Isaac & Rebekah: A Providential Love Story

Intro

Who doesn’t love a good love story?

Fellas, put your hands down!

How many Hallmark movies did your wife make you watch over the holidays?

Karen and I have a… different type of love story (more than just met at Bible school)

Give the Cole’s Notes version of our story… stop where she changed her mind

Isaac and Rebekah have a love story that focuses on God’s role

We can call this a providential love story, as you will see

This also begins our short 4 week series on the life of Isaac, the one and only son of Abraham

The Story

As Abraham neared the end of his life, there was still a loose end on the covenant God had made with him

God had promised Abraham in Genesis 12:2–3 “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

Promise looked improbable until the miraculous birth of Isaac in Sarah’s old age

Promise was seemingly threatened by God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac… until he relented from that request

Promise required Isaac to marry and have offspring of his own

So Abraham called in a trusted servant and gave him the task of finding a suitable wife for Isaac

Such an important task that he swore an oath by placing his hand under his thigh and swear by the Lord

Jacob made Joseph do this at the end of his life

I’m glad we came up with the handshake… becoming your pastor would have been awkward

The important oath was to find a wife for Isaac who was not from Canaan, but from Abraham’s own people

The Canaanites were pagans, they did not believe in or follow the one true God; Abraham’s relatives did

This was an ancient version of not wanting Isaac to be “unequally yoked”

So Abraham sent the servant to his previous stop in Mesopotamia before he came to Canaan

He had relatives in Haran and area, including Nahor (refer to the city)

Show on map

But Isaac and his wife MUST settle back in Canaan

The Promised Land was part of the overall promise to Abraham and his descendants, and it would remain that way

In all of this, Abraham is acting on faith that God is going before him to stay true to His promises.

Read Genesis 24:7.

God will send an angel before his servant

This is a love story, but it is a providential love story. God is at work staying true to His promises and caring for His people

And His people are at work acting in faith, obedience and prayer (as we shall see in greater detail)

With all of these instructions, the trusted servant set off for Mesopotamia, taking 10 camels loaded up with gifts for a potential bride

The long, arduous journey comes to an end when he and his travelling party stop by the local well outside of the city of Nahor in the evening

The cool of the evening = when young women went down to the well (unlike the Samaritan woman in John 4)

And then, tasked with the monumental task of helping his master’s line continue, the servant prays

Read Genesis 24:12-14.

It is a prayer request; he asks God to give him success and show His steadfast love to Abraham

As we live in God’s providence, we are also called to be people of prayer. To know and live in God’s providence requires prayer.

Talk about praying for God’s guidance… and praying more than once! Use my decision to come to SBF as an example

Like Gideon and his fleece, the servant used a very specific prayer to ask God to answer

That is NOT necessarily our takeaway

Poke fun at trying to find a wife based on their behaviour

Instead, we are to ask God to make His will and leading clear to us with the priorities we know He has

The detail of offering water for the camels was not random; it was to reveal the heart of the woman (generous and kind)

The servant prays, and God answers IMMEDIATELY (before he had finished speaking)

Up walks Rebekah, and she checks all the boxes:

Very attractive; a virgin; a member of Abraham’s family

Rebekah was Isaac’s first cousin once removed

I didn’t know they were Mennonites!

But would she check the box of being a generous person who considers others? Would she answer the prayer of the servant?

Rebekah gladly gives the servant water at his request, and then also offers water for the camels

All the servant can do is stare as he sees the Lord work to answer his prayer right in front of his eyes

With no doubt left as to God’s will, the servant approaches Rebekah

He bestows upon her lavish gifts and jewellery (a precursor to a bride price)

He affirms her lineage (relative to Abraham) and asks to spend the night

At this point he prays again, this time a prayer of thanksgiving

Read Genesis 24:27.

When God leads and answers prayers in his providence, we need to remember and be thankful. To know and live in God’s providence requires thanksgiving.

Talk about keeping track of answered prayers one year in the high school Bible study

Rebekah runs home to tell her family, and the final chapter of the story begins

It is Rebekah’s brother Laban that takes the lead in finalizing marriage arrangements

He extends great hospitality to the servant of Abraham (and his camels)

Hospitality was a requirement during those days on long journeys

And it is the full deal: straw and fodder for the camels, water to wash his feet, and food set before him

But the servant will not eat the food until he recounts all that has transpired (which he does in great detail)

Once the providential work of God is revealed to all, Laban affirms what God had done

Read Genesis 24:50-51.

“The thing has come from the Lord” = words of affirmation

God often uses other believers to help clarify what He is doing. To know and live in God’s providence requires affirmation.

Talk about the important of Karen affirming the call to Steinbach

Rebekah agrees to go with Abraham’s servant right away

As she leaves, Laban gives another affirmation, but one that is unitentional

Read Genesis 24:60.

How is this an affirmation? Check out the promise given to Abraham after he passes the test of being willing to sacrifice Isaace:

Cf. Genesis 22:16-18.

Same promise! Same words! Yet another indication of living in God’s providence

Share my story of Karen repeating my prayer

Rebekah joins Abraham’s servant and they all travel back to Caanan

When they arrive, Rebekah sees Isaac in the distance and covers herself with her veil

Veil was a sign of betrothal; Rebekah is cooperating in this arranged marriage

Isaac is given the entire detailed story, and takes Rebekah to be his wife

Two important details:

He loved her (can be assumed that Rebekah loved him as well)

More than just an arranged marriage of convenience; they were happy

Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death

Sarah’s death was the story that preceded this one; the Lord used this marriage to bring comfort during a time of grief

These details remind us that God chooses to use His providence to keep His promises and care for His people

To know and live in the providence of God is to be cared for

God is capable and able to operate however he wants, but He has chosen to care for you

The greatest care we can receive from God is through the saving plan He accomplished in Jesus Christ

Wait, is Jesus part of this story? Absolutely!

Cf. Galatians 3:16.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham, and kept alive by Isaac and Rebekah

He is the one true offspring, the one true Israel

He is the one that would bless the world through the covenant made thousands of years before

He came down to earth to die for your sins, and defeat death 3 days later so that we may have eternal life

In all of God’s plans and providence, we are always cared for because of what He accomplished in Jesus Christ; a plan that was put in place even during a faithful prayer of an obedient servant beside a well in the cool of the evening

Pray