Epic Match
Epic - The Story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 41:10
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In 2013, it was reported that about 11% of American adults had used dating sites. The number increased in 2016 to 15%, and by 2019 it had doubled to 30%. As we start this year, the latest reports indicate that up to 40% of adults have used dating sites.
And there are a lot to choose from!
This sermon this morning is not about extolling the virtues of or problems with online dating. This is just the first topic that entered my mind to research as I was studying the chapter we will be covering today.
We are, of course, still continuing with our series called EPIC. This is a series on the lives of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. We are nearing the end of Abraham's life as we get into chapter 24 today. Our last session took us through chapter 22 where Abraham's faith and obedience is tested, and God's faithfulness, integrity, and provision is proven when Abraham obeys the command to go sacrifice Isaac. We remember that God stops Abraham as he is about to kill Isaac and provides a substitutionary ram to be sacrificed.
Abraham finally has realized and has lived out the fact that God, not Isaac, is his exceeding great reward.
We will skip over the study of chapter 23, but I will encourage you to read it. In it it details the death of Sarah, Abraham's wife and Isaac's mother. She dies at the age of 127. Abraham purchases a plot of land that has a cave called Machpelah, and that is Sarah is laid to rest.
As we enter chapter 24 now, Abraham is, as the Bible describes him, "old and well stricken in age." But that is not the interesting part of verse 1. Read along with me.
Genesis 24:1 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. God had indeed kept His promise toward Abraham. Abraham had been blessed in all things, in every area of his life.
In the midst of his blessings and his age, Abraham becomes aware that for the blessing of a nation to spring forth from him, then his son Isaac is going to need to marry. In all this time that Abraham has been in Canaan, he has travelled and seen the different people groups that are in the area. In this observation, Abraham has a very important mission for his servant.
Genesis 24:2-4 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: 3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: 4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
Abraham assigns his servant to go an find a suitable wife for Isaac, but he charges him to NOT take a woman from the Canaanites. Instead, Abraham instructs him to go back to his homeland and find a wife for Isaac there. Abraham is living and instructing his servant in the realization that Isaac is the next link in the chain of blessing that will culminate with the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ. This means that whatever happens to Isaac is of extreme importance.
So, in this realization, Abraham emphasizes separation.
Later, Moses would command the Israelites to not marry women from other nations that did not worship God. When you study Israel's history, you see that the nation's disobedience to this command caused a a great majority of Israel's problems. The intermarrying with nations that did not worship God was a major catalyst for the Israelites worshipping false gods, which would lead to their civil war and ultimate destructions and captivities.
Abraham's Instructions
There are are few things about Abraham's instructions that are important to notice.
1. Don't select a wife from the Canaanite women
2. Choose Isaac a wife from Abraham's relatives
When given these instructions, Abraham's servant says, "Let's say I go to where all your relatives live and find the perfect girl, but she doesn't want to come back. Do I journey back and take Isaac along with me?"
So Abraham gives him one more instruction: DO NOT TAKE ISAAC BACK TO MY FAMILY.
Along with that, he gives him some encouragement. Genesis 24:7-8 The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. 8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.
Abraham encourages his servant by telling him about God's promise. He was able to do do this because Abraham had become a man of solid faith who was able to apply God's word to specific situations. He was able to apply God's word and godly principles to specific situations because he had become close to God. Remember, he is referred to as "The Friend of God." He knows God intimately now. We do not have a record of God telling Abraham to not let Isaac marry any of the Canaanite women, but we do know, because of later Scripture (over 400 years later), God tells the nation of Israel not to intermarry with people and nations that worship false gods. So how did Abraham know this concept? It is very possible that God Himself told Abraham, but it is equally reasonable to expect that Abraham had grown to know the heart of God and could therefore apply God's character and His words to this specific situation.
So he makes his servant swear an oath to carry out these instruction, the servant swears the oath and goes. Genesis 24:9-11 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.
10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. 11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.
If you will remember, Nahor is the name of both Abraham's grandfather and his brother.
What we need to understand about the relationship between Abraham and the servant is this. The servant was a faithful servant. We know this because through the years of serving Abraham, the servant had risen to a level of trust in which he was not only responsible for all the goods that Abraham owned, but was able to use them as well. He is a servant who is trustworthy, obviously. This is why Abraham told him to go get a wife for Isaac.
This is the servant in relation to Abraham, but what about Abraham and how he treated his servant? Well, from what we know from previous studying, Abraham is shown to be a person that instructs his whole household in the word of God. He shows them to be faithful and that God is trustworthy.
So let's say that you are this servant. You have been entrusted with finding a wife for your master's son. You understand that whether this mission succeeds or fails, you will have to give an account of what you have done. What do you do?
A Servant's Faith
Well, if you're Abraham's servant, you follow the example set by Abraham: you pray and ask God.
Genesis 24:12-14 And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: 14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.
