Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and Yahweh had blessed Abraham in every way. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who ruled over all that he owned, “Please place your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but you will go to my land and to my kin, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” And the servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I indeed take your son back to the land from where you came?” Then Abraham said to him, “Beware lest you take my son back there! Yahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kin, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘To your seed I will give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only do not take my son back there.” –Genesis 24:1-8

When Abraham was very old he sent his servant to get a wife for his son Issac. He explicitly told his servant not to take a wife from among the Canaanites, but rather to choose one from among his own people. That would mean that the servant would have to go back to Abraham’s former homeland. The servant’s first thought was, “What if I find a woman and she doesn’t want to leave where she’s living and come back with me?” That certainly seemed plausible, and so the servant asked Abraham, “If I find a woman and she doesn’t want to come back with me, should I bring Isaac back there to met her?”

Abraham’s answer was, “Absolutely not!”

God had given Abraham a promise that his descendants would inherit a land, and that land was not “back there”!

Abraham saw the danger of Isaac going “back there”, and getting stuck there.

 

How Abraham’s failure with Ishmael taught him a lifelong lesson

Consider the circumstances that Abraham found himself in.

1. God had made a promise to Abraham concerning his descendants.
2. In order for Abraham to have descendants Isaac needed to have a wife.

It would be tempting for Abraham to think that he needed to do something to bring about God’s will by his own efforts.

Obviously Abraham’s “Ishmael incident” had taught him a lesson and made a lasting impact on Abraham. He was done trying to fulfill God’s will by his own power and understanding. Abraham determined that there weren’t going to be any more fleshy failed attempts on his part when it came to the fulfillment of God’s promises.

Abraham had already failed when it came to Isaac’s birth. He was not about to fail again when it came to getting Isaac a wife!

 

The testing of Abraham

The fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham revolved around Isaac, and Abraham was tested at every point!

• Abraham was tested concerning Isaac’s birth.
• He was tested again when Isaac had grown up and God asked Abraham to offer Isaac up as a sacrifice.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.” -Hebrews 11:17-18

Abraham passed what must have been an excruciating test of obedience when it came to offering up Isaac on the altar. To do so, meant going against everything his rational mind understood, but in absolute obedience to God Abraham proceeded to do everything that God told him to do.

Now Abraham was being tested yet again when it came to getting Isaac a wife!

In every one of these situations, Abraham was expected to trust God completely. He was not to rely on his own understanding or capability to bring about the promise of God.

Abraham came to the conclusion that if God didn’t do it, there should be no attempt on his part to try to make it happen!

When God gives us a promise we’re not meant to grasp for it at all costs.

Do we believe that the one who promised is able to fulfill that promise, or do we think we need to get in there and do something to make it happen?

The “land of promise” was not the place where Abraham used to live as a boy. God had brought him out of Mesopotamia.There would be no fulfillment of God’s promise by going back to what used to be.

Abraham correctly chose to have his servant return to his former land in order to get a wife for his son Isaac from his own people rather than the Canaanites among whom he was now living. Nevertheless, Abraham understood one thing very clearly- Isaac must never go back there himself. There could be no compromise on this.

Abraham understood something that many of us today do not understand- God’s people are always “the called-out ones.”

The calling of God is always twofold in its nature. Our consecration to God always involves us coming out of the world. This is an irrefutable principle of scripture. When we belong to Him, we are in the world, but never of it.

They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. -John 17:16

We find Abraham living by that principle of consecration.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. -Hebrews 11:8-10

Notice the language of this passage. Abraham was not only “called out”, but “he was looking forward” to that which was heavenly and eternal.

Abraham demonstrated faith in the promise of God as well as wisdom to guard that promise.

Abraham saw the inherent danger of Isaac returning to his father’s homeland. If there was going to be a woman from there for Isaac, then she was going to need to come out from there, just as Abraham had come out from there.

Had Isaac gone back to Mesopotamia with Abraham’s servant to look for a wife, there’s the possibility that he might have found a woman there and chosen to stay! In that case, although he would have obtained a wife, he would have lost the promised inheritance of “the land” that God intended for him and his descendants!

What good is it to have the gift of God in a place that is outside the will of God?

Dare I say that Satan delights in giving us our heart’s desire? He will give us something very beautiful, knowing that it will turn very ugly, if we receive it outside of the will of God.

In the Kingdom of God “the end never justifies the means”!

This was the enduring lesson that Abraham had learned through the birth of Ishmael.

God’s promise is never fulfilled through human effort. When God gives a promise, it takes God to fulfill it.

We’ve heard the phrase, “God’s will, done God’s way, brings God’s blessing.” Do we believe it? There are no shortcuts when it comes to the purposes and plans of God.