May it please Almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we meditate in His Word. Let
us turn to the book of Genesis, chapter 24, and we'll read verse
31. The book of Genesis, chapter
24, and reading verse 31. And He said, Come in, thou blessed
of the Lord. Wherefore standest thou without? For I have prepared the house
and room for the camels. It's wonderful to realise that
the things which are recorded in this chapter were ordained
to come to pass. and they were formulated before
the creation of the world. And to think that the years had
passed by and then there was a need, a need for Isaac to have
a wife. And we see that God had given
Abraham faith. We know God had given Abraham
faith when he was called to leave Ur of the Chaldees and go out
to a place that he didn't know of and didn't know where it was
and yet you see God gave him that faith to do the will of
Almighty God. And it's a wonderful thing to
realize that we have the same God today who still does give
faith to do those things which perhaps may seem foolish perhaps
may seem to our own understanding not of any real value or perhaps
any consequence but it's good to remember accounts like this
to realise that still today the same God lives and reigns and
that same God is able to do great things It's a wonderful account
and it's wonderful to see the faith of Abraham. It's wonderful
to see the faith of Abraham's servant and to see how Abraham's
servant ventured forth and operated obeying the words of his master
Abraham. And so it came to pass in a wonderful
way, a very clear way that God was in it. And God not only heard
Abraham's prayers, but also Abraham's servants' prayer. And as we read
this little account, it's wonderful to realize that here was this
man of God, this servant of Abraham, praying to God. And he said,
O Lord, God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed
this day and show kindness unto my master Abraham and then he
asked for specific details and perhaps sometimes we're almost
afraid to ask for specific details but you can remember an occasion
when Gideon asked for specific details when that fleece on one
occasion should be wet and the ground dry, and on the other
occasion the ground wet and the fleece dry. And God heard and
answered his prayer. And so here was Abraham's servant
then asking in this very specific way. And he says, and let it
come to pass in the damsel to whom I shall say, let down thy
pitcher, I pray thee that I may drink And she shall say, Drink,
and I will give thy camel's drink also. Let the same be she that
thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac. And thereby shall I know
that thou hast showed kindness unto my master. It's a wonderful
example for our young people today. there was a great need for a
wife for Isaac. And there's a need today for
young men to have wives provided and young women have husbands
provided. Well, we should, and you should
not, think that you have a God who is not able to do things
in a like way You see, it's very easy to set our eyes upon this
one and that one, but the great thing is to know whether God
is in it. And if God is in it, there will
be a good result and a good answer. Now Abraham's servant was giving
living faith to pray to God. And that's what we all need,
living faith to pray to God, wherever the situation may be. It may be with regard to partners
in life. And it's good to seek that way.
It's good not to just look around and choose someone of our own
choosing and think, well, I've made a good catch there. It's
good to know that it is of the Lord. And Abraham's servant therefore
had no doubt that it was of the Lord. And when you see we have
the evidence of it, as it was in Abraham's servant's case,
what did he do? He didn't take credit to himself. He praised and thanked his God
for hearing and answering prayer. And we know that he prayed this
prayer and before he finished the prayer, You see, Rebekah
was on her way. God knew what he would do. And
Rebekah was on her way. Before he had done speaking,
Rebekah came out. And she was born of Bethuel,
the son of Micah, and the wife of Nahum. Now, of course, Abraham's
servant didn't know that at that moment. He didn't know whether
she would be the right one or not. But we're thankful to be
able to read that Abraham's servant ran to meet her and said, let
me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she
said, drink, my lord. And she hasted and let down her
pitcher upon her hand and gave him drink. When she had done
giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also. And so it went on. And we're
told the man wondering at her held his peace. Mercy was silent. He was waiting
and watching to see whether this was indeed an answer to his prayer,
whether this was of the Lord. Because he was concerned about
that. And it's good if we are concerned about such situations
being of the Lord. Yes, the man wondering at her
held his peace to whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous
or not. It came to pass as the camels
had done drinking And the man took a golden earring of half
a shekel and a weight and two bracelets for her hands and ten
shekels a weight, and said, Whose daughter art thou? Tell me, I
pray thee, is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge
in? Now he asked that before knowing
what the result was of his prayer. But she said, I am the daughter
of Bethuel, the son of Milca, which she bear unto Nahor. And
she said, moreover, unto him, we have, both she and the provender,
enough and room to lodge in. And what was the result? And to every true believer, the
result will follow this pattern. And she said moreover unto him,
We have straw and provender enough and room to lodge in. And the
man bowed down his head and worshipped the Lord. To acknowledge that
this was of the Lord. And it's good for all of us today
in whatever path that may be. It may be in a similar path to
this. It may be in something completely different. But it's
good for us. when we see the Lord answering
prayer, to bow our head and worship the Lord and to acknowledge it. Because he said, blessed be the
Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left me destitute,
my master of his mercy and his truth, I being in the way, the
Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren. You see, he
had a very clear view of God's leading. He didn't doubt it was
God that had led him in this way. And that's good for us today,
in situations like this, to realise that the Lord leads. The Lord
hears and answers prayer. And so he did in this very needy
situation. whatever our need may be, let's
remember to pray unto God. Let us remember when the Lord
answers to come in the same way and praise and bless God. Blessed be the Lord God of my
master Abraham who has not left my not left destitute my master
of his mercy and his truth I being in the way that Lord led me to
the house of my master's brethren God had led him in the way and
that's highly significant and that's wonderful in our little
life if God leads us in the way a particular route, to a particular
situation, so that we may be able to honour and glorify our
God. And we told them, and Rebecca
ran and told them of her mother's house these things. And Rebecca
had a brother, and his name was Laban. And Laban ran out unto
the man, unto the well. He came to pass when he saw the
earring and the bracelets upon his sister's hands. So that's
one side. obviously would influence. We
know Laban was a greedy person, so when he saw that, that would
have influenced him on the one side. And when he heard the words
of Rebekah, his sister saying, she would have recounted what
Abraham's servant had spoken with regard to the Lord being
blessed. And when he heard the words of
Rebekah his sister saying, thus spake the man unto me, when he
came unto the man, and behold, he stood by the camels at the
well. And then we come to the words
which we read tonight. And he said to Abraham's servant,
come in, thou blessed of the Lord, wherefore standest thou
without? for I have prepared the house
and room for the camels. And so we see then, so far, the
Lord have wonderfully prospered the journey and prospered what
the Abraham had desired and Abraham's servant had desired. But of course,
it hadn't come to the end. Hadn't come to the end. And still,
this man needed faith to believe that God would indeed appear
for him. And it's good to realize how
he went forward. He didn't allow things to stand
in the way. And it's good for us in our little
lives to not let things stand in the way. The man came to the
house and he ungirded his camels, etc. And there was set meat before
him. And what did he say? Remember,
he hadn't eaten, he was no doubt hungry. And he said, I will not
eat until I've told thee, told mine errand. You see, he put
first things first. And again, it's good when you
and I put first things first. He prayed. He had an answer so
far, but he wanted a fulfilment of it. And that's why he came
then. And he didn't eat. You might
think it would have been quite lawful for him to eat. Well,
so it would. But it's good to see the priority that this man
had. He had the priority to seek first
that God would be honoured and glorified and that he would tell
them what his errand was, why he was here, and what the situation
was. And then he tells them who he
is. He says, I am Abraham's servant. He gives a little account of
Abraham and how he's done and what his master made him do. And he wanted then, and I said
unto my master, perventure the woman will not follow me. And
he said unto me, the Lord before whom I walk will send his angel
with thee and prosper thy way And thou shalt take a wife of
my son, of my kindred, and of my father's house. And it's good
to see the confidence that Abraham had. And also the confidence
of Abraham's servant. But it was all subject. They
very clearly made this, very clearly, if the Lord will. They weren't demanding something,
they were seeking God's will. And so he then reiterates what
had happened, what had happened. And it's good, you know, when
we remember the path, remember what we asked for, and remember
how the Lords appeared, and to be able to recite it so that
God gets the honour and glory. And this man only desired that. He was just the vehicle. just the tool that Almighty God
used to bring about a wife for Isaac. And it's good then to
think of the Lord's goodness and mercy to us today. We tend to think, well, that
was a most remarkable occasion. So it was. But God is no less able today
to do great things. And so he tells us, before he'd
done speaking in his heart, Rebekah came forth to the well and made
haste and he asked her who she was and he told her. And then
he again reiterates, he bowed down his head and worshipped
the Lord and blessed the Lord God, my master Abraham. It's
important for us to notice that kind of statement. It's important
to bring honour and glory to God. And that's just what this
man did when he was recounting what had occurred. He didn't
leave out such a vital part of the account, remembering what
he'd said about the Lord. and how the Lord had said that
he led him in the right way to his master's house. And then
he said, if you will do kindly with me, tell me, and if not,
tell me. And Laban and Bethuel answered,
the thing proceedeth from the Lord. We cannot speak unto thee
bad or good. Well, that's a wonderful statement,
isn't it? and what a thing it is and what a blessing it is
in our little lives if we have the evidence that the thing proceedeth from
the Lord and they therefore said we cannot speak unto thee bad
or good because what the Lord was doing was good and right
and proper and therefore they said behold Rebecca is before
thee, take her And lest I be thy master's son's wife, as the
Lord hath spoken. And it came to pass, when Abraham's
servant heard the words, he worshipped the Lord, again, bowing himself
to the earth. No shortage of worshipping God. And again, it's an important
message for us today. No shortage in worshipping God. So often you see we can take
things for granted and we forget to bow ourself down before God
and to realise He is the one who has appeared, the one who
has provided for us. And then there's a wonderful
account, then he wanted her to come immediately and the family
wanted her to stay. Well they said ten days perhaps,
didn't seem unreasonable did it? But Abraham's servant had
been blessed thus far and he didn't want to stop. And therefore
he says, hinder me not, don't stop the work of God. Don't put anything in the way.
