May it please Almighty God to bless us together this evening as we meditate in His Holy Word. Let's turn to the book of Genesis and chapter 24 and we'll read a short verse, verse 34. The book of Genesis chapter 24 and reading verse 34. And he said, I am Abraham's servant. Abraham's servant was introducing himself because we're told the man came into the house, that's Abraham's servant, and he ungirded his camels He gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him.

And there was set meat before him to eat. But he said, I will not eat until I have told mine Aaron. And he said, speak on. We see his priority. It's good when God gives us priorities in our life. He'd been sent by Abraham and he was a senior servant in Abraham's house and he'd been sent to seek a daughter for his son Isaac. And it's clear that Isaac, sorry, the fact was that Isaac wanted, sorry, Abraham wanted him to have a godly wife.

And he said, and Sarah, my master's wife, bear a son to my master when she was old. And unto him hath he given all that he hath. And my master made me swear, saying, thou shalt not take a wife of my son of the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell, but thou shalt go unto my father's house and to my kindred and take a wife unto my son. Well that was quite a tall order and it was no doubt quite difficult but Abraham's servant was obviously obedient to the wishes of Abraham and what a blessing it was that it was so because as we know and this was of the Lord And therefore Abraham's servant went and did as his father, sorry, as Abraham had told him. And he then, having introduced himself, he gives a little history of the situation and tells them, Sarah, my master's wife, bear a son to my master when she was old and unto him hath he given all that he hath. And my master, Abraham, made me swear, saying, thou shalt not take a wife to my son and the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell.

It's very clear, is it not, that Abraham discerned that the Canaanites generally were not a godly nation. And therefore he wanted Isaac to have a godly wife. And really that situation still hasn't changed today, has it, in our lives? As we should desire a godly husbands and wives for our children and to pray earnestly that God will appear in this way. Well, here was Abraham's servant going a long way. It was many, many miles. day's journeys to get to where Abraham came from and yet you see he was willing to do it.

He did ask the question and he said 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 for my son of my kindred and of my father's house.' He had that humble confidence that God would go before this servant and appear for him, although he said if the woman won't come then you needn't pursue it. But nonetheless there was this real desire and this real concern. So we see how then this godly servant operated in his way. He'd been given this task to do. It wasn't easy.

And we're told after Abraham had said, if then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred, and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath. And I came this day unto the well, and said, and he prays to God, he prays to God, and he prays to God in his mind, I came this day unto the well, and said, O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if now thou wilt, if now thou do prosper my way, which I go, behold, I stand by the well of water, and it shall come to pass that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink, and she say to me, both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels. Let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed for my master's son.

And then he tells us, and before I had done speaking in my heart. It wasn't obviously a prayer that was spoken out loud, it was a prayer spoken in his heart. And that should be encouraging to us today as well. Sometimes perhaps we think that we have to pray out loud, but if we pray in our heart, the Lord hears and the Lord knows.

And so what a desire it was And before I had done speaking, in mine heart, behold, Rebecca came forth." What a wonderful appearance. What a wonderful answer. An immediate answer. He obviously was there praying in faith. He had the order from his master and he wanted to do that which was right. And therefore, He expected, no doubt, that there would be an answer. Abraham had said there would be.

Rebecca came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder, and she went down unto the well, and drew water. And I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink! and I will give thy camels drink also. So I drank, and she made the camels drink also.

Well, what a wonderful answer to his prayer. And what a blessing it was that he prayed in that way. And he asked her and said, whose daughter art thou? And she said, the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Melchah bear unto him. and I put the earring upon her face and the bracelets upon her hands and I bowed down my head and worshipped the Lord and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son. Well, not surprising is it, that here was Abraham's servant in this situation.

He prayed, the Lord had heard his prayer, the Lord had answered his prayer and out came Rebekah and she did just what He asked her, she might do. And therefore what was the response? The response was, and it's good to remember the response. God answered his prayer. And we're told, and I bowed down my head and worshipped the Lord. And blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son. You know, we read the account, don't we? And we think, well, it's very wonderful. Well, so it is.

But remember the possible difficulties which could have arisen. But the Lord overcame all those things. And when God is for us, who can be against us? The devil is very keen to turn us away from prayer, very keen to stop us praying, very keen to frustrate us in those things that we seek, if they are in accordance with God's will and purpose. Well here was the clear design of Abraham and the clear instruction to his servant, and his servant was clear and willing to carry out those desires and prayer. Abraham had prayed and his servant prayed and the result was there was a wonderful answer and how good it is. when you and I can read such an account and recognize that today we have the same God who is able still to do great things he's able to really produce miracles this was really a miracle when you think about it here was this servant going far away And he just happened to come to a well. Didn't know what well it was. And then out came Rebecca. Didn't know who Rebecca was. But Rebecca, of course, was a near kinsman to Abraham.

