Understanding the text

Abraham had a front row seat to the sovereign covenant-keeping ways of God. He was called out of his homeland into the unknown, having only the promise of God to cling to. He had witnessed God’s power in granting him a son through Sarah, his once barren wife. He also saw how God had spared Isaac, the son of promise (Genesis 22:8), by providing a sacrificial lamb for their offering. But God had also promised Abraham a family more numerous than the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:1-6). How is God going to make good on His promise to give Abraham descendants?

In order for that promise to come to fruition, Isaac would need a wife. But who would be Isaac’s bride? Abraham had two primary concerns. First, she should not be a Canaanite, for the Canaanites were an idolatrous people. Abraham’s second concern was that Isaac not leave the land to go find a wife. To leave the land would be to abandon what God had promised. Finding a wife would require the conviction that God, again, would provide and not abandon His promise to Abraham and his family.

Additional scripture

1. Proverb 31:10-31
2. 1 Peter 3:1-7
3. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

Applying the text

1. What do Abraham’s concerns in this text teach us about the importance of marriage?
2. The Bible clearly warns against marrying an unbelieving person or a person of another faith. What challenges might we experience if we neglect or ignore the Bible’s clear teaching on this matter?
3. What desires might tempt or motivate a Christian to ignore the Bible’s instruction regarding being “equally yoked?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

Applying the text

1. Take a moment to remember your own past. What was your life like before Jesus saved you? What were you like?
2. How is your life different now because of what Jesus has done?
3. What needs do you see in our community? How might God use you to provide for the needy and powerless?

Applying the text

1. What does the text teach us about the love of God?
2. Why is our love for one another the test for the genuineness of our relationship with God?
3. How is God challenging you to grow in your love for others? What specific changes need to be made in your life?

Applying the text

1. Matthew tells us that the question about the greatest commandment was intended to be a test. In what way do you think the lawyer was trying to test Jesus?
2. Why do you think Jesus made a distinction between the first and second great commandments? Why is this distinction so important?
3. How can understanding our inability to keep this command actually cause us to grow in our love for God?