This is more than the old but ever new story of "boy meets girl." The work of the Trinity is evident throughout this story. This is where the buttonholing, grim-faced, fever-eyed fanatic comes from, on the one hand, and, on the other, the timid, blushing, flustered Christian who hardly ever dares to utter a word. His whole purpose of coming into your life and mine is that he might be what he is, and do what he came to do. I don't know who God is working with, but I know that he will direct me through ways of which I am hardly conscious. 30 As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. 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. The first step was expectation; the next one is confirmation: Before he had done speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar upon her shoulder. Let the maiden to whom I shall say, 'Pray 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 thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac. There is a failure to recognize that not only has God commanded us to do this, but he has also provided the Spirit by which to do it. (Genesis. They become a picture of the work of God himself. She quickly said, 'Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.' 24:54-58 RSV), There is the invitation, the altar call if you please. Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?". 24:22-27 RSV). Then I trust that the man who sits down beside me may be that man, or the one in front of me, or the one behind me. Do you see now that the story of Abraham's servant is your story as well? Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. Whatever else our dream may be, somehow we are involved. ", 56 But he said to them, "Do not detain me, now that the LORD has granted success to my journey. ", I think the conversation here when the two met was probably rather stumbling at first. Me and my mom, some aunts, as well as neighbors were preparing the food day before the wedding, as the groom … God has given us the responsibility and the privilege of being his instruments to call his bride out of the world. 62 Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. She has been kept within the family bosom, cared for, protected and guarded, and now she is asked to go with a man whom she has just met a day or two before, to meet another man who is an utter stranger to her. When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw for your camels also, until they have done drinking." And after that, I must persuade her to come. What does the Bible say about selling in church? And according to the account, the Lord shook his head and said, "Well, I have no other plan.". Abraham said to him, "See to it that you do not take my son back there. We are almost at the close of our study in the life of Abraham as we look in Chapter 24 of Genesis. ", 52 When Abraham's servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD. He has put the Spirit of God in our hearts so that we might be used in this wonderful work of winning brides for his son. Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son. This is true of this story of Rebekah and Isaac. They have recognized this is a command, but then they go out acting as though it all depends upon them. This is very obviously true, because in the New Testament we discover that when the disciples were accompanying Jesus, personally, they were constantly in a state of confusion and frustration. ê3„/`òS:aÔ½w0ãŠ«Ð: õ L0©ù ÓԜè$^4çI+ 7°b”¤™Íy aaÔ~Éð˜ÕoK’ ©Yñ1EÔ05…_ɤÄs®œâ1óÈÌü±½?ZǬÙ?÷¥¯ã‡âS}³ÎGòû é‰ŠŽ‰ù1Ï.2‹œ(ęȸoóSGÓK³&!TRí­Xß+OÑ®½pÞÜåye†Bknx+Š*»e{ Then I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow me.' 34 So he said, "I am Abraham's servant. 2 He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh. I’ll be re-listening to all the episodes on marriage. So I drank, and she watered the camels also. "Then tell us," Laban said. 64 Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. And it is to be a bride for the enjoyment of the bridegroom. We can see ourselves simply here, but this does not exhaust the application of this story, nor does it really disclose the major emphasis. ', 39 "Then I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not come back with me? This feast celebrates the spiritual marriage of Christ’s Bride — the Church — to her Savior. "Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, 48 and I bowed down and worshiped the LORD. Nor does he immediately start talking about Isaac. So she took her veil and covered herself. She put her veil over her face so he wouldn't see how she was blushing. However, when the Day of Pentecost came, and the Spirit of God flooded their hearts, a light came into their eyes that had never been there before. But remember, the Spirit of God chooses to do his work largely through men and women, through the believers, through the church, through those of us who are his. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she alighted from the camel, and said to the servant, "Who is the man yonder, walking in the field to meet us?" He begins with the glories of Abraham, telling about all his wealth flocks, herds, silver and gold, servants, camels and asses. Message transcript and recording © 1968 by Ray Stedman Ministries, owner of sole copyright by assignment from the author. I turned to say, "Hello," and saw that it was a young Filipino. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, and said, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. This strong, manly man came up to her, and said, "Hello.". 1626). She got down from her camel 65 and asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?" (Genesis 24:62-67 RSV), The last words of the servant are here. It does seem strange that although it would make the process of courtship so much simpler, he definitely restricts Isaac from going. We must turn them to look at the one who is winning their hearts, and say, "There he is, it's the Master. So the servant took Rebekah and left. It is a revolutionary one. Over the last 60 years the Vatican drifted from the Catholic Faith and formed a new false religion we call the "Conciliar Church ".Learn More about the Vatican in Exile; Learn More about the Conciliar … How can I know if I am being called to preach? She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. The major emphasis of this passage is centered on what we might call "the cooperation of the Spirit." There is an imaginary account telling of the time when the Lord ascended into glory. Let's look at the next step. 12 Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. She is ready to go. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. The Church Age will have ended with the Rapture, and then we know that the Tribulation will be ushered in next. (Genesis. It is a picture of Pentecost. Are we supposed to obey our pastors? The remarkable love story of Rebekah and Isaac is one of those tales which we have all known since childhood as one of the loveliest in the Old Testament. Doesn't it remind you of those words of John the Baptist when he introduced the Lord Jesus to Israel and his disciples left him and went to follow the Lord? Revelation 19:7-9 shares this wonderful celebration, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! 33 Then food was set before him, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say." For it is because of this that the whole place stands, whether the good or the evil, the right and the left. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has directed. 59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham's servant and his men. So this story becomes a beautiful picture of the whole process of personal evangelism. It is the work of the Spirit to make Christ real to human hearts. For the servant, it was a representation of being bound in the very deepest part of his life. Why was this odd restriction put upon him? I wish I had a car back then so I could go back home as well, as the wedding was terrible for many other reasons as well. An invisible partner is at work, preparing the way for him. I know it would be so much easier if you could just take this handsome lad with you. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Read your Old Testament with this in view, and seek to find what the Spirit of God has for you. 63 He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. Now we are journeying to meet him at last in that country in the Father's house. Yet despite this general application, we don't want to lose the individual application of these stories. This is a great mystery, and I take it to mean Christ and the church. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. (Genesis. By this I shall know that thou hast shown steadfast love to my master." (Genesis. The maiden was very fair to look upon, a virgin, whom no man had known. "Is this the one, Lord?" She said, "Hello." 32 So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. She said, "Drink, my lord"; and she quickly let down her jar upon her hand, and gave him a drink. "She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.' The fifth and last state is the actual invitation: And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. But And the servant's words are, "It is my master." The servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land [this man knew women]; must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?" When they arose in the morning, he said, "Send me back to my master." Little of her reaction is recorded here; she has sort of a secondary part. Without consent, there is no marriage. ", 55 But her brother and her mother replied, "Let the girl remain with us ten days or so; then you may go. Every Christian remembers how he sensed at one time the calling of the Spirit of God.