Advanced Level, Block 2—Result of Entering the Good Land
Week 20
Finding the Right Bride for Isaac—God’s Choice
Point to Emphasize: We must take God’s thought about marriage.
Reference Reading: Genesis 24:1-52
Memory Verse: For everything there is a season, / And a time for every purpose under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
Story Sample
Our memory verse for today says, “For everything there is a season, / And a time for every purpose under heaven.” We can see that from now until you graduate from college or learn a trade, it is the season for growing, gaining an education, and learning how to be the right kind of person. Later, there will be the season of getting married, having families, and being responsible to earn a living. As a child, it is helpful to know God’s thought about marriage. By knowing God’s thought, you can avoid many problems as you grow older.
The Bible, in Genesis, has a story that shows us God’s thought about marriage. This story is about the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah. Abraham, Isaac’s father, knew that in order for God to fulfill His promise of having many descendants, Isaac, would need to get married. So, Abraham called one of his servants and asked him to go to his country and to his relatives to find a wife for Isaac. In speaking a serious word to his servant concerning the marriage of his son, Abraham was speaking God’s thought. Abraham’s faithful servant took the oath to follow Abraham’s direction. Abraham told the servant that he knew God would send an angel before him to find the proper wife for Isaac whom God had already chosen. Abraham knew God was the One choosing the wife for Isaac. As the servant took the oath, he also realized that God was the One who would do the choosing for Isaac.
So, his servant took ten camels and set out to the land where Abraham was from. He fully trusted in God. When he got to the city by the well, he prayed. He wanted God to show him who would be the right one to marry Isaac. He said, “May she be the one whom You have appointed…for Isaac” (Genesis 24:14).
Before the servant had even finished his prayer, there was a young woman that came with a pitcher on her shoulder. Her name was Rebekah and she was not married. The servant asked Rebekah for a drink from her pitcher of water. She immediately gave it to him and then generously drew water from the well for all of his camels. When the servant asked her who she was, she told him that she was one of Abraham’s relatives. When the servant heard this, he worshipped Jehovah, because he knew that Jehovah had led him to Rebekah and her father’s house. Rebekah ran to her mother and told her about these things. The servant came to the house and told the family how Jehovah had led him every step of the way to find Rebekah. The family was convinced that this was God’s doing.
Rebekah’s dad agreed that she should become Isaac’s wife, because this was God’s choice. Then they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go?” (v. 58). Rebekah could also see that this was God’s arrangement, so she said, “I will go” (v. 58). When she and the servant returned to Abraham, she became Isaac’s wife.
When I was 18 years old, I thought it was only my choice whom I would marry. Most of my girlfriends had boyfriends, so I started to look at the boys around me to see whom I would choose. But one day, someone older than me told me something that helped me for the rest of my life. He told me that God already had chosen the husband that I would marry one day and that I had no need to “look around.” Besides, he told me that 18 years old was too young to be thinking about marriage. There was still much I needed to learn and do to become a proper adult woman and a proper wife. So, I decided to stay preserved for when the time was right to meet and marry my husband. I kept no boyfriend, and I waited until the right time, the right season, as it says in our memory verse today. Oh, this word from my friend helped me all the way through until I was a young adult. When I was 25 years old and had finished college and the Full-Time Training, God was faithful to bring me His choice, and it was the perfect timing! [Storyteller, when presenting a personal example, please present it as how it was God’s choice and the perfect season, following the example provided. You can also use the example provided here in third person as of someone who grew up in children’s meetings just like them.]
Surely, no one at your age is thinking about marriage, but some of your friends may already be thinking about having boyfriends and girlfriends. You read about this in books and see it on social media and TV shows. But that is not God’s way seen in the Bible. God’s way is for us to be good students involved in many healthy activities so that our heart and our body is preserved for the one God has chosen.
Each one of you must preserve your whole being for the person God has chosen for you. It is so good that you can hear this when you are young. Some of the grownups around you didn’t get to hear this when they were young. Also, some of your friends around you might never get to hear something like this. It always turns out best when we take God’s thought. You should talk with your parents about everything we shared today, and you can tell them if you have decided something in your heart. Sharing these kinds of things with our parents really helps us grow in the best way.