You just can’t be too careful choosing your kids’ spouses. Part of the Abraham story is making sure that Isaac and later Jacob marry the right people. God’s covenant with Abraham continued with his son Isaac and grandson Jacob. Remember that Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac. Rebekah returned and later gave birth to twins. But there were challenges. Even though arranged marriages were common in the ancient world they were complicated.
Abraham’s favoritism is visited on the next generation as Isaac favors Esau the firstborn and Rebekah favors Jacob. Jacob the “grasper” surreptitiously acquires his brother’s birthright and his father’s blessing. When Esau marries Canaanite women, Rebekah and Isaac agree that Jacob must marry among his own people. Further, Esau had threatened to kill Isaac, so it was a good time to get out of town.
Along the way to Harran, Jacob ran into God. Sleeping with a rock as his pillow, he saw a dream of a staircase and God spoke to him promising Jacob progeny and God’s presence along the journey. He believed he had found God’s home and he worshiped there. Jacob did not know that Abraham had once built an altar there. Celtic Christians might have called Bethel a “thin space.” “Heaven and earth are only three feet apart,” they said, “but in some places they are closer.” There where his grandfather prayed and sacrificed, for seemingly the first time in his life, Jacob aligned himself with God.
Of course, we do not and should not choose our children’s spouses. But we do care deeply about the future of our families. So what can we do? Today we can say with Joshua, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” The longer I live, the more I think the only real control I have is of myself. Today I can love God with all that I am. I can pray for my children and grandchildren. When we are together I can tell them the truth about God.
Over Christmas I walked in Hershey Park with some of our kids and one of our grandchildren. We came to the place I often pray and I told two year old Josie, “This is where Doc prays.” We sat down under the trees and prayed together there. Precocious though we think she is, she likely will not remember that event. But my prayer for her and Nory and Thomas is that someday, somewhere, they will find a place of prayer and worship the God who is omnipresent. I know God will find them. My prayer is that they will worship God when and where he does.
