God's Sovereignty, Our Faith
Genesis 24:1-67
Message #15
Abraham is now 140 years old, and Sarah has died (in the last chapter), and Abraham needs to find a wife for Isaac before Abraham dies because Abraham knows that it’s through Isaac that God’s promise (of a People and a Land) is going to be fulfilled.
Genesis Chapter 24 is like the script for an epic romance movie, and it is in the longest chapter in Genesis, all devoted to how Isaac gets a wife. And although it would make a great movie script, the spiritual truths are even greater.
Here are the two truths we’ll look at today.
1). God is at work in our everyday circumstances to bring his will to pass
2). Our role is to act in faith as we join God in what he is doing.
And if we can begin to receive these two great truths today, then it will indeed be a very good day.
Genesis 24:1–2 (NLT)
1 Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.
2 One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.
This “oldest servant” is most probably Eliezer, who, (in Genesis 15) Abraham said to God He is my only heir because God hadn’t given Abraham and Sarah a child yet, but that was back in Abraham’s young “less mature faith” days and those “less mature faith” days are long gone for Abraham.
Now, the faith of both Abraham and Eliezer (his servant) are much stronger and much more secure. And so, now Abraham tells his oldest servant, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.” And then continuing in verse 3.
Genesis 24:3–4 (NLT)
3 Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women.
4 Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”
Abraham knew that God was making a people and a land out of his lineage. So, he sends his servant back to his homeland, originally Ur of the Chaldeans, it’s Babylonia, the Mesopotamia, the bread basket – it’s a long way from Canaan (from the Promised Land). And so, he sends Eliezer back to get a wife for Isaac from the people of his lineage. Plus, God knew that the Canaanites would become “forever enemies” of the People of God. So, this was a doubly right thing to do, both in Abraham’s mind and God’s will.
Genesis 24:5–6 (NLT)
5 The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?”
6 “No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there.
Eliezer (the servant) says, “Should I take Isaac out of the Promised Land to accomplish this?”
No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son [out of the Promised Land].
And Isaac never once left the Promised Land because Isaac encapsulated the Promise of God to make a People and a Land. (That promise still stands, which is something the world still doesn’t get, and Satan works hard at thwarting and trying to make sure God’s People don’t have a Land, but God is still accomplishing it.)
And then, we read in Genesis 24, verse 7, the final recorded words of Abraham. And look at Abraham’s absolute faith in God in his last recorded words in the Bible.
Genesis 24:7 (NLT)
7 For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son.
Abraham is long done with doubting God and doing things his own way. This is a rock-solid, confident faith! And Abraham’s final words recorded in the Bible prove he had truly become the Father of the Faith.
And the next verse continues to show Abraham’s faith and confidence in God.
Genesis 24:8 (NLT)
8 If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath of mine. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there.”
This is not Abraham doubting that God will do this. This is Abraham instilling faith in Eliezer.
Genesis 24:9–10 (NLT)
9 So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions.
10 Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim (Mesopotamia). There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled.
Depending on the route, this was likely 800 miles and at least a two-month journey, and notice he went with a caravan of camels and gifts ready and equipped for God to answer Abraham’s prayer.
And once Eliezer gets there, we see his strong faith in joining God in what God is doing.
Genesis 24:11–14 (NLT)
11 He made the camels kneel beside a well just outside the town. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water.
12 “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham.
13 See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water.
14 This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.”
Eliezer (the servant) got into the right place (the well) and the right spiritual position (he’s looking for God to work in the normal circumstances of life) at the right time (the evening). Eliezer is preparing to be led by God. And then he prayed that God would make his will known IN the normal circumstances of life.
This is not a “fleece” before the Lord as Gideon did (Gideon was asking for something supernatural to happen). Eliezer is not asking God for a supernatural sign. He’s asking God to show him through the normal events of life where God is working. Asking a woman to give you a drink of water in that culture is totally normal. Men didn’t draw water; women did. And so, it would be normal to say, can I have a drink? (Jesus did it with the Samaritan woman in John Chapter 4.) But a woman offering to water ten camels – that’s massively unusual.
Eliezer is looking for God to reveal the character of the woman that God had chosen to be Isaac’s wife and to be the next matriarch of God’s People.
Eliezer is living out Proverbs 3, verses 5-6.
Proverbs 3:5–6 (NLT)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Eliezer is asking God to direct his path through his normal, everyday life. Sometimes we say, “God show me a sign.” And God might say to us, “Open your eyes.” Because God is at work in our normal, everyday life. Where we are at right now, God is at work there. We need to see it.
