People of Hope Part 15: Isaac and Rebekah
Monday devotions @work 13 July 2020
Read Gen 24
Abraham was growing old. Sarah had already passed away and Isaac was a grown man. Isaac was going to have to get married. Abraham sent his servant Eliezer (whose name means “my God is my help”) to his own people to find a wife for Isaac, but there was a prerequisite. He was not allowed to take Isaac with him, so his future wife would have to make the decision to marry Isaac even though she had never met him before. She was to be from Abraham’s extended family, not a woman from the Gentile nations where Abraham lived. Abraham had no particular woman in mind. God would have to bring Isaac’s chosen wife to the attention of Eliezer, and if she did not want to come, Eliezer would be under no obligation to fulfil his duty in this matter.
Eliezer journeyed to the far land and arrived at a well near the city of Nahor, and conveniently arrived just at the time when the women went out to draw water. He worshipped and prayed fervently to the God of Abraham, knowing that the daughters of the men of the city would come to the well in the late afternoon. Note that he did not go to the family of Abraham canvassing all the possibilities. He just stayed outside the city waiting for God to bring the right bride to him. He asked God to give him a sign so that he would know which one of the daughters would be the wife for Isaac. This sign had to do with servanthood. He would ask her to give him some water without any promise of reward or payment, and if she offered out of her own choice to provide water not only to him but also to his camels, that would be the sign. Rebekah arrived and the servant asked her to give him some water which she gladly did, but she went the extra mile and ran to water his camels also. Now we may be tempted to just read over that sentence, but if we contemplate it for a moment, we see what an amazing woman she must have been. There were 10 camels. Apparently a thirsty camel can easily drink 113 litres of water, multiply that with 10 and you get 1113 litres of water - which she gladly ran to draw just because she wanted to do him a favour – for no apparent reason or reward she just offered to do it? Eliezer silently wondered at her servant heart, waited until she had finished, rewarded her with gold and jewellery, and then asked whose daughter she was. She just happened to be family of Abraham and again Eliezer bowed his head and worshipped the God of Abraham.
Rebekah invited him to stay over with her family. He then proceeded to negotiate with her father to take Rebekah to Isaac as his wife. He wanted to leave immediately, the family still tried to negotiate for ten days to prepare for her leaving, but after Rebekah was asked her opinion, she agreed to go with him. She made the decision of her life that day, a destiny-changing decision for herself and her generations to come. She was going to marry a man whom she had never met, in the hope and faith that this was her destiny and that he would be good to her. She made the decision on the grounds of the report the servant gave her about Isaac. Rebekah’s father and brother both recognised the hand of the Lord in this and agreed that Rebekah return with Eliezer to Isaac to be his wife. The family saw her off with a blessing: “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousand, and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them”. Little did they know that Rebekah would become the mother of thousands of believers because she became part of the generational line of the coming Messiah, Who would possess the gates of hell – the gates of those who hate Him.
Imagine her journey to Isaac with Eliezer. Many a night around the campfire I am sure she would have asked Eliezer about her bridegroom. Who he is, what is his nature? What does he like and dislike? What is his favourite food? How does one cook that?
Meanwhile back at home, Isaac was waiting, expecting the arrival of his bride on the return of the servant. However, he did not just wait for this special bride that God would send him. He prayed, meditated, and spent time with God, purposefully separating himself unto his God. Isaac had vision and expectation. He had the vision of receiving his bride and in faith he was preparing himself for the moment when he can receive her into his heart, serving his God and serving his bride-to-be with prayer even before he met her. In Gen 25:21 we see how this continued throughout their lifetime as Isaac continued to pray for his wife, pleading with the Lord for her to fall pregnant when initially she was barren.
