The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/genesis/24.htm

In Abraham’s days, it was very important that you marry within your own faith. It was even better to marry a sister, or aunt, or cousin, than it was to marry someone outside of the faith. God had warned them not to intermingle with the Canaanites and others, because if they did, they would end up worshipping other “gods” and false idols, and as we know it, there is only one true God. And many disobeyed God, intermingled with the other clans, and indeed, their wives persuaded them to have idols in their house and to worship their own idols.

Concerned that this might happen to Isaac, Abraham called a servant, and instructed him to take gifts and to go back to his land near Ur, to Mesopotamia, in Babylonia, to find Isaac a wife.

And the servant went to the city of Nahor, and prayed to God, saying that if a girl came to the well and gave him and his livestock drink, to let her be the chosen one for Isaac. And his prayers were answered because as he came to the well in the city, a girl named Rebekah, a very beautiful and very kind woman came to the well, gave Abrahams servant water and even watered his livestock. And she ended up accepting the offer to marry Isaac. Rebeka’s grandfather was a brother to Abraham, making Isaac her second cousin. But that was more acceptable than to marry a Canaanite woman.

Is there a lesson here today? Personally, I do not believe in a “Church, Inc.”, an organized denomination. There were no Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, or any others back in Jesus’ time except for the Jews, and the Gentiles who would eventually become a “Christian”. I do not think your chances of entering Heaven are any different based on which church you go to. That said, there is definitely an impact if you marry a “non-believer”. If you marry someone that is an athiest, agnostic, or even someone who is a non-practicing Christian, there is a greater chance of drifting away from your religion. And that is how it was in Abrahams day, no matter how faithful you were to the one true God, if you married someone from another culture, many soon drifted away and became like the pagans.

If you do choose to marry a non-believer or a non-practicing Christian, it is critical, very, very critical, that you keep the faith and put God before marriage. You should love God first and your family second.

Another lesson, when the servant wanted something, in this case, to find a wife for Isaac, he prayed. He did just set out on a task on his own power, he prayed to God for help and guidance. Whenever we are troubled, or want to be sure we are doing the right thing, just stop and pray. Prayer works wonders!