Isaac and Rebekah

Genesis 24

Grab your Bibles and make your way to Genesis 24.

Good evening, and Happy New Year.

We’re all going to eat right, exercise more, watch less TV and do all the things we said we were going to do last New Year’s, right?

That’s the plan.

I’m not big on New Year’s. I believe for some reason my- and this is particularly true of my generation- that you’re supposed to go and do something for New Year’s Eve.

I don’t wanna do it. I don’t want to stay up until midnight. I think resolution’s are silly and kind of a waste of time. Not even a waste of time because people make this grand statements “Im going to workout every day this year.”

And they start out strong in the gym in January. which is the best month to own a gym, I imagine.

They don’t wipe the equipment down. They just sit around and play on there phones in between sets and by March, you don’t see them again until the follow New Year’s Resolution rolls around.

If you’re going to do something- you don’t have to make a resolution- lets your yeses be yeses and your no’s be no’s. and quietly go about making the change day in a day out.

I think that’s what we are supposed to do right.

Resolutions aren’t things that are bad for you. They are things that are good for you.

Quit the bad habit. Make good habits. and remember its a marathon, not a sprint. Nothing to it but to do it.

If Abraham and trust the Lord to bring back His son from the dead. You can trust the Lord in whatever it is He is calling you to do.

It’s been a couple of weeks now but that is where we last left off.

Abraham going up to mount Moriah to sacrifice His son, His only Son. Except it wasn’t his only son.

Its Sarah’s only son. And the son of the Covenant promise of God.

Isaac had other siblings beside Ishmael.

Genesis 23 and 24 mark a turning point as the book’s narrative begins to shift beyond Abraham.

This transition to a focus on his son is completed in Genesis 25 with Abraham’s death.

For many, the opening of Genesis 25 comes as a big surprise.

Why?

It introduces readers to a second wife of Abraham, Keturah.

Scripture does not specify whether Abraham took her as a wife before or after Sarah’s death.

But according to what’s said in verse 6 and a later genealogy, she may have been a concubine to Abraham prior to their marriage (1 Chr 1:32–33).

Regardless, verses 2–4 describe something shocking: aged Abraham fathered six sons through her.

The list of names here is important because later sections of the Old Testament will include mentions of Midian and Sheba, two nations arising from two of Keturah’s sons.

The Midianites, in fact, feature prominently in the story of Israel during their time in Canaan.

They are usually a source of trouble for the tribes (Judg 6:3).

The name Sheba will reemerge during the time of Solomon when “the queen of Sheba” appears to Solomon to test his wisdom and then give him praise and gifts (1 Kgs 10:10).

not that I ascribe to it or believe it but some Jews hold to the tradition that the queen of Sheba and Solomon had a child together. and when the Babylonians conquered Judah and Jerusalem- the prophet Jeremiah sent the Ark of the Covenant there because Solomon’s line continued to reign.

Beginning in verse 5, Isaac is the one son through whom the covenantal blessings flow.

And although all his half brothers are mentioned, they don’t receive the inheritance Sarah’s son receives.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Genesis 23 tells the story of the burial of Sarah in a way that signals, for the first time, that God has begun to keep his promise to provide Abraham’s offspring with establishment in the land of Canaan.

In one of the longest narratives in Genesis, chapter 24 demonstrates God’s providence as he guides Abraham’s servant in finding a suitable wife for Isaac.

Genesis 24 provides one of the most extensive and detailed love stories in the Bible.

The end of Genesis 22 gave a genealogy that concludes in the birth of a daughter, that daughter is Rebekah.

Rebekah and Isaac are cousins. This is an Alabama Dream Wedding. Roll Tide

Its like a Kentucky Hallmark Movie. But those cheesy type of movies are intended to document the unique circumstances leading to the unlikely marriage. Where the big city girl goes back home to her small town and ends up leaving her big corporate job and her super successful and super rich fiancee to end up with some guy named John or Jack- some 1 syllable named guy who inherited a failing restaurant or apple orchid or winery, or farm, or local business.

The purpose of this love story isn’t too make it all ooie gooey. This isn’t a light hearted romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock.

The purpose of Isaac and Rebekah- just as all of the Bible, is to demonstrate that God is working beneath the surface.

God is working yet again to bring the Abrahamic promise to fruition.

A Servant Sent for A Bride (24:1-14)

Genesis 24:1–14 (ESV)

1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh,

3 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, among whom I dwell,

4 but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

5 The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?”

6 Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there.

7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.”

9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.

10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor.

11 And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water.

12 And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.

13 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.

