Lamp and Light Bible Reading Plan

January 28, 2026 - Genesis 24 & Psalm 21

• Josiah Smith - Compass Bible Church South Valley

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We trace God’s providence in the ordinary details of Genesis 24 and the royal confidence of Psalm 21, seeing how specific prayers and simple service advance a larger promise. Abraham’s maturing faith, Rebecca’s kindness, and a servant’s precision in prayer form a template for our daily obedience.

• summary of Genesis 24 and key moments at the well
• why Abraham refuses Canaanite ties for Isaac
• the servant’s specific prayer and God’s steadfast love
• Rebecca’s humble service as a hinge of providence
• Psalm 21’s joy in God’s presence and strength
• Abraham’s growth from compromise to conviction
• Beer Lahai Roi as a reminder that God sees and provides
• practical steps for praying God’s character with specificity
• encouragement to value simple acts of obedience
• connection to joyful service in church and daily life

For more information about Compass Bible Church South Valley, visit compassbiblesv.org. Keep reading. Keep growing. God’s Word is a lamp to your feet, and a light to your path.

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the Lamp and Light Bible Reading Plan, where we are seeking to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength with God's word lighting the way. I'm Josiah Smith joined by Tyler Sanborn. Today is Wednesday, January 28th, 2026. Now, today we are going to do something slightly different. We have quite a bit of reading today in Genesis 24 with a total of 67 verses. So just to speed things up a little bit on the podcast, I'm just gonna summarize what we read in Genesis 24, and then Tyler will read for us Psalm 21. So in Genesis 24, we see that when Abraham was old and blessed by the Lord and he experienced the promises that God preserved for him, he sent his chief servant to find a wife from for Isaac, right? For his son, from his own relatives rather than from the Canaanites. And if you remember, the Canaanites are enemy number one. They are a pagan, wicked nation. And so Abraham's concerned, rightfully so, of his son marrying someone that would not honor the Lord, and that would not be a part of the lineage that is included in the covenant of promise. The servant that Abraham is tasking with finding Isaac a wife swore to obey and traveled to Mesopotamia with gifts. At a well, he prayed for a clear sign asking that the chosen woman of Isaac would offer water to both him and also to his camels. And Rebecca is ultimately the woman that did exactly this. And the servant recognized the Lord's guidance in this and the Lord's provision. Now Rebecca brought the servant to her family, where he explained Abraham's charge and command and how God had led him. And her family acknowledged that the matter was from the Lord and agreed that Rebecca should marry Isaac. And after receiving the gifts, you can read about the gold bracelets that he gives her and those different items. Rebecca chose to leave immediately with the servant. And then they returned to Canaan, where Isaac met Rebecca as she arrived, and she became his wife. And it talks about how Isaac loved her, finding comfort after his mother, Sarah's death.

SPEAKER_01:

Listen intently to God's written word. You have given him his heart's desire, and have not withheld the requests of his lips. For you meet him with rich blessings, you set a crown of fine gold upon his head. He asked life of you, you gave it to him, length of days for ever and ever. His glory is great through your salvation, splendor and majesty you bestow on him, for you make him most blessed forever, you make him glad with the joy of your presence. For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High He shall not be moved. Your hand will find out all your enemies, your right hand will find out those who hate you, you will make them as a blazing oven when you appear. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them. You will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of man. Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed. For you will put them to flight, you will aim at their faces with their with your bows. Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength. We will sing and praise your power.

SPEAKER_00:

