In his last days, Abraham’s primary concern was that his son should marry a woman of the same faith. The servant obeyed his master and, with the Lord’s guidance, found Rebekah as a wife for Isaac.
The command to marry only within their faith was repeated to Israel throughout the Old Testament (Deut. 7:3; Neh.13:25). The consequences of intermarriages were devastating. The scriptural report of Solomon, who married many foreign wives, was “that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD” (1 Kings 11:1, 4). The theme continues in the New Testament: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14).
We no longer live in a culture where parents arrange their children’s marriages. But we can pray for their marriage partners. The prayers for a godly husband or wife should begin the day our children are born, so that as they enter marriage they will have partners in faith and life who will strengthen their hearts in the Lord.
