A Faithful Family Lineage

February, 2008

by: Dave Jordan

God is faithful (Deut 7:9, 1 Cor 10:13). Do we live like God is faithful and true? Does our family life display a compelling argument of God's faithfulness to the world? Do our family members understand and live by the richness of God's enduring faithfulness, truth and loyalty? Do you want to walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6) in the knowledge and understanding of God and his faithfulness? As believers, of course we do. This is what we yearn for. As believing men, leaders of our home, and proponents of the faith, we set the standard for our household, and that example should be forged on God's faithfulness.

One man who did this was Abraham. Let us see how he practically applies the faithfulness of God to his family life. While you may be thinking about Abraham offering Isaac, we are going to look nearly 30 years later in Abraham’s life when his son is in need of a wife. This is one of my favorite stories! As we look at this story, we need to answer two questions: First, how does Abraham and his family demonstrate a life built on the faithfulness of God? Second, what does that mean to us?

Genesis 24. Abraham is old and advanced in years. His wife has just died and it is time for His son to be married. Since Abraham was living among the Canaanites naturally he would choose one of them to be his son's bride, right? But this is not what God had for Him. Abraham knew that God wanted Isaac to marry one of his own people (Gen 12:7). This is the first good move that we will take note of. Abraham took the biblical road, not the easy road. He put his trust in the Lord, and sent his servant to his own people to find a wife for his son (Gen 24:7). Fathers, this means he trusted God to make sure his servant would find a proper bride, a believer. No micromanaging here. It was all about God and the faithfulness of His Word to Abraham.

Then Abraham's servant hits the road in search of a bride, a believer, one of his people. His servant beseeches the Lord for success (Gen 24:12) and comes into contact with Rebekah. We see that Rebekah was faithful because she obeyed her father in the small things like drawing water (Gen 24:15-16). Men, how would our daughters fare compared to Rebekah? Would they be found faithful? Rebekah was even faithful in the seemingly mundane task of drawing water, but that's exactly where God wanted her. When approached by Abraham's servant, Rebekah not only gave him a drink of water but she voluntarily gave water to his camels as well. This shows a submissive heart and based on the servants request of God, confirmation that she would be Isaac's bride.

Upon returning to Abraham's house with his servant, Rebekah saw Isaac coming out into the field to meditate (Gen 24:63). Rebekah had learned modesty and covered her face with a veil (Gen 24:65). Isaac's faithfulness to God, his meditation, was the first impression for Rebekah to behold. This was a great first impression! So we must ask ourselves; what impression does our family give to the world? Are you cultivating obedient children or have you abandoned that responsibility to your wife or church or school? Hopefully the world will see God's faithfulness through the daily practical actions of our entire family!

So what does this mean to us, practically? Men, this story begs us to ask ourselves how we are doing at developing a “Faithful Family Lineage”. Abraham set the example for his family and for his servants. God promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit land from the river of Egypt as far as the great river Euphrates, and would multiply his descendants as the stars of heaven (Gen 15:18, Ex 32:13). It is our responsibility to live not for ourselves, but for Christ who lives in us (Gal 2:20) and to allow His plan to rule our lives, just as Abraham did.

Men, set the example to fervently dig into God's Word on a daily basis. I am not exempt, but have to work hard at this as well. Guard the family schedule so that there is not only room for prayer together but room for you to disciple the family. Saturate your family with God's Word and demonstrate how to live in faithful obedience to God. Let us demonstrate to the world as Abraham did, that we as believers practically live in light of God's faithfulness.