A Wife for Isaac Genesis 24:1-67

-What God intends to do He gets done!

300 Illustrations for Preachers A Science Fiction Lesson in God’s Providence

In the 1967 Star Trek episode “The City on the Edge of Forever,” Captain Kirk and Commander Spock are traveling through time and end up in 1930s America. There, Kirk saves a beautiful young lady from sure death when he pushes her out of the path of an oncoming car. Soon, however, the two do-gooders learn that may not have been such a good move. The young lady organizes a powerful pacifist movement that delays the country’s entrance into the war, giving Hitler time to develop the atomic bomb first. He achieves world domination. When they discover the outcome of their kind act, Kirk and Spock know that they have to go back and undo their “good deed.”

When we wonder why bad things happen to good people, and they die long before their time, we can trust in the providence of God. There is a reason, though we may never understand it.

I. Remember God’s Promise vv. 1-9

Abraham is facing a problem: He has a promised son Isaac, but if the family is going to continue to grow, Isaac must have a wife

Everything that Abraham hopes for is grounded in God’s promise to him

Abraham gets it in this instance and recognizes God’s blessing in all things

He will seek a wife for Isaac, but he is going to do it in accord with God’s design trusting that God will provide

What particular characteristics should define the wife for Isaac?

She must not be like one of the Canaanites, she should be a kinswoman

However, she must be willing to leave Mesopotamia and join them in the land of promise

Isaac cannot be tempted to become like the Canaanites nor to return to Mesopotamia, so his wife will have to be committed to pursue the covenant alongside him

This issue of faith in God’s promise and commitment to His plan is too critical for compromise

Abraham has multiple examples in his life of seasons where he tried to do God’s work his own way

It never works! He sends out his servant in full confidence that what God intends to do, He is capable of accomplishing

Where God guides, God provides!

II. Seek God’s Guidance vv. 10-14

Next, our focus shifts to the servant of Abraham

We see his faithfulness as he puts his master’s plan into action

He gathers the camels and gifts and he goes all the way to Mesopotamia

He goes to the right place with the right equipment to fulfill the mission!

However, he does not neglect to pray for God’s guidance, recognizing his inability to accomplish the task in his own strength

Notably, he is willing to pray in specific ways:

He seeks a hospitable and selfless wife for Isaac, a woman who will meet the need of the moment

I think we can learn something from the servant:

He is expectant in his prayer and proactive in his posture

He recognizes that he has a responsibility, yet God is the one who must provide for the mission to be fulfilled!

III. Witness God’s Provision vv. 15-28

Notice God’s timing here: before the servant can finish his prayer, Rebekah arrives on the scene

Only time will prove that Rebekah is the correct woman, but I think the timing is important

It reminds us that God, in His wisdom has directed the servant and the woman to the same place at the same time

This doesn’t make the servant’s prayer meaningless; the answered prayer will be a confirmation to the servant that all of this is “from the Lord”

Rebekah meets more than the basic need:

She is not just from the family of Abraham and a marriageable woman

She is beautiful

She is marked by her character- she is excessively selfless!

When the servant understands what has taken place, he responds with worship

So often, we forget that the circumstances of life are much more than circumstances

They are answered prayers!

When we consider God’s provision in our own lives, we ought to be moved to thanksgiving and worship

750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers 541: Providence

Cliff Barrows has served as Billy Graham’s lifelong associate and crusade song leader.

In 1945, before he met Billy Graham, Barrows and his fiancée, Billie, had scraped together enough funds for a simple wedding and two train tickets to a city with a resort hotel.

On arrival, however, they found the hotel shut down. Stranded in an unfamiliar city with little money, they thumbed a ride. A sympathetic driver took them to a grocery store owned by a woman he knew. The newlyweds spent their first night in a room above the store.

The next day, when the lady overheard Cliff playing Christian songs on his trombone, she arranged for them to spend the rest of their honeymoon at a friend’s house. Several days later the host invited them to attend a youth rally where a young evangelist was speaking.

