There is so much here in this
chapter. I'm just going to kind of skip over, like a rock
over top of water. There's no way I can take this
verse by verse by verse. Well, I guess I could if we just
took several days doing it, several times. But I do want to take
my time Pray the Lord give me some wisdom
in handling this. Vicki was telling me the other
day, she said, you're starting to speak too fast. I said, no, you're
hearing too slow. I said, you just hear too slow. I don't speak too fast. So I'll
try not to just ramble on. I'll try to hopefully make some
sense out of this. Now, back in chapter 23, Sarah has passed away. The Lord
has taken her home. She's 127 years old. And chapter 23 is basically just
Abraham buying her gravesite from the sons of Heth, the children
of Heth. And that's basically what the
chapter 23 is all about, is him buying this plot ground and burying
Sarah. And then we come to chapter 24. And this chapter is a beautiful
chapter, a very instructive chapter. It has to do with Abraham finding
a bride for Isaac, his son. And you know and I know who and
what that represents. That represents the father who is fetching a bride out of this
world for his son, his beloved son. Abraham here represents the father
Isaac represents the Lord Jesus Christ. You notice that it said
that he has given everything to his son when I read that.
That Abraham has given everything over to his son. And the servant
here represents all those who preach the gospel. And the angel,
he says here, the angel of the Lord, he represents the Holy
Spirit of God going before the servant. So Abraham, it says
here, Abraham was old and well stricken in age. And I thought
when I read that, the first thing I thought of is our Heavenly
Father is the Ancient of Days. He's from everlasting to everlasting. He has no beginning of days.
And Abraham has purposed to get a bride for Isaac, his beloved
son. Isaac, remember this, Isaac at
this time is about 40 years of age. He has stayed with his father. He has not gone out and just
married one of the Canaanite women, but he has stayed there
with Abraham. And Abraham now wants to find
Isaac a a bride. Because if he's going to have
this seed and this blessing, he knows that Isaac is going
to have to be married. Well, the Father, our Heavenly
Father has purposed, He has purposed before the world began to get
His Son a bride. To have a bride that is beautiful,
that is fitting, for His Son. And He's going to get that bride
out of this world. Just as Abraham said to that
servant, you go back to where I came from and you get a bride. And the Father has sent His servants
out into this world to preach the Gospel. And the Holy Spirit
goes before them and is bringing His bride together.
And in a little while, when all this is complete, that bride
will be complete and she'll be brought home to Isaac. And if
you'll notice, Abraham calls his servant and he reveals to
him the details concerning Isaac. He says, I want you to promise
me that you will go back to my father's house, back to the land
I came from, and you will get a bribe from that place. Not
one from the Canaanites here, not one from any of these other
places, any of these other tribes. You get one from my Father's
house. And so He promises to do so.
He says He'll do so. So in verses 1 through 4, we
see where Abraham calls his servant. If you notice, this servant here
is Eleazar. He's been with Abraham over 50
years. This is the one whom Abraham said, I have this servant in
my house, Eleazar. He can be the heir. God said,
no, I'm going to give you an heir. Well, this is that servant. And He gives him his mission.
You go find a bride for Isaac for among his own kindred. God
the Father is giving Christ a bride of His own choosing. God the
Father has chosen the bride that the Lord Jesus Christ is going
to have. I bet you that the marriages
would last longer if we actually chose the bride. It couldn't
be any worse. It couldn't be any worse. Our Heavenly Father has chosen
the bride. Just as Abraham sent his servant
down there, and he's sending him down there to get a bride.
And he's doing the choosing here, in a sense. And she's going to
come back with him. And our Father has done that.
He's chosen a bride, a people, a people just like Him. Just
like Him, with His DNA. I thought about that. I thought,
you go back, you go back to my kindred, and I want you to get
a bride with the same DNA that Isaac has. We are going to be the same as
His Son. We have been predestinated to
be conformed to the image of His Son. When God created Eve,
He created Eve out of Adam. And if you check her DNA, you'd
find Adam. And that's what He's saying.
You go down, you get someone that's just like Him. And that's
what the Heavenly Father is doing. He's making up a bride just like
His Son. And those who preach the gospel,
who are sent to do this, are His servants. And they are on
a mission, looking, looking for His bride. That's what we're
looking for. Preaching the gospel. Knowing the Lord has a people.
And these people make up the bride. And the servant here says,
after receiving these orders from Abraham, he says, what if
she will not come? That's a good question. What
if she will not come? She's never seen Isaac. She's never seen him. She's never
even heard of him yet. She's never even heard of Isaac
yet. But she will. And she's going to have to leave
her family behind, go to a strange land and meet a strange man and
marry him. That servant has a good question.
