Connect Series: Communication

Yesterday morning, I began a new relationship series called Connect. During the series, we'll look at the lives of Bible couples and the issues they dealt with in their marriages. This week, we looked at the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah. Their issue: communication.

Whenever you meet someone, you usually like to know something about them. Here's some background on Isaac and Rebekah:

How they met? Isaac's dad, Abraham, was getting older and wanted his son to marry someone from his own people, not from the land of Canaan where his family had settled. Abraham sent a servant back home to find a wife for his son (Genesis 24:1-4). The servant was successful in his efforts to find a bride, Rebekah (Genesis 24: 10-28).

What was she like? We learn that Rebekah was beautiful (Gen. 24: 16); industrious (24: 17-20) and confident (24: 53-58).

What was he like? Isaac was a contemplative man (Gen. 24:63) who trusted God (26: 24, 25).

What was their issue? This couple struggled with infertility (Gen. 25: 21-26), a major cause of marital strife throughout history, but upon being blessed with children, they then each had a favorite son (Gen. 25: 27, 28).

But the ultimate problem in the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah was one of poor communication. They did not communicate God's plan for their family's future (Gen 25:23) to their sons. Plus, they were not on the same page and worked secretly in opposition to each other (Gen. 27: 1-8).

Ultimately, this lack of communication in their marriage blew their family apart.

Tomorrow, I'll post some ways for couples to improve the communication in their marriage.