What do we learn from the story of Genesis 24? Of course as in every story of our great and Holy bible, there is always only one interpretation, but multiple ways of understanding according to God’s own will. Thus one verse may speak to different people in many different ways.
Overall, it all depends on God, as it is him who inspires scripture. The bible says in 2nd timothy 3:16-17 that All Scripture is [a]inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for [b]training in righteousness; (17) so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
Today we want to share from the book of Genesis 24, the whole chapter: summarily, the chapter details the story of “A WIFE FOR ISAAC” but the main character is a servant, a man the bible refers to as Abraham’s most trusted servant, and upon whose shoulders Abraham entrusts the highest honor of finding for his son, Isaac, a wife.
It is the actions of this “most trusted servant”, how they speak to our relationship, with God in our daily lives that we want to share today.
Notice, it is usual for the part played by the servant to be overshadowed by the broader personality preference accorded to Abraham and Isaac, and yet in this simple, but very significant event in the fulfillment of God’s promise to make Abraham the father of all nations through his son Isaac, the servant not only faithfully dispensed his part, but did so in such a manner as to leave us with one great lesson.
That great lesson is actually a very simple lesson, and we find it in his actions through the time starting from when Abraham obliged and set him off from Canaan, to the time when he reached northern Syria and returned to Canaan with Isaac’s God-chosen wife-to-be, Rebecca.
We shall not delve too much into the story, but will only note a few verses to illustrate the great lesson of the servant as he started and successfully ran the errand of his master, Abraham.
We know that Abraham made his servant vow not to get for his son a wife there in the land of Canaan, but to:-
Instead, go back to the land where I was born and find a wife for him from among my relatives.
You know how the story goes, the servant sets up and leaves for northern Syria, finds rest near a well, prays to God, giving particular indicators for God to meet as evidence of his (God’s choice) of a wife, in verses 11 and 12.
Next a beautiful young woman (Rebecca) who meets the indicators comes, and the servant is shown God’s choice of a wife to his master’s son.
This is where the servant’s first half of the great lesson for us today unfolds:
In verses 24, upon the beautiful young woman confirming to him (the servant) God’s choice when she reveals that her father is indeed Bethuel, the son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, and Milcah his wife, what does the bible say, the servant did?
Verses 26: Then the servant bowed his head and prayed, (27) “I thank you, LORD, God of my master Abraham! You have led me to his relatives and kept your promise to him.”
The servant thanked God.
To see clearly the significance of this act of thanking God, we must remember that the servant was doing it even though it was no guarantee that his mission to bring this young woman back to Canaan as Isaac’s wife, and thus fulfill his master’s wish, was successful.
However the servant recognized that whereas there was still much he would have to do in order to bring Rebecca to Canaan as Isaac’s wife, still, God had accomplished a step, however small, and he expressed his gratitude.
What is the great lesson here? It is that we need to be thankful to God at every stage of our life’s pursuits. Many times, we want to wait until the final goal is achieved before we can say thank you to God. Abraham’s servant did not wait but just thanked God for indeed, only just showing him to his master’s relatives.
Take for example, you have just joined steemit with the final goal to, say, get to reputation 70 and get 10,000 followers! After three months, you rise from reputation 25 to reputation 30; from 0 followers to 50 followers, all still by far short of your goal, do you thank God? Or do first want until you hit your goal before you can thank God?
What if your reaching reputation 70 and 10,000 followers actually depends on whether or not God finds you thankful for the 50 followers he first leads your way, the reputation of 30 from 25 that he first lifts you to?
Fast forward to verses 50: Laban and Bethuel agree to the servants plea to take Rebecca with him as Isaac’s wife.
Finally in verse 52, he completes the other half of his great lesson:
Abraham’s servant bowed down and thanked the LORD.
Now his goal was achieved, and again, the servant would bow down and thank the LORD.
The complete great lesson of the servant’s actions was that we need to thank God at every stage of our life’s pursuits from beginning to end.
Don’t say you first want to wait until the final goal is achieved. Because the truth is that the achievement of that final goal depends on whether or not God finds you thankful for the small accomplishments he grants you in the process of reaching for the final goal.
May The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob Bless you for sharing in his word