baggage into the story. Rachel’s theft of her father’s gods (Genesis 31:19) shows us how deep those old ties to idolatry ran.
Yet through it all, God’s plan moved forward. Despite bad parenting, deception, and divided loyalties, the covenant advanced. The Messiah’s line would pass through Jacob. God doesn’t require perfect people—He works through broken people to accomplish perfect promises.
What does this mean in the end?
Abraham didn’t want Isaac to marry a Canaanite woman because he knew how easily hearts can be pulled away from God. Yet even his best alternative came with problems. Idol worshipers. Dysfunctional families. Flawed love stories. And still—God chose to work through them.
Maybe you feel like you’ve inherited spiritual baggage, or made a messy start, or grown up in dysfunction. Maybe your family story is more idolatry than inspiration. The good news is this: if God can carry His covenant through Abraham’s strange family tree, He can carry His grace through yours.
God isn’t looking for perfect beginnings. He’s writing redemptive endings. Amen.
More: Sabbath School Lesson 3: Images From Marriage
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