Boy Meets Girl: Genesis 24 (ESV)

It’s good to be able to worship together.  These past few months have reminded me how significant being together is.  Today we are looking at a love story.  A good love story springs forth from some kind of sorrow or pain that is overcome.  This is an ancient near east arranged marriage.  Pretty much it was like picking one of your cousins to be your wife! 

We get an idea in this passage of how God works among us.  Some of you will be interested in how Isaac and Rebekah come together as husband and wife.  You’re having to make difficult decisions right now too.  You’re having to make plans.  We’re all wondering what God’s will is.  What is God doing right now in our lives?  In Genesis 24 boy meets girl.  This is about how God works in our hearts and what our response is to God’s work. 

Pray.

The first thing we see is prayer.  This is the response of Abraham’s servant.  When we hear the word prayer sometimes our minds can go into neutral.  This is not new information.  We know we should pray.  Sometimes we forget to pray.  We go into a mode of figuring out things and do not pray.  The stakes are high.  Abraham calls his servant in.  It’s time for Isaac to get married.  He tells the servant to go back to where they’re from and choose a wife for Isaac.  The servant is asked to choose the wife through whom God will do His work for the whole world!  This is a pretty big deal!  This is the task before him.  The servant’s response is to pray.  How will he know she’s the right one?

                    ¹⁴Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

The servant is asking God for a way to be sure she’s the right one.  The word used for ‘pray’ here is the word ‘talk.’  It means to have a conversation with God.  The servant is specific about what he wants to see God do.  He sets up a test.  He’s traveling with people and ten camels.  Camels were very rare.  Ten camels demonstrate Abraham’s wealth.  One camel was worth twelve cows.  Camels were more effective for a long trip because they can go ten days without water.  They’re also quicker across the terrain.  When the servant arrives, the woman who asks to let her give the camels a drink is the one.  

It’s not always a good idea to lay out a test.  He is seeking a woman who has a servant heart, the gift of hospitality, someone who goes above and beyond.  Remember Abraham’s hospitality to the angels?  He took good care of them.  A woman with a heart like Abraham is what the servant is praying for.  Choices along the way matter.  In the scheme of things, some things seem small but all choices matter.  As the servant prays he is praying about Isaac’s future spouse.  Are you praying for the future spouse of your children?  Choose a woman that above all else has character.  He’s praying for a specific thing.  The only acceptable woman is the one who will water his camels.  This tells us something about prayer.  We think about what we want God to do in our life.  What if in all of this God has already decided?  What if God has already chosen?  God already knows Rebekah will be at that well.  God is prompting the servant how to pray. Sometimes when we ask God for things and we don’t realize God is prompting us to pray in a certain way.

Imagine you think your child is ready for a new bike.  They’ve outgrown their old one and you find the perfect bike for them.  It’s bright yellow with a bell on it.  You get the bike and store it away.  You ask your child, “Wouldn’t a new bike be neat?”  The child thinks about it and later comes back and says yes, they’d like to have a new bike.  They start asking for a new bike.  You prompted their heart for it.  I believe God has all of this worked out.  Prayer is us learning the heart of God.  This is the primary response of the right person, a person who serves from the heart.  When ten camels come to the well, ten thirsty camels; a camel that is thirsty can drink fifty gallons of water in three minutes!  Imagine ten camels!  That’s five hundred gallons of water in three minutes!  They used a jar on a rope and they pulled up the water.  Imagine pulling up five hundred gallons of water! 

Serve.

 

                   ¹⁹When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 

We offer people a drink when they visit in our homes.  This is common just like it was to offer someone a drink at a well.  It was unusual to offer to care for someone’s animals as well.  We get a sense of the servant heart and tremendous hospitality Rebekah offers.  It’s like someone saying, “I’m going to do this for you.”  Will this be the person?  Imagine the anxious moment this servant had right here in this moment.  Here’s the one God has chosen!  This is a special moment. Imagine the sense of relief the servant has!  Maybe you’ve prayed for God to show you His will for your life?  I hope God does this for you in your life.  Will we follow God’s will? 

The servant meets with Rebekah’s brother Laban and he isn’t ready to let her go.  Abraham is wealthy.  This servant arrived with ten camels and gold.  Laban has an eye for money.  Laban delays the servant.  He tries to distract and stall him.  He sees money.  He sets up a scheme to get more money.  Laban also shows up later in Genesis with a tactic to stall and delay.  The servant realizes he is on a task for his master.  There are those who try to distract us from our task. 

Follow.

                    ⁵⁸And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.”

The servant said he wants to go now.  They think Rebekah will delay.  Rebekah’s response is a demonstration of her character.  together, both Rebekah and the servant see the efforts to distract from God’s will.  She has a willingness to say she will do whatever God wants her to do.  We face many efforts to distract us as well.  Right now we all have a HUGE excuse:  we can say, “because of COVID19…”  This excuse is already built in and can be used for just about anything.  Rebekah and the servant do not get distracted.  They do what they’re called to do.  Distractions are good tactics to get us off track.

Last week I was in Alabama and my niece had an appointment to get her hair done.  She has a one year old and a three year old.  It took come clever maneuvering for her to get away.  She had her husband put them on a four-wheeler.  In the moment the four-wheeler is more attractive than being with mom.  How different would it have been without the four-wheeler?  What distractions are in your life that are keeping you away from the will of God?  A soldier stays on task and doesn’t get distracted.

Trust.

As God is working out His plan Isaac is waiting.

                    ⁶³And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming.

We don’t know what Isaac has been doing; can you imagine the nervousness of waiting?  He spends time meditating, probably talking to God.  He might be thinking about the sorrow he’s had in his life.  He is trusting God.  He looked up and saw the camels coming in that moment, at just the right time.  They’ve been gone a long time and at that moment they return.  Picture the romance here!  Their eyes meet across the field.  Remember when Abraham was about to sacrifice him and God provided a ram at just the right moment?  It’s always been God’s plan to reconcile you to Him.  That is God’s will for your life.  Will we trust God in the moment?  What are you trusting God for?  Is there a yellow bike in your future?

Sermon Notes are taken, transcribed and posted by Jeni Martin Johnson.