Genesis 24:28-61

The young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. “Come, you who are blessed by the LORD,” he said. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” (Gen:24:28-31)

In today’s passage, Rebekah rushes to tell her family about the stranger she met at the well (much like the Samaritan woman at that other well, who ran to tell others about Jesus). Notice that her brother, Laban, quickly goes out to meet this man “As soon as he had seen the nose ring and bracelets on his sister’s arm...” I’m a little skeptical of Laban, only because I know how he will do business with Jacob later, but it does appear that his hospitality is motivated by the glitter of the gold! At any rate, he welcomes the servant into his home. And before the servant will even sit down to eat, he wants to take care of his master’s business, so he recounts the whole story to Laban.

I want to particularly review the charge that Abraham had given to the servant as he recounts it here in verses 39-41:

“Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’


“He replied, ‘The LORD, before whom I have walked faithfully, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family. You will be released from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they refuse to give her to you—then you will be released from my oath.’


See how this parallels the work of the Holy Spirit? He never forces His way into anyone’s life. He comes and woos us, draws us to Jesus, but He never forces us to believe. We have complete free will to either believe and receive or to reject His gift of salvation. And the servant is very direct with the proposal:

“Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.” (vs. 49)

At first it appears as if Laban and his father, Bethuel, are going to immediately obey:

Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has directed.” (vs. 50-51)

The servant brings out gifts for the whole family, and celebrates with a dinner. However, the next morning, when the servant is ready to head back to Abraham and Isaac with Rebekah, the family now tries to delay:

But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you may go.” (vs. 55)

This is similar to the tactics Laban will use on Jacob. He appears to obey God’s plan, then does a last minute shift to delay. While our Bible says “ten days,” Jon Courson says that the indication is that they were asking for more - as much as ten months. It’s like the young man who, when pressed by Jesus to leave everything to follow Him, says “Let me first bury my father.” There should be no delay in doing what God has clearly called us to do (and in this instance, there was no doubt that God was in control)! While her family hesitates, Rebekah has no such hesitation. When asked what she wants to do, she immediately replies, “I will go.” (vs 58). Oh, that we would so quickly respond to God! I don’t know about you, but most of my responses of eventual submission and obedience have been preceded by LOTS of hesitation, and even some whining!!! I don’t know why He’s so patient with me, but I’m so very grateful!!!

Is God asking you to do something over which you are hesitating? Are you pleading for more time?? Take a leap of faith like Rebekah and trust Him to catch you! If He’s clearly calling, He will also equip you to not only obey but to accomplish what He’s called you to!

Tomorrow we’ll get to the best part of the story, when Isaac finally sees his bride! Don’t you love a good love story?

 

Genesis 24:10-27

In today’s passage, we are going to see Abraham’s servant set out to find the bride for Isaac. Jon Courson, in his commentary, points out that the servant is a type of the Holy Spirit, seeking out the Bride for Christ, so as we look at the story, we’ll note the parallels.

Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.


Then he prayed, “LORD, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.” (Gen. 24-10-14)

Right away, we can note that the servant is never named. We don’t know if this is Abraham’s old and faithful servant, Eliezer (Gen 15:2), or another servant. It doesn’t matter that we know, GOD knows. In the same way, the Holy Spirit’s job is not to draw attention to Himself, but to Christ. Then, also note that the servant took with him TEN camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. The Holy Spirit brings us wonderful gifts from the Father - loads of them! When the servant gets to his destination, he says a very specific prayer. He is looking for someone with a servant’s heart, who will respond immediately. Don’t be afraid to pray specific prayers! I believe God put this specific prayer in the servant’s heart so there would be no doubt about God’s choice for Isaac.

From the time Molly and Emmy were young, I prayed specifically, and told them over and over, that I wanted them to find husbands who would meet two criteria: (1) ones who loved God first and foremost and who would take them by the hand to serve God together, and (2) men who would “cherish” them. I used that specific word over and over, because I feel so strongly that women need to marry men who truly value them above all other women. When Molly met her husband, Kevin, at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, she was a senior and he was a freshman. They met through a Christian fraternity, with which she was a little sister, and they spent that first year together as mere friends and prayer partners. By the end of her senior year, it was clear that Kevin was very attached to her (he cried at her graduation). They went on their first date right after graduation, and while they were at dinner, Kevin wrote to her on a napkin, “I cherish you!” BINGO!! It is my greatest joy to see my girls married to such godly men, who truly do cherish them as wives and mommies.

Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. (vs. 15-16)

The servant received the answer to his prayer before he had finished praying!! This same thing happened to Daniel in Daniel 9:23. Before the words leave our mouths, before the desires even take form in our hearts, God is at work answering. Again, I believe that is because God is the One who initiates this relationship and He wants us to know when the answer is His. And, surely, Rebekah was the answer to this servant’s prayer. Not only did she come from the right family, she offered to go above and beyond the servant’s direct request for a drink, volunteering to also take care of TEN camels! That would be MANY trips to the well with a heavy jar! The servant gives her a gold nose ring and gold bracelets as thanks for her generosity of spirit. Then Rebekah even offers hospitality at her father’s home (verse 25)! No wonder the servant breaks out in worship:

Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, saying, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.” (vs. 26-27)

Remembering that Rebekah is a type of the Bride of Christ, what do we learn from her response to the servant? When the Holy Spirit asks something of us, do we respond so quickly? Do we go above and beyond or just meet the bare minimum? Are we people of hospitality and generosity? Certainly, we learn from the servant that we need to pray specifically and expect God to answer. Are you doing that for your children and grandchildren? Especially as it concerns a future mate? There will be no more important decision they make, so we must begin praying early for their mates. It’s never too early to start those prayers. :)

Tomorrow we’ll look at the response of Rebekah to the servant’s next offer and get our first glimpse of her brother, Laban, who comes back into the picture later with Jacob.
Off to school - our first day of state testing!

Genesis 24:1-9

In chapter 23 we looked at the grief of Abraham over the loss of his dear wife, Sarah. However, nothing in the chapter mentions the grief of Isaac. Surely Isaac must have been close to his mother! She must have doted on him as her only son, the treasure of her heart. Well, today’s story just gives a a glimpse into Isaac’s pain, while revealing much about God’s plan.

Abraham was now very old, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” (Gen. 24:1-4)

Interesting that the Abraham is now described as “very old!” Jon Courson says he was about 140 years old! It reminds me of a line in the movie, On Golden Pond, when the frail and aged Henry Fonda mentions to equally old Katherine Hepburn other “middle aged couples like us.” Katherine Hepburn looks at him in disbelief and says, “We are NOT middle aged! People don’t live to be 150!” Well, Abraham is no longer in the prime of his life! God has faithfully blessed him in every way. Abraham left all he ever knew and had to follow God, and God has given him everything he could have ever wanted or needed and more, as we read later in the chapter:

The LORD has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. (vs. 35-36)

But Abraham is now concerned about taking care of Isaac and seeing that he is settled with a wife and family. So he calls his servant in and gives him the assignment of finding God’s choice for Isaac. Notice that Abraham has two big qualifications: the wife must NOT be from the Canaanites, but his own family, and the servant must NOT let Isaac go back to the old country. God does NOT want us marrying unbelievers, and He NEVER wants us to return to where He’s saved us from!!! Look at the emphasis Abraham places on this, as he makes his servant swear an oath to obey Abraham’s wishes:

“Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. “The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.” (vs. 6-8)

How intentional are WE when it comes to protecting our own children from those things which will pull them away from God? Satan has an amazing array of activities and enticements to occupy the minds and hearts of our children. We need to have the same passion and commitment to raising our children in God’s kingdom as Abraham shows here! We need to protect them from those things which will pull them away. So why aren’t more of us anxious to work in children’s ministries? This is the most important mission field of the church! Vacation Bible School and Sunday School ministries are recruiting, people. It’s that time of year. Is God calling you to step up?? As a parent how are you working to protect your children or grandchildren? Are you helping them learn how to put on the full armor of God?

There are so many great nuggets in this story! I can’t wait until next week to really get into it!

Have a restful weekend!


 

Genesis 23

Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her. (Gen. 23:1-2)

I have been anticipating this chapter of Genesis, because it is so special. I’ve been reading Jon Courson’s commentary on the chapter and reviewing what I wrote in my workbook for Beth Moore’s, study The Patriarchs. There are several things to note right off the bat. First, Sarah’s age is given - and apparently she is the only woman in the Bible whose age at death is given. Why? Well, Jon Courson writes that it is a way to exalt her among women. It points to the fact that she was given 37 years with Isaac, and it certainly emphasizes the length of her life with Abraham. And this is the part that is so poignant: Abraham has lost his better half, the princess (the meaning of her name) who willingly followed him away from the only home she had known, and who had faithfully remained at his side through all of their ups and downs and more downs!

