Abraham had the concern that Isaac would marry a Canaanite woman, someone who is born out of the covenant, or not a member of the church. He wanted to make sure that Isaac took to wife a righteous woman who would obey and honor the covenants she made with God so that their family could be blessed.
Deuteronomy 7:1-4; 1 Corinthians 11:11; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Institute Student Manual
The consequences of marrying outside the covenant are that you won't have your children be raised in righteousness, you won't have the blessing of being sealed in the temple with your spouse and children, which means you won't have the highest degree of the priesthood blessing enabling you to live in the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom. It's also harder to obey God's commandments when you have an unbelieving spouse. These are still concerns today because there are people who don't marry members of the church, or those who don't honor their covenants they've made with God. They aren't able to pay tithing, accept positions in the church, and be a faithful member of the church because their spouse is bringing them down.
Genesis 24:15-67
Character traits that Rebekah had that would be desirable in a wife or husband are:
- Beautiful (verse 16)
- Kind (verse 18)
- Hard working (verse 19-20)
- Generous (verse 25)
- Obedient and Faithful (verse 58)
- Respectful (verse 65)
- Comforting (verse 67)
The concerns that Isaac and Rebekah had for Jacob were marrying outside of the covenant. They didn't want to lose him through marriage to a non-member and they wanted to ensure that he would receive all the blessings that God promised him if he would be faithful and marry righteously.
Genesis 29:1-30
In order to marry Rachel, Jacob was willing to work a total of 14 years for Laban, her father. Marrying into the covenant was really important to Jacob, and it's important to me as well. I married a worthy priesthood holder in the temple so that I could be together with my family forever. If I hadn't married within the covenant, I wouldn't be sealed to my husband or baby girl and our kids wouldn't grow up knowing the gospel truths due to a husband who wouldn't be a member. In order to keep the blessings of being sealed to my family forever, I need to keep the covenants I've made with God and be righteous and obedient, as well as teach my children in righteousness.
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