Vs.3- “And I will
make thee swear”- There are two types of communication that enter
people’s minds when we use the word swear.
1.) People think of cussing or
curse words. The Bible does condemn
wicked and corrupt communication.
2.) People think of making an
oath. To swear means to affirm or
utter a solemn declaration, with an appeal to God for the truth of what is
affirmed. There has been much
controversy and confusion over the issue of swearing in the Bible. The question has been asked if swearing is
allowed in the Bible. Jesus said in
Matt.5:33-37 that we are not to swear at all.
In Matt.23:16-23 Jesus again condemns swearing. James 5:12 also tells us that we should not
swear. But, on the contrary, scriptures
such as Heb.6:16, Number 30:2, Acts 21:23, and others seem to speak positively
of swearing. Abraham is causing his
servant to swear in this passage, Paul took an oath, and God himself swore and
made oaths with His people. Many
Christians ask questions such as, “Can I swear under oath in the court of law
to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Can I make a vow to my spouse on the wedding
altar?” As with many issues in the Bible
there is a right way to do things and a wrong way. In the Bible we find godly wisdom and worldy
wisdom, we find godly repentance and worldly repentance, we find saving faith
and empty faith. The issue of swearing
is no different. There are basically two
types of swearing when it comes to making an oath. A.)
One is an oath before God that you will perform an action. This is what a person does when they make
their marriage vows. They are vowing
before God that they will stay married for richer or poorer, in sickness of in
health, etc. God expects us to keep our
vows to Him! The Bible makes it clear
that it is better not to promise at all then to promise and not keep your
vows. B.) The
other type of oath is where someone is calling on a power higher than
themselves to testify with them that they are telling the truth. Like when someone says something silly like,
“I swear on a stack of Bibles that I am telling you the truth.” Jesus condemned this practice of the
Pharisees. Jesus told them not to swear
by God, his throne, the altar, or the temple, etc. The Pharisees also had a funny way of
wiggling themselves out of oaths. Jesus
is condemning their hypocrisy in swearing in Mat.23. Basically, it is not wrong to go down to an
altar and make a commitment to God to be a better husband, or soul-winner (as
long as you keep your commitment.) It is
however, wrong to invoke holy things and the name of God in rash frivolous
matters.
“ by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth,”- Abraham has
his servant swear by the Lord because there is no greater name to swear
by. Heb.6:13 tells us that God swore to
Abraham by His own name because He could swear by no greater. When you make an oath the idea is that you
are making an appeal to a higher power that will hold you responsible. When you swear by God or to God you are
attesting that God will hold you responsible for the oath that you have
made.
Three attributes of God are alluded to in this verse. Abraham is admitting to God’s greatness,
superiority, and he appeals to God as one greater in an oath by these three
attributes. 1.) He is the LORD. When you see the word LORD in all caps it is
the Hebrew word JEHOVAH. Jehovah means
self-existent or eternal. Everything
exists because of God. I was created in
the image of God and it’s by him that I live, and breathe, and have my
being. Everything we see around us is
upheld by the word of God’s power. He is
the glue that holds it all together.
Jehovah is the cause of all existence.
There is not anyone, anything, or any event that created God. God is eternal and self-existent. It is hard for us to comprehend an eternal
God. We can comprehend an eternal
future, but it is difficult to comprehend an eternal past. We, as humans, are eternal beings and will
live forever; but we all had a beginning.
God is from eternity past to eternity future. He had no beginning and He will have no
end. Abraham said that he wanted his
servant to swear by the self-existent, eternal One. Why?
Because he always has been and always will be and He will never
change! You and I may sign a document
and make an agreement that is subject to change, but when you swear by the Lord
you are making an agreement based on a factor (God) that will never
change. 2.) The God of heaven. The word for God is Elohim which simply means
“God” or “Deity.” This tells of his
position as the ruler and king of the kingdom of heaven. In the third heaven, where the angels, seraphims,
cherubims, the four and twenty elders, and the redeemed of all ages dwell, God
is sitting upon His throne and rules as the sovereign majesty of the blessed
kingdom in glory. 3.) The God of Earth. God is not just ruling in heaven, but His providence
reaches to the earth also. The Lord
executes judgment, justice, and mercy upon earth. The earth receives the bounty and blessing
from its Creator.
