Genesis 24

Genesis 24 – February 22

Genesis 24 is a beautiful and interesting story. But, you might be wondering, what is the main point? It is the longest chapter in Genesis and the only real story that we have about Isaac in the prime of his life. This is not just a fluff piece that was placed here to bridge the gap between Abraham and Jacob’s generation. This passage reveals to us something incredibly important about God. Namely, God utilizes a myriad of means to carry out His ultimate purposes and plans. Everything from the ordinary to the extraordinary is being expertly wielded by God’s mighty hand so that His covenant would not fail. This morning, we are going to examine four of the ways that we can see God working in this passage to preserve and fulfill the covenant that He had made with Abraham.

God works through angelic activity that we will likely never recognize or notice
It is very interesting to me that we read about an angel in verse 7, then never hear about this angelic figure in the rest of the narrative. The story goes on for another 60 verses without ever revealing this being to us. Yet, it seems clear that God was working these events together with forces that extend beyond our natural realm. And I believe that God has preserved this statement of Abraham in His perfect Word so that we might know it to be true. That being said…
- Don’t declare that angels will or will not do something. We do not command them.
- Don’t go searching for angelic activity. The Bible never encourages such things.
- Be encouraged, God is powerful and works in ways beyond your comprehension. This unnamed servant in Genesis 24 was bolstered in his heart because he knew that God was with him.
- Delight in the fact that we have something far superior to angels. If you are a Christian, wherever you go, you have the Holy Spirit, God Himself going with you.

God works through prayer
In verses 12-14, we see the servant of Abraham pray this prayer. This man who was not a descendant of Abraham believed in God and prayed faithfully to Him. And he prayed based upon the fact that he knew that God would show steadfast love to Abraham. That phrase, “steadfast love” Is always used in Genesis, and in most of the Torah to speak specifically to God’s covenant-keeping love. And he tells God his plan. “I am just going to ask for a sip of water. Please have the right girl offer to water my camels as well.” Let’s just pause for a moment and think about this. First of all, Camels are the embodiment of arrogance in the animal kingdom. They have this smug look on their face at all times, and if you get anywhere near them, they spit on you. Not to mention, that a thirsty camel drinks more than 25 gallons to refill its fat deposits. And wells in those days did not often have the kind of rope and bucket pulley system that you and I are used to seeing. Most of them had steps that were built into the walls of the well that led down to the water. Also, water is heavy. 1 gallon is 8.34 pounds. And most water jugs that women would carry in those days would carry about 3 gallons which is a little more than 25 pounds. And this servant had, not just one, but 10 CAMELS! So, if you do the math with these basic numbers, the girl that he was praying for would have to carry up 83 25-pound pitchers of water from the well. The likelihood of someone volunteering this kind of service is so unlikely that the servant knew it would be a sign that God was working in the situation. But here is what I want you to notice. Verse 15 says, “Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah… came out with her water jar on her shoulder.” So, when did God answer this prayer? She was literally already approaching when the servant started praying because she arrived to him before he even finished his petition. Was this just a coincidence? Absolutely not. And the servant does not take it as such. Rather, he asks for a sip of water and Rebekah does exactly what he prayed for and waters all of the camels. That leaves us with the question, was the servant’s prayer unnecessary? Would God have worked this out without his prayer? He had already sent Rebekah to the well.

The nature of prayer is often very misunderstood by Christians. Some think that God is like an eager worker on a leash. He is capable of doing anything that we need, but He can’t unless we pray. But that view of God completely undermines His omnipotence. It makes us Aladdin and Him the djinn. But there is a false view that I think is just as incorrect and even more subtle. And that is the dangerous idea that God is going to do whatever He wants, so why bother praying about it. You probably don’t consciously think that way. However, a prayerless life can only be explained by our thinking that God is too weak or too unwilling to work in our circumstances. What we see happening in Genesis 24 is God working through this servant’s prayer. He did not need permission. He had been working this together before the prayer even began. Yet, the servant was blessed because God answered his prayer and showed His faithfulness. Our prayers work just like this. We pray trusting that God will answer them in a way that reveals His goodness to us. He will always show faithfulness to His children. Sometimes He does this by saying no. But He always works through the prayers of His people. Notice the response of the servant that we see when he tells his story down in verse 48.“Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way”

God works great things through us
Martin Luther is credited with the saying, “God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick.” In this passage, we see God using the bartering and bargaining skills of this servant in order to convince the family to let Rebekah go. This chapter is a masterclass on how ancient deals were made. God worked through the servant’s efforts, and through Rebekah’s decision. It is dangerous to develop a fatalistic worldview that says that God will do whatever He wants whenever He wants, so why bother? God will do whatever He wants, whenever He wants. But, He also delights in using simple, ordinary works done by obedient and faithful Christians to do it. Nothing you do is meaningless. Every action of your life is being woven into the great tapestry of God’s grand narrative. It should be our desire that He would use our simple, ordinary, consistent obedience to bring Him glory in ways beyond what we will even see in this lifetime.

God works all things together for good, even people’s sin
Let’s take a closer look at Laban. When we are first introduced to him, we read, “As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms…” His eyes betray his heart. He is filled with a desire for wealth. Laban was desirous to make a deal with Abraham’s servant because he desired to be wealthy. What we will continue to see throughout Genesis is that Laban wanted the blessings that God gave Abraham without Abraham’s God. In verse 53, we see that Laban got a taste of what he wanted, “And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments.” It is probable that the reason Laban wanted the servant to stay was to get even more gifts from him. But when Rebekah chose to leave, Laban and his family blessed her with this phrase. “Our sister, may you become thousands of ten thousands, and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate him!” The incredible irony is that Laban was actually cursing himself by blessing her. Rebekah’s offspring, Jacob, would eventually possess the gate of Laban for a time. But what I want you to see is that God worked through the greed of Laban to get Rebekah to Isaac. God is not limited to working through the good actions of people. If He was, then He would never be able to do anything. I want to give you the greatest example of this in the Bible, and then I will close with a few simple implications. In Peter’s famous sermon from Acts 2, we see this incredible statement in verses 22-23. “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”

Notice that the cross was the definite, unchangeable, fixed, certain plan that was designed as part of God’s perfect and absolute foreknowledge. Yet, the greatest sin in the history of mankind was carried out by the hands of lawless sinners. And this sermon makes clear that they were guilty for their sin. But notice that God was weaving together the injustice of Pilate, and the self-righteousness of the Pharisees, the hunger for power of the chief priests, and the bloodthirst of the Roman soldiers to carry out the most significant event for our good and His glory in all of history. God works ALL things together for our good and His glory.

 

 

 

 

 

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