While it may have been customary for Eliezer to ask for a drink of water, it would show incredible character for a woman to water ten camels (as he prayed in verse 14). Ten camels who have traveled 800 miles. They say that a camel, when it is not thirsty, will drink ten gallons of water. But a camel can store twenty gallons of water in its humps. That’s a lot of water.
These wells are deep. If you’ve been to Israel with us, the well that we see on Har-Megiddo, in the City of Megiddo, it’s actually a massive hole almost the size of this room, and it has stairs going down to where the water is. And so, every time you go get water, you’re going down those stairs, getting a jug or two of water, and carrying it back up. It says a lot about the character of a woman who would offer to do that for a stranger.
And so, offering to do that for a stranger would show all the character traits required for a woman to take this “crucial place” as Isaac’s wife. God is leading in the everyday circumstances of life. We need to see it.
But please, here is the other half of the lesson today. So far, it has been about Abraham’s faith and Eliezer’s faith. Now we see the other half.
God is working out in front of us.
God is always working out in front of us.
God is always at work before we know he is.
And God always has the answer ready before we even know the question to ask.
Look closely at the first words of verse 15.
Genesis 24:15 (NLT)
15 Before he had finished praying . . .
This means that what was about to happen was set in process long before Eliezer prayed this prayer – right?
Please see the truth of this for your life because we have so many regrets and so many places where we look back on our lives and think, “Oh! This or that!” And we’ve got to know that God has been at work. Maybe we’ve missed it. I’m not saying we don’t miss it. We do. We need to know that he is already at work, and we need to watch for it.
God was already at work setting in motion the answer to Eliezer’s prayer before Eliezer ever prayed his prayer.
Genesis 24:15–20 (NLT)
15 Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah (She was the granddaughter of Abraham’s brother – but Eliezer did NOT know that).
16 Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again.
17 Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.”
18 “Yes, my lord,” she answered, “have a drink.” And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink.
19 When she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink.”
20 So she quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw water for all his camels.
Drawing enough water for ten camels is a massive amount of work. Some scholars say this could have been a two-hour process, minimum.
Wow!! God is powerfully at work orchestrating these circumstances. This is God at work in a normal, everyday circumstance. This is God orchestrating the circumstance long before Eliezer got there. (Lesson 1)
And Abraham and Eliezer both had strong faith. Eliezer had to have faith that he would pray according to God’s will (which he did), and then he would watch for God to work in a normal circumstance of life. And then recognize that this is God. Eliezer had to have strong faith that God would orchestrate these circumstances. (Lesson 2)
God is at work in the everyday circumstances of our lives. We have to look for it. We want a lightning bolt, a neon sign. We want something supernatural. Listen, every morning you wake up is supernatural. God has given you the breath of life every morning that you have it. And so, God is already doing miraculous things in your life. We need to look for him working in the normal things of our lives, and we need to recognize him.
And we must grow our faith
to trust God is at work
to see God is at work around us
to join God IN the work he is doing in our lives.
And so, we can wake up and say, “Lord, I trust you to be at work in my life today. Help me to see it. And if I don’t see it, it’s not that you’re not at work. It’s that I am not seeing it. And when I do see it, help me to have the faith to join you in it.” We need to not blow off the normal things of life like God isn’t working in them because he is.
So, while Rebecca is providing water for ten camels, we read this in verse 21.
Genesis 24:21 (NLT)
21 The servant watched her in silence, wondering (to learn) whether or not the Lord had given him success in his mission.
I think Eliezer (this servant) is sitting in absolute amazement – dumbstruck and speechless that as he was still praying, God was answering his prayer!
Genesis 24:22 (NLT)
22 Then at last (because this took a while), when the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for her wrists.
This was partially a thank you but also an “O my Lord, you might be the one!” reaction. But Eliezer had to find out if Rebecca came from the Lineage of Abraham (because he didn’t know yet).
Genesis 24:23-25 (NLT)
23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “And please tell me, would your father have any room to put us up for the night?”
24 “I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she replied. “My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah. (Granddaughter of Abraham’s brother)
25 Yes, we have plenty of straw and feed for the camels, and we have room for guests.”
Alright, now Eliezer’s head is spinning.
Abraham had the faith to send Eliezer.
