The Power of His Presence (Genesis 24)

The Power of His Presence
Genesis 24 (Hebrews 13:5)

INTRODUCTION:
What are some of your favorite promises from God? Share them with me. As I planned out my sermon schedule for 2024, when I looked at the big picture, I noticed that a lot of the sermons have to do with trusting God. So, share with me your favorite promises from God as I encourage the whole church family to trust God relative to specific promises.

The first promise we’ll consider are the words from the writer of Hebrews, 13:5, as he quotes from Deuteronomy 31:8 and Joshua 1:5: “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”

In Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, a story of the French revolution, a grim procession of prisoners was making its way on the streets of Paris to the guillotine. One prisoner, Sidney Carton, who had once lost his soul but now had it back, was giving his life for his friend. Beside him was a young girl. They had met before in the prison, and the girl had noticed the man’s gentleness and courage. She said to him, “If I may ride with you, will you let me hold your hand? I am not afraid, but I am little and weak, and it will give me more courage.”

So they rode together, her hand in his. When they reached the place of execution, there was no fear in her eyes. She looked up into the quiet composed face of her companion and said, “I think you were sent to me by heaven.”

In all the dark valleys of life, God our Father, the God of all comfort, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, is at our side.

Perhaps when you think of the power of God’s presence, Psalm 23:4 comes to mind: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

But I want us to see the power of this promise illustrated in the longest chapter in the book of Genesis… It records a very significant event in the life of Abraham and in the fulfillment of God’s plan. For God to bless the world through the family of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3), Abraham needs a family. God waited 25 years before God gave Abraham and Sarah a son. But one child does not guarantee progeny. Therefore, in this chapter, Abraham sends a trusted servant (we do not know if this is Eliezer whom we met in 15:2) to Abraham’s family in order to find a wife for Isaac, to guarantee progeny.

Most commentators assume that Abraham wants to send for a wife from his family because the Canaanites were pagans. However, we know that Abraham’s extended family is also pagan (cf. Joshua 24:2). Perhaps it is better to understand the reason in this way: The Canaanites are under the judgment of God (15:16) because of their idolatry. Maybe Abraham wanted a wife for Isaac from a distant land who would not be a part of that destruction. With this understanding, the paganism is an indirect reason for sending the servant “back home” for a wife. Either way, it is a beautiful story in which we see a strong faith exhibited by a minor character, the servant of Abraham, who remains unnamed. And we see the powerful presence of God trusted throughout the event.

SCENE ONE - 24:1-9:
God had promised Abraham that He would bless him (12:1-3). That blessing has now turned into reality: “Jehovah blessed Abraham in all things.” Isaac did not have a wife and he was mourning the loss of his mother (24:67), apparently now for three years. Isaac was 37 when Sarah died and he was 40 when he married Rebekah (25:20). So Abraham commissioned his trusted servant to swear an oath, by putting his hand under Abraham’s thigh, so as to not take a wife for Isaac from the “daughters of the Canaanites.” Abraham was living in their land and knew they were destined for destruction by God, at some point. He wanted Isaac’s wife to come from some other people, in fact, his people. Identifying Jehovah as the “God of heaven” and “God of earth” shows that Abraham understood God was not just a local god. He was universal and He was supreme.

The action of putting one’s hand “under” the thigh of someone else is not understood and explanations are only guesses. It is only found here and at 47:29. The speculation is that it had something to do with the future posterity of Abraham, the thigh being located close to the reproductive organs (cf. Exo. 1:5).

The servant responded, asking what if the woman would refuse to come. What then? Should the servant take Isaac back to Mesopotamia? Abraham warned the servant not to do that at all. Abraham reminded the servant that Jehovah God had promised to give Abraham’s family that land. Abraham had trust in God that He would send His messenger, or angel, before the servant and He would make the servant’s way prosperous. Abraham had already heard of the angel taking care of Hagar and Ishmael; here, he trusts that the same angel will take care of the servant and Isaac by providing a suitable wife (16:7-11; 21:17). But, if the woman, any woman, will not agree to come back to the promised land with the servant, then he would be free from the oath. Abraham repeats himself: Do not take Isaac there! These will be the last recorded words of Abraham in the Bible.

The servant put his hand under Abraham’s thigh and swore his oath.

