When the others were leaving, Abraham drew Isaac aside and invited him to come sit with him for a time. The two walked back in silence to Abraham’s tent, where an oil lamp had been left burning. This was always a favorite time of day for Isaac. Even as a small boy he had loved the evening. To sit just inside his father’s tent with the flaps up so they could see the stars was a special treat. They seemed so close, almost alive in the black curtain of the sky.
His father was always talking about the stars. Coming from Ur he knew many interesting facts about them; more than that, he always mentioned the promise. The strange promise from Elohim that his descendants could be numbered as the stars.
Eventually the moon would rise over the jagged mountains to the east, changing familiar objects into mysterious and fanciful shapes. The soft glow of the hanging oil lamp cast long shadows on the sides of the tent and across the ground coverings. It was a magical time, a time for talking and confiding, and the two had shared many such times ever since Isaac could remember. Since it was his habit to never hold anything back from his father, he now struggled to find words to tell him of the strange happenings in Gerar.
“There is a lovely young princess in Gerar,” he said finally.
“And, this princess, is she a good match for you?” Abraham asked.
“Oh yes, she loves me and has even made arrangements to give herself to me.”
Abraham’s eyebrows shot up and his eyes narrowed. His fingers pulled at the fringe on his shawl as he struggled to form a statement or word a question. “So,” he said finally, “she plans to give herself to you. Does her father approve?”
“Well, she has the approval of the goddess she worships.”
For a moment there was silence. Abraham leaned forward and opened his mouth but no words came. He stared at Isaac as though really seeing him for the first time. He had assumed so much. It had never occurred to him this child of the promise could be tempted by someone who worshiped idols.
Of course it was evident he was no longer a child. In fact he was almost forty years old and might have been married long before this if his mother had lived.
“My son,” Abraham said at last, “I have been remiss in that I have not sought out a wife for you as Sarah insisted before she died. Other sons of mine like Ishmael can marry as they please, but you are different. You are the child of promise and those who come from you will inherit the blessing.”
Isaac’s face clouded as he struggled to put his thoughts into words. “But is a woman of that much importance?” he asked finally.
Abraham understood. Often, even among his own people, it was thought that since the man ruled the family, his wife was of little importance. She was simply a means of bringing children into the world and taking care of them until they could care for themselves. He pondered this as he struggled to find words to express his own thoughts.
“My son,” he said, “all my life, starting in my old home in Ur, I have studied the stars and it is evident that there is a pattern in things, a plan behind all that we see. It is the pattern put there by Elohim, and when we fit into that pattern, things go well for us. A father and mother both guide their children and teach them the ways of Elohim. That is His plan.”
“But this princess, she’s not just beautiful, she’s everything I could want in a wife. I would be so happy with her.”
Abraham frowned. He had not imagined that it had gone so far. Something must be done quickly, but what he didn’t know. This was going to be very difficult. He realized once more that as much as he might wish for a proper wife for Isaac, he knew no one who met the requirements. He wondered what Sarah would have done. Surely she would have known how to find the ideal bride for her beloved son.
“Isaac,” he said, “it’s late and such important decisions need much thought and prayer. We must not decide this quickly.” The two sat for a while longer, discussing a hunting trip into the desert and then Isaac said good night and left for his own tent.
Abraham watched him go with an aching heart. He could see that Isaac was drawn to this woman who was so wrong for him. He saw only the glittering attraction and had no idea of the price he would pay if he married her. Marriage, he thought, is the union of two people who will bring children into the world, and so the world is changed for better or for worse with every new generation. Good children are the reward of wise marriages.
Abraham sat by the fire for a long time thinking about all that had been said, but most of all he pondered the problem of where he would find the right wife for his son.
Later that night he was unable to sleep. He rose quietly and paced back and forth, trying to piece together some solution to the problem. He bitterly regretted that he had let so much time pass since Sarah’s death without finding a wife for Isaac. Certainly a Canaanite princess who worshiped idols was in no way a proper bride for this son who was to have the blessing of Elohim as well as that of Abraham, and would claim the birthright.