Hinder me not. Yes, it is good, hinder me not.
He said, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way, send me away
that I may go to my master. And so they asked Rebecca, will
thou go with this man? What we use in our marriage service
still today, will thou go with this man? And she said, I will
go. Remember this had occurred just
really a couple of days. Complete change in her life,
but made willing by the power of God. It's good to realize
that still today we have a God who still works wonders, who
still makes people willing in a day of His power. God is all
powerful. How often we underestimate God
often we underestimate how powerful he is but you see always remember
that our God is a jealous God and our God will have the honor
and glory and sometimes things do not follow as we anticipated
because we've forgotten to give honor and glory to God well Abraham's
servant didn't forget and every opportunity he had, he desired
to honour and glorify God. And that's a wonderful example
for us today. We still worship the same God. We still have the same God who
hears and answers prayer. And what a blessing and what
a wonderful favour that is. And realise that here we have
this natural account But of course it also has a spiritual implication. As we may truly desire to be
found walking in the right way. We may truly desire the Lord
will reveal himself unto us as he does not unto the world. And
that we come to our God in earnest prayer and he will appear for
us as he appeared for Abraham's servant. And we may have things
that we really need the Lord to do to confirm, confirm our
situation, to confirm us with the evidence the Lord is with
us. The Lord is going before us. And Abraham's servant had that
wonderful confirmation, didn't he? He sought the Lord. The Lord heard him. The Lord
answered his prayer. The Lord appeared for him. We
may have a similar situation, perhaps not like it is with Abraham's
servant come to seek a wife for Isaac, but we may have similar
situations which are important and require an answer. And it's
a blessing, therefore, if we come to God like his servant,
and pray in faith, nothing wavering. Remember, He is able. He is able to do far more exceeding
abundantly than we can ask or even think. He is able to come
and to bless us all. It may be, I don't know, it may
be that we're earnestly praying for God's mercy to be revealed
to us. We feel to need it. We feel that
we have a burden of sin which is on our back and we can't get
rid of it ourselves. And we need the mercy of God.
We need the favour of God. And perhaps you've come to God
in prayer. You've earnestly sought His face. And now like Abraham's servant,
you're waiting to see whether the Lord will prosper your way.
Whether He'll give you an answer of peace. Whether He'll confirm
you that you're in the right way. that you're not going down
the wrong way. It may be difficult. It may be
hard. It will be narrow. But let us
remember this. The Lord tells us, as the Apostle
Paul was able to declare, wonderful words in the Eighth of Romans.
And we know, says Paul, that all things work together for
good to those who love God and to those who are the called according
to his purpose. Well, in the apostle's life,
he could clearly say that, couldn't he? Yes, when he was walking
contrary to God, walking in an opposite direction, the Lord
came to him in a most remarkable way. And the Lord brought him
spiritual life, spiritual blessing. What a blessing and what a favour
that is. It's good to actually trace out
the many examples in the Word of God to encourage us to realise
that if we are truly seeking earnestly for God's mercy, the
Lord is a gracious God. He does pour out mercy. He does show us His goodness.