When Eliezer and Rebekah saw Isaac in the field coming to meet them, she immediately dismounted and asked Eliezer, “Who is that?” How many male travellers would they have passed on their journey? I am quite convinced she did not ask that about every traveller they passed, but this time she did. It is as if her spirit knew, as if she recognised him. Perhaps because of all the discussions and descriptions from Eliezer on the way, she recognised him when she got near. She veiled and covered herself as was the custom of the day. Isaac took Rebekah into his tent, she became his wife, and he loved her. He loved the one God chose for him, no questions asked, no arguments, no clever reasoning… It simply says - he loved her.
The story of Isaac and Rebekah is an unusual love story. A story of life-changing decisions that moved them both into their destiny – the destiny God the Father had for them.
I believe that even so many years after this there is still a spiritual lesson in this story for us. When Jesus ascended, He went to His Father and send the Holy Spirt to journey with us through life. Like Eliezer went to fetch Isaac’s bride so the Holy Spirit fetch, teach, counsel, guide us and reveal the nature and character of Jesus to us. Just like Isaac prayed for his bride-to-be it says in Romans 8:34 that Jesus intercedes for us “…who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”
Sometimes we are faced with a crossroads in our life. A place where taking risks and making seemingly foolish decisions to serve beyond what is asked for, makes the difference between having just an ordinary life and having a life with larger-than-life purpose and destiny. Sometimes we must wait pray, meditate, and intercede in faith, preparing our hearts to receive the answer to prayer beyond a shadow of a doubt, deciding in blind faith and with immediate obedience. Like both Isaac and Rebekah did. A remarkable man of faith meeting a remarkable woman of faith. Both serving beyond what is asked for.
Jesus intercedes for His bride and is looking forward to receiving her into His tent. We have to make a decision based on faith, based on the report of The Servant to follow Him, to allow Him to prepare us and journey with us on our way to the ultimate meeting with our Bridegroom – at the marriage supper of the lamb. The heart the Bridegroom is looking for is one prepared to serve beyond what is asked for. Are you and I prepared to serve beyond what is asked for? If we are, it will be a destiny-changing life decision to do the seemingly foolish thing to follow The Holy Spirit into uncharted territory, into a new and unknown life, into a destiny unbeknownst to us, possibly never even understanding the full significance of it in our lifetime.
Monday devotions @work 13 July 2020
Read Gen 24
Abraham was growing old. Sarah had already passed away and Isaac was a grown man. Isaac was going to have to get married. Abraham sent his servant Eliezer (whose name means “my God is my help”) to his own people to find a wife for Isaac, but there was a prerequisite. He was not allowed to take Isaac with him, so his future wife would have to make the decision to marry Isaac even though she had never met him before. She was to be from Abraham’s extended family, not a woman from the Gentile nations where Abraham lived. Abraham had no particular woman in mind. God would have to bring Isaac’s chosen wife to the attention of Eliezer, and if she did not want to come, Eliezer would be under no obligation to fulfil his duty in this matter.
Eliezer journeyed to the far land and arrived at a well near the city of Nahor, and conveniently arrived just at the time when the women went out to draw water. He worshipped and prayed fervently to the God of Abraham, knowing that the daughters of the men of the city would come to the well in the late afternoon. Note that he did not go to the family of Abraham canvassing all the possibilities. He just stayed outside the city waiting for God to bring the right bride to him. He asked God to give him a sign so that he would know which one of the daughters would be the wife for Isaac. This sign had to do with servanthood. He would ask her to give him some water without any promise of reward or payment, and if she offered out of her own choice to provide water not only to him but also to his camels, that would be the sign. Rebekah arrived and the servant asked her to give him some water which she gladly did, but she went the extra mile and ran to water his camels also. Now we may be tempted to just read over that sentence, but if we contemplate it for a moment, we see what an amazing woman she must have been. There were 10 camels. Apparently a thirsty camel can easily drink 113 litres of water, multiply that with 10 and you get 1113 litres of water - which she gladly ran to draw just because she wanted to do him a favour – for no apparent reason or reward she just offered to do it? Eliezer silently wondered at her servant heart, waited until she had finished, rewarded her with gold and jewellery, and then asked whose daughter she was. She just happened to be family of Abraham and again Eliezer bowed his head and worshipped the God of Abraham.