He prays. He seeks guidance from the Lord. He sets a scenario before God and asks that it will come to pass. He asks that the woman who will be the right wife for Isaac would be the one that not only gives him a drink from the well when he asks, but then, of her own accord, also offers to water to water the camels as well.
This would be no easy task. It would be polite and it would be mannerly to give a traveler water, but it would be absolutely sacrificial to offer to water ten weary camels until they couldn't drink anymore. This is because thirsty camels are known to be able to drink 30 gallons of water at one time. It has been reported that there are camels that drink upwards of 50 gallons of water in one sitting.
But lets say that these camels are just regular thirsty camels and not the super thirsty variety. Ten camels at 30 gallons each is three hundred gallons of water. For reference, this is about the amount of water in a 4 person hot-tub. If someone were carrying a 4 gallon pitcher, she would have had to make 75 trips to give 300 gallons of water. But even if they were not absolutely thirsty, even if the camels only needed 20 gallons each to fill up, that would have been about 50 trips from the well to the watering trough for someone who was an absolute stranger.
As this servant is still praying for God's guidance, along comes a beautiful woman. Genesis 24:15-19 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. 16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. 18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. 19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.
When the camels finish drinking, Abraham's servant gives her a gold earing and two gold bracelets and then ask her who her father is.
He has asked God for Him to guide through a situation, but he also knows that there are specific instructions, the main one being that the bride he is looking for must be from Abraham's relatives. So, he asks Rebekah who her father is. To his delight, she answers that she is a granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham's brother.
Genesis 24:25-29 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. 26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. 27 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren. 28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.
29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.
So Rebekah runs to back home to tell them of a man who needs shelter, and who gave her some jewelry for watering his camels.
Rebekah's brother, Laban, runs out to the well and invites this man into the house, preparing a place for him and his camels, and providing food as well. Now remember, nobody knows why this man is there, only that he has asked to stay after his journey. So when they prepare a table for him, Abraham's servant still has an important mission on his mind.
The Servant's Message
Genesis 24:33-48 33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on. 34 And he said, I am Abraham's servant. 35 And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.
36 And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. 37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: 38 But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.
39 And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. 40 And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house: 41 Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.
42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: 43 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; 44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master's son.
45 And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. 46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. 47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.
48 And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.
So Laban and Bethuel, Rebekah's father, turn to each other and say, this is obviously of the Lord. So they give permission, and obviously, the servant is very happy and once again praises the Lord. He then presents Bethuel and his wife with the dowry that has been prepared and he has used ten camels to bring over.
The Servant's Focus
Genesis 24:55-61 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. 56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. 57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth. 58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. 59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
After agreeing that Rebekah can go and marry Isaac, Laban and his mom ask for her to stay at least another 10 days. That may not seem like a big deal; in fact, it is a natural request. Rebekah is about to leave to a far away land to get married, they want to spend as much time with her as possible, possibly celebrating with other family and friends, maybe learn a bit more about Abraham and Isaac.
But just as the servant would not eat until he had completely told his errand, he was not willing to delay in completing the mission.
When the Lord is at work, that is the time to keep on going!
They ask Rebekah if that is what she would like to do, and she responds that she is ready to go.
The family bids farewell to her, and the servant and Rebekah travel back to Canaan. As you read the rest of the chapter, you'll see that they arrive where Isaac is living, and after a meeting each other, they get married. And so begins the story of Isaac and Rebekah, which we will jump into next week.
So now that we have observed the story come the important parts: interpretation and application.
This story of Abraham sending his servant to find a wife for Isaac is full of spiritual imagery and practical application.
The obvious application is that we are to seek God's guidance when we are making decisions. We are to go to Him in prayer and ask Him to even orchestrate situations so that we might know how He is moving. That is exactly what the servant did. He asked God to guide him. But even when the circumstance of Rebekah watering the camels came to pass exactly as he had requested it, he did not forget the details of the mission, mainly that the woman was to be of the relatives of Abraham, so he inquires after that to make sure.
This shows his focus and determination of not only completing the mission, but doing it right. That shows up later in the fact that he won't even sit and eat until he has relayed the reason that he is there, and the reasons he believes that Rebekah is the one God has for Isaac.
Further focus on completing the mission is seen in the servant's refusal to stay even one more day than necessary. His mission is to find a bride for Isaac and get her back to Isaac. He will let nothing get in the way.
The application for us here is that when God is guiding us to do something, do it. Don't let things distract you from following God's plan for your life. Be focused on it, and don't veer from the path God has set before you or pause on the journey.
I mentioned that there is spiritual symbolism in this account as well.
The principal symbolism seems to be this:
Abraham is a a picture of God.
Isaac is a picture of Jesus.
The servant is a picture of the Christian.
Ur of the Chaldees is a picture of the lost world.
Canaan is a picture of the fellowship with the Lord.
Just like Abraham was called out of Ur of the Chaldees to go to Canaan, where he would develop a strong relationship with God, now Abraham sends his servant to go to Ur to call out a special lady for a relationship with his son.