“ that, thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the
Canaanites, among whom I dwell:”- The servant was to promise Abraham
that he wouldn’t take a wife for his son Isaac from the Canaanites. Two questions come to my mind from this
statement. 1.) Why could Isaac not choose a wife for himself? Isaac was 40 years old at this time. Was he not old enough to choose a wife for himself? His brother Esau had chosen his own
wives. I believe there are possible two
answers to this question. A.) Isaac was the chosen seed. He was the miracle child that God’s nation,
Israel, was to come from. He was also
the seed line of Christ. It was of the
utmost importance that he marry right.
B.) Because he was the miracle
child and the one through which the blessing would flow, it may be that Abraham
did not want him to leave the Promised Land.
2.) Why could Isaac not marry a
Canaanite woman? There are two answers that
are really one and then a third answer. A.) The Canaanites had been cursed by God. The Israelite nation was to come through the
posterity of Isaac. The blessed seed of
Israel was not to mix with the cursed seed of Canaan. This does not mean that God is a racist or
that God doesn’t love everybody. The
children of Israel were not to intermarry with the heathen because they were a
chosen people. B.) The seed line of Christ was not to be mixed
with the cursed line of the Canaanites.
One of the main reasons that the Jews were not to intermarry was because
through them the Messiah would come.
Although, interestingly enough, there are Gentiles in the seed line of
Christ! This was no mistake, but part of
the providence and plan of God. C.) The Canaanites were cursed for a reason. They were sacrificing their children to
Molech by burning them alive on altars.
They were committing lewd and detestable sexual acts that went against
nature. The cup of the iniquity of the
Amorites was about to be full and God would tell the children of Israel to
completely wipe out these people for their gross sin. God told the children of Israel not to
intermarry because they would become involved with the pagan worship and
idolatry of the Canaanites around them.
This took place in the life of King Solomon who clave to many strange
gods because of his many foreign wives.
Isaac was not to marry a pagan, idolatrous woman. He was to marry a woman who knew Jehovah God.
One-Line
Explanation:
Abraham causes his servant to swear by God that he will not get a
Canaanite wife for his son, Isaac.
Lesson: 1.) It is important that we keep our
commitments that we make to God. God
will hold us accountable for what we say.
Let us be careful not to make rash vows.
It is smart not to make many vows at all. When you do make a vow, then you need to take
it seriously. Husbands and wives need to
take their marriage vows seriously; preachers that vowed to serve God faithfully
need to take that vow seriously; laymen that made a promise at an altar to
serve God faithfully need to take their vows seriously. 2.)
God is self-existent and eternal.
He holds all things together, therefore, we should not worry about
tomorrow. Many things about tomorrow I
don’t seem to understand, but I know who holds tomorrow and I know who holds my
hand. God is in control of all things
and He will take care of His own. We
need to stop worrying so much and just trust our heavenly Father. 3.) Isaac
was not to marry a heathen woman. The
New Testament principle is that we are not to be unequally yoked together with
unbelievers. Young people need to be
diligent and prayerful about finding a spouse that is saved and serving
God. A saved young person has no
business dating someone or marrying someone who is not saved. They may have the tag of Christian but that
does not mean they are a Christian. A
Baptist that believes in salvation by grace through faith should not date
and/or marry a Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness, Church of Christ, Catholic,
Pentecostal, etc. If you are already
unequally yoked then there are principles in 1 Cor.7 that help you to know what
to do or how to behave while being married to an unbeliever. The single Christian should not seek to be
married to a Canaanite! You may have a
weird idea that you can change them, but the odds are against you. Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived
and he penned scripture, yet ungodly wives turned his heart away from God. You are not smarter than Solomon! Stay away from the Canaanite woman and marry
an equal yoke. Your life will be so much
happier if you will follow God’s teaching.
Where
is Jesus?- 1.) Jesus
Christ is Jehovah God! Jesus Christ is
Elohim! Jesus is not a god, He is the
God. Jesus is the creator and sustainer
of all things. All things are upheld by
the word of His power. All things were
created by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. Jesus is the self-existent one. Jesus is God in the flesh. 2.) Jesus
is pictured by Isaac. Jesus is the Son
who receives a bride. Jesus bride does
not consist of those that reject God (The Canaanite). Jesus bride is made up of believers. If you have trusted Christ as your Saviour
then you are part of the bride of Christ.
The popular teaching is that everyone will go to heaven, but the reality
is that only those who make up the bride of Christ will be brought into the groom’s
chamber (heaven.) Are you a part of the
bride or are you still a Canaanite?