He asks a good question. What if she will not come? Shall I bring him to that place? What he's saying is, shall I
bring him to that place and let him choose his own bride? No, no, you go and do what I've
commissioned you to do. You go to my family back in my
hometown and you get a bride and you bring her to this place.
Where's this place? It's the promised land. No, Isaac's
not going to go back. He's not going to go live. He's
not going to go live back in Ur of the Chaldeans. He's not
going to go back there. Christ is not going to come into
this world now that He sent it back to the Father. He's not
going to come back here and live. No, we are going to go there.
That's what's going to happen. You see, He's not of this world
now. And she's going to be brought to Him. She has to leave her people.
She has to leave her place. She's got to go to Him. She must
leave her mother and father. and cleave to Him. She has to be brought to the
promised land. That's what's going on. You know,
when you see loved ones who believe the gospel, they've been taken
out of this world. They've been taken to the promised
land. They're taken to Isaac. Our Isaac. The Lord Jesus Christ. But notice here in verse 7. He
says there, what if she doesn't follow me? He says in verse 7,
And the Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's house,
and from the land of my kindred, this is Abraham speaking, and
which spake unto me, that swear unto me, saying, Unto thy seed
will I give this land. Now listen, He shall go before thee. He's already there at work. You know, there's such a thing
as grace before grace. He's already at work. He shall
go before thee. He's waiting on you. He's waiting
on you. And this one here is the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit will prepare
her heart. No, you're right. This is above
you. This is over your head. As Paul
said, who's sufficient for these things? It's over my head to transform a heart. It's over
my head to enable or make you fall in love with Christ. But
God can do that. The Holy Spirit does that. He
does that by a new creation, a new heart. He gives this promise. He said the Lord will send His
angel, His Spirit, Holy Spirit, before you. Oh, it's over my head all right,
but not over his. He'll do the work. You just give
the message. You just go and you just give
the message. He will do the work. He will
prepare the heart. He will bring her to Isaac. You
just go do what I said. But if she will not follow thee,
then you're clear of this oath. Paul said this, I thought of
this when I was reading this today. Paul said that he had
not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God, and that he was
clear from the blood of all men. He said, you just go, you do
what I said, and if she will not come, you're clear of this
oath. You preach the gospel, you preach the gospel to all
men. You're clear of the blood of
all men. You're clear of it. if she will
not come. But she'll come. She will come. Our duty is to
deliver the message, not force people to make a profession.
We're not trying to force someone to make a profession. Don't force
her to come. That's what he's saying. Don't
force her to come. If she doesn't want to come,
but you're clear But the Holy Spirit is going to make her willing
to come. Just like He makes us willing in the day of His power.
She'll be willing. Abraham was confident. Abraham
was just absolutely confident that she would come. There would
be a wife for Isaac. If there's going to be a seed,
if there's going to be a blessing, if there's going to be a population,
she's going to come. She will. And then you notice here in verse
10. Then the servant, he took the
ten camels, He took ten camels of the camels of his master and
departed." And boy, what a powerful, powerful verse here. For all
the goods of his master were in his hands. All the blessings of the gospel
are in our hands to preach and to give to the congregation. All of them. What a responsibility
we have We have this treasure in earthen vessels, it says over
in 2 Corinthians. Look over in 1 Timothy, in 1
Timothy chapter 1. 1 Timothy, I'll get there in a
second. 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 11. Paul says, According to the glorious
gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. That service says all the goods
of my Master were committed to my trust. Boy, what a responsibility. What a responsibility. Then the servant went to the
place where he was told to go, looking, looking for the bride,
looking for the bride. And when he got to that place,
when he got to that place where he was supposed to go, where
he was told to go, one thing I noticed jumped out at me here
in verse 12. And he said, O Lord, God of my
master, Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed. The first
thing he did, was kneel down and pray and ask God for help.
First thing he did, this servant, this was a wise servant, this
servant believed the gospel, I believe, Willie Azor, I believe
he believed. And he got there and he prayed, Lord God, give
me, send me good speed. Prosper. Prosper my journey. Prosper it, Lord, this day, and
show kindness unto my master Abraham." And I tell you this,
I pray the Lord would prosper this for Christ's sake, that
He would prosper this congregation, this church, this gospel here
that we preach for Christ's sake, for years to come, that He would
do that. This servant knew he was not
up to the task of finding such a bride. He knew he wasn't up to the task.