14 Let 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 most obvious statements in all of scripture- Abraham was now old.

by this point Abraham the patriarch has lived a long life and been blessed by God in many ways.

But though the word blessed appears repeatedly throughout this chapter, there is one particular blessing Abraham lacks.

He has not yet been blessed with grandchildren to continue his line. In fact, Isaac does not even have a wife.

Yet you can see Abraham’s deepened trust in God’s covenant faithfulness because Abraham does not take matters into his own hands recklessly as he once did with Hagar.

Rather, Abraham calls a trusted servant of his household and sends him on a mission to find a suitable wife for Isaac.

This task is urgent because Sarah is dead and Abraham is old. Again Abraham is left to wonder how God will fulfill his promise if Isaac does not have a wife.

Abraham requires his servant to swear an oath that he will seek a wife for Isaac not among the local “Canaanites” but from Abraham’s relatives in his native homeland (vv. 2–4).

This situation, too, speaks to a repeated theme of the Bible.

The people of God are not to marry outsiders.

This is not a matter of ethnicity but of faith and unbelief.

Some folks used to try to make things scripture say that scripture never said. God wanting the Israelites to marry within their tribes was so they wouldn’t fall away from worshipping the one true God.

Had nothing to do with skin color.

Deuteronomy provides clarity when it says,

Deuteronomy 7:3–4 (ESV)

3 You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,

4 for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.

The Lord knows, and the Bible later affirms, that when his people intermarry with outsiders they are often led astray.

(If a daughter inherited landed, had to marry within the tribe)

For one thing, when people accommodate the worship of false gods, they also easily forsake their call to holy obedience to the Lord alone.

I tell this to my students all the time- if they aren’t a believer, they aren’t the one. Seek someone who is equally yoked.

If Christians marry non-Christians. If they go on to have children- it sets them up for confusion with confusion to spiritual matters.

We are just going to let the child pick. I’m not going to force anything on them.

What a terribly dumb idea that is. You make your kid brush there teeth. You make your kid take a bath. You make your kid go to school and do there homework.

But when it comes to literally the most important aspect of ones life- you’re going to let them choose.

This isn’t picking out a toy at walmart- this is heaven and hell.

I’m not leaving this decision up to my child- are you crazy?

Proverbs 22:6 ESV

6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

That’s my job. Blows my mind- parents will drive around all over the state for baseball, cheerleading, dance, tournaments, but getting them up for church so they can learn about God.

Not a priority. Little Johnny is going to be a MLB star one day. Good for him. And what good is that?

Let’s say he gets into a college on a baseball scholarship- goes on to play at his dream school- goes on to get drafted- wins world series- wins golden gloves- batting titles- cy young awards- gets his number retired- hall of fame- statue outside the stadium.

Has more money in the bank then he could possibly imagine. And then dies without knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior?

Congratulations- you failed as a parent. and know he will spend the rest of eternity in hell.

Yeah, but my little johnny said a prayer and was baptized.

Grace that doesn’t change you, doesn’t save you.

I don’t adhere to cheap grace. And neither did men like Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

“Cheap grace is grace without discipleship. grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.... Happy are they who know that discipleship means the life which springs from grace, and that grace simply means discipleship. Happy are they who have become Christians in this sense of the word. For them the word of grace has proved a fount of mercy.”

Guard you kids, your grandkids heart. Thats whyAbraham was instructing his servant to find someone who worshipped the one true God.

He knew the severity of the matter at hand.

As Abraham continues to give instructions to his servant, he has in mind the promise given in Genesis 12:1.

In fact, he connects the servant’s current mission with God’s past promises, telling the man to trust the guidance of the angel he is sure God will send to help in these proceedings (24:7–8).

Abraham knows that God has promised the land not only to him but to his “offspring” (v. 7).

And it is time for the blessing to pass to Isaac so he can forward it along as well. This is why Abraham takes such care to instruct his servant.

Eventually, however, the blessing on Abraham finds its way to the people of God as a whole.

In Galatians 3:16 Paul helps Christians recognize that they are included in the promise made to Abraham when he writes,

Galatians 3:16 ESV

16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

So, in a sense, Genesis 24 is part of our own story because of our union with Jesus that comes by faith. His coming as a human infant, after all, is tied to these proceedings.

Throughout his instructions to the servant, and especially in verse 7, Abraham repeatedly points to the power and authority of “the LORD.”

Abraham recognizes God’s authority by calling him this and recognizes God’s sovereignty by pointing out that he is “God of heaven and God of earth” (v. 3; cf. 2 Chr 6:14; Ezra 1:2).

