Worship When The Stars Burn Down https://youtube/watch?v=aaj7YQZbvcY Grace Flows Down https://youtube/watch?v=zQl5-CdQa74 Heart of Worship https://youtube/watch?v=cUakmpfK9XY In Christ Alone https://youtube/watch?v=xnWw24s5gG8 Passing on the Promise Genesis 24:1–67; 25:19–28 If someone asked you to tell the story of your life, where would you begin? Would you start with your childhood? Maybe you would look to events from before your birth, recounting your parents’ meeting or your grandparents settling in a new country. Many of our life stories really begin with our ancestors. The same is true for biblical characters like Jacob, whose story is rooted in the life of his father and grandfather and their relationship with God. God had promised Abraham offspring as numerous as the stars. But from the very beginning of Jacob’s story, Abraham’s line was still in its humble beginnings. Dedicated to seeing God’s covenantal promise passed on to future generations, Abraham sent his servant to the city of Nahor to seek out a wife for the child of promise, Isaac. 1. A Faithful Servant A. Preserving the Promise - “that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites” Genesis 24:3 As Abraham neared the end of his life, he began to focus on securing a wife for his son and heir, Isaac. It was standard practice in the ancient Near East for parents to arrange marriages for their children. It was also common for people to marry within their family or clan, a practice known as endogamy. This practice preserved family inheritance and kept individual clans separate from outsiders or foreigners. Wanting to preserve God’s promise for his son and future generations, Abraham sought a wife for Isaac from among his own family. Later, we will see that Isaac’s older son, Esau, went against this practice by marrying two Hittite women. B. An Urgent Obedience – Although Genesis 24 is ultimately about Abraham’s desire to provide Isaac with a wife, the main character of the chapter is Abraham’s servant. The servant departed for the city of Nahor in Aram-Naharaim, taking with him 10 of Abraham’s camels and “all sorts of choice gifts from his master”—luxurious gifts likely reserved for the future bride’s family. Upon arriving in Nahor, the servant immediately began his search for Isaac’s wife. His urgency seems to match that of his master. He knew he must find a wife for Isaac before Abraham died. C. A Prayerful Attitude – And he said, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.” Genesis 24:12 When Abraham’s servant reached a well outside the city where women would come to draw water, the servant stopped to pray for God to grant him success in finding Isaac’s wife. He asked God to show his “steadfast love” to Abraham by helping him find the right woman. The servant was specific in his request: He asked God to reveal as Isaac’s wife the woman who would respond to his request for a drink from her jar and water for his camels. 2. A Faithful God A. God Answers Prayers - Before Abraham’s servant had even finished praying, God answered his prayer—a young woman named Rebekah approached with a water jar on her shoulder and offered water to him and his camels. With God’s confirmation that Rebekah was the chosen wife for Isaac, the servant lavished her with gifts of jewelry and asked about her father and household. Rebekah traveled ahead of the servant to tell “her mother’s household” of her encounter with the man. When Rebekah’s brother, Laban—introduced here and later to play a key role in Jacob’s life—spotted the costly gifts given to Rebekah and recognized that God’s favor was with Abraham’s servant, he immediately went out to the man and invited him into their household. B. God Orchestrates Events – Abraham’s servant delivered a long speech, emphasizing Abraham’s wealth. He concluded his speech with two important features: He offered praise to “the God of my master Abraham” (Gen 24:48), then asked for Rebekah to become the wife of his master’s son. Laban and Bethuel, Rebekah’s mother, immediately agreed to give Rebekah as Isaac’s wife, recognizing God’s hand in the events. He then distributed the gifts he brought from Abraham: fine jewelry and garments for Rebekah and “expensive gifts” for her brother and mother. These gifts may have served the function of a “bride price.” They at least demonstrated to Rebekah’s family that Abraham was wealthy—an incentive for Rebekah’s family to allow her to return with Abraham’s servant and marry his son. C. God Accomplishes His Will – The next morning, the servant departed with Rebekah for the land of Canaan. As they left, Rebekah’s family blessed her, wishing her abundant offspring. The passage that began in blessing for Abraham now ends in great blessing for Rebekah, the future mother of the