Lord, help me. Help me. Give me good speed. Foster my journey. Sinners are
saved for Christ's sake. For Christ's sake. The bride
is for Christ's sake. For Christ's sake. And then he
asks for some evidence there in verse 13 and 14. He asked
for some evidence that this is the one. That's wise. He's finding a bride
for Isaac. And he asked for evidence that
she's the one. Because he couldn't tell by looking
at her. You know, if she didn't have
it written on her forehead, I am Isaac's bride. You don't have
it written on your forehead, I am the elect. Give me some
evidence. What is the evidence that a sinner
belongs to Christ? That a sinner is the bride of
Christ? I think one of the very first
ones is faith. She believed the servant. When
he told her about Isaac, she believed him. Would you believe
a total stranger? Here's a total stranger coming
out of nowhere and she believed him. She went back to her father's
house and told them what he said. Reminds me of that woman that
had another will. Went back and told that town
about a man who told her everything that she ever did. Well, she
believed in faith. It's evidence. And then it's
evident here, her character. There's something about her character
here. And this to me is evidence of the work of God's Spirit.
God makes a difference in His people. There's a real difference
between those who believe and those who believe not. There's
a real difference. And I want you to notice here her character.
Let me see if I can find it. And it came to pass in verse
15. It came to pass before he had done speaking, because the
Spirit of God is already at work here. He's already at work. Behold, Rebekah came out, who
was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's
brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel
was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her.
And she went down to the well and filled her pitcher. And then
she came up, and the servant ran to meet her and said, Let
me, I pray thee, drink a little water. And she said, Well, drink,
my lord. And he did. And then she said,
Let me water your camels. You notice here, here's something
I noticed when I was reading this. She's kind. She's kind
to this stranger. This is the character of God's
bride. This is her character. She's kind to the stranger. She's
humble. She's humble. She's submissive
to him. She's generous. She's industrious. She waters
his camel, gives him to drink, and she's altogether lovely.
Fair to look upon it. She's beautiful. She's beautiful. This is the character of Isaac's
bride. And this is the character of
the Lord's bride. All together lovely. And the
servant, I want you to notice something here. In verse 21,
she does all of this. And the man wondering at her
held his peace. to wit whether the Lord had made
his journey prosperous or not. He held his peace. He observed
her. He watched. He didn't put pressure
on her to do something. He didn't do this immediately.
This is wise instruction. This would be some wise instruction
for those who preach. Observe. Don't be so anxious
to hurry up Get somebody to make a profession or get somebody
baptized. Don't do that. We should not
do that. So this servant here, being a
wise servant, sent by the Father, Abraham, he observed her. He just stood back and said,
I'll see if the Lord's in this. Let's see if the Lord's in this.
He waited to see if the Lord would prosper his journey or
not. And he finds out. He asks her
some questions. Whose daughter are you? See,
he doesn't reveal his mission yet until he finds out some things
about her. Whose daughter do you belong
to? Whose daughter are you? Before he reveals his mission,
he finds out who she belongs to. See, she might be a gold
digger. You know, if he just started
pulling all that stuff out, all the presents that he brought,
the earrings, the gold and all that, Well, who do I need to
belong to? Who do I need to belong to? He's
rich! He's rich! Before he does that, I just love
this. He observed her. He watched to
see if the Lord was in this. He asked her some questions.
Whose daughter are you? Oh, that's wise. That's wise. And then when she told him, The servant went with her and
went to the house there. And he says there in verse, let
me see, in verse 32. After he had told her, it says,
you know, the damsel, in verse 28, the damsel ran and told them
of her mother, them of her mother's house, these things. And, you
know, they were all excited and they came out and got him, brought
him in. And verse 33, and there was sent meat before him to eat,
but he said, I will not eat. This is not a pleasure trip. This is not a pleasure trip.
He would not eat until he told his Aaron. He was on business. He was on
his master's business. He was not in it for himself.
He was not in it for his pleasure. He said, I will not eat. I mean,
they put a spread out here, and no doubt he was hungry. He said,
and I thought of this one scripture that I think fits it. Paul said
to the Corinthians, I am determined not to know anything among you
save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Let's get this settled first.
Let's get this settled first. He said, let me tell you my errand
first and then we'll eat. Boy, what a lesson. What a lesson. And he says here in verse 36,
you know, he says, well, let me go back to verse 34. He said,
I am Abraham's servant. I am the Father's servant. And
that's who we are. We are the Father's servant.