See how God had gone before. Indeed, God had planned it all. And again, it's very humbling to think That detail was planned in eternity past. It wasn't something that had just been thought up. It was in God's divine plan. And so it came to pass with regard to Isaac to have a provision of a wife.

And so we can take courage in our lives today to realize that we have a God who is still the same powerful God who knows the hearts of everyone, who knows the situation. Nothing comes that God is not aware of. And we should not be therefore surprised if God does graciously hear. But the great fact is that as we come to our God, like this servant, he came in faith. He believed in what God had and would do for him.

He believed in the desires that Abraham had. And the desire was a good desire, wasn't it? Abraham didn't say, look, go around and find someone that looks very pretty and very glorious and very wonderful, and then see if she'll be your wife. No, it was far deeper than that. He wanted a specific person ordained by God to be the wife of Isaac. And so it came to pass.

My friends, what a blessing it is in our lives. It may not be with regard to a husband or a wife. It may be with regard to other things in our life. It may be with regard to our work, our jobs, and perhaps our situation at school in taking the subjects that we want to take.

God is in control. The hearts of all men are in God's control. No one can do anything without God's divine permission. And that should be a comfort to you and to me as you and I walk on this earth at the present time. You see, God is in control. And God does that, which will bring honor and glory to his great name.

But do note that as we had in this account here, When God appeared, Abraham bowed his head, sorry, Abraham's servant bowed his head and gave thanks to God. Very often, we pray and God perhaps answers prayer. We're so taken up with the answer to the prayer, we forget to worship. We forget to bow our head. and to give thanks to Almighty God. So there was this great and glorious answer to his prayer. But of course, he hadn't completed everything yet.

He had to face the family. He had to face the situation. And so he comes and he bowed his head and he said, and worship the Lord and bless the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son. All those miles away, God led him. God brought him to exactly the right place and at the right time.

You see the details. We have a God who's in charge of everything and to remember that nothing is too hard for the Lord. Sometimes we perhaps think that circumstances won't work out. God knows. God can produce a change in circumstances so that things do work out. You and I should never doubt the ability of our God. And yet, we must always understand that He will be inquired of to do these things for them.

It didn't just happen. It didn't just arrive and this just happened. There was a concern. There was a prayerful concern that there might be a right provision As Abraham had prayed, as his servant prayed, there might be a right provision. And so, by the grace of God, it came to pass. And so he says, and now, if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me, and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left. Laban, I bet you have answered and said, the thing proceedeth from the Lord.

We cannot speak unto thee, bad or good. What had happened? The Lord had gone before. The Lord had prepared the hearts of Laban and Bethuel to accept the condition that they'd been asked to receive. You see, sometimes these things may appear almost impossible. Don't forget, nothing is impossible with our God. And so, They then call Rebekah. Behold, Rebekah is before thee. Take her and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord has spoken.

Well, that's a wonderful truth, if that is so. And it worked out. But of course, we had the question of how that was going to work out. And Rebekah was asked. because they brought jewels of gold and silver and given them to her father and to the brothers and sisters and therefore now they did eat and drink and he and the men that were with him they tarried all night and they rose up in the morning and he said send me away unto my master And her mother said, let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least 10. After that, she shall go.

Well, that seemed a very reasonable request, didn't it? A very reasonable request. But here was Abraham's servant. He'd had a glorious answer to his prayer. And therefore he comes and he speaks. And he says, and wonderful it is, hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master. He wanted to get back to Abraham with the good news.

And here was the woman that God had chosen. And they said, we will call the damsel and inquire at her mouth. And they called Rebecca and said unto her, wilt thou go with this man? What was going to be her answer? Must have been very tempting, mustn't it? To have stayed with her family for a few days, and Abraham's servant, and asked that she should come and go with him straight away. The question was, wilt thou go with this man? And what was her answer? Very simple, just three words.

I will go. God had made her willing. And that's a wonderful thing, isn't it? We have a God who has our hearts, every heart in his control. And here was this woman asked now to go with a stranger go to a strange place and meet someone, to be her husband she'd never met before, and ask the question, will they go? Under the wonderful influence of the Holy Spirit.