Tyler, you know what our reading today in Genesis 24 and even in Psalm 21 reminds me of? Reminds me of in the Gospels when Jesus talks about the sparrows having their food prepared for them, uh God knowing the very number of hairs on your head, and even the the question or the really the the declarative statement of considering the lilies, right? Who is taking care of all of these things? It's God's sovereign provision, it's the Lord's provision. And I think of that for Genesis 24, because there's like a whole chapter dedicated to Isaac just finding a wife. And I say just, I mean it's a big deal because it's a continuation of the promise that God ultimately made with Abraham to make him a father of a great nation. And of course, Isaac is the promised son through whom that's going to pass on. So it's significant in that sense. But we see just all of the behind the curtain. I actually that what just popped in my head was the Wizard of Oz, where you're kind of like, who's the man behind the curtain? And there's there's of course in the Wizard of Oz that's like all shady and there's uh some sleight of hand and things like that. That's not what I'm saying about this passage, but what I'm saying is that God is intricately involved in the details of this story, uh, even though it feels like it's somewhat uh obscure. Something just like finding a spouse, finding a wife. God is actively involved. And he's not just involved, he's showcasing his steadfast love and his faithfulness. I mean, that's the refrain that we see several times throughout this chapter. Those those two words, the steadfast love of God and his faithfulness, and just the care that God shows to Abraham and to Isaac to provide this wife for him, uh, to continue on the promise. It's it's someone that's not from the pagan nation of Canaan, rather, it's from the lineage and the family uh of Abraham. It's uh just something that God does uh to again accent that he is a God that is true to his word.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and I I was so encouraged as I was just looking at the details as you're saying, seeing God's sovereign hand at all of it, uh seeing Abraham's unwillingness to blend with the culture around him, even though he's had some some challenges in the past and falling to temptation and um I mean enabling the flesh and caving to the desires to to to please man and be fearful of man and instead of just honoring God and and being bold for him. So we see the the uh the the words that come out, uh, the running of uh of Rebecca, running to her family, running to the well. There's an excitement about her to serve, there's an excitement about the servant to go and pursue this unknown woman in this foreign land. And uh it's just the generosity too of uh of this servant to to put a gold uh bracelet on and to and to bless Rebecca and even to inquire like is she the one? Like he's he's having this like this dialogue with himself and he's praying out loud um to himself, and and here comes this Rebecca with the jar of water.

SPEAKER_00:

And what I love that we see from Abraham specifically, you you were touching on it, is we get to see behind the curtain, again, if we're using that analogy, of Abraham's faith being strengthened. Because remember early on we had Sarah who was like, let's make a plan of our own, let's let's get Hagar pregnant, we'll have a son. Just kidding, I don't like that. Let's send him away. Let's laugh at God saying he's gonna provide. Uh, to now we have Abraham saying, you know what, I'm not gonna compromise. No more lying about who my wife is. Yes. Uh, we're gonna stay true, uh, we're gonna believe in the promises of God. We're not going to compromise. And uh, what a way to finish his life. So that there was certainly some bumps along the way, but what an encouragement. It seems like Abraham finished well. And of course, we have testimony of that in Hebrews 11, the Faith Hall of Fame, where Abraham's faith is held up as an example for us to follow. And that's such a great comfort because uh Abraham's faith was far from perfect. Shaky. It was shaky. There were moments of disobedience, there were moments of sin, there were moments where he was refusing to even acknowledge his wrongs. We we talked about that where he was just making excuses, he was trying to redefine, well, I uh I mean she is my sister. You're from my dad, but not from my mom. You know, all of those things. But now here we see him. You know what? He he's older in years, he's at the end of his life, and it seems like just the relationship and the sweetness that he has with the Lord has uh fortified this faith, has grown this faith and refined it. And what a what a great encouragement to to you and me and and those listening that our faith can continue to be grown and stretched, and we can see progress in areas of struggle, sin struggle or discouragements. Uh, and we can look at Abraham as an example because he is imperfect, and ultimately the imperfect example of Abraham's faith points us to uh the perfect example of Christ, uh, who upon believing in him we receive his righteousness. So I just thought that was a great encouragement from Genesis 24 today.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, what an encouragement. And uh I'm as I kind of make a connection here to Psalm 21, uh looking at verses six and seven, and we we see the um in verse seven, for the king trusts in the Lord, Abraham is showing his trust and faith in the Lord, and though the steadfast love, and through the steadfast love rather, of the most high, he shall not be moved. And uh this this verse in uh in the middle here, verse six, uh I wrote king in on the joy, the joy of your presence. And and there's a a joy that we get to partake in as believers when we are knowing, knowing what God is calling us to do, knowing what he's done for us in in walking forward in faith and in obedience with a joy that knows uh the ways of the Lord are the best, the best places for me to be in. And if we're trying to create an analogy, if if God is going before us and and there's a path for we to walk in, he's in front of us leading the way. And we have a we have a guideline, a map for us to go. If if God was in the in the wagon, there are wagon tracks. If there's a trail, God has made that path known to us, and we get to uh to be excited. There's a joy, and there's a joy that I've seen even in the early days of uh of church planting here at South Valley. There's there's a visible joy that I've been able to see uh through the people that I get to serve alongside. Yeah, and it's it's so encouraging.

