Wednesday, February 10, 2010

LastCall: (Genesis 24:15-31) How wonderful God is! -Bob Caldwell

(Genesis 24:15-31)  How wonderful God is! -Bob Caldwell

Genesis 24:15-31

                   15 And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16 Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”

18 So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. 21 And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.

22 So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, 23 and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?”

24 So she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.”

26 Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the LORD. 27 And he said, “Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” 28 So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things.

29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. 30 So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. 31 And he said, “Come in, O blessed of the LORD! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.”

Our Unchanging God

 24:26-27 Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the LORD. And he said, ‘Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.’

How wonderful God is! The hope of Abraham and the prayer of his servant to find the chosen wife for Abraham’s son were based on God’s mercy and truthfulness. In mercy God called Abraham and developed him in the school of the Spirit to be a man of faith. Because of God’s mercy, not Abraham’s own self-righteousness, He fulfilled Abraham’s need through the prayer of his servant.

God’s truth was joined to His mercy to assure an answer to prayer. God is not a man that He should ever lie, we are told in the New Testament (Rom. 3:4). If God says it, that settles it! God will always be true to His character and His Word is as good as His character.

What is it that God has promised you based upon His Word? If you can’t answer this question, then begin today to search for the promises of God on every page of the Bible. Then remind yourself that His promises are worthy of your complete confidence—because they are rooted in God’s truth and His character. Who He is He will always be faithful to be. We may change, circumstances may change, everything may change, but one thing remains perfectly unchangeable—God. God will be faithful to who He is in His mercy and truth. Trust Him and rest.

v. 15 Born to Bethuel - Thus describing the fulfillment of the family line requirements for a bride for Isaac who was among Abraham's relatives.

v. 16 A Virgin - Here we have a description of the moral character that needed to be fulfilled by the woman who would marry Isaac.

v. 20 Run Back - This shows it must have taken several trips to the well to water all of these camels as she went back and forth from the well to the trough.

v. 21 Wondering - He was not too quick to make a judgment even though this event seemed to be a clear confirmation. Wisely he waited to see if the other aspects of this issue would unfold favorably as well.

v. 22 Golden Earring - This, along with the bracelets, was a gift in response to the
hard work and kindness shown by Rebekah, but not as a bridal gift. The bridal gifts would follow only after a competed confirmation that she was God's choice for Isaac.

v. 26 Worshipped - After hearing that Rebekah belonged to Abraham's family (v. 24) he could see this was God's sovereign answer to his prayer.

v. 29 He Saw the Nose Ring - We will find later in Genesis (ch. 29-31) that Laban was a covetous man. We see the roots of that here as his offer of hospitality is at least partially motivated by seeing this man gave expensive gifts to his sister.

v. 31 Oh Blessed of the Lord - The word Lord is Yahweh, the covenant name used by Abraham and the subsequent Jews. That Laban referred to God in this way may indicate that Abraham had left an enduring witness of the true and living God with his extended family. This would have been a critical factor in wanting a bride from them, as this would insure spiritual harmony between Isaac and his wife.

“‘Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.’…And the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” –Job 42:8, 10

To mention the name Job automatically brings to mind suffering. He suffered immensely under the hands of Satan, but he also suffered great emotional pain from his friends. Job needed healing from all the tragedy Satan had put upon him. At the same time, Job’s friends needed forgiveness for the counsel they gave to Job that had misrepresented God and had laid heavy burdens upon Job’s already painful life. The solution for both came through prayer.

Job’s prayer for his friends opened the windows of heaven which brought forgiveness for his friends and restoration to his life. Selfless, gracious intercession for others, even those who have deeply hurt us, opens the heart of God to pour out unexpected blessing upon our lives. Release blessing upon your own life by first praying for grace and forgiveness for others!

Michael James Stone

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