Eliezer had the faith to go prepared for God to answer, and to ask the Lord to reveal his will in the ordinary circumstances of life. But when God actually did it before Eliezer even ended his prayer for it, and then confirmed it by Rebecca telling him she was from Abraham’s lineage, Eliezer has got to be ready to fall over like a guy in the front row at a Benny Hin convention. But instead of falling over from Benny Hin waving his jacket, we read this in the next two verses.
Genesis 24:26–27 (NLT)
26 The man (Eliezer) bowed low and worshiped the Lord.
27 “Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.”
God is at work in our everyday circumstances to bring his will to pass.
Our will is to act in faith as we join God in what he is doing.
This is an awesome lesson about God’s sovereignty and our faith.
Genesis 24:28 (NLT)
28 The young woman (Rebecca) ran home to tell her family everything that had happened.
Maybe because she was excited, maybe because of the gold gifts, and maybe to let her mom know she invited Eliezer and his ten camels to stay the night with them.
In any case, Rebecca has a brother named Laban. And Laban will return to the Genesis story as a huge troublemaker for Isaac’s son, Jacob.
Genesis 24:29–34 (NLT)
29 Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring.
30 As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.
31 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.” (clearer signs of Laban’s greed come later)
32 So the man (Eliezer) came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and there was water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
33 Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” He said, “Speak on.”
34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.
And then, he goes on to tell Rebecca’s family what led him there to seek a wife for Isaac.
Genesis 24:39–40 (NLT)
39 “But I said to my master, ‘What if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to go back with me?’
40 He responded, ‘The Lord, in whose presence I have lived, will send his angel with you and will make your mission successful. Yes, you must find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family.
And then, Eliezer tells the family about his prayer at the well and Rebecca being the answer to his prayer even before he was finished praying. And then he recounts asking her who her family was and being completely blown away by God’s hand in it all.
Genesis 24:48–49 (NLT)
48 “Then I bowed low and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me straight to my master’s niece to be his son’s wife.
49 So tell me—will you or won’t you show unfailing love and faithfulness to my master? Please tell me yes or no, and then I’ll know what to do next.”
This is an awesome recounting of God’s sovereign hand at work and Abraham and Eliezer’s confident faith in God working.
So, Eliezer asks for an answer right there.
Genesis 24:50–53 (NLT)
50 Then Laban and Bethuel (Rebecca’s Father) replied, “The Lord has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say. (God is obviously at work)
51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”
52 When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord.
53 Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing and presented them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother.
And then, most likely because of these expensive gifts, Rebecca’s brother and mother ask Eliezer to let Rebecca stay ten days before she leaves (maybe to get more gifts).
Genesis 24:56–57 (NLT)
56 But he (Eliezer) said, “Don’t delay me. The Lord has made my mission successful; now send me back so I can return to my master.”
57 “Well,” they said, “we’ll call Rebekah and ask her what she thinks.”
And again, we see an act of faith that goes along with God’s sovereign hand at work in these circumstances. Now Rebecca has to decide how much faith she has in the fact that God is at work in these circumstances. And she answers with similar faith that got Abraham to leave his home way back in Genesis Chapter 12.
Genesis 24:58 (NLT)
58 So they called Rebekah. “Are you willing to go with this man?” they asked her. And she replied, “Yes, I will go.”
God is sovereignly at work, and Rebecca must act in faith to join God.
And so, acting in total faith, Rebecca leaves
on a long hard journey
to a place she didn’t know
to marry a person she didn’t know
All because she clearly saw the hand of God orchestrating all of these events in her life.
That is a perfect picture of God’s sovereignty and our faith – working together.
And so, after that 800-mile journey back to the Promised Land, we finish with what could be that epic romance movie script even though Rebecca and Isaac have not even met… yet.
Genesis 24:63–67 (NLT)
63 One evening as [Isaac] was walking and meditating in the fields (back home in the Promised Land), he looked up and saw the camels coming.
64 When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel.
65 “Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” she asked the servant. And he replied, “It is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. (a wedding veil a bride would wear)
66 Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.
67 And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent (the Matriarch’s tent), and she became his wife. He loved her deeply (first reference to marital love in the Bible), and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.
Guys, God is sovereignly at work around us and for us, and we must choose by faith to join him. To trust that he’s at work, to see that he’s at work, and to join him where he’s at work.
God is at work in our everyday circumstances to bring his will to pass.
Our role is to act in faith as we join God in what he is doing.
