Eliezer, Abraham's servant was sent
by Abraham to go to his home country and find a wife for Isaac
amongst his relatives. The mission was handed over into God's
capable hands as we have seen. And as God ordained it, Eliezer was
led right to Rebekah, the granddaughter of Abraham's brother Nahor.
Eliezer gave all glory to God for helping him.
Now when Rebecca realised that
Eliezer came from Abraham she rushed back home to tell her family.
In her haste she forgot to take Eliezer with her. But once her
brother, Laban, heard the story, he rushed out to the well and
invited Eliezer to come to them. They treated him like royalty and
were especially hospitable to him. God was in the whole process and
looked after Eliezer.
Once Eliezer and his camels were
settled in he insisted on telling them why he came. He didn't even
want to eat before he told them his reason for coming. Laban agreed
and allowed Eliezer to tell the whole story, which he did. Eliezer
told them everything, from his oath that he made with Abraham, to
his prayer, to Rebehah's kind actions. And after he told them he
didn't waste any time in asking for Rebekah's hand in marriage to
his master's son, Isaac. And Laban and Bethuel's reply was:
"The Lord has obviously brought
you here, so what can we say? Here is Rebekah; take her and go.
Yes, let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has
directed." Genesis 24:50, 51
The Lord was in the process the
whole way. There was no resistance from her brother or father. God
had paved the way. Eliezer was so glad that he immediately bowed
down to the ground again and worshipped God. He was overjoyed and
didn't care what anyone thought. He saw God's hand in all of this
and gave Him all the glory. And s we've seen last week we can also
learn from his wonderful example and thank God for His hand in our
lives!
Then Eliezer wanted to return to
his master the very next day, but Rebekah's mother wanted her to
stay another ten days. But when Eliezer continued to insist on
leaving the following day, Rebekah agreed to leave with him. It
must have been very difficult for her. Here she had to leave her
family, her friends, all she ever knew to go with a stranger to a
far off land. And she knew that she will probably never see them or
have contact with them ever again. It must have been very
difficult. They didn't have phones, Skype and internet as we have
today. When she had to say goodbye, it was most probably for good.
But she recognised God's hand in this and He gave her the strength
and the courage to go.
Sometimes God will also ask
something of us that is difficult to do. He might ask us to move,
He might ask us to change careers, He might ask us to stay right
where we are even though we are frustrated or He might ask us to
give up certain dreams that we have that is not in line of His
will. Whatever the case may be, sometimes God asks us to do certain
things. We must learn from Rebekah and act upon what God is asking
of us without hesitation. She was obedient and followed His will
and He looked after her. We see that God allowed her to take her
childhood nurse with her, which must have been a consolation. We
see a blessing pronounced on her:
"Our sister, may you become the
mother of many millions! May your descendants overcome all their
enemies." Genesis 24:60
And indeed that happened. She was
married to one of the patriarchs of the Jewish nation. She was the
mother of Jacob, later named Israel and she was married to a man
who loved her very much. She was a special comfort to Isaac after
his mother's death and he adored her. She was the mother of the
Jewish nation, of Israel, from whom our Lord and Saviour came. She
will be remembered forever.
When you obey God, things work out
even better than you might hope or dream. Be obedient and act when
God asks you to. Move with His Spirit and enjoy the anointing that
comes with that. You will never be sorry that you did.
Father please give us the courage
to 'go' when You say 'go' and to 'stay' when You say 'stay'. Please
give us the strength to obey You and not to fear the future.
Because we know that with You there is true peace, joy and freedom.
Thank you for Your wonderful plans for our lives! Amen