In Beth Moore’s workbook, she asks the students to think of a couple who have been together so long you can’t picture them apart. I had written the names of my sister, Jodi, and my brother-in-law, Ed. In 2012 they will celebrate their 50th anniversary. I have known my dear Ed since I was about 10 years old. I can’t remember life without him as my brother. In the blank on my workbook, about five years ago, I had written the note, “they’ve survived much and enjoyed more.” Little did I know how much more they would have to survive! Any couple who have been together for more than 30 years understands how two have become one. It is almost impossible to conceive of your life without the other. So this picture of Abraham having lost his princess, really gets to me!

Jon Courson points out that this is the first time the Bible records someone weeping! He remarks that there is “no record of tears over the Fall of man , or when the Flood came, or when the people were scattered at Babel.” It’s not until this 23rd chapter that God records the tears of Abraham. Imagine his devastation. He must have felt as if he’d lost his legs! In writing of Abraham’s grief, Beth Moore paints a perfect picture of unadulterated grief: “You know the kind. You cry until you’re certain you have no more tears and then a few hours later, they wash over you like a flood. You wonder where on earth they are coming from... In the early moments of loss, nothing we have can quite make up for what we’ve lost... Early grief steals our world as if nothing and no one else ever existed.”
 
Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.” (vs. 3-4)

The death of Sarah has suddenly brought eternity into perspective. Abraham’s heart is now fully in heaven and he realizes that, even though he is a respected, wealthy leader in Canaan, and even though God has promised him all of this land, at this point he owns none of it, not even a plot to bury his dear Sarah. This reminded me of that period of grace after the loss of a loved one, when your mind is taken up with details. After the initial shock the details of services and burial have to be taken care of - and they offer you a cushion from the pain for a while.

So Abraham makes arrangements to purchase a choice plot of land from Ephron, a Hittite. Although Ephron originally offers the plot for free, it is clear from the rest of the passage that he knows Abraham will not accept it. Ephron surely takes advantage of Abraham’s grief and charges an outrageous price for the plot (according to both commentators, 400 shekels of silver was exorbitant). But Abraham doesn’t even attempt to bargain when it comes to his Sarah. This tomb would become the burial place of both Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah.

My heart aches for Abraham, and for Isaac. The loss of the wife and mother to a family is enormous! She is always the one who keeps everything together. At Don’s retirement party this past Saturday, I was speaking and referred to the fact that Don and I would be celebrating out 39th anniversary this next August. My daughters began to gesture to me that I was wrong, it will be our 40th anniversary. I could not believe it! I have been telling everyone that it’s our 39th - and low and behold, if it isn’t our 40th!!! Everyone got a kick out of the fact that I did not know it! Usually it’s the wife who is on top of that info! :) Anyway, it’s been a long time - and we can’t imagine our lives without the other. What a bittersweet story this is, then, to look at the painful loss of Sarah!

May the LORD grant each of us a better awareness of the gift of marriage and the blessing of this special fellowship that is a preview of our Marriage to come!


 

Genesis 22:15-24

Today we’ll finish off this chapter, in which we’ll see Abraham passed the test of his life, with high marks:

The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me.” (Gen. 22:15-18)

Remember that God tested Abraham, not because He did not know how Abraham would do, but because He wanted to prove Abraham’s faith and His strength to the world. Satan comes to tempt us to steal, kill, and destroy, but God TESTS us (it can and most likely will be the same event) to build us up and show His power within us. God never allows us to go through anything that we haven’t been prepared for beforehand.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Cor. 10:13)

On completion of the biggest test of his life, Abraham receives a “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” And he doesn’t just get a plaque to commemorate the occasion - he gets the reaffirmation that God will surely do what He has promised. Abraham’s descendants will be “as numerous as the stars in the sky or the sand on the seashore.” And the best part? “... all the nations of the earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me.” Wow! Now that’s a reward!

When we take God at His Word and OBEY it, we aren’t the only ones blessed. Our obedience in and through a trial affects MANY. Everyone around us who witnesses our submission to the test is drawn to the God who sustains us in the midst of it. Don’t you want to leave that kind of legacy? That is why James was so confident in his proclamation about the joy of a trial:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)

Don’t you want to be mature and complete and not lacking anything? Me, too!!! I keep waiting for the maturity! I know that I’m still here, because God still has so much to work out in my life!! :)

Finally, this chapter ends with another genealogy. This time it’s the list of offspring from Abraham’s brother, Nahor. It lists his many sons, with a tiny footnote about the daughter of one of them, Rebekah! So, at the tail end of a portrayal of the sacrifice of Christ, we are introduced to the the future bride of Isaac. So, we are also reminded of another Bride - the Church! We all love a good love story - especially one that ends with a wedding. It’s coming, but tomorrow we’ll first read about another loss.

