These 67 verses contain a number of interesting characters in a story that seems somewhat out of touch with our current views of courtship and marriage, at least in the Western world. I met my wife at church (which a former pastor once told me was one of the best places to meet your spouse!). Many readers, I suspect, can also relate to how they met and married their spouses.

Here we find Abraham, old and anticipating his death, worried that his son, Isaac, would take a wife from among the Canaanites, who had a reputation for not living up to God’s expectations as well as to Abraham’s expectations. So, he asks his most trusted servant to swear an oath, carry lots of treasures, and travel over many miles to his home country to find a bride from among his family.

From the beginning Abraham was led by God—his elderly wife Sarah had borne a son and he had God’s promise that Isaac would have children. He was quite sure that God would work out the particulars in some way. So, if the servant’s journey was not successful, he told the servant he would be released from his oath if no bride could be found. The servant was also being led by God as he traveled and when he reached the well, he prayed that the Lord would show him a suitable bride-to-be. It is interesting to note that the meeting took place at a well similar to the meeting place of Jacob and Rachel, and later in the New Testament, that of Jesus and the Samaritan woman.

God became the matchmaker for Isaac and Rebekah. But what if Isaac had married a Canaanite woman? How different the course of history might have been.

Over the many years since the time of Christ, Christians have believed that God would be their guide along life’s pathways. Abraham, his servant, Isaac and Rebekah, and many others, believed in that spirit-filled guidance.

It is that same guidance that travels with us in our life’s journey. God is leading us and showing us The Way.