Genesis 24:1-9 GOD’S WORD Translation
Abraham Instructs His Servant
24 By now Abraham was old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 So Abraham said to the senior servant of his household who was in charge of all that he owned, “Take a solemn oath. 3 I want you to swear by the Lord God of heaven and earth that you will not get my son a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I’m living. 4 Instead, you will go to the land of my relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman doesn’t want to come back to this land with me? Should I take your son all the way back to the land you came from?”
6 “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said to him. 7 “The Lord God of heaven took me from my father’s home and the land of my family. He spoke to me and swore this oath: ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’
“God will send his angel ahead of you, and you will get my son a wife from there. 8 If the woman doesn’t want to come back with you, then you’ll be free from this oath that you swear to me. But don’t take my son back there.” 9 So the servant did as his master Abraham commanded and swore the oath to him concerning this.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
And Father Abraham Said Unto His Servant, “GO!”
Abraham’s wife Sarah has died (Genesis 23:2).
Isaac is the only son left through whom God will make a great nation of people.
So, the question naturally arises,
“Does not Isaac need a wife if he’s going to have children, bless generations ?”
Abraham is old, and he knows he won’t live much longer.
There is one more thing he needs to take care of – get a wife for his son Isaac.
Of one thing he is very sure: he cannot let Isaac take a bride from the Canaanite women who worship false gods.
Abraham calls on his most trusted servant and commissions him to find a wife for Isaac from among his kin.
Abraham is very clear that Isaac is not to go; he must stay in the land the Lord has promised them.
So, the loyal servant of Abraham swears an oath to Abraham and “Goes Forth.”
That’s the story we come to next.
In Genesis Chapter 24, however, we must first take careful note in our text that we have four main persons: the father, the son, the servant, and the bride.
This is very meaningful.
As we move forward in time and come to the writings of the New Testament, we should see that the Triune God is working, laboring together to obtain a bride for the Son….The subject of the New Testament is the Triune God, the Father, the Son, the Spirit, working, laboring together to obtain the bride for the Son.
From the start, The Father made the plan, the Spirit carries out the Father’s plan, the Son enjoys what the Father has planned, what the Spirit carries out.
Who is the bride?
The bride is that chosen part of the human race which will marry the Son and become His counterpart .
Upon Closer Scrutiny-With One Eye Towards Eternity
If we read this chapter through carefully, we will find that the central character in the text is not Rebekah, who is to become the bride of Abraham’s son Isaac.
Very little of her reaction is actually recorded here; she has a secondary part.
The spotlight of the story really follows Abraham and Abraham’s unnamed senior and most trusted, most faithful servant, who is the central character.
For us, this is a picture of the Holy Spirit’s work.
But remember, the Spirit of God chooses to do His work largely through men and women, through those of us who are His.
This is especially true in the work of the calling out a people for God’s name.
God has given us the responsibility and the privilege of being His instruments to go into the world and faithfully seek out and call His bride out of the world.
So this whole story from Genesis chapter 24 becomes for us a precursor, an ancient beautiful picture of the whole process of PERSONAL EVANGELISM.
PERSONAL EVANGELISM: The process of we, Father God’s loyal and trusted servants bringing others to Christ begins with the command of God the Father.
Genesis 24:1-4 New American Standard Bible
A Bride for Isaac
24 Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in every way. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household who was in charge of all that he owned, “Please place your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live; 4 but you will go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
The initiative here is with Father Abraham, he knew he was advanced in age and his length of years would soon end, and he knew well God blessed in every way.
Abraham sends his most senior and trusted servant, who has authority over everything Abraham owns, to do this work, binds him to the task with an oath.
When the servant puts his hand under Abraham’s thigh, he is simply practicing an oriental custom that recognized the loins of the thigh were the source of life.
For the trusted servant, it was a representation of being bound in a solemn oath.
As we apply this to our own situation and see God the Father standing in the place of Abraham here, He is asking every servant to give himself to this task.
The servant is unnamed here so that you and I can put our own names here.
The Father calls us His servants, commands us to go and take a wife for His Son.
This is not an option for a believer in Jesus Christ.
God has said, not only in the fashion we see here but also in direct statements in the Word of God, the obligation rests upon believers to give themselves over to the sacred task of reaching to others for the coming Bride Groom Jesus Christ.
God has commanded, us, His most trusted servants, to take a wife for my Son.
And so unto this end, the Holy Spirit of God has come into our hearts to dwell.
His whole purpose of coming into your life and mine is that He might be what He is and do what He came to do – send us out into the world to find a “Bride.”
Our Lord Jesus is the one dwelling within, and we are told what He came to do.
45 It’s the same way with the Son of Man. He didn’t come so that others could serve him. He came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people.” Mark 10:45
He said, For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost
(Luke 19:10).
If this is what He came to do, we will find Him doing exactly that in our lives, if we give Him the opportunity – we authentically become that “Trusted Servant.”
Do we recognize and live by our servant mandate as disciples of the Lord Jesus?
Are we being .01% authentically responsive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit?
Are we being .01% authentic, responsive to Acts 1:8 “go forth into the world?”
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
A Prayer for Opportunity
God, My Father, Like Abraham’s loyal servant I long to be sent forth, the chance to serve you, for the opportunity to proclaim the goodness of Your name. I long to seek others, engage with them, pray with them, be a servant unto them, draw them closer to you, for service in your Kingdom. As I go out today, please bring me into contact with those who have been given eyes to see, ears to hear. Direct my steps and lead me into those conversations You want me to have today, Jesus. In Jesus’ name, I pray.
Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 