Abraham refused a Canaanite wife for Isaac because God had directed the covenant family not to intermarry with the pagan, idolatrous Canaanites.
In Genesis 24:3-4 Abraham made his servant swear not to take a Canaanite wife for Isaac but to return to his country and kindred in Syria. Les Feldick teaches that God laid this on Abraham's heart — Abraham had been told of God that Isaac's wife was not to be a citizen of Canaan. When Esau later married Canaanite women, Scripture says it was 'a grief of mind' to Isaac and Rebekah, confirming the importance of the ban.
Genesis 24:3-4 — Abraham's command that his servant must not take a Canaanite wife for Isaac, but must return to Abraham's country and kindred, is the direct biblical answer to the question.
In Genesis 24:3-4, Abraham made his servant swear an oath concerning Isaac's bride: '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: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.' The Scripture does not state Abraham's reasoning in this passage; it simply records his command that the servant must not take a daughter of the Canaanites, and must instead travel to Abraham's homeland and kindred. The same prohibition appears again in the next generation. Genesis 28:1 says, 'And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.' And the grief caused by Canaanite marriages is made explicit in Genesis 26:35, which says of Esau's Hittite wives, 'Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.'
Les Feldick is emphatic that this was God's direction, not merely Abraham's cultural preference. When it came to choosing a bride for Isaac, Abraham 'had been told of God that Isaac's wife was not to be a citizen of Canaan' (Clip 4), and 'God had distinctly said that they were not to marry a Canaanite' (Clip 7). Les explains that God laid it upon Abraham's heart that Isaac had to have a wife from the place of their forebears, which was up in Syria (Clip 2). Les also explains the contrast: Ishmael married Canaanite women (Clip 2), and Esau married Canaanite women that 'were a grief of mind' to Isaac and Rebekah (Clip 3). The Canaanites were 'pagan, idolatrous, and immoral' (Clip 3). Les notes that all these Middle Eastern families were interrelated, but the Canaanites were deliberately kept out of the covenant line (Clips 5, 7). He also sees a beautiful type in the story: Rebekah, a Gentile from Syria, becomes Isaac's bride, which is 'a picture of Christ calling out the Gentile bride' (Clip 2).
Les Feldick teaches that this was God's direction. He says Abraham 'had been told of God that Isaac's wife was not to be a citizen of Canaan' (Clip 4), and that God 'distinctly said that they were not to marry a Canaanite' (Clip 7). He also says God laid it on Abraham's heart that Isaac's wife had to come from the place of their forebears in Syria (Clip 2).
Les describes the Canaanites as 'pagan, idolatrous, and immoral' (Clip 3). They were the people among whom Abraham dwelt (Genesis 24:3), yet the covenant family was told not to intermarry with them. Les notes that all the other families of the Middle East were interrelated, but the Canaanites were specifically kept out (Clip 7).
Esau married two Canaanite women, and Scripture says those marriages 'were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah' (Genesis 26:35; Clip 3). Les observes that Esau was comfortable with these pagan wives, but the covenant family was not. He adds that Esau then married daughters of Ishmael, while the covenant promises remained associated with the line of Isaac and Jacob (Clip 6).
Abraham's instruction was explicit: the servant was not to take a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites, but was to go to Abraham's country and kindred (Genesis 24:3-4; Clip 1). Les identifies that homeland as the area of Syria (Clip 2), and notes that all these Middle Eastern families were interrelated descendants of Abraham (Clip 5). Isaac's bridal journey became, in Les's words, 'a picture of Christ calling out the Gentile bride' (Clip 2).
Abraham’s Test of Faith: Why God Asked for Isaac – Bible Study
You remember here a few years ago, they made a big furor about some things being built over or next to one of the Jewish cemeteries of the Holocaust. I mean, they have a thing about the burial places for their dead. And where I picked this up was an article in the Jerusalem Post a while back, and this rabbi pointed it out, and he uses this as an example.
Abraham's Charge to His Servant
Abraham makes his servant swear not to take a Canaanite wife for Isaac, but to return to his country and kindred for the bride.
Isaac's Bride From Syria
God laid it on Abraham's heart that Isaac must have a wife from the place of their forebears in Syria, and Isaac's marriage to a Gentile pictures Christ calling out the Gentile bride.
Esau's Grief-Causing Canaanite Wives
Esau's Canaanite marriages were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah, and the Canaanites were pagan, idolatrous, and immoral.
God's Direction to Abraham
Abraham had been told of God that Isaac's wife was not to be a citizen of Canaan.
The Servant Sent to Syria
Abraham's servant is sent back to his kindred in Syria, and Les notes that these Middle Eastern families were all interrelated.
Esau's Marriages Outside the Line
Esau's marriages to Hittite women and Ishmael's daughters are contrasted with the covenant promise that remained with Isaac and Jacob.
Canaanites Excluded From the Covenant Line
Although the Middle Eastern families were intertwined, the Canaanites were kept out because God had distinctly said they were not to marry a Canaanite.
Genesis 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:
Abraham's direct charge to his servant forbidding a Canaanite wife for Isaac.
Genesis 24:4: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
Abraham sends the servant to his homeland instead of leaving Isaac among the Canaanites.
Genesis 26:35: Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
Esau's Hittite wives grieved Isaac and Rebekah, confirming the family's rejection of Canaanite marriages.
Genesis 28:1: And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
Isaac repeats the same prohibition to Jacob, showing it was a family principle.
Les Feldick says Abraham 'had been told of God that Isaac's wife was not to be a citizen of Canaan' (Clip 4) and that God 'distinctly said that they were not to marry a Canaanite' (Clip 7). So, according to Les's teaching, the ban did not originate with Abraham alone — it was God's direction for the covenant family.
Abraham was not willing to take a daughter of the Canaanites among whom he lived (Genesis 24:3). Les explains that God had laid it on Abraham's heart that Isaac's bride had to come from the place of their forebears in Syria (Clip 2), so the servant traveled to Abraham's country and kindred (Clip 1).
Scripture says Esau's Hittite wives 'were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah' (Genesis 26:35). Les describes the Canaanites as pagan, idolatrous, and immoral (Clip 3), and the grief caused by Esau's marriages shows the covenant family's deep disapproval of Canaanite unions.
Watch the Teaching: Abraham’s Test of Faith: Why God Asked for Isaac – Bible Study