Genesis 24C (2011) Today we continue one of the most remarkable chapters in all the Bible. The challenge of finding a bride in a far away land

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1 Genesis 24C (2011) Tday we cntinue ne f the mst remarkable chapters in all the Bible The stry f hw Isaac btains his wife is a beautiful stry all its wn The challenge f finding a bride in a far away land The wnder f hw Gd lead the servant t exactly the right wman Can yu image in later years Rebekah telling this stry t her children r her neighbrs and friends Wuldn t everyne marvel at the details But what makes this accunt truly remarkable is the stry beneath the stry The picture Gd creates ut f the lives f Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah and the servant Each persn stands fr anther character in a much larger and mre imprtant stry Like ur first stry, this secnd stry is true, tld prphetically We learned last week that Isaac is a picture f the Sn, Christ He is away frm the wrld, living with His Father Waiting fr His Bride t be fund in the wrld and made ready fr Him Abraham is a picture f the Father He sends His Servant int the wrld t find the appinted ne t be wedded t the Master s Sn And Bride f the Sn is Rebekah, wh pictures the Gentile Church Taken frm the wrld and selected t web the Sn even befre she has the chance t meet Him 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Genesis 24C 2 The Servant makes the prpsal and betrths her when she wasn t lking fr a husband And finally, the Servant f the Father becmes a picture f the final member f the Gdhead, the Spirit He ges int the wrld searching the hearts t find thse wh are appinted t receive the prpsal When He finds that ne, He brings gifts t bind the relatinship As we pick up again in chapter 24 at v.28, we re ging t see even mre cnnectins between this stry and the larger stry f salvatin Gen. 24:28 Then the girl ran and tld her mther s husehld abut these things. Gen. 24:29 Nw Rebekah had a brther whse name was Laban; and Laban ran utside t the man at the spring. Gen. 24:30 When he saw the ring and the bracelets n his sister s wrists, and when he heard the wrds f Rebekah his sister, saying, This is what the man said t me, he went t the man; and behld, he was standing by the camels at the spring. Gen. 24:31 And he said, Cme in, blessed f the LORD! Why d yu stand utside since I have prepared the huse, and a place fr the camels? Gen. 24:32 S the man entered the huse. Then Laban unladed the camels, and he gave straw and feed t the camels, and water t wash his feet and the feet f the men wh were with him. Immediately after the servant made his prpsal and placed the expensive jewelry n the yung girl, she runs back hme t tell mm I think this is the standard respnse fr any wman nce she gets engaged Pick up the phne and call a parent Or in this case, run back t the huse When Rebekah enters her huse, it isn t her parents wh take the mst interest in the situatin...it s her brther, Laban Mst likely, Laban was his eldest sn f Bethuel and tk a paternal rle amng his siblings As we see here, Laban immediately ntices the bracelets and the ring in her nse (which was the custm f the time) 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Genesis 24C 3 We dn t have t read between the lines t understand Laban s true interest in his sister s suitr Thse trinkets n her wrists were quiet valuable Imagine if yur daughter r sister came hme wearing Tiffany diamnd-studded bracelets frm sme yung man yu ve never met Yu wuld be interested in meeting him, but it wuld be hard t ignre his bvius wealth That was the pint f Abraham s gift...t impress the bride s family In passing, let s nte that wealth has it s place in ur wrld All we have cmes frm the Lrd, and t a certain extent we are all wealthy Wealth is truly relative, and there s always smene less wealthy than us S we can all find ways t impress smene with ur wealth Like Abraham, sme believers are blessed financially beynd the average and with that wealth cmes great respnsibility And like Abraham ur wealth shuld be understd as a tl, an pprtunity t influence the wrld fr the sake f Gd s glry and the Gspel But hw we use ur resurces shuld be Spirit-led, as we see here in this stry Giving t Christian charities r the church is ne ptin, but it s nt the nly way t give Gd glry Here we see Abraham using his Gd-given wealth t impress a family s that his sn will have the wife Gd intended Is it reasnable t assume that Gd gave Abraham these resurces s that he culd btain Rebakah fr Isaac? And s that he culd purchase that cave fr Sarah/ 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Genesis 24C 4 After Rebekah returned hme and Laban saw the gifts, he understd immediately what was aft His sister was engaged t a wealthy man S Laban runs t find this man They cme upn him where Rebekah left him...standing at the well with the camels And immediately Laban purs n the charm He asks the servant why are yu standing here? S the grup mves t Laban s hme And Laban puts ut the red carpet We ntice that the servant didn t travel alne He as thers with him And all f them are treated with equal respect This receptin isn t altgether unusual fr this day, but it s als clear that Laban is impressed by this visitr and his enturage The grups sits dwn fr a celebratry meal, which was custm in the day, but the servant wants t stay