Abraham also recognizes God’s providence when he recounts how God “took [him] from [his] father’s house and from [his] native land” (v. 7; cf. 12:1).

He recognizes God’s revelation when he declares that God “spoke to [him] and swore to [him]” (cf. 15:1–5).

Further, Abraham recognizes God’s promises when he quotes him as saying, “I will give this land to your offspring” (cf. 12:7; 15:18; Exod 32:13–14).

He also recognizes God’s protection when he tells the servant, “He will send his angel before you” (cf. Exod 23:20).

After taking “an oath,” the servant departs with ten camels and many goods for the future bride’s family (24:9).

Little information is provided about his journey, but the servant eventually arrives at a well in the country of Nahor, Abraham’s brother.

In God’s providence he arrives at the time when women come “to draw water” (v. 11). While Scripture is full of instances in which important moments happen at water wells, this is possibly the most significant encounter at a well in the Bible because of its important place in the redemptive trajectory of the Old Testament.

While at the well, the servant offers a prayer for success and the favor of God because of his covenant with Abraham (v. 12). The servant even prays with specificity: “Let the girl [who does as I ask and more] be the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac” (v. 14).

This, in fact, is the first recorded prayer for guidance in the Bible.

Soon, the specificity of his prayer leads to the visibility of God’s answer.

A Woman Drawing Water at a Well (24:15–32)

Beginning in verse 15, God starts to answer the servant’s prayer before he has even finished offering it (cf. Isa 65:24).

The Bible describes Rebekah, the woman he sees, as “very beautiful” (Gen 24:16).

Right away the servant hopes that this particular virgin may be the one. He approaches her and asks for water from her jug, which shows he is alert for the sign requested in verse 14.

As if on cue, Rebekah consents and then speaks of her intent to draw water for his camels as well (vv. 18–21).

When Rebekah finishes this task, she is probably surprised when the servant shows his gratitude by giving her gold jewelry. But this paves the way for his next request of even more hospitality in the form of a place to sleep for the night (vv. 22–23).

When Rebekah confirms that he is welcome and also reveals her identity as Abraham’s niece, he responds with joyful worship (vv. 24–26; cf. Exod 4:31).

The servant worships because he recognizes that God “has not withheld his kindness and faithfulness from [his] master” (v. 27; cf. Ruth 2:20; Ezra 9:9; Neh 9:17).

His recognition of God’s covenant faithfulness overflows into worship. This action is significant because, as the psalmist shows, God’s covenant faithfulness really extends to the whole people of God.

Indeed, “[the LORD] has remembered his love and faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen our God’s victory” (Ps 98:3).

Psalm 98:3 (ESV)

3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

In God’s providence he has supplied a wife for Isaac from the people of Abraham, and the servant rightly credits the Lord for leading him on the journey.

God not only supplies his provision but also offers his presence on the journey. In this scene we see yet again that, when it comes to his covenant people, God is with them and for them.

We have seen this in Exodus in Small groups on Sunday mornings. This will be a recurring theme in the time of the exodus when God leads his people out of Egypt (Exod 13:21). And later it will be apparent that God is with us and for us, his church, as well (Matt 28:20; Phil 4:19).

After her unusual encounter, Rebekah hurries home to tell her family about what has happened (v. 28).

What comes next marks the introduction of “Laban,” Rebekah’s brother, who will figure more prominently in the life of Isaac’s son Jacob.

Laban sees “the ring and bracelets” on her wrists and is likely gripped with greed (vv. 29–30; cf. 30:27).

He at least immediately recognizes the servant’s material riches and assumes he is blessed. He runs right out to him, declaring, “Come, you who are blessed by the LORD” (vv. 29, 31; cf. 26:29).

The servant is then led to the home and given water for his feet and straw for his camels.

Yet in spite of all the excitement, he is almost certainly filled with tension as he prepares to make his request for Rebekah to become Isaac’s wife.

A Servant Recounting God’s Providence (24:33–49)

In the longest speech in Genesis, the servant attempts to convince Rebekah’s family that they should allow their daughter to be taken to a foreign land to marry a man they do not know.

To gain their trust and ease concerns, he offers several important pieces of information.

First, he establishes that he is “Abraham’s servant” (v. 34). That’s a name they recognize.

He clarifies that Abraham has been blessed with wealth by God and that “he has become rich” (v. 35). Moreover, he assures them that the potential groom Isaac is not old but was born to Sarah later in life (v. 36).

He also confirms that Abraham has given a substantial inheritance to Isaac (v. 36).