promised heir. The servant and Rebekah returned from Abraham’s land to find Isaac awaiting them in the Negev. After their initial introduction, Isaac and Rebekah married, fulfilling Abraham’s efforts to secure the future of God’s promise. The entire story of Genesis 24 is told within the context of God’s providential care for Abraham and his descendants. From beginning to end, Abraham’s plan to find his son a wife unfolds with little difficulty. The servant, like his master, demonstrated great trust in God through worship and prayer. Even Laban and Bethuel acknowledged that Abraham’s servant had been sent by God. Everyone in the story acted “as the LORD has spoken” to ensure that God’s will would be accomplished without hurdle or delay. 3. A Special Birth A. Another Prayer Answered – And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. Genesis 25:21 As the narrative continues, a situation arises with the potential to threaten the fulfillment of God’s covenantal blessing: Rebekah, like Sarah, was barren. Isaac and Rebekah spent 20 years in uncertainty over whether they would have a son who would continue the covenantal promise. Isaac prayed for God to intervene and trusted Him for the outcome. The narrative gives no clue as to how much time passed after Isaac’s prayer, but God eventually answered, allowing Rebekah to become pregnant—and not with just one baby, but with two. B. A Strange Proclamation – Rebekah’s pregnancy did not go smoothly. As the “children in her womb jostled each other,” she cried to God for an explanation: “If it is going to be like this, why be pregnant?” God answered with a prophetic announcement that foretold future strife between her two sons. God’s announcement also contains a detail that plays a significant role in Jacob’s story: “And the elder shall serve the younger.” We can’t be sure what Rebekah made of the bewildering pronouncement. Perhaps it dictated her own behavior as she tried to steer her favored son toward superiority over his older brother. Perhaps she told Jacob of God’s words, and he joined her efforts to secure his own fortune. It’s not clear exactly what God’s words to Rebekah indicate: like many oracles, the phrasing appears deliberately ambiguous. The motif of enmity between Jacob and Esau in the OT demonstrates how the biblical authors believed the story of the twin brothers was significant for the ongoing history of God’s people. Even when Edom seemed to have the upper hand over its younger brother, Israel (sometimes represented as Judah) held out hope that, with God’s aid, they would eventually prevail over their older sibling just as Jacob prevailed over Esau in Genesis. C. The Promise Passed – From Genesis 12:1-7, Genesis 26:3-4, and Genesis 28:13 When Rebekah gave birth to her tussling infants—first to Esau, then to Jacob, who “came out with his hand grasping Esau’s heel”—we already recognize which roles each son will play in God’s plan for covenantal blessing, but the tension is still present. The quiet, tent-dwelling younger brother will struggle to gain superiority over his rugged, hairy brother. Almost as soon as the story begins, Jacob does so when he buys Esau’s birthright with a pot of stew. But just after being blessed with the birthright, he has to run from his angry brother. It will be more than 20 years before the brothers meet again, and, ironically, Jacob will bow before “[his] lord, Esau” Only then will the patriarch return to the promised land to take possession of his inheritance. In the end, what God proclaimed to Rebekah proves true, and Jacob comes to recognize his role in carrying on the promise God made to Abraham. Ordinary Events; Extraordinary Faithfulness We often think of God as working in extremes. We expect Him to accomplish great things through the lives of exceptional people and to work through miracles and awesome displays of power. Rarely do we see His hand in the ordinary and every day. In the events leading up to Jacob’s birth, we find an antidote to both of these misguided perceptions. In Genesis 24–25, God accomplishes His purposes through an ordinary servant and a miracle of healing. In both cases, He acted in response to the prayers of the humble and faithful. In Abraham’s servant, we find a model for how to approach God in humility and trust. At all major points of the story, the servant prays for the God’s blessing and worships God when He answers. In Isaac, we find belief in God’s power to heal. When Rebekah’s barrenness becomes evident, Isaac “prayed to Yahweh on behalf of his wife.” God answered Isaac’s prayer, blessing him and Rebekah with children—one who would become heir to the covenantal promise.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:42:17 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015