fcused n the business f his business S he launches int an interesting retelling f the stry Gen. 24:33 But when fd was set befre him t eat, he said, I will nt eat until I have tld my business. And he said, Speak n. Gen. 24:34 S he said, I am Abraham s servant. Gen. 24:35 The LORD has greatly blessed my master, s that he has becme rich; and He has given him flcks and herds, and silver and gld, and servants and maids, and camels and dnkeys. Gen. 24:36 Nw Sarah my master s wife bre a sn t my master in her ld age, and he has given him all that he has. Gen. 24:37 My master made me swear, saying, Yu shall nt take a wife fr my sn frm the daughters f the Canaanites, in whse land I live; Gen. 24:38 but yu shall g t my father s huse and t my relatives, and take a wife fr my sn. Gen. 24:39 I said t my master, Suppse the wman des nt fllw me Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Genesis 24C 5 Gen. 24:40 He said t me, The LORD, befre whm I have walked, will send His angel with yu t make yur jurney successful, and yu will take a wife fr my sn frm my relatives and frm my father s huse; Gen. 24:41 then yu will be free frm my ath, when yu cme t my relatives; and if they d nt give her t yu, yu will be free frm my ath. Gen. 24:42 S I came tday t the spring, and said, O LORD, the Gd f my master Abraham, if nw Yu will make my jurney n which I g successful; Gen. 24:43 behld, I am standing by the spring, and may it be that the maiden wh cmes ut t draw, and t whm I say, Please let me drink a little water frm yur jar ; Gen. 24:44 and she will say t me, Yu drink, and I will draw fr yur camels als ; let her be the wman whm the LORD has appinted fr my master s sn. Gen. 24:45 Befre I had finished speaking in my heart, behld, Rebekah came ut with her jar n her shulder, and went dwn t the spring and drew, and I said t her, Please let me drink. Gen. 24:46 She quickly lwered her jar frm her shulder, and said, Drink, and I will water yur camels als ; s I drank, and she watered the camels als. Gen. 24:47 Then I asked her, and said, Whse daughter are yu? And she said, The daughter f Bethuel, Nahr s sn, whm Milcah bre t him ; and I put the ring n her nse, and the bracelets n her wrists. Gen. 24:48 And I bwed lw and wrshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the Gd f my master Abraham, wh had guided me in the right way t take the daughter f my master s kinsman fr his sn. Gen. 24:49 S nw if yu are ging t deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if nt, let me knw, that I may turn t the right hand r the left. The servant retells his meeting with Rebekah, and he cvers every detail In Scripture, a retelling f a stry is intended t emphasize the accuracy f the details and t highlight Gd s wrk This retelling shws that the servant wanted t demnstrate the wrk f Gd in his circumstances He wanted t impress upn Laban that this wasn t an rdinary prpsal He was Gd-sent and Rebekah was Gd s answer t his prayer Secndly, he wanted Laban t make his decisin with a full knwledge f the situatin 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Genesis 24C 6 Ntice in v.49 that the servant says tell me what yu intend t d s I can knw what I shuld d Here we see a cuple f cnnectin between these events and the secnd stry f the Hly Spirit and the Bride f Christ First, ntice in v.36 the servant says that the father, Abraham, has given everything t the sn, Isaac This is picture f hw the Father in Heaven has given all things t the Sn Jhn 13:3 Jesus, knwing that the Father had given all things int His hands, and that He had cme frth frm Gd and was ging back t Gd, Eph. 1:18 I pray that the eyes f yur heart may be enlightened, s that yu will knw what is the hpe f His calling, what are the riches f the glry f His inheritance in the saints, Eph. 1:19 and what is the surpassing greatness f His pwer tward us wh believe. These are in accrdance with the wrking f the strength f His might Eph. 1:20 which He brught abut in Christ, when He raised Him frm the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, Eph. 1:21 far abve all rule and authrity and pwer and dminin, and every name that is named, nt nly in this age but als in the ne t cme. Eph. 1:22 And He put all things in subjectin under His feet, and gave Him as head ver all things t the church, Secndly, the servant s testimny ffers anther beautiful picture f ur first respnse t the Gspel: we give ur cnfessin r testimny We tell the wrld f hw we met Christ ur cnfessin is ur statement f faith In the stry, the testimny is actually delivered by the servant, nt Rebekah But it wrks this way fr us t When we testify t ur encunter with Christ and give ur cnfessin, we aren t speaking alne r in ur wn pwer We speak with the wrds and the pwer f the Spirit in us Like Christ tld the disciples cncerning their wn testimnies 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Genesis 24C 7 Matt. 10:19 But when they hand yu ver, d nt wrry abut hw r what yu are t say; fr it will be given yu in that hur what yu are t say. Matt. 10:20 Fr it is nt yu wh speak, but it is the Spirit f yur Father wh speaks in yu. S here the Bride has received the invitatin and has received the Gspel And thrugh the servant s testimny, the Bride s family - the wrld frm where she cmes - gets its first expsure t this new relatinship And the Servant, the Spirit f Gd, gives a testimny f hw the relatinship was established