Then he shares about how he is under an oath from Abraham to find a wife from among Abraham’s people, not the Canaanites (vv. 37–38).

After that, he appeals to the providence of the Lord by telling them of Abraham’s assurance that God would send his angel and make the “journey a success” (v. 40).

The servant ends his speech by recounting the providential encounter at the well and then asking for an immediate answer to his petition (vv. 42–49).

When the servant recounts Abraham’s words, “the LORD before whom I have walked” (v. 40), he brings up a theme that reappears throughout the Bible.

The theme of walking with the Lord, in fact, begins in Genesis as Adam and Eve walk with God in the garden of Eden (3:8). Later, Enoch is described as one who “walked with God” (5:24). So is Noah (6:9).

Two implications lie at the root of this concept of walking with God. The first is intimacy. Those who walk with God are connected to him. There is a relationship there. You know Him and He knows you.

There are a lot of people who claim to be Christian who do not walk with the Lord. They don’t know Him and they don’t know His Word.

A Christian should be walking with God.

The second is accountability. Those who walk with God are seen by him and held accountable for their actions (17:1; 1 Kgs 2:4; 8:23; 2 Kgs 20:3; Ps 116:9).

Although people were intended to walk with God in intimacy and accountability, we see instead that they often run from him, as did their ancestors Adam and Eve after the fall (Rom 8:5–8).

However, Jesus is presented in Scripture as the faithful Adam who walks blamelessly with God in perfect intimacy and total accountability and makes it possible for those who trust in his death and resurrection on their behalf to “have boldness and confident access [to God] through faith in him” (Eph 3:12).

In light of this amazing gift, it should be no surprise when we believers are called to “walk” in a manner “worthy” of the gospel (Eph 4:1; Phil 1:27; Col 1:10).

Just as the servant himself chose to walk before the Lord in intimacy and accountability in Genesis 24, Christians are called to do the same by the power of the Spirit.

A Bride for a Promised Son (24:50–67)

Bethuel—Rebekah’s father—and Laban respond to what the servant shares by affirming that the recent development in her life is “from the LORD” (v. 50).

In other words, Rebekah’s family recognizes God’s providence and embraces it.

They say that they “have no choice in the matter,” or more literally, “We cannot say to you anything bad or good” (v. 50; cf. 31:24).

They consent to allow Rebekah to “be a wife” for Isaac according to the Lord’s revealed will (Gen 24:51).

Again, the response of the servant is to worship before offering additional gifts to Rebekah’s family (vv. 52–53).

The next morning when the servant attempts to leave immediately to complete his mission, however, the family delays him.

Though Rebekah was present to hear all that the servant said about why he’d come and they’ve already given permission, they want to know Rebekah consents to the plan. This does not seem to be a righteous action.

Laban and his family have already agreed to send her. Even so, Rebekah agrees to go with Abraham’s servant, and together the two depart.

But the minor delay foreshadows the larger problems that will occur later between a son of Rebekah and Isaac and this branch of the family tree.

Rebekah’s obedience to the will of God in this narrative brings to mind Mary’s response to Gabriel when the angel appears to her announcing the impending birth of the Messiah (Luke 1:38).

Because of Rebekah’s willingness, the family sends Rebekah off not just with her personal nurse but with a blessing of fruitfulness and victory that echoes previous blessings (v. 59–60; cf. 17:6; 22:17). It too foreshadows the future.

As the servant walked by faith to find Rebekah, she now walks by faith toward a new place and a new people.

The description of Rebekah meeting Isaac seems lifted from a romantic movie. When Rebekah sees Isaac for the first time, she gets off her camel, and she takes her veil and covers herself (vv. 64–65).

Likely with a mixture of excitement and uncertainty, Isaac takes Rebekah as his wife. With God’s help, the servant has brought them together, and Rebekah becomes a comfort to Isaac after Sarah’s death (v. 67).

It can be tempting to assume the primary focus of this text is the exemplary characters and actions within the narrative.

We might focus on marriage or the call to faithful obedience, too. Or on powerful prayers and sacrificial service. But all of these are secondary matters.

Genesis 24 provide a story of God’s providence and his faithfulness to his promises. They were written to help demonstrate the remarkable things God did to raise up the offspring of the woman who will crush the head of the serpent.

Abraham’s servant, whose name we do not know, didn’t realize the crucial role he was playing in redemptive history since he could not see the full picture from his vantage point.

But his task was much bigger than just finding a bride for Isaac. Ultimately, he was playing a small part in the greater story of Christ’s coming and finding a beautiful bride of his own. The church.