Isaac and Rebekah

As Sarah dies and Abraham gets older, he realizes he needs to attend to his eligible bachelor son Isaac, but like any good father, he wants to make sure the RIGHT person is chosen. In 24:3-4, Abraham states "...swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” This cannot be overemphasized or overstated.

About 25 years ago, my parents picked up a book titled "Scandinavian Humor and Other Myths." I'm going to place the pictures from the front and back cover below, and hopefully side-by-side:

From what I can tell from an old Lutheran Brotherhood article that my parents clipped (and that confuses me, since we were staunch AAL people, but I'm getting ahead of myself), the first picture is from when the author walks up and takes the picture, and the second is after he has identified himself as a relative. As the pictures clearly depict,  us Scandinavians (and by extension, Lutherans--it's 100% overlap) are known for our friendly, outgoing manner. That's why we leave the front pews open at church, so the latecomers have a place to sit (and also for visitors, so we can get a good look at them).

One of the sections in the book is titled "25 Reasons to Go to a Good Lutheran College," and includes such words of wisdom as:

• Your parents think it is a good idea and will pay for it.
• Your parents want you to go there to get away from those bad influences (non-Scandinavians) you've been hanging out with.
• You relish the idea of going to a college that offers classes in New Testament Greek so you can translate Luther League terms such as kerygma, agape and eschatology.
• You are a PK. While everyone expects a PK to act a little crazy, they also expect you to go to a Lutheran college and get yourself straightened out.

It's a great book, and I'll let you borrow it if you wish with the clear stipulation that you WILL give it back to me or I will HUNT YOU DOWN like Khan in "Star Trek II." As with all good humor, it's based in reality, and Abraham knew the reality all parents know to this day--it's important for our children to marry the right people for the right reasons. We don't do arranged marriages in America anymore (at least that we're willing to admit). I remember clearly what one of my employees told me when I was still a Kmart manager and she said "There's nothing sadder than seeing your child leave the church." Abraham took all the steps necessary to ensure that Isaac didn't leave the "church," and why wouldn't he? God had promised him that Abraham would be the father of a great nation, and that nation wasn't going to happen if Isaac married some Canaanite floozy. God proposes, man disposes. My parents looked askance at Lisa initially (Polish Catholic), and her parents me (handsome Lutheran), but both came around quickly when they saw our most important characteristic--Christian.

Scott