Oaths

By Venessa Holtzhausen

Gen 24:2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
Gen 24:3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
Gen 24:4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

According to Ibn Ezra and other authorities, this literally means the thigh. The custom in those days was for a man to put his hand under the one who rules over him to underscore the importance of the task and the servant’s commitment to it. This custom still exists in India.

This was a very serious mission for Abraham. His wife, the mother of Isaac is dead and he is well advanced in age and his son needs the right wife. Not only would she be the wife of Isaac, but also the mother of nations to come. She had to be a godly woman.

Abraham asked a trusted servant to complete this mission. Someone who he knows will do exactly as he said and the servant was also well aware of the commandments of YHWH, because Abraham taught him.

This oath is also saying, by placing your under the thigh, that if you should not do accordingly, you sin against the generation to come, and they will deal with you.

The question is today, can God trust us, to complete His mission, as the servant did?

Amen!