And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly, and he hath become
great, and he hath given him flocks and herds and silver and
gold and men's servants, maidservants, camels and asses. And Sarah,
my master's wife, bare a son to my master when she was old,
and unto him hath he given all that he has. Everything belongs
to Isaac. Everything has been put into
his hands. And I've come for a wife. He
is the heir of all things. And God the Father is giving
him a wife. A bride. Made up of sinners out
of this world. Redeemed. Regenerated. But a bride. And everything's
been given to Isaac. And then he says here in verse
53, and the servant, after all this is revealed. Now, you've
got to remember, after all this has been revealed, what he's
after. Then the servant brought forth
jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment and gave them
to Rebekah. Oh, I tell you what, in Christ
we have been blessed. above measure. We have been made
rich in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in the heavenly places in Him. He blesses her with the
things of His Master. What He blesses her with is what
He brought from His Master. And everything that we have been
blessed with in Christ has been given to us of the Father. We
have it in Him. And her brother and her mother
after this, tried to keep her home for another year. Or they said over there, at least
ten months. Let her stay another year. No, he said leave now. The servant said no, it's now. Today is the day of salvation.
Now is the accepted time. It's now or never. No, we're
not waiting another year. It's now. It's now. So they said to her, well, ask
her. They said to him, well, ask her.
Ask her what she'll do. Will she go or will she not? Is she
going to go or is she not going to go? And she says in verse
58, I will go. All she did was hear of Him.
She heard of Abraham. the servant's master. She heard of Isaac. She heard
of that place, the promised land. She was given these many blessings.
And she says, I will go. I will go. Now, you go back to
where the servant said to Abraham, what if she won't come? And he
said, the Lord will send His angel. The Holy Spirit will go
before you. This is not my work, it's His
work. I mean, He's given us a work, He's given us a ministry, but
it's His work. Salvation is His work. A new heart is His work.
A new nature is His work. And thy people shall be willing
in the day of thy power. She said, I'll go. I'll go. And in verse 61, And Rebekah
rose in her damsels, and they rode upon the camels and followed
the man. They follow God's servant. Paul said, follow me as I follow
Christ. We do follow God's servant. I
told you this before. Someone not too awful long ago
told me I was following Henry Mahan. I said, and? I said, and? He follows Christ. I follow him
as he follows Christ. She followed God's servant. Where
is God's servant going? To Isaac. To the promised land. That's where he's going. Paul
said, follow me as I follow Christ. Where are you going, Paul? To
Christ. Leading them home. Leading them home. Well, they're
on their way. It says Isaac in verse 63. And
Isaac, he went out to meditate in the field. He went out to
pray. This man believed the Gospel. This man believed God. He went
out to commune with his heavenly Father. That's what he went to
do. Commune with his heavenly Father as our Lord always did. And he lifted up his eyes and
he saw and behold the camels were coming. And Rebecca lifted
up her eyes, and I said, you can imagine when their eyes met,
looking at each other. And when she saw Isaac, look
what she did. She came down off her high camel.
She got down off that camel. She humbled herself. This is
Isaac? I bet he was far more than what
she expected. I bet he was. This is Isaac,
and she lighted off the camel, for she had said unto the servant,
What man is this? Who is this man coming to meet
us? Who is this man? There was just
something about him, his presence, the way he walked, the way he
carried himself. What man is this? And he said,
that's my master. That's my master. He said, it's
my master coming. It's my master. And she took
a veil and covered herself. She humbled herself. We've kind of lost, I feel like
we've kind of lost that in this day. I was telling this to Vicki
today, I was reading this. I said, we seem to have lost,
you know, with this thing of, I don't know how to really put
this, but all this thing of equality and all this, we've lost this,
this awe, you know. I mean, I can just see this in
her. I don't really know how to put it into words, but she
sees him and she's just like, this is my husband. This, this
is Isaac. And she adored him. She absolutely
adored him. You know, when you see a wife
adore her husband, it's just beautiful. And a husband loves
his wife. There's nothing more beautiful
than that. She saw him. She just absolutely adored him
and was taking her. I think her just like took her
breath away. This is Isaac. This is my husband. I tell you, when we see Christ,
we're going to. It's going to be amazing. It's
going to be amazing. This is our husband. This is
our Lord. We're going to adore Him. When
He comes to be adored by all His saints, we're going to adore
Him. And the servant told Isaac all
things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his
mother Sarah's tent and took Rebekah. She became his wife
and he loved her. He didn't just take her because
the servant went and brought back a woman from that place. No, he loved her. He loved her. And he was comforted after his
mother's death. And they lived happily ever after.
That's what I thought of when I read that. But here's what
I thought of. I thought we, you know, I've
kind of stumbled through this, but we, When this is over and the bride
of Christ is delivered up complete, we are going to live happily
ever after with our Isaac, our Lord.