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Genesis 23:1-24:67 Key Verse: 24:58 A MAN OF MISSION AND A WOMAN OF FAITH "So they called Rebekah and asked her, 'Will you go with this man?' 'I will go,' she said." In today’s message, we will learn how Abraham found a suitable wife for Isaac. Abraham firmly believed that God would make his descendants into a great nation, and give them the land of Canaan, as he had promised. So Isaac was very important as the one who would inherit the covenant promises. Isaac was a quiet and shy young man, and he needed a woman of faith to be his wife. He needed a wife who believed God's promises as he did, so she could help Isaac to be a steward of God's blessings. On the other side, the main actor in chapter 24 is Abraham's servant. Abraham entrusted him with the “mission impossible”, finding a wife for Isaac. We can learn from him how a man of mission can carry out the mission given him by God. Part 1. Abraham’s servant, a man of mission (Chapter 24) Abraham was old and well advanced in years. God had blessed him in every way. His wife, Isaac's mother, was dead, and he was praying about a wife for Isaac. When he thought about a wife for Isaac, he gave first priority to faith, because Isaac, the covenant son, must live by faith in God. We can learn from this chapter how to find and follow the will of God in the important decisions of life, and we can see here what a marriage by faith is. We also need to take closer look at the faith of Abraham’s servant behind the God’s work. Look at verse 2. Abraham called his chief servant, the man in charge of all that he had, and gave him a mission to find a wife for Isaac. Abraham was a wealthy man. He was living in the promised land, Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey. He must have seen many attractive and wealthy women who might be good marriage candidates for Isaac. And although Isaac was quiet and obedient, he must have thought about these girls too. It is natural for sinful man not to think about a girl's inner character, but to only look at her outward appearance when choosing a girl to marry. The men of Noah's time thought this way. At that time, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. The men of Abraham's time must have been the same. Some men think that if they find a woman who fits their human standards, they can marry her because they can make her into a woman of faith. But this never works. A man who marries a worldly woman becomes a worldly man. Marriage is the measure of faith; it is the touchstone of faith. Abraham remembered God's promise. He knew that the Canaanite culture and religion were very corrupt. Abraham did not want to compromise with it. He called his most able and faithful servant, the man who was in charge of all of Abraham's business and household affairs. He said, "Put your hand under my thigh." That is the way in which men made solomn promises to one another in those days. Then Abraham said, Look at verse 3 and 4. "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 among 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." (24:3,4) Abraham wanted his son Isaac to marry by faith. It was important that Isaac's family really belong to God and not be tainted with human compromise. So Abraham charged his servant with the task of finding a wife for Isaac. Instead of introducing Isaac to one of the near-by Canaanite girls, Abraham's decision to send his servant back to his far-distant home country seemed complicated and difficult. Abraham's servant was a thoughtful man who knew how to get things done. So He asked. "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?" Abraham's answer was a clear and definite "No." The woman must have enough faith to come. Consequently, this was the test of faith. How could such a woman be found in this world? It seemed like "mission impossible." If the woman refused to come, then the servant would be released from his promise. He was not to take Isaac to that land. Abraham promised, "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 to 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." Abraham promised his servant that he would not be alone. God's angel would accompany him and give him success. Abraham's servant accepted the mission impossible. He made a vow to take responsibility for this task. He was an old man with much experience, and he knew what kind of things he must prepare. So he took ten camels and loaded them with all kinds of good things and went to Padan Aram, to the town of Nahor. He went to the place where he would be most likely to meet the right girl. It is the village well. Actually he had made all of the necessary material preparations with great thoroughness. But he did not depend on his human preparation nor did he depend on his wisdom and experience. He depended on God. At first, he prayed. He asked the God of Abraham to grant him success in his journey. Then he set a very improbable condition which the woman God had chosen for Isaac must fulfill. She must willingly volunteer to water his 10 thirsty camels! Before he had finished praying, a beautiful young girl with a jar on her shoulder came to the well. When he asked her for a drink of water, she graciously drew water for him and willingly offered to water his ten camels (15-20)! Abraham's servant was speechless. He just stood there, just watching her without saying a word(21). Perhaps he was moved by her graciousness and beauty. Even more than this, he was overcome by the fact that God is alive and God had heard and blessed his prayer. Abraham's servant was not careless and not in a hurry. He waited on God. He had to be sure that this was really God's help and not just his own wishful thinking. After Rebekah had finished watering the camels, he gave her a gift to show his appreciation and asked her about her family. When he found that she was Abraham's relative, a grand neice, he bowed his head and worshipped God. He said, "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." When he obeyed by faith and prayed by faith, God blessed his prayer. His prayer also reveals his faithfulness to Abraham. Abraham loved and feared God. So he planted in his servant this same awesome respect for God. Abraham's servant believed the God of Abraham. He served Abraham as though he were serving God. At last, with the help of God, the mission impossible was accomplished. Now is it time to take a rest? What is the servant’s next step? Look at verse 33. Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.” Abraham's servant must have been tired and hungry after his long journey. He was led to Rebekah's house and there received generous hospitality. But when the delicious food was placed before him, he refused to eat. He said, "I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say." Laban could not but let him speak. The old servant began to tell everything that had happened from the beginning. He focused on how God had answered his prayers and led him along the journey. As he told his long story, the food got cold, but he didn't care. This servant was an old man, but he was so intent on carrying out his mission that he forgot about being tired and hungry. Even a young man, if he has no sense of mission, cannot overcome his own physical desires. If he is tired and hungry, he only thinks about eating and sleeping. However, we can learn from Abraham's servant that mission must be regarded as more precious than eating. Ordinarily, people work hard to make money and eat well. Sinful men regard personal satisfaction and security as more important than mission. But this old man did not seek self-satisfaction. He believed in the God of Abraham, and he was willing to risk even his life in order to fulfill God's mission. Paul in the New Testament was such a man. He said in Acts 20:24, "I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me..." Originally, God created man for mission. He entrusted the stewardship of the earth to mankind (Ge 1:28). He created each of us for a purpose and has a mission for each of us (Eph 2:10). If a man is not faithful to the mission God has given him, he is only a cursed lump of clay, and he can never be happy. If a man living in this sinful world works hard just to live well, the harder he works, the more cursed and the more void his life becomes. The only way of happiness is to know God, receive from him the mission he has prepared for us, and be faithful to that mission until death. This servant's faithfulness to Abraham came from the faithfulness to God. Abraham's servant pushed Laban and Bethuel to make a clear decision. Look at verse 48 and 49. The servant said, "...the Lord, the God of my master Abraham...led me...to get the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son. 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." Laban and Betheul listened to the servant's account and were moved. They realized that God had indeed chosen Rebekah to be Isaac's wife. But just knowing God's will without any decision of faith is worth nothing. They said, "This is from the Lord; What can we say? Here is Rebekah. Take her and go." Then they celebrated with a great feast. Finally, all of the mission seemed to have been compete. However, Abraham's servant did not consider his mission as complete until he had actually escorted Rebekah back to Isaac in Canaan. He knew human nature well. Even though people made decisions of faith, sometime later they will begin to have second thoughts with human calculation. So the next morning Abraham's servant said, "Send me on my way to my master." Rebekah's family urged him to wait for ten days or so. They wanted to keep their lovely daughter for just a few days longer. It was a good chance for the old servant to take a short vacation with sightseeing the famous places there. It seems that he was deserved to do it. But he answered, "Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey." Send me on my way so that I may go to my master." His heart was full of God's grace. He didn't even think about resting. He was free at that time because the matser could not control him there. He could have stayed longer, but he didn't. He only wanted to return quickly and finish his mission. Then he found that the final and most important matter had not been settled at all. No one had asked Rebekah. She was the one to make the final decision. Part 2. Rebekah, a woman of faith (Chapter 24). Rebekah was qualified in many ways to be the wife of Isaac. She was pure and warm hearted and very beautiful. She was generous and broadminded and have hard working spirit. She was loving and thoughtful. She had willingly served an old man and ten thirsty camels. She had invited him to come and stay with her family. However her most important qualification was her faith. She had listened to the old man's long story of how God had led him to find a wife for Isaac. She realized that this was God's will. She had eyes to see how God was working and leading, and she had the courage to make a decision of faith to participate in God's great work of world salvation. Look at verse 57. “Then they said, Let’s call the girl and ask her about it”. What is the response from Rebekah? Look at verse 58. Only shepherdess! Would you please read it together? “So they called Rebekah and asked her, `Will you go with this man?' `I will go,' she said." She was willing to give her marriage to God. Surely a woman's marriage is most precious and personal to her. It is woman’s secret dream. Most women will give everything else to God, but they reserve their dream of marriage behind and reserve their choice of a husband behind for themselves. However, Rebekah made a decision of faith to please God, not please herself in her marriage. Her family sent her off with this blessing. Let’s read together verse 60. "Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies." (60) So God blessed her and used her to establish God's covenant family with Isaac. Rebekah went with Abraham's servant to Canaan. When she saw a young man in the distance, and found that he was Isaac, she quickly took her veil and covered herself (65). She was quick and active, but at the same time, she kept her beautiful secrecy as a woman. The servant told Isaac all he had done. Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent of his mother Sarah, and she became his wife. He loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. Through today’s message, we have learned that how precious a man of mission is in God’s work and how precious a woman of faith is in God’s salvation work. It seems that nowadays it is very hard to find a man of mission. Today’s life mission is to study hard, get a good job and then live well with beautiful wife. However, a man’s life without mission will be lazy, aimless and finally void and empty. Most importantly, the mission come from God and should be related to God’s salvation work. How beautiful is the man of mission, Abraham’s servant! Our faithfulness and faith should be trained by God’s mission. In school, company, church and family, wherever we are, we should live as a man of mission to serve God’s salvation work. And how beautiful is the woman of faith, Rebekah! If women only seek love from their husbands, they can neither please God nor help their husbands. Proverb 31:30 says “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” May God raise many men of mission and women of faith in our fellowship! May God help us to become a man of mission and a woman of faith in God’s salvation work. |
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