Just like that, God calls us to go to the world and find people that would willingly follow Jesus and enter into a relationship with Him.
Rebekah, when given the choice, did not delay. It was more important for her to enter that new relationship than to delay it even for ten days for any reason.
We Christians, as the servants of God and entrusted with a mission, are to constantly be seeking God's direction. We are to be willing to go to the lost and tell them about Jesus.
Abraham's servant went to Ur, told Rebekah and her family about Abraham and Isaac and the mission he had, but he did not force anyone to come back with him. That was not his mission. His mission was to go, find, and tell. If there were a woman who would come back, great! And the question that the servant asks is probably something many of us have asked as well?
He asked, "What if nobody wants to leave and come back here?"
Our question today may be similar. "What if nobody wants to get saved? What if I tell people about Jesus, and they don't want Him?"
Abraham tells the servant, "Your mission is to go and tell." And that is what our mission is as well. To go and tell people. We can't force anyone, we can't drag anyone; we are to simply tell them.
Maybe there is someone here who is not saved. Maybe you came to church this morning and don't know Jesus as your savior. Let me tell you about Him.
God, who made heaven and earth and all that is in it, made you and me as well. When he made mankind, He had a perfect and intimate relationship with them.
But man sinned, deliberately disobeying God's instructions. Because God is a holy and perfect God, this broke the relationship between man and God. That sin has passed on to each person from then. We are all sinners.
That sin requires a payment, that payment is eternal separation from Him in a lake of fire for all eternity. That is the just payment for sin. There is no way that we can pay for our sins. The only way that the debt of sin can be satisfied is by the death of someone who has no sin.
So God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus to earth. Jesus, God in the flesh, lived a perfect life, because He is God and cannot sin. He willingly died on a cross and shed His perfect blood as a payment for your sin and mine. He didn't stay dead though, He rose again on the third day. With his perfect life and His death, he defeated sin and offers forgiveness; with His resurrection He defeated death and offers eternal life with Him.
You don't have to pay for that salvation; you don't have to work for that salvation. It is a free gift. That means that to have it, you must willingly accept it.
Just like Rebekah made the choice to believe the servant and go with him back to Canaan without delay, today is the day that you have the opportunity to say, I want to be saved. I will put my faith in Jesus and ask Him to save me, knowing no one else can.
Invitation:
With that I will ask you to bow your heads and close your eyes. No one hre is looking, just me.
Maybe I just described you: someone who is no saved, who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus. Listen, I am not asking if you are a member of this church or any other or if you have gone to church your whole life.
The question is not if you read your Bible or pray regularly.
The question is not if you believe that Jesus exists.
The question is not are your parents Christians.
The question right now is: Have you, personally, admitted to God that you are a sinner, realizing that nothing else can erase those sins except for Jesus, and asked Jesus to save you from your sins?
If you have never done that but would like to know more about it this morning, while everyone is bowing their heads and losing their eyes, I am going to ask you to raise your hand.
Maybe your here this morning and you are saved. Perhaps you are here this morning and you are sitting at or coming up to a crossroads in your life. It's a big one, and you need God's guidance. Let me encourage you, look for the answers through prayer. Continue to pray until God gives you peace about something, but know you can always search the scriptures to know God's heart as well.
Listen, if you are not at a crossroads where there is a major decision staring you in the face, there will come a time when you will be. This means that now is the time to deepen your relationship with God. Concern yourself with getting to know God's heart now. Study His word now. Get close to Him now. Don't wait.
If you'd like to come and pray at the altar or speak with me about some way God is moving in your heart, you come while the music plays.
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Life Groups:
Any observations or questions?
There are two things I want to focus on this session.
1. The fact that Abraham is blessed by God.
2. Seeking the Lord's guidance in our lives.
Abraham is blessed.
Genesis 24:1 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.
Why do you think that Abraham was blessed?
I think it follows the pattern that is set in Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Abraham became a person that was weary of associating with those that had reputations that were ungodly
He ended up becoming someone who delighted in the Lord. We saw this really well last week.
He became a friend of God. That wasn't something that just happened, developing a friendship takes time and takes investment. He knew God's heart and knew God's word and applied it, and he was blessed.
What does it mean to delight in the law of the Lord? The word Delight means pleasure; a valuable thing; desire; good pleasure (willingness). We could easily substitute the word delight for any one of those words.
Is your delight (your pleasure, what you see as valuable, your will) determined by God's word?
If it is not, then I cannot expect to be blessed as the word is used in Psalm 1:1, which means happy or very happy.
Seeking the Lord's Guidance
What stood out to you about how the servant went about his mission?
What are situations in your life in which you have received God's guidance?
Why did the servant not want to wait to take Rebekah back to Isaac?
Are there situation when God asks us to wait? Yes.
What is the best way to ensure that I have a constant ear for God's guidance and direction? Study His Word to get to know His character better. Pray real prayers daily. Honestly seek to communicate with Him. Obey, and watch as He keeps His word.