The song leader that night was sick, and Cliff was asked to take charge of the music for the service. The young evangelist, of course, was Billy Graham. The two have been partners ever since.

When things don’t go the way you plan, God may have plans for you of his own.

IV. Pursue God’s Plan vv. 29-58

In the wake of all that has taken place, the servant responds quickly

He makes an investment, giving costly gifts to Rebekah

How can he be so bold here?

In part, it is because he recognizes that he is only a steward- it all belonged to his master in the first place and he is doing his master’s business! He is pursuing God’s plan

He tells the story of God’s work- this section is an extended retelling of what has taken place, but I believe that sharing a testimony of how God has been working is compelling to others; it places the current circumstance and question in the greater context of God’s work

He issues a bold invitation- Rebekah has an opportunity to immediately go to Isaac and to become his wife; it’s a big ask but it is worth the risk. Now it is time for Rebekah and Laban to make a decision to join in with what God is doing

V. Celebrate God’s Providence vv. 59-67

The story closes with two really powerful notes:

First, we must recognize that God’s invitation to participate in His plans is actually an invitation to blessings that transcend the immediate circumstance

Rebekah has an opportunity to go and live as Isaac’s wife

However, obedience to this call will make her the mother of thousands and thousands! Her offspring will possess the gates of their enemies

Obedience to God bears fruit that goes far beyond what we could ever imagine

Second, we recognize that God’s providence is not only for His glory, but it is also genuinely for our own good

The image that the story closes with is a powerful one: Isaac, waiting on his bride

He was grieving his mother, uncertain of what the future would hold, awaiting the servant’s return

Into his grief and doubt, the Lord sent Rebekah and Isaac loves her; she becomes a sign of God’s genuine care!

All of this points us today to the perfect image of God’s invitation and care, Jesus:

He is the one who invites us to be a part of a story that is greater than anything we can imagine

He is the one who offers us the Lord’s tender care

As we face the question of the Providence of God, we must look to Jesus!

Hebrews 12:1–2

[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, [2] looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (ESV)

Born in 1864, Helen Lemmel moved to the United States around the age of twelve. From a young age, her musical ability was noticed by all those around her.

In 1907, She moved to Germany for 4 years to undergo intensive music training. It was here that she would meet her husband. Together, they returned to the United States in 1911. While in America, she served faithfully in the Lord’s work. She dedicated herself to writing, arranging, and teaching songs and hymns of the faith

A few years after her marriage, a tragic illness caused her to lose her vision. Her husband, refusing to attend to a blind wife, left her. This time of hurt and loss weighed heavily upon Helen.

Then, in 1918, Lemmel was introduced to a pamphlet written by Algerian missionary Lilias Trotter. Trotter was a well-known artist who had given up a rising and lucrative career to serve the Lord on the misson field. Her words stirred the heart of Lemmel. She writes, “Suddenly, as if commanded to stop and listen, I stood still, and, singing in my soul and spirit was the chorus, with not one conscious moment of putting word to word to make rhyme, or note to note to make melody…These verses were written…the same week…”

The words that so captivated Helen were these: “How do we bring things to a focus in the world of optics? Not by looking at the things to be dropped, but by looking at the one point that is to be brought out. Turn full your soul’s vision to Jesus, and look…look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him, and the Divine “attrait” by which God’s saints are made…will lay hold of you. For “He is worthy” to have all there is to be had in the heart that He has died to win.”

Helen kept her eyes on the Lord Jesus and continued to serve Him faithfully.  She would lead a women’s choral group for many of the Billy Sunday outreaches, teach music at the Moody Bible Institute, and pen over 400 hymns! Her life is a stirring challenge to us all. Hence, it may be said that although blind, her spiritual sight has challenged those of us who can see to keep our eyes fixed on Christ.

Are you weary, tired, hurting, confused, or frustrated? My friend, turn your eyes upon our dear Savior today, and the things of earth will grow “strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

1. O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free! (Refrain)

(Refrain) Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.