SCENE TWO - 24:10-27:
The faithful servant left, taking with him ten camels. Camels were first mentioned in 12:16. Possession of camels indicates a wealthy owner. They are mentioned seventeen times just in this text! It would likely take a month to get to Aram Naharim. Outside of the city, at a well, the servant stopped for refreshment, at the time the women were coming to draw water, past the heat of the day.

Then the servant prays directly to God, without the need of any intermediary, whether prophet or priest. This is the first example of a person saying a prayer in Scripture, asking for personal guidance. As a part of the servant’s prayer, he desired to know if Jehovah would make his way “prosper.” That word and idea are found throughout the text (24:12, 21, 40, 42, 56), indicating a theme: Will God make the search for a wife for Isaac prosperous? Is God’s presence powerful enough to answer prayer?

He is asking for the loving loyalty (found four times in the text) of God which was shown to Abraham to be shown to him as well. The servant offers a scenario to God, which would be possible but perhaps not likely. In that way the servant would know if the woman was chosen by God. The servant would ask for water, which would not be unusual, but if the woman offered to give water to the camels as well, then that woman would be the chosen one.

A camel can drink as much as 30 gallons of water in ten minutes! Considering the size of the jars, which might hold three gallons, Rebekah might have to draw water of 8-10 jars for each camel, which might take a while! Her generosity is extraordinary and commendable.

No sooner had the servant finished praying, than a young woman (Rebekah) walked up. See the principle stated by Isaiah in Isaiah 65:24 (see also the servant’s comment at verse 45). Her father, Bethuel, was the son of Nahor (Abraham’s brother) and Milcah. So she met the first criteria: she was from Abraham’s family. But was she the chosen one? She had a water pitcher on her shoulder… Moses tells us in verse 16 that the woman was very beautiful in her appearance, just like Sarah. She was a virgin, a young woman of marriageable age, and to emphasize her purity, Moses writes that she had not “known” a man, that is, she had not had sexual relations with anyone. If the seed was to come through Abraham’s family, then Rebekah needed to be a virgin when she married Isaac. Now the servant put his plan into action; he asked her to give him some water.

Rebekah immediately responded positively. Notice in verses 16-20, Rebekah is the subject of eleven verbs! She is very active. She offered him water, respectfully calling him “lord.” Then she “hurried” (verse 18) and lowered her pitcher for him to drink. When she had served the servant and the men who came with him, she offered to give his camels water as well! But not just a little water; she offered to satiate the camels’ thirst! She “hurried” (verse 20) and lowered her pitcher to the spring and then “ran again” to the well for the camels.

The servant wondered to himself, in silence, if she was the fulfillment of his prayer to Jehovah God. As Rebekah finished caring for the camels, the servant took a golden ring of half a shekel weight and two bracelets and put them in her hands. The ring could have been an earring but here (24:47) it is a nose ring. The bracelets weighed ten shekels. One ring would have weighed about a fifth of an ounce while a bracelet weighed four ounces. So this was a nice gift! An average worker would earn about ten shekels of silver each year. The servant asked her, “Whose daughter are you?” Then he asked if her family might have a place for him to spend the night.

Abraham’s faithful servant bowed down and worshiped Jehovah God for answering his prayer. To say that he blessed Jehovah God means that he praised God for His blessing on the servant. The servant felt that the loving loyalty and faithfulness God had shown to Abraham was now being shown to the servant.

Moses’ contemporaries ought to see in this event that God can work behind the scenes if His followers are willing to be led by Him.

SCENE THREE - 24:28-49:
Rebekah wastes no time! She “hurried” (verse 28) and announced to her family what had happened. Rebekah had a brother named Laban, who takes the lead in negotiating this marriage. Some have seen greed here on the part of Laban. He sees the rings and bracelets in the hands of his sister. Laban then sees the servant surrounded by all those camels, a sign of wealth for sure! Laban acknowledges the servant is blessed by Jehovah God and offers his hospitality to him and his camels. Where or how Laban came to acknowledge God as “Jehovah” is not revealed. This does not necessarily mean that Laban was a sole believer in Jehovah God. We will see in chapter 31 that Laban owns some small idols.

The monologue in verses 34-49 is one of the longest monologues in all biblical narrative. He begins, not by identifying his own name, but by identifying himself as a servant of Nahor’s brother, Abraham. Then, he states that Jehovah God has blessed Abraham “greatly” so that Abraham has become “great,” by which he means wealthy and he gives many examples of Abraham’s wealth. Sarah gave birth for Abraham, a son to whom Abraham has left all his estate. In verse 65, the servant will identify Isaac as his master. Apparently, Abraham was in the process of turning his estate over to his only, unique son.

