Embark on a spiritual odyssey with us as we traverse the latter years of Abraham's life, a time when his heart was set on securing a future that resonated with God's magnificent promises. You'll glean insights into the depths of faith and the significance of spiritual inheritance—a concept that is reafirmed in the New Testament. As we delve into this poignant narrative, we unpack Abraham's final charge to his trusted servant. Together, we unveil the gravity of ancient oaths and explore the meticulous quest for a wife for Isaac, a woman who would carry forth the torch of Abraham's unwavering values and beliefs.
Feel the suspense build as we narrate the servant's prayerful expedition in pursuit of the ideal bride for Isaac. The servant's remarkable approach to seeking divine signs is not just a story about faith in action, but a testament to his hope of encountering a woman marked by exceptional kindness and a servant's heart. We're not just recounting events—we're painting a picture of a culture where the divine seems intimately involved in every detail. Tune in and witness how steadfast dedication and prayer converge to guide Abraham's servant to a fateful meeting that could change the course of history.
Embark on a spiritual odyssey with us as we traverse the latter years of Abraham's life, a time when his heart was set on securing a future that resonated with God's magnificent promises. You'll glean insights into the depths of faith and the significance of spiritual inheritance—a concept that is reafirmed in the New Testament. As we delve into this poignant narrative, we unpack Abraham's final charge to his trusted servant. Together, we unveil the gravity of ancient oaths and explore the meticulous quest for a wife for Isaac, a woman who would carry forth the torch of Abraham's unwavering values and beliefs.
Feel the suspense build as we narrate the servant's prayerful expedition in pursuit of the ideal bride for Isaac. The servant's remarkable approach to seeking divine signs is not just a story about faith in action, but a testament to his hope of encountering a woman marked by exceptional kindness and a servant's heart. We're not just recounting events—we're painting a picture of a culture where the divine seems intimately involved in every detail. Tune in and witness how steadfast dedication and prayer converge to guide Abraham's servant to a fateful meeting that could change the course of history.
Welcome again to the Mysteries of God's Word. If you were with us last week, you remember that Abraham buried his lifelong partner, sarah. He was 137 years old when he buried her. Now we're in chapter 24, and we read Abraham was very old, well advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. When the scripture says that someone is old and well advanced in years, it's describing someone towards the end of their life. We find this description elsewhere in scripture, for example in Joshua 13.1,. It says Joshua was old and advanced in years and the Lord had said to him you're old and you're advanced in years and there remains yet very much land to possess. But as we continue to read this chapter, we find out that Abraham is 140 years old right now. Abraham will actually continue to live, to be 175 years old and the last 35 years of Abraham's life are actually very active. But here we read that Abraham is old, he's well advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed him in all things. He's well advanced in years and the Lord had blessed him in all things. You may remember that Abraham had become very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold.
Speaker 1:
We read in Genesis 13, 2. God had blessed Abraham and protected him many times in his physical life. However, abraham's true blessings were spiritual. God blessed Abraham with the righteousness that comes through faith in the Messiah, and he blessed Abraham with a family of faith. Abraham is to be the father of many nations, the father of many who will come to faith. Galatians 3, 7-9 read. Know, then, that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham, and the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying In you shall all the nations be blessed. So, then, those who are of faith are blessed, along with Abraham, the man of faith, picking up in verse 2 of chapter 24, 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, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell, but you will go to my country and to my kindred and you'll take a wife for my son, isaac.
Speaker 1:
These two verses are the last recorded words of Abraham, and he's speaking them to his servant, the oldest one of his household, who had charge of all that he had. This servant is likely Eliezer of Damascus, who was a servant closest to Abraham before the birth of Isaac. Eliezer would have received all of Abraham's wealth if he had had no son. Abraham had given this servant authority over all that he had. We might consider him to be Abraham's chief of staff or the manager of his affairs. If this is Eliezer, it speaks great volumes to his character and his loyalty to Abraham and Abraham's family in how he now faithfully serves Isaac in obtaining a suitable bride for the one who displaced him as an heir. And Abraham says Put your hand under my thigh that I may make you swear by the Lord. In ancient times, placing the hand under the thigh was a way of taking a solemn oath, making the oath very personal and intimate. Furthermore, abraham asks his servant to swear by the Lord who made heaven and earth, even if Abraham should die. He wants his servant to be under an oath to God Most High, for it is of utmost importance to Abraham that Isaac not marry one of these Canaanite women. And Abraham says Go to my country and to my kindred and take a wife for my son.