Look for God at work in the circumstances of your life, right now and when you see him clearly at work, by faith, join him.
God is sovereignly at work. We must trust him and act in faith to join him in what he is doing.
Genesis Chapter 24 is like the script for an epic romance movie, and it is in the longest chapter in Genesis, all devoted to how Isaac gets a wife. And although it would make a great movie script, the spiritual truths are even greater.
Here are the two truths we’ll look at today.
1). God is at work in our everyday circumstances to bring his will to pass
2). Our role is to act in faith as we join God in what he is doing.
And if we can begin to receive these two great truths today, then it will indeed be a very good day.
Genesis 24:1–2 (NLT)
1 Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.
2 One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.
This “oldest servant” is most probably Eliezer, who, (in Genesis 15) Abraham said to God He is my only heir because God hadn’t given Abraham and Sarah a child yet, but that was back in Abraham’s young “less mature faith” days and those “less mature faith” days are long gone for Abraham.
Now, the faith of both Abraham and Eliezer (his servant) are much stronger and much more secure. And so, now Abraham tells his oldest servant, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.” And then continuing in verse 3.
Genesis 24:3–4 (NLT)
3 Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women.
4 Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”
Abraham knew that God was making a people and a land out of his lineage. So, he sends his servant back to his homeland, originally Ur of the Chaldeans, it’s Babylonia, the Mesopotamia, the bread basket – it’s a long way from Canaan (from the Promised Land). And so, he sends Eliezer back to get a wife for Isaac from the people of his lineage. Plus, God knew that the Canaanites would become “forever enemies” of the People of God. So, this was a doubly right thing to do, both in Abraham’s mind and God’s will.
Genesis 24:5–6 (NLT)
5 The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?”
6 “No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there.
Eliezer (the servant) says, “Should I take Isaac out of the Promised Land to accomplish this?”
No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son [out of the Promised Land].
And Isaac never once left the Promised Land because Isaac encapsulated the Promise of God to make a People and a Land. (That promise still stands, which is something the world still doesn’t get, and Satan works hard at thwarting and trying to make sure God’s People don’t have a Land, but God is still accomplishing it.)
And then, we read in Genesis 24, verse 7, the final recorded words of Abraham. And look at Abraham’s absolute faith in God in his last recorded words in the Bible.
Genesis 24:7 (NLT)
7 For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son.
Abraham is long done with doubting God and doing things his own way. This is a rock-solid, confident faith! And Abraham’s final words recorded in the Bible prove he had truly become the Father of the Faith.
And the next verse continues to show Abraham’s faith and confidence in God.
Genesis 24:8 (NLT)
8 If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath of mine. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there.”
This is not Abraham doubting that God will do this. This is Abraham instilling faith in Eliezer.
Genesis 24:9–10 (NLT)
9 So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions.
10 Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim (Mesopotamia). There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled.
Depending on the route, this was likely 800 miles and at least a two-month journey, and notice he went with a caravan of camels and gifts ready and equipped for God to answer Abraham’s prayer.
And once Eliezer gets there, we see his strong faith in joining God in what God is doing.
Genesis 24:11–14 (NLT)
11 He made the camels kneel beside a well just outside the town. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water.
12 “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham.
13 See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water.
14 This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.”
Eliezer (the servant) got into the right place (the well) and the right spiritual position (he’s looking for God to work in the normal circumstances of life) at the right time (the evening). Eliezer is preparing to be led by God. And then he prayed that God would make his will known IN the normal circumstances of life.
This is not a “fleece” before the Lord as Gideon did (Gideon was asking for something supernatural to happen). Eliezer is not asking God for a supernatural sign. He’s asking God to show him through the normal events of life where God is working. Asking a woman to give you a drink of water in that culture is totally normal. Men didn’t draw water; women did. And so, it would be normal to say, can I have a drink? (Jesus did it with the Samaritan woman in John Chapter 4.) But a woman offering to water ten camels – that’s massively unusual.
Eliezer is looking for God to reveal the character of the woman that God had chosen to be Isaac’s wife and to be the next matriarch of God’s People.
Eliezer is living out Proverbs 3, verses 5-6.
Proverbs 3:5–6 (NLT)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Eliezer is asking God to direct his path through his normal, everyday life. Sometimes we say, “God show me a sign.” And God might say to us, “Open your eyes.” Because God is at work in our normal, everyday life. Where we are at right now, God is at work there. We need to see it.