He does encourage us to press on, encourage us to believe. Abraham's servant believed in
God. He didn't pray, as I've sometimes
said, like the Athenians, to the unknown God. My friends,
maybe not pray to the unknown God, but may God give us faith,
living faith, to pray to the true God, And so Abraham's servant
prayed to the true God. And God heard his prayer. And
God answered his prayer. Because it's good to realize
what it says. And it came to pass. Well, we
can believe that all God's promises come to pass. And we have encouraging
words. Seek and ye shall find. knock
and it shall be open unto you. You see, there are some wonderful
words. And if we, therefore, are needy,
and if we have a great burden of sin, and we're crying for
mercy, we're praying earnestly that Lord will remember us with
that favour he bears unto his people and visit our souls with
his salvation. We might say it's more important
than the case we had before us here. This is seeking for a natural
husband, natural wife rather, and we may have that great need
to know that we have a glorious Saviour. the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, we are encouraged then
to keep on praying. And then, you see, there was
this situation. This brother, Laban, ran out
to the man and again he spoke of what had occurred and he said
to Abraham's servant then, come in. Thou blessed of the Lord. And that's a very wonderful statement. We don't know really where Laban
was. There's every indication he was not a believer. But anyway,
the Lord moved him on this occasion to say, come in. Thou blessed
of the Lord. Abraham's servant was blessed
of the Lord. He had faith in his God to believe
that he would appear for him, and so he did appear for him. Come in, thou blessed of the
Lord. We can say, we can move a step
further and say, if you and I are seeking for mercy, we need to
have the encouragement that the Lord invites us in, into the
church of God. If you're a true seeker, It's
a great indication that you are a true believer and a true child
of God. But you see, we do need confirmation. We need encouragement. And the
Lord does come still today with very similar words to this. Come
in. Come in. What a wonderful favour
that is, to be found in the true Church of God. That Church of
God is worldwide. There's only one true Church
of God. Just remember that. Just one true Church of God.
But the great blessing is to be found in that Church. Because
it's only that Church which will be found in glory at last. And
therefore how blessed and how wonderful and needful it is for
all of us to hear such glorious words as this. Come in, thou
blessed of the Lord, wherefore standest thou without? Well, you may be standing without. You may be trembling outside. and you want to hear the Word
of the Saviour. Yes, the glorious Word of the
Saviour, that wonderful Word that the Lord Jesus spoke when
he was on the earth. And it's recorded in the Gospel
of Matthew and it's a very encouraging statement. It's towards the end
of the 11th chapter where the Lord is speaking and what he's
saying is this. He's saying, come unto me all
you that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. You see, it's come again to the
Lord and again it's qualified here by all those that labour
and are heavy laden. It's not just an easy situation
but you will come in this way. Heavy laden, bow down with all
your sin, nowhere else to go, pleading for mercy. And yet to
hear then these glorious words, the words of the Saviour, come
in, thou blessed of the Lord. It's a wonderful truth, isn't
it? To show that you and I are one of the children of God. Now
we are burdened and heavy laden. And the Lord says to us, we won't
be disappointed. He tells us this, I will give
you rest. And this is peace, heavenly peace
to know that we are obedient children and the Lord has taken
knowledge of us. There we were heavy laden, labouring
under our sin. The Lord speaks to us. Come in. Now, blessed are my father, inherit
the kingdom. prepared for you from the foundation
of the world and then he speaks in this 11th of Matthew take
my yoke upon you and learn of me united to Christ there's no
more blessed occupation than to be found united to Christ
and we find then what he says here so gloriously true for I
am meek and lowly in heart He knows about us. He comes down
to where we are. He comes right down. How wonderful
to think the second person in the Trinity, the only begotten
Son of God, comes where we are. meek and lowly in heart, and
we shall find rest for our souls. And he says, for my yoke is easy
and my burden is light. Sometimes we might think it's
the opposite. Well, that's the gracious words
of the Saviour. Yes, what a blessing it is then
to have such a kind and gracious God, as indeed Abraham's servant
proved in his time of need. The Lord was gracious to him.
And it's good, you know, for us today. We are unworthy sinners,
but it's good for us today to prove. in the same way as Abraham's
servant did, that we come to the same prayer hearing and prayer
answering God. And when the Lord does encourage
us, when the Lord does hear our prayers, to believe then that
he's gone to repair a place for us. And if he's gone to repair
a place for us, as he said, I will come again. and receive you unto
myself, that where I am, there you will be also." It's a wonderful
thing to ponder on, isn't it? a place reserved in heaven for
every believer, everyone who has heard this gracious and glorious
invitation. Come in, thou blessed of the
Lord and every true believer, every true believer, every true
seeker is blessed of the Lord. Be encouraged by that truth. The devil will try and Convince
you it's the opposite. But it's always good to quote
the Word of God. The Lord Jesus, when he was tempted
after his baptism by the devil, he quoted scripture. And the
devil was not able to countermand the truth of God. So let us follow
that wonderful example. And when the devil tempts us,
and says well that's alright but it's not for you you can
quote the scripture and quote what the Lord has said and be
encouraged by it well tonight it's a very simple statement
isn't it it's a very wonderful statement come in thou blessed
of the Lord wherefore standest thou without for I have prepared
the house and room for the camels And the Lord has prepared a way
for all of his people and will bring them safely home to glory. Blessed be his name. Amen.