Thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: but thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. Genesis 24:3, 4.
Abraham’s habitual faith in God and submission to His will were reflected in the character of Isaac; but the young man’s affections were strong, and he was gentle and yielding in disposition. If united with one who did not fear God, he would be in danger of sacrificing principle for the sake of harmony. In the mind of Abraham, the choice of a wife for his son was a matter of grave importance; he was anxious to have him marry one who would not lead him from God….
Abraham had marked the result of the intermarriage of those who feared God and those who feared Him not, from the days of Cain to his own time. The consequences of his own marriage with Hagar, and of the marriage connections of Ishmael and Lot, were before him. The lack of faith on the part of Abraham and Sarah had resulted in the birth of Ishmael, the mingling of the righteous seed with the ungodly. The father’s influence upon his son was counteracted by that of the mother’s idolatrous kindred and by Ishmael’s connection with heathen wives….
The wife of Lot was a selfish, irreligious woman, and her influence was exerted to separate her husband from Abraham. But for her, Lot would not have remained in Sodom, deprived of the counsel of the wise, God-fearing patriarch….
No one who fears God can without danger connect himself with one who fears Him not. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). The happiness and prosperity of the marriage relation depends upon the unity of the parties; but between the believer and the unbeliever there is a radical difference of tastes, inclinations, and purposes. They are serving two masters, between whom there can be no concord. However pure and correct one’s principles may be, the influence of an unbelieving companion will have a tendency to lead away from God…. The Lord’s direction is, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14, 17, 18).
Conflict and Courage p. 57
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Prayer Requests
—–I am requesting healing prayers for our good
friend Maura who has been hospitalized. Don’t know
the details yet but she suffers from severe back pain from previous injury
she had several years ago. Virginia
—–Ron saw an accident on the way to work this morning that looked really bad. Please pray for those involved. Rose
—–My heart is sad, we lost our Uncle Bruce, he was only 6 years older than my twin and I, he was like a brother we never had. I’m so thankful for the comfort of our dear Saviour Jesus. Linda
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Dear Friends,
When he was younger, Ron’s great interest was airplanes. As a teenager, he hung around the airport and eventually took some flying lessons as he had money to do so. After we met, we used to spend a lot of time at the airport watching planes take off and land. This was especially pretty at night. Wherever we moved, the airport was one of the first places we visited.
When we moved to Pennsylvania in 1974, Ron began to look for nearby airports, so he could continue his hobby. Picking up the phone book, he turned to the yellow pages. To his delight, he found that we were living very close to Berwick International Airport. This was great news and he was excited! Thoughts of spending his free time watching huge airplanes take off and land filled his head. He even began to hope that he would be able to resume his flying lessons at the general aviation section of this international airport.
With eager anticipation, Ron drove toward Berwick. He watched for the road signs that would surely be pointing to such a large airport. He could find none. He drove around and around. Finally he stopped at a gas station and asked for directions. The man looked at him a little strangely but pointed him in the right direction. Soon he saw a small, weathered sign beside a dirt road. He turned in. To Ron’s surprise and disappointment, all that was there was a grass strip and a dilapidated wooden hanger barely larger than a garage. Inside that hanger was an old car that had obviously not worked for years. Two or three small planes were parked outside. Ron was confused. Surely there was some mistake. The man must have been playing a trick on him. Then he noticed faded words that were neatly painted above the open door of that rundown old hanger, “Berwick International Airport.” Who was it that had named this nearly abandoned grassy field such a thing? Did they have hopes that their tiny airport would someday grow into a large metropolitan airport, or did someone just have a warped sense of humor?
How often we are like Berwick International Airport. We profess to be a Christian, but upon examination, we find that our heart does not match that profession. Jesus told His disciples, “except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 5:20 When the disciples heard His declaration, they were shocked. These religious leaders seemed so holy, so perfect. How could they be better than the Pharisees? Later, Jesus explained. “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do, but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they . . . love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.” “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are withi! n full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 23:2-7, 27,28
Paul admonishes us, “follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” 1 Tim 6:11, 12 How important it is that we “follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart” that we may truly be children of our Heavenly Father. 2 Tim 2:22 How vital that we “put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” “[holding] fast our profession without wavering.” Eph 6:11, Heb 4:23
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whol! e duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecc 12:13,14
Rose