Have a great morning, remembering that WHATEVER comes your way, He is more than capable of taking you through it!

 

Genesis 22:9-14

Today’s scene is almost shocking to our sensibilities. Abraham and Isaac have finally reached the site on Mt. Moriah:

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. (Gen. 22:9-10)

Imagine what must have been going through Abraham’s mind as he is laying the wood on the altar, log by log, arranging it for the best fire. “Okay, LORD, any time now would be a good time to stop this!” He has to get to the point of actually raising the knife over Isaac, before the LORD finally calls out to him to stop:

But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” (vs. 10-12)

Abraham has that same immediate response he had earlier in the first verse of this chapter: “Here I am!” Beth Moore calls this “the quickest moment of obedience in scripture.” What relief and joy must have filled him. I would think he would have gotten weak in the knees. Don’t you find it interesting that there is no mention of Isaac putting up a struggle? We always think of Abraham’s obedience here, but Isaac was amazing! He was a young man at this point, who could have surely overwhelmed his aged father with ease. Yet, he submits in obedience. He must have had tremendous confidence in his father as well as his Father!

See how this story parallels the story of Christ? In this portrayal of the gospel, Abraham plays the part of God the Father, and Isaac is Jesus, the Son who was obedient unto death (Eph. 2:8). The difference, of course, is that Jesus actually went through death and separation from His Father. The Father had to give up His Son for us! He wanted Abraham to understand the cost. This was a lesson Abraham could NOT forget, a test that Abraham passed with an “A+!”

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” (vs. 13-14)

Abraham got it! God Himself provided the lamb! Here we see Jehovah-jireh, our God who provides. He not only makes the provision, He IS the provision. He is all we need! He knew we needed a savior, so He became the Savior. If He would not even spare His Son, what would He withhold from us that we need? And the things we need money can’t buy: peace, love, joy, forgiveness, hope... all things that only God can give, and that He gives in abundance when we trust only in Him.

So, then, this is the gospel message: God Himself provided our salvation. There was not a thing we could do.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Thank you, LORD, for your marvelous provision!
 

Genesis 22:5-8

He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. (Gen. 22:5-8)

There are many important things to note in this passage which is a portrayal of the story of redemption through Christ. As Beth Moore says, it’s the first account of the gospel in the Old Testament.

As Abraham prepares to climb the mountain, he tells the servants, “We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Somehow, Abraham believed God would step in and Isaac would either be spared or brought back to life. I cannot imagine the struggle there must have been within him. Abraham places the wood on Isaac - just as Christ carried his own cross. They go on for a while, when Isaac speaks up. “Um, Dad? Haven’t you forgotten something? I see the fire and wood - but where are we going to get the lamb up here on the mountain?”

Abraham’s response is, “God himself will provide the lamb...,” or, as the King James Version reads, “God will provide himself a lamb...” Abraham had all the confidence in the world that God would provide. He did not know how, but he knew God would be faithful to His promise through Isaac. Abraham could not have fully understood, but God would, indeed, provide the way of salvation through His own Son.

This is truly a story of letting go and trusting God completely. Most of us will never be asked to make such a sacrifice of our children, but some do. Moms who watch their sons or daughters go off to war and those who sit by the bedside of a child suffering from cancer must also relinquish all control to God.

Years ago, when Molly was entering high school, a school friend, Lisa, was suffering from, and eventually died of cancer. I ran into her mother a few months before Lisa died and asked her how she was doing it - holding up in the middle of all of it. She held up a book she had in her hand with the title The Sovereignty of God, and she said, “This is how I do it!” She knew without a doubt that God loved her daughter much more than she did, and that He had a plan that was bigger than just them. And this is that ripple effect that Beth Moore talks about. When God puts us through something hard, it’s because He’s going to do something HUGE! Surely, through watching Lisa and her family go through the horrible ordeal with such faith, God was honored and many lives were impacted. God redeemed, and continues to redeem lives through Lisa’s story.

Tomorrow we’ll finish off this chapter and see the results of Abraham’s faith and God’s faithfulness.
I’m off to work, while Don’s staying home to play! Good for him! :)