While it may have been customary for Eliezer to ask for a drink of water, it would show incredible character for a woman to water ten camels (as he prayed in verse 14). Ten camels who have traveled 800 miles. They say that a camel, when it is not thirsty, will drink ten gallons of water. But a camel can store twenty gallons of water in its humps. That’s a lot of water.
These wells are deep. If you’ve been to Israel with us, the well that we see on Har-Megiddo, in the City of Megiddo, it’s actually a massive hole almost the size of this room, and it has stairs going down to where the water is. And so, every time you go get water, you’re going down those stairs, getting a jug or two of water, and carrying it back up. It says a lot about the character of a woman who would offer to do that for a stranger.
And so, offering to do that for a stranger would show all the character traits required for a woman to take this “crucial place” as Isaac’s wife. God is leading in the everyday circumstances of life. We need to see it.
But please, here is the other half of the lesson today. So far, it has been about Abraham’s faith and Eliezer’s faith. Now we see the other half.
God is working out in front of us.
God is always working out in front of us.
God is always at work before we know he is.
And God always has the answer ready before we even know the question to ask.
Look closely at the first words of verse 15.
Genesis 24:15 (NLT)
15 Before he had finished praying . . .
This means that what was about to happen was set in process long before Eliezer prayed this prayer – right?
Please see the truth of this for your life because we have so many regrets and so many places where we look back on our lives and think, “Oh! This or that!” And we’ve got to know that God has been at work. Maybe we’ve missed it. I’m not saying we don’t miss it. We do. We need to know that he is already at work, and we need to watch for it.
God was already at work setting in motion the answer to Eliezer’s prayer before Eliezer ever prayed his prayer.
Genesis 24:15–20 (NLT)
15 Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah (She was the granddaughter of Abraham’s brother – but Eliezer did NOT know that).
16 Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again.
17 Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.”
18 “Yes, my lord,” she answered, “have a drink.” And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink.
19 When she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink.”
20 So she quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw water for all his camels.
Drawing enough water for ten camels is a massive amount of work. Some scholars say this could have been a two-hour process, minimum.
Wow!! God is powerfully at work orchestrating these circumstances. This is God at work in a normal, everyday circumstance. This is God orchestrating the circumstance long before Eliezer got there. (Lesson 1)
And Abraham and Eliezer both had strong faith. Eliezer had to have faith that he would pray according to God’s will (which he did), and then he would watch for God to work in a normal circumstance of life. And then recognize that this is God. Eliezer had to have strong faith that God would orchestrate these circumstances. (Lesson 2)
God is at work in the everyday circumstances of our lives. We have to look for it. We want a lightning bolt, a neon sign. We want something supernatural. Listen, every morning you wake up is supernatural. God has given you the breath of life every morning that you have it. And so, God is already doing miraculous things in your life. We need to look for him working in the normal things of our lives, and we need to recognize him.
And we must grow our faith
to trust God is at work
to see God is at work around us
to join God IN the work he is doing in our lives.
And so, we can wake up and say, “Lord, I trust you to be at work in my life today. Help me to see it. And if I don’t see it, it’s not that you’re not at work. It’s that I am not seeing it. And when I do see it, help me to have the faith to join you in it.” We need to not blow off the normal things of life like God isn’t working in them because he is.
So, while Rebecca is providing water for ten camels, we read this in verse 21.
Genesis 24:21 (NLT)
21 The servant watched her in silence, wondering (to learn) whether or not the Lord had given him success in his mission.
I think Eliezer (this servant) is sitting in absolute amazement – dumbstruck and speechless that as he was still praying, God was answering his prayer!
Genesis 24:22 (NLT)
22 Then at last (because this took a while), when the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for her wrists.
This was partially a thank you but also an “O my Lord, you might be the one!” reaction. But Eliezer had to find out if Rebecca came from the Lineage of Abraham (because he didn’t know yet).
Genesis 24:23-25 (NLT)
23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “And please tell me, would your father have any room to put us up for the night?”
24 “I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she replied. “My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah. (Granddaughter of Abraham’s brother)
25 Yes, we have plenty of straw and feed for the camels, and we have room for guests.”
Alright, now Eliezer’s head is spinning.
Abraham had the faith to send Eliezer.
