The Pattern of Obedience

 July 8, 2024

Monday

Sometimes a quiet time takes longer than other times. It is always necessary to read the scriptures around a scripture. Some of the worst heresies I know come from taking scripture out of context. There are times when that must be extended because it tells a story. Such is the case of Abraham's servant who found a wife for his son, Isaac. It is a long story but it is truly worth the time reading it today.

Genesis 24:1–61 (NASB 2020) ¹ Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in every way. ² Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household who was in charge of all that he owned, “Please place your hand under my thigh, ³ and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live; ⁴ but you will go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” ⁵ The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?” ⁶ Then Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there! ⁷ The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give this land’—He will send His angel ahead of you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free of this oath of mine; only do not take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham, and swore to him concerning this matter. ¹⁰ Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and went out with a variety of good things of his master’s in his hand; so he set out and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. ¹¹ He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water when it was evening, the time when women go out to draw water. ¹² And he said, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, I am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; ¹⁴ now may it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.” ¹⁵ And it came about, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. ¹⁶ The young woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had had relations with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. ¹⁷ Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar.” ¹⁸ And she said, “Drink, my lord”; then she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ Now when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will also draw water for your camels until they have finished drinking.” ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. ²¹ Meanwhile, the man was taking a close look at her in silence, to find out whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not. ²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half-shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels in gold, ²³ and he said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room for us to stay overnight at your father’s house?” ²⁴ She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ Again she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to stay overnight.” ²⁶ Then the man bowed low and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned His kindness and His trustworthiness toward my master; as for me, the Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.” ²⁸ Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. ²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran outside to the man at the spring. ³⁰ When he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man; and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. ³¹ And he said, “Come in, blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside, since I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels?” ³² So the man entered the house. Then Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. ³³ But when food was set before him to eat, he said, “I will not eat until I have stated my business.” And he said, “Speak on.” ³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has greatly blessed my master, so that he has become rich; and He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and slave women, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ Now my master’s wife Sarah bore a son to my master in her old age, and he has given him all that he has. ³⁷ My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live; ³⁸ but you shall go to my father’s house and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ Then I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman does not follow me.’ ⁴⁰ And he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house; ⁴¹ then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’ ⁴² “So I came today to the spring, and said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I have been going successful; ⁴³ behold, I am standing by the spring, and may it be that the young unmarried woman who comes out to draw water, and to whom I say, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar”; ⁴⁴ and she says to me, “You drink, and I will draw for your camels also”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’ ⁴⁵ “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ ⁴⁶ She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’; so I drank, and she watered the camels also. ⁴⁷ Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him’; and I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her wrists. ⁴⁸ And I bowed low and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had guided me in the right way to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ So now if you are going to deal kindly and truthfully with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me now, so that I may turn to the right or the left.” ⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The matter has come from the Lord; so we cannot speak to you bad or good. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.” ⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before the Lord. ⁵³ And the servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. ⁵⁴ Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they got up in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my master.” ⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, say ten; afterward she may go.” ⁵⁶ However, he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away so that I may go to my master.” ⁵⁷ And they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her.” ⁵⁸ Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” ⁵⁹ So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “May you, our sister, Become thousands of ten thousands, And may your descendants possess The gate of those who hate them.” ⁶¹ Then Rebekah got up with her female attendants, and they mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

There are several things Abraham's servant did that reflect his belief that his service to Abraham was a service to the Lord. Let me list those things that should be a method for our own path with the Lord.

1. The servant clarified the task given to him. This is very important when serving the Lord. The task for Abraham at one time was to go where I lead you until I tell you this is the place. The clarity that God sometimes gives us is only the next task. He doesn't give us all the particulars. That just means we have to listen and follow Him all the way.

2. The servant committed himself to the task. Many Christians are willing to do anything for the Lord but make no commitments to do anything. In other words, they tell us that they will serve the Lord with all their hearts and fail to worship, witness, tithe, forgive, disciple, etc. A genuine commitment is needed and should be repeated so that it won't be forgotten.

3. The servant obeyed. He went without delay. Delayed obedience is disobedience. Too many people come forward in church altar calls who never follow up with what the Lord told them to do.

4. He went to the right place and to the right people. Abraham told him to go to his own relatives to find a wife for Isaac. This servant went where he needed to go rather than where he might have wanted to go. The Lord commands. We go wherever He leads.

5. He prayed that God would show him the woman Isaac should marry. He prayed that she would be a kind, caring, hard-working woman who would offer water for his camels.

6. He prayed again. Sometimes God answers our prayers right away but there should always be discernment when something seems a bit too easy.

7. He is completely honest with her and her family. He tells them the whole story.

8. He shows gratitude to the Lord for God's answer to his task. He worships God for the answer, not the woman or her family for seeing God's hand in this.

9. He keeps his focus on his task. When her family asks for more time, he states plainly that he must do what he has been given to do.

10. He completes the task. He takes Rebekah to Isaac and fulfills what his master has asked of him. It is very important to finish a task.

God gives us tasks. Will we follow this servant's example?