Devotion 1 – Understanding the Sovereignty of God
In my years of travelling to many nations teaching on the Biblical principles of boy-girl relationships (also commonly known as BGR), I have come to realize that many people have this notion that God has a “special someone” whom they are “supposed” to marry. That means that on the day they were born, God has already predetermined their spouse and that there is just one person for them to marry. And if they make the right choice, they will be complete, and if they make the wrong choice, then they are finished!
Let’s think about this for a moment. If there is truly only one special person for each person, and with approximately 6 billion people on the planet at the moment, this will mean we would have to look at about 3 billion people to find that one “special someone”. And that is on the assumption that the ratio of boys and girls are equal.
Does God really have a specific someone for every one of us? Let us examine the Scriptures and seek the Lord for understanding for this complex issue.
It could be a “Yes”, but not a Rule for everyone - Story of Isaac & Rebekah (Gen.24:1-27)
“Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac…7 The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there… Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. 11 And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. 12 Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham please gives me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder… And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”
So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels…26Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. 27 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master.”
This is a very interesting passage that seems to show that God is sovereign over who we marry and has created one special person just for each one of us, as in the case of Isaac and Rebekah.
In verse 7, Abraham assured his servant that God will guide him to accomplish the task of finding the right spouse for his son Isaac “He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there”.
And in verse 14, the servant asked for a specific sign from God to lead him to the specific wife for Isaac “Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, “Please let down your pitcher that I may drink”, and she says, “Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink” – let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master”
It is significant for us to note that the servant had ten of his master’s camels with him (vs.10). In one drink, a camel can consume 100 to 150 liters of waters. That means Rebekah had to draw approximately one thousand five hundred liters of water in order to satisfy all the camels. “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking”
This was an enormous task for a young girl and her response was way beyond any cultural expectation of hospitality! It can only be God’s hand upon her fulfilling the servant’s prayers.
From this story, many conclude and derived the theology that God indeed has created a special someone for everyone. However, we need the full counsel of God’s Word to build a more accurate theological perspective.