Eliezer had the faith to go prepared for God to answer, and to ask the Lord to reveal his will in the ordinary circumstances of life. But when God actually did it before Eliezer even ended his prayer for it, and then confirmed it by Rebecca telling him she was from Abraham’s lineage, Eliezer has got to be ready to fall over like a guy in the front row at a Benny Hin convention. But instead of falling over from Benny Hin waving his jacket, we read this in the next two verses.
Genesis 24:26–27 (NLT)
26 The man (Eliezer) bowed low and worshiped the Lord.
27 “Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.”
God is at work in our everyday circumstances to bring his will to pass.
Our will is to act in faith as we join God in what he is doing.
This is an awesome lesson about God’s sovereignty and our faith.
Genesis 24:28 (NLT)
28 The young woman (Rebecca) ran home to tell her family everything that had happened.
Maybe because she was excited, maybe because of the gold gifts, and maybe to let her mom know she invited Eliezer and his ten camels to stay the night with them.
In any case, Rebecca has a brother named Laban. And Laban will return to the Genesis story as a huge troublemaker for Isaac’s son, Jacob.
Genesis 24:29–34 (NLT)
29 Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring.
30 As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.
31 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.” (clearer signs of Laban’s greed come later)
32 So the man (Eliezer) came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and there was water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
33 Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” He said, “Speak on.”
34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.
And then, he goes on to tell Rebecca’s family what led him there to seek a wife for Isaac.
Genesis 24:39–40 (NLT)
39 “But I said to my master, ‘What if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to go back with me?’
40 He responded, ‘The Lord, in whose presence I have lived, will send his angel with you and will make your mission successful. Yes, you must find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family.
And then, Eliezer tells the family about his prayer at the well and Rebecca being the answer to his prayer even before he was finished praying. And then he recounts asking her who her family was and being completely blown away by God’s hand in it all.
Genesis 24:48–49 (NLT)
48 “Then I bowed low and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me straight to my master’s niece to be his son’s wife.
49 So tell me—will you or won’t you show unfailing love and faithfulness to my master? Please tell me yes or no, and then I’ll know what to do next.”
This is an awesome recounting of God’s sovereign hand at work and Abraham and Eliezer’s confident faith in God working.
So, Eliezer asks for an answer right there.
Genesis 24:50–53 (NLT)
50 Then Laban and Bethuel (Rebecca’s Father) replied, “The Lord has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say. (God is obviously at work)
51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”
52 When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord.
53 Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing and presented them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother.
And then, most likely because of these expensive gifts, Rebecca’s brother and mother ask Eliezer to let Rebecca stay ten days before she leaves (maybe to get more gifts).
Genesis 24:56–57 (NLT)
56 But he (Eliezer) said, “Don’t delay me. The Lord has made my mission successful; now send me back so I can return to my master.”
57 “Well,” they said, “we’ll call Rebekah and ask her what she thinks.”
And again, we see an act of faith that goes along with God’s sovereign hand at work in these circumstances. Now Rebecca has to decide how much faith she has in the fact that God is at work in these circumstances. And she answers with similar faith that got Abraham to leave his home way back in Genesis Chapter 12.
Genesis 24:58 (NLT)
58 So they called Rebekah. “Are you willing to go with this man?” they asked her. And she replied, “Yes, I will go.”
God is sovereignly at work, and Rebecca must act in faith to join God.
And so, acting in total faith, Rebecca leaves
on a long hard journey
to a place she didn’t know
to marry a person she didn’t know
All because she clearly saw the hand of God orchestrating all of these events in her life.
That is a perfect picture of God’s sovereignty and our faith – working together.
And so, after that 800-mile journey back to the Promised Land, we finish with what could be that epic romance movie script even though Rebecca and Isaac have not even met… yet.
Genesis 24:63–67 (NLT)
63 One evening as [Isaac] was walking and meditating in the fields (back home in the Promised Land), he looked up and saw the camels coming.
64 When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel.
65 “Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” she asked the servant. And he replied, “It is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. (a wedding veil a bride would wear)
66 Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.
67 And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent (the Matriarch’s tent), and she became his wife. He loved her deeply (first reference to marital love in the Bible), and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.
Guys, God is sovereignly at work around us and for us, and we must choose by faith to join him. To trust that he’s at work, to see that he’s at work, and to join him where he’s at work.
God is at work in our everyday circumstances to bring his will to pass.
Our role is to act in faith as we join God in what he is doing.
Look for God at work in the circumstances of your life, right now and when you see him clearly at work, by faith, join him.
God is sovereignly at work. We must trust him and act in faith to join him in what he is doing.