Speaker 1:
You may remember that Abraham came from the city of Ur in the land of the Chaldeans, which was in southern Mesopotamia. Abraham was also called out from a family that worshipped other gods, and the land of his family was full of idolatry. Joshua 24, 2 and 3 read Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, long ago your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor, and they served other gods. Then I took your father, abraham, from beyond the river and I led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac. Now, even though Abraham's family came from a land full of idolatry and his family worshipped other gods, the knowledge of the Lord was not completely lost among them. And when compared to the heathen Canaanites that now surrounded Abraham and were finding pleasure in all kinds of forms of evil, abraham looked back to his own people for a partner for his son Isaac.
Speaker 1:
In verse 5 we read, 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? This statement from the servant shows that he is considering this solemn oath. It also shows the weight of taking an oath at these times and it also shows the devotion of this servant to Abraham. Before he would take such an oath, he wanted to understand and investigate the conditions of this oath, and Abraham says to him in verse 6, See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, 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. But if the woman isn't willing to follow you, then you'll be free from this oath of mine. Only you must not take my son back there'. So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham, his master, and swore to him concerning this matter. So Abraham replies to his servant's concerns by saying Do not take my son back there.
Speaker 1:
Abraham believed in the promises of God and that his offspring were to inherit this promised land. He didn't want his son Isaac returning back to the homeland, but rather staying here in the land that God had promised them. Abraham then tells his servant that God is going to send his angel before him and based on Abraham's past experiences, abraham is confident that God's providence in his life and the life of his son Isaac will continue as his servant searches for a bride. This is a statement of faith that God will prepare the way for his servant and find the wife that God has already prepared. Then Abraham says If the woman is not willing, then Abraham says If the woman is not willing, from the overall context here, abraham doesn't believe this is going to happen. He doesn't believe that the woman will be unwilling to come back. However, he gives this condition to his servant so that his servant feels comforted and it helps ease his conscience in taking this oath. So now the servant puts his hand under Abraham's thigh and he swore concerning this matter to his master Abraham, verse 10,.
Speaker 1:
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. So we're given a glimpse into how the servant prepares for the trip. And he takes 10 of his master's camels. Certainly he loaded these camels up as he prepared for the trip. And it says he also took many choice gifts from Abraham and this would be a dowry to the family of his son's future wife. At this time in patriarchal history, camels were used and they're traveling to the city of Nahor. The city of Nahor is undoubtedly Abraham's brother, nahor. They're traveling to the city where Nahor lives.
Speaker 1:
Verse 11, and he made the camels rest themselves or to lie down. Domesticated camels are trained to lie down at the command of their master, and he does so at the time of evening, the time when the women went out to the well. Now, in ancient times, it was a universal practice for the women to go down to the pools, rivers, the wells, to gather water in the evening when it was cooler. Any stranger in any region could stop at a well in the evening in a town and they could be sure to obtain some kind of local news or information from the women that were visiting the wells frequently.
Speaker 1:
Verses 12 through 14, we read the servant's prayer. The servant begins to pray to the Lord God and he says O Lord, god of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. Behold, I'm standing by the spring of water and the daughters of men of the city are coming out to draw water. 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 to whom you've appointed for your servant, isaac. By this, I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master. So the servant begins his prayer. He says O Lord, god of my master Abraham. So he's not calling on somebody else's God, he's not calling on Abraham's God, but rather he's acknowledging that he is under the authority of Abraham and the covenant that God has made with Abraham and all in his household. He says Lord, please grant me success. This servant is submitting himself and his circumstances to God. He's. And then he does something unusual. He says Let the young woman to whom I shall say Please let down your jar that I may drink, and to whom shall say Drink and I shall water your camels, let her be the one that you have appointed for your servant Isaac.
Speaker 1:
This type of prayer request by the servant is not what we would consider a normal way to ask God for guidance. It might have been better to ask for discernment as to the best wife, rather than give God conditions on what somebody else is going to do. However, we see that God honors his request and that, in God's sovereignty, he is working all things out for his chosen servant, isaac. At this time in history, women at a watering hole would commonly give water to a stranger, but they wouldn't water someone's animals. That would be considered the responsibility of the owner. A woman that would water the animals of a stranger would be unusually kind and servant-hearted. We're going to end here. Join me next week as Abraham's servant finds someone very special for Isaac. God bless you this week.