Verse 42 begins the account of that day’s proceedings. The servant relates the prayer and the proposition that he had offered to God. As the servant relates the incident, it is obvious that God is answering the servant’s prayer in all its specifics. At the end, the servant asks Laban to show “loving loyalty and faithfulness” to the servant and answer whether or not Rebekah might be the answer to Abraham’s desire and the servant’s prayer.

Israel needed to be assured that if / when God promises to send His angel / messenger before them, He means to do just that (cf. Exo. 33:1-3). Christians are also reminded that God has angels as His servants on behalf of Christians (Heb. 1:14), but even more than that, Christians are reminded that God will never leave them nor forsake them (Heb. 13:5-6).

SCENE FOUR - 24:50-60:
It apparently was normal in that time and culture for a brother to assume the leading role in arranging his sister’s marriage. We know Bethuel, the dad, is a part of the discussion; he’s just not a leader in the discussion. They acknowledge Jehovah’s hand in the affairs and so, they admit, they will not do anything to stop the servant. Rebekah is available. The servant accepted their offer and bowed to the ground in worship of thankfulness to Jehovah God. Then he brought out further gifts he had for the mom and the dad.

They arose early in the morning to begin the month-long trip back to Isaac. Laban and Rebekah’s mom decide in the meanwhile to delay the departure a day or ten. But the servant would not allow a delay. Jehovah had prospered him with Rebekah and he was ready to get back home, to his master. Being a little persistent, Laban and Mom decide to ask Rebekah what her wish was. They called her and she agreed to go. If this society and the author of Genesis were as staunchly patriarchal and misogynistic as modern critics claim, it is odd that Rebekah is given her choice whether to go or not! While the society was patriarchal, in the sense that the males made the rules, it does not appear to be as chauvinistic as modern scholars paint it.

Laban, Bethuel, and Mom all sent Rebekah away with the servant of Abraham. They offered a final blessing on Rebekah, that she would be the mother of “thousands and myriads” and that her family would possess the gate of their enemies, a blessing similar to the promise God gave to Abraham in 22:17. The nurse sent with Rebekah, assuming there was only one, is identified in 35:8 by the name “Deborah.”

Rebekah will prove to be a strong woman, as we see her again in chapters 25 and 27. After chapter 27, Rebekah will not play a significant role; later references to her will only be references (28:5; 29:12; 35:8; 49:31).

SCENE FIVE - 24:61-67:
Rebekah, her nurse, and her servants mounted the camels and they left with the servant of Abraham. In the meanwhile (remember, it probably took a month for them to return home), Isaac was out at the well of La-Hai-Roi, in the land of the southern part of Palestine, the Negev.

On that fateful day, Isaac had gone out, perhaps to meditate in the field. That evening, he lifted his eyes and saw his camels coming up the way. At the same time, it appears, Rebekah lifted her eyes and saw Isaac. She slid off her camel and asked the servant, “Who is that man coming in the field to meet us?” The servant responded, “My master.” Rebekah covered herself with a veil. The veil would likely have covered her head and her lower face, leaving only her eyes visible.

When they came close enough to speak, the servant related to Isaac what had happened. Knowing that God had worked all things together for Isaac’s good, Isaac took Rebekah into the tent of Sarah, indicating that Rebekah was the new mistress of the family. Isaac took Rebekah as his wife and her love comforted Isaac after mourning for his mom for three years.

CONCLUSION:
The promised seed continues.

Throughout this whole event, God has not acted. At least there is no record of Him actively doing something. There is no miraculous event in all of this; but the astute reader will recognize God working “behind the scenes” in His providential way to answer the desire of Abraham’s heart and the prayer of Abraham’s servant. While the angel of Jehovah has also been mentioned by Abraham and the servant, there is no record of the angel actually doing anything. God can work just as effectively in the normal, everyday affairs of life as He can through miracles. From Christians, it just takes trust in Him to work out what is best for His servants (Rom. 8:28) and prayer for His will to be done (James 4:15). This account ought to encourage Christians to pray in faith (Luke 18:1; 1 Thess. 5:17).

Trust God’s powerful presence in your life. Hebrews 13:5: “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”