In many ways, this is ur first missin field: t thse wh knw us best and can best appreciate the befre-and-change brught by the pwer f the Gspel After the Spirit has stepped int ur lives and intrduced us t ur grm, Christ, everything is different And inevitably, we will have pprtunity t testify t the wrld abut what Gd has dne in ur lives As the entire encunter is retld, there is a beautiful picture f hw we are called t testify f ur experience in cming t faith In this retelling, we find a mdel fr ur cnfessin r testimny, in three parts First, tell the stry bldly The servant didn t let the festivities vershadw the eternal purpses f his trip He interrupted the meal t insist n telling the stry f Gd s wrk Neither shuld we let the everyday events f ur lives vershadw the imprtance f ur testimny Our testimny isn t merely a part f ur life It s the purpse f ur life Tell the stry in detail The servant made sure he retld every part f the encunter 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Genesis 24C 8 Every detail f ur persnal salvatin matters because every part testifies t the svereignty and majesty f the Gd Wh saves Wh are we t knw what part f the stry will resnate with ur audience? Perhaps Gd will use a certain part t cnvict anther persn and cnvince f the truth f the Gspel Finally, give a testimny that glrifies the Lrd The servant made sure t emphasize the Lrd s pwer and invlvement in bringing abut his encunter with Rebekah Likewise, there are always tw ways we can give ur testimny We can glrify urselves Or we can glrify the Lrd Be sure we dn t turn ur testimny int a stry f us...it s a stry f Gd and His Spirit Having given his testimny, the Spirit awaits the brther s respnse Gen. 24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, The matter cmes frm the LORD; s we cannt speak t yu bad r gd. Gen. 24:51 Here is Rebekah befre yu, take her and g, and let her be the wife f yur master s sn, as the LORD has spken. Gen. 24:52 When Abraham s servant heard their wrds, he bwed himself t the grund befre the LORD. Gen. 24:53 The servant brught ut articles f silver and articles f gld, and garments, and gave them t Rebekah; he als gave precius things t her brther and t her mther. Laban is struck by the servant s testimny, and he respnds with a full acceptance f the ffer...rebekah will be married t Isaac Ntice that at this pint bth the father and the sn agree t the unin In particular, ntice that they acknwledge it is a wrk f Gd The servant s testimny has prduced the desired effect: glry fr Gd The servant is mved again t giving the Lrd thanks fr His grace 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Genesis 24C 9 And the servant prduces a bunty f many precius gifts, bth fr the bride and fr the bride s family This was a frmal payment fr the bride In this day, it was expected that the bride s family wuld receive a suitable payment fr remving her frm the family Sn s were valued fr their ability t cntinue t family name and t prduce incme fr the family thrugh their labr And cnversely, a daughter s value was in the amunt she culd cmmand frm a prspective grm The better the catch, the higher the price Similarly, the higher the price ffered, the mre the grm was shwing his lve and admiratin fr the bride and her family T ffer t little was an insult t the bride and her family T verpay was flish The servant gave a valuable bunty t the family, in keeping with Abraham s wealth And s the price was paid fr Rebekah Here again the stry prduces a picture fr us f ur wn salvatin When we were betrthed t ur grm, Christ, smene had t pay the price fr ur new relatinship with the Lrd And the price was paid by Christ Himself And the delivery f that payment cmes t ur heart by way f Spirit baptism The sin debt we carried befre we knew Christ culd nly be paid by death, and by the Spirit, we have been jined t Christ in death 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Genesis 24C 10 Cl. 3:3 Fr yu have died and yur life is hidden with Christ in Gd. 2Tim. 2:11 It is a trustwrthy statement: Fr if we died with Him, we will als live with Him; 1Pet. 3:18 Fr Christ als died fr sins nce fr all, the just fr the unjust, s that He might bring us t Gd, having been put t death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; Thrugh the pwer f Spirit baptism, we are cunted as having died with Christ and having been risen with Him in newest f life And all f this was made pssible because a price was paid fr ur sins We were bught by Christ s bld as Paul taught 1Cr. 6:20 Fr yu have been bught with a price: therefre glrify Gd in yur bdy. The Bible gives us these intricate patterns and pictures s we can have an even better understanding f Gd s ways and His purpses As we cntinue in this study next week and cnclude the stry f Isaac s wife, be sure t reflect n the greater meaning fund in the picture We were Gd s appinted Bride fr ur Grm We weren t lking fr Him, but He fund us We received His gifts, a measure f His wealth and His lve fr us We were were bught fr a price that He paid in His wn bdy And we have the blessed pprtunity t testify t Him by way f ur cnfessin One day we will meet Him face t face, and the next phase f ur life in Christ will begin And the cnclusin f ur stry next week tells the stry f hw we mve frward as His Bride and ready urselves fr the say we meet Him 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.