She said very simply, I will go. And so we read the rest of the chapter, she went and came to Isaac. And the last verse in this chapter reads, And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife. And he loved her, and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Well, what a blessed scene we have, really, as we read this account. And it should be encouraging to us, not only with regard to partners in our lives, which is obviously very important and very necessary, but also with many other things. God is in control. The things which appear impossible to us are possible with God. You know, we have that line of the hymn, faith laughs at impossibilities and says, it shall be done.

No doubt if Rebecca had been asked at the beginning of that day, well, was she going to leave home that day and go with a stranger? Well, she would have probably said, well, don't be silly, but know the power of God. Caused her to accept the situation. She'd heard the testimony of Abraham's servant. And it's good, really, to realize the essential need there is to give an accurate account.

That's why he came and said he was asked and he was told, speak on. He wouldn't stop and have his meal. No, he got an errand and it needed to be dealt with. And the Lord had prospered him so far, and he didn't want to stop it. Not even though he'd been on a journey and was probably very hungry. Yet, no, he wanted to continue. And so he did. And so they said, speak on. And he then came and testified and spoke and gave an account of exactly what had happened really from the beginning from Abraham telling him until Rebecca had come and answered his question so it's good really as we have such a record for our encouragement in a day and age in which we live we face difficulties don't we we don't always know what to do very often we don't know what to do Well, this man, Abraham's servant, he knew what to do.

It was a request which was hard to fulfill. He didn't know how much, how many difficulties there would be in the way, but he walked in faith, believing that God was with him, and praying a simple prayer, but a very specific prayer, wasn't it? It wasn't just a vague prayer. He asked specifically that a woman might come out and that she might give him a drink and that she might offer to then give his camels drink also. Well, remember, he was a stranger and yet you see the Lord moved her heart, all part, of God's divine plan for Isaac.

Divine plan. And again, I love to think it was planned back in eternity. Wonderful, isn't it? Wonderful to think in our little lives that things are planned back in eternity. Now this has a very clear direction, a very clear picture, but of course it has application to many other things in our life, in our spiritual life perhaps.

And we need God to appear. And we need God to direct us. And we need God to speak to us. And perhaps we have thought, well, it's no good me praying, it's no good me seeking some specific direction. Well, you can. And we have, therefore, the very clear evidence in this account, and there are other accounts, obviously, in the Word of God, where there was that certain prayer that God would appear.

And it's wonderful when God does appear, and how encouraging it is, how it strengthens our faith. How we can go then in the strength of the Lord and His righteousness and bless Him for those things which He has directed us in. Believing therefore that God is with us. It's not just then a vain hope. It's positive evidence. and the God who has put a desire in our heart, caused us to pray, caused us to earnestly seek his face, he's heard and he's answered. And it's very humbling when we realise God is so great and so high and lifted up and holy, and we by nature are so low and unholy, and yet God hears our prayers as we come in the right way for Jesus' sake.

And I think it's just worth just saying that because I find today there are many people that pray and they gavel off a prayer and then just stop. We can only come to our Father in heaven through the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our heavenly high priest. And what a blessing therefore it is as we pray to God to conclude our prayers with that request, for Jesus Christ's sake. My friends, you won't be accepted other than through the merits of what Christ has done. So may we come in that God-given way and direct our prayers so that his name may be honoured and glorified.

And so we should be thankful tonight that God has recorded, and it's some detail, isn't it? Basically the account's given twice. And there's no vain repetition in God's Word. But there's that repetition, and why it was repeated? Because we see that Abraham's servant needed to repeat the facts so that those that he was speaking to, Laban and Bethuel, would listen and hear all the details all the details he didn't miss out anything did he? he went through it precisely so there was clear evidence that it was God's work and God was in it sometimes we're tempted to short-circuit things and to just kind of miss out important points well the example here is this man didn't He testified of what had happened, how God had directed him, how God had appeared, and how God answered his prayers.

And of course, the fulfillment of that was when Rebecca willingly came and said, in answer to that question, will I go with this man? And she said, I will go. You see, all the mountains flowed down in the presence of Almighty God. And they do still today. You and I may have mountains. In our life, we wonder what's going to happen. My friends, they can flow down. God can make them vanish away, so they become a plane. And you know the result?

The result will be that you and I give honour and glory to our God who is worthy of all our praise and all our thanksgiving. Well, it's a familiar account, I expect we're all familiar with it, but sometimes it's worth going over. Familiar accounts to strengthen our faith and to realise God in his love has recorded such accounts which perhaps make us think, make us consider, as we pass over things. And it's good to have great truths in God's word renewed in our heart. which strengthens our faith and brings honour and glory to our God. Well, may God bless this word. And he said, I am Abraham's servant. Amen.