A Protected Promise

Posted by Karah

Pause

Skim over Genesis 24 in your Bible to prepare your heart for today’s devotion. Ask God to reveal new truths as you study His Word.

Read Genesis 24:1-67 again, more closely this time. Imagine the story by making a movie in your mind. Once you have read it, fill out the following scenes:

Scene 1: Abraham’s request:

Scene 2: Servant’s prayer:

Scene 3: Answer to prayer:

Scene 4: The conclusion:

“Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, ‘Place your hand under my thigh, and I will have you swear by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live, but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac.” —Genesis 24:2-4

Ponder these questions:

How would Isaac marrying from Abraham’s clan ensure the purity of his descendents? Why was that so important to God? Explain.

Letting Isaac marry a Canaanite woman certainly would have been easier, but to do what honored God, Abraham needed to keep his lineage pure. When have you been tempted to take the easier route instead of obedience? What did that experience teach you?

The Point

God protected His promise by ensuring the purity of the line from which the Messiah would come.

Respond

God’s plan was bigger than Abraham’s immediate family. He had promised that nations and kings would come from this lineage—ultimately the Messiah. And God was dedicated to protecting His promise and moving His plan of redemption forward.

Think over your life. How can you see God’s hand guiding your story, bringing you to specific places and people so that you could know Him and grow in relationship with Him? Record your thoughts and prayers in your journal.

For further study, read Deuteronomy 7:3-6.

Behind the Story

Read Genesis 22:20-24. It would be easy to skim over these verses and think they are unimportant. However, these verses point to the provision of God. When the news came to Abraham about his brother’s children and grandchildren, it was a sign that God would ensure the purity of his descendants through his own family.

Posted in Boys, Devotions | Tagged Camp Ridgecrest Alumni and Friends, Camp Ridgecrest for Boys, Reprinted from ec magazine. © 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Used by permission., Weekly Devotions