3 And take an oath by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not get a wife for my son Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living;
And when Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite: And Isaac and Rebekah had grief of mind because of them.
Let the fear of the Lord your God be before you, give him worship and be true to him at all times, taking your oaths in his name.
It was clear to Esau that his father had no love for the women of Canaan,
Do not take wives or husbands from among them; do not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons. For through them your sons will be turned from me to the worship of other gods: and the Lord will be moved to wrath against you and send destruction on you quickly.
And Jonathan again took an oath to David, because of his love for him: for David was as dear to him as his very soul.
And Hezekiah made his prayer to the Lord, saying, O Lord, the God of Israel, seated between the winged ones, you only are the God of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.
You are the Lord, even you only; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their armies, the earth and all things in it, the seas and everything in them; and you keep them from destruction: and the armies of heaven are your worshippers.
And I took up the cause against them, cursing them and giving blows to some of them and pulling out their hair; and I made them take an oath by God, saying, You are not to give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.
Do not keep company with those who have not faith: for what is there in common between righteousness and evil, or between light and dark? And what agreement is there between Christ and the Evil One? or what part has one who has faith with one who has not? And what agreement has the house of God with images? for we are a house of the living God; even as God has said, I will be living among them, and walking with them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people. For which cause, Come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, and let no unclean thing come near you; and I will take you for myself,
So that he who is requesting a blessing will make use of the name of the true God, and he who takes an oath will do so by the true God; because the past troubles are gone out of mind, and because they are covered from my eyes.
For men at all times make their oaths by what is greater; and any argument is ended by the decision of the oath.
And the worshippers of the army of heaven on the house-tops, and the Lord's worshippers who take oaths by Milcom,
And it will be that, if they give their minds to learning the ways of my people, using my name in their oaths, By the living Lord; as they have been teaching my people to take oaths by the Baal; then their place will be made certain among my people.
And you will take your oath, By the living Lord, in good faith and wisdom and righteousness; and the nations will make use of you as a blessing, and in you will they take a pride.
If he takes his oath before the Lord that he has not put his hand to his neighbour's goods, the owner is to take his word for it and he will not have to make payment for it.
And Canaan was the father of Zidon, who was his oldest son, and Heth, And the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite, And the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite, And the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite; after that the families of the Canaanites went far and wide in all directions; Their country stretching from Zidon to Gaza, in the direction of Gerar; and to Lasha, in the direction of Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim.
And blessing him, said, May the blessing of the Most High God, maker of heaven and earth, be on Abram:
And they said, We saw clearly that the Lord was with you: so we said, Let there be an oath between us and you, and let us make an agreement with you; That you will do us no damage, even as we put no hand on you, and did you nothing but good, and sent you away in peace: and now the blessing of the Lord is on you. Then he made a feast for them, and they all had food and drink. And early in the morning they took an oath one to the other: then Isaac sent them away and they went on their way in peace.
Come, let us make an agreement, you and I; and let it be for a witness between us. Then Jacob took a stone and put it up as a pillar. And Jacob said to his people, Get stones together; and they did so; and they had a meal there by the stones. And the name Laban gave it was Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob gave it the name of Galeed. And Laban said, These stones are a witness between you and me today. For this reason its name was Galeed, And Mizpah, for he said, May the Lord keep watch on us when we are unable to see one another's doings. If you are cruel to my daughters, or if you take other wives in addition to my daughters, then though no man is there to see, God will be the witness between us. And Laban said, See these stones and this pillar which I have put between you and me; They will be witness that I will not go over these stones to you, and you will not go over these stones or this pillar to me, for any evil purpose. May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, be our judge. Then Jacob took an oath by the Fear of his father Isaac.
You are not to make use of the name of the Lord your God for an evil purpose; whoever takes the Lord's name on his lips for an evil purpose will be judged a sinner by the Lord
The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took wives for themselves from those who were pleasing to them.
Or take their daughters for your sons; for when their daughters give worship before their gods, they will make your sons take part with them.
And do not take an oath in my name falsely, putting shame on the name of your God: I am the Lord.
Let the fear of the Lord your God be in your hearts, and be his servants, taking your oaths by his name.
May you have the blessing of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 24
Commentary on Genesis 24 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 24
Marriages and funerals are the changes of families, and the common news among the inhabitants of the villages. In the foregoing chapter we had Abraham burying his wife, here we have him marrying his son. These stories concerning his family, with their minute circumstances, are largely related, while the histories of the kingdoms of the world then in being, with their revolutions, are buried in silence; for the Lord knows those that are his. The subjoining of Isaac's marriage to Sarah's funeral (with a particular reference to it, v. 67) shows us that as "one generation passes away another generation comes;' and thus the entail both of the human nature, and of the covenant, is preserved. Here is,
Gen 24:1-9
Three things we may observe here concerning Abraham:-
Gen 24:10-28
Abraham's servant now begins to make a figure in this story; and, though he is not named, yet much is here recorded to his honour, and for an example to all servants, who shall be honoured if, by faithfully serving God and their masters, they adorn the doctrine of Christ (compare Prov. 27:18 with Titus 2:10); for there is no respect of persons with God, Col. 3:24, 25. A good servant that makes conscience of the duty of his place, and does it in the fear of God, though he make not a figure in the world nor have praise of men, yet shall be owned and accepted of God and have praise of him. Observe here,
Gen 24:29-53
We have here the making up of the marriage between Isaac and Rebekah. It is related very largely and particularly, even to the minute circumstances, which, we should think, might have been spared, while other things of great moment and mystery (as the story of Melchizedek) are related in few words. Thus God conceals that which is curious from the wise and prudent, reveals to babes that which is common and level to their capacity (Mt. 11:25), and rules and saves the world by the foolishness of preaching, 1 Co. 1:21. Thus also we are directed to take notice of God's providence in the little common occurrences of human life, and in them also to exercise our own prudence and other graces; for the scripture was not intended for the use of philosophers and statesmen only, but to make us all wise and virtuous in the conduct of ourselves and families. Here is,
Gen 24:54-61
Rebekah is here taking leave of her father's house; and
Gen 24:62-67
Isaac and Rebekah are, at length, happily brought together. Observe,