SPEAKER_00:

We've got some people that are working hard, they are working overtime, double time, and they're doing it with great joy, and what a great encouragement that that is, and even their service. Sometimes I think Tyler that we we don't we don't maybe I could say it this way, we underestimate simple acts of service, we underestimate just simple acts of obedience and faithfulness. And what we see in Genesis 24 is that this prayer by Abraham's servant for God, just please please make it clear, please provide. If there's a woman that offers to draw water for the camels, may that be just a clear sign that this is who you are bringing to be Isaac's wife. And what we see is that's exactly what Rebecca does. And it's just her simple act of service. She sees a need, she seeks to meet the need. And what does God do? He he showcases his steadfast love and his faithfulness to Abraham and to Isaac through Rebecca's simple act of service. And what a great encouragement that that is. That we we just never know what the Lord is going to do with a simple act of service. And so I would just say all the things that we do at Compass Bible Church South Valley, or the ways that you serve in your family or at your job or with your friends, or whatever context that you find yourself in, don't underestimate what the Lord can do with something small. Like, hey, can I get can I get some water for your camels? I know you've probably been journeying for a long time. There seems to be, she seems to be just a woman of character that just because of her humility and uh whatever was driving her in this moment. She was like, Let me serve you. And through that act of service, the Lord blesses her and Isaac and continues to showcase his steadfast love. What a what a great encouragement that that is.

SPEAKER_01:

And as we think about the the long days, the long weeks that that seem to kind of just be fused together week after week, uh, we can be we can become tired, uh, we can become weary. Um and scripture calls us to not grow weary of doing good. Uh I'm just so encouraged by verse one also in Psalm 21. Um, this is David speaking to about himself in third person. Oh Lord, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation, how greatly he exalts. And there's a joy, there's there's an origin, there's an origin uh for our joy, and it's it's the the hope that we have, the joy that we have in the savior, in our salvation. And and this is David's response after probably a battle, a victorious um event in his life.

SPEAKER_00:

From Psalm 20. You just talked about that yesterday.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah, yesterday, and the the reflection that goes on, like this is a great practice for us as we look to counsel ourselves. You're you're in the heat of a serious trial, or you're on the you're in the tail end of a trial, you're emerging from it. We can look back and say, God, God was with me every step of the way. He provided a way for me in my heart to take hold of hope in him. I wasn't discouraged, I wasn't downcast in my circumstances because I had the rock. I I clung to it the whole way through.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and that's part of the rejoicing, even in Genesis 24. It's subtle, but I want to point it out towards the end of the chapter where it talks about Isaac being at home. Um, and let me just read it. It says in verse 62, now Isaac had returned from Birlah Roy and was dwelling in the Negab. So that may just seem like a random detail to kind of orient us to where he was and where he was going. But if you remember the the first occasion of that place, Birlahai Roy, think back to Genesis 16, 13 when Hagar was essentially banished by Sarah. Remember, Sarah, it was her idea. Get the step in, girl. Yeah, she's she got what she wanted ultimately, but in fact, it's not what she wanted. She she banished her, sent her away, and she's talking to the angel of the Lord. Genesis 16, verse 13 says, So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You are a God of seeing. For she said, Truly, here I have seen him who looks after me. Therefore, the well that the angel of the Lord provided and to sustain her, to sustain her son was called Beer Lahi Roy. It lies between Kadesh and Baret. And so this location, this uh thing that's being called back to in Genesis 24, 62, is put there intentionally by Moses, the author, to remind us that God sees, God knows, and God provides. I mean, that's part of uh all bound up in this name, Beer La High Roy, is it's the God who sees at the well, basically, is what it translates to. And uh it's God providing, He sees it, He sees someone in need, He has made a promise to the person in need, and He provides and makes good on His promise. And we see here that returning in Genesis 24, that's where Isaac is. There's no coincidence that it says, no, Isaac had returned from Birlahi Roy, the uh, you know, the well that God seized and was dwelling in the Negab. And it's just orienting us again uh to the faithfulness of God, the steadfast love of God, uh, to be true to his word and to keep his promises. And I know we were even talking about this today. I know we keep talking about promises and how God keeps his promises, and and maybe you're kind of like, okay, we get it. Uh, but man, this this is this is what we need to hear. Well, we need to be reminded of this. It's the simple truths. We've said it before, but it's the simple truths that we have the hardest time often believing.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I've I've thinking about the lyrics of a song, uh, oh my soul, put your hope in God, my help, my rock, my salvation. And I'm thinking of um the ways that you you might be far away from any noble trial, and you might be far ahead of the trial in the past. And the way that we go about training our minds and preparing our hearts uh out outside of a season of trials, outside of a season where there's hardships, it prepares and equips our hearts to respond in a way that is honoring to the Lord as we recall his faithfulness in past trials, as we recall his faithfulness, uh, as we look to the saints of the Old Testament, uh, and it prepares our hearts to be an encouragement for others who are currently going through trials. How are we gonna build up a brother or sister in in this season where we're not remembering the things that God's done in our lives? We're not remembering the things that God has done um in his word, but we got to hold fast to these truths and and rejoice when we do uh see an opportunity to build someone up and come alongside someone and ask them some tough questions, like, hey, you're in a trial right now. Have you where is your hope? Where where's the root of this and and where does your confidence lie?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And what a great example that the servant is in Genesis 24, because he's the one that that seems to be articulating and clinging to the steadfast love of God. Several times uh he he uses that phrase, the steadfast love. Uh, he even talks about there in verse 27 blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master's kinsman. And so there's this very specific clinging to very uh meaningful characteristics and attributes of God. And I think oftentimes in in our prayer life, oftentimes when we're discouraged, uh we're not very specific about clinging to who we know God to be, right? We might just uh pray to God in general, but what an example for us, you know, to try to identify very specific things that we can cling to, that we can pray for. Uh, and even in this uh this chapter in Genesis 24, that's what the servant prays. Basically, show your steadfast love, show your faithfulness in this situation. And that's a that's a template for us in whatever season that we're in. It doesn't necessarily have to be a trial, but just praying specifically. God, would you show your steadfast love and your faithfulness in the midst of whatever's going on? Again, it could be positive, it could be something that maybe is a little bit more challenging. Um, but that's a great model for us. And we we see just this humility of the servant. He's trusting in the God of Abraham, he is uh clinging to very specific things that he knows to be true of the God of Abraham, and as a result of his faithfulness and his obedience to his master Abraham, again, he gets to be a part of the blessing that God bestows on Isaac, which is his wife uh Rebecca.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I'm imagining the servant on the camel ride back to Abraham, um, exalting uh the Lord, lifting, lifting high his name uh and singing praises. We look to the last verse of Psalm 21. He's probably probably singing, singing God's praises the whole. Way back. God, this is what my prayer was. And God, you answered. How amazing are you?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And one of the great example for that, for us to follow that today, and uh hopefully something that's an encouragement to you to pick very specific, you could call them targets. Uh, target the character of God in your prayers and say, God, uh, would you be faithful? Would you be uh just showcasing your steadfast love? Uh, those are prayers that honor the Lord. Those are scriptural prayers that you're going to see plenty of examples of, both in the Psalms and even here in Genesis 24. So we hope that's an encouragement for you today. Well, thanks for joining us today on the Lamp and Light Bible Reading Podcast. For more information about Compass Bible Church South Valley, visit compass Bible SV.org. Keep reading, keep growing. God's word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.