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Patriarchs and Prophets
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 jealousy of Hagar, and of the wives whom she chose for Ishmael,
surrounded his family with a barrier that Abraham endeavored in vain
to overcome.
Abraham’s early teachings had not been without effect upon Ish-
mael, but the influence of his wives resulted in establishing idolatry
in his family. Separated from his father, and embittered by the strife
and contention of a home destitute of the love and fear of God, Ish-
mael was driven to choose the wild, marauding life of the desert chief,
“his hand” “against every man, and every man’s hand against him.”
Genesis 16:12
. In his latter days he repented of his evil ways and
returned to his father’s God, but the stamp of character given to his
posterity remained. The powerful nation descended from him were a
turbulent, heathen people, who were ever an annoyance and affliction
to the descendants of Isaac.
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. The influence of his wife and the
associations of that wicked city would have led him to apostatize from
God had it not been for the faithful instruction he had early received
from Abraham. The marriage of Lot and his choice of Sodom for a
home were the first links in a chain of events fraught with evil to the
world for many generations.
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.
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