Rebekah invited him to stay over with her family. He then proceeded to negotiate with her father to take Rebekah to Isaac as his wife. He wanted to leave immediately, the family still tried to negotiate for ten days to prepare for her leaving, but after Rebekah was asked her opinion, she agreed to go with him. She made the decision of her life that day, a destiny-changing decision for herself and her generations to come. She was going to marry a man whom she had never met, in the hope and faith that this was her destiny and that he would be good to her. She made the decision on the grounds of the report the servant gave her about Isaac. Rebekah’s father and brother both recognised the hand of the Lord in this and agreed that Rebekah return with Eliezer to Isaac to be his wife. The family saw her off with a blessing: “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousand, and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them”. Little did they know that Rebekah would become the mother of thousands of believers because she became part of the generational line of the coming Messiah, Who would possess the gates of hell – the gates of those who hate Him.
Imagine her journey to Isaac with Eliezer. Many a night around the campfire I am sure she would have asked Eliezer about her bridegroom. Who he is, what is his nature? What does he like and dislike? What is his favourite food? How does one cook that?
Meanwhile back at home, Isaac was waiting, expecting the arrival of his bride on the return of the servant. However, he did not just wait for this special bride that God would send him. He prayed, meditated, and spent time with God, purposefully separating himself unto his God. Isaac had vision and expectation. He had the vision of receiving his bride and in faith he was preparing himself for the moment when he can receive her into his heart, serving his God and serving his bride-to-be with prayer even before he met her. In Gen 25:21 we see how this continued throughout their lifetime as Isaac continued to pray for his wife, pleading with the Lord for her to fall pregnant when initially she was barren.
When Eliezer and Rebekah saw Isaac in the field coming to meet them, she immediately dismounted and asked Eliezer, “Who is that?” How many male travellers would they have passed on their journey? I am quite convinced she did not ask that about every traveller they passed, but this time she did. It is as if her spirit knew, as if she recognised him. Perhaps because of all the discussions and descriptions from Eliezer on the way, she recognised him when she got near. She veiled and covered herself as was the custom of the day. Isaac took Rebekah into his tent, she became his wife, and he loved her. He loved the one God chose for him, no questions asked, no arguments, no clever reasoning… It simply says - he loved her.
The story of Isaac and Rebekah is an unusual love story. A story of life-changing decisions that moved them both into their destiny – the destiny God the Father had for them.
I believe that even so many years after this there is still a spiritual lesson in this story for us. When Jesus ascended, He went to His Father and send the Holy Spirt to journey with us through life. Like Eliezer went to fetch Isaac’s bride so the Holy Spirit fetch, teach, counsel, guide us and reveal the nature and character of Jesus to us. Just like Isaac prayed for his bride-to-be it says in Romans 8:34 that Jesus intercedes for us “…who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”
Sometimes we are faced with a crossroads in our life. A place where taking risks and making seemingly foolish decisions to serve beyond what is asked for, makes the difference between having just an ordinary life and having a life with larger-than-life purpose and destiny. Sometimes we must wait pray, meditate, and intercede in faith, preparing our hearts to receive the answer to prayer beyond a shadow of a doubt, deciding in blind faith and with immediate obedience. Like both Isaac and Rebekah did. A remarkable man of faith meeting a remarkable woman of faith. Both serving beyond what is asked for.
Jesus intercedes for His bride and is looking forward to receiving her into His tent. We have to make a decision based on faith, based on the report of The Servant to follow Him, to allow Him to prepare us and journey with us on our way to the ultimate meeting with our Bridegroom – at the marriage supper of the lamb. The heart the Bridegroom is looking for is one prepared to serve beyond what is asked for. Are you and I prepared to serve beyond what is asked for? If we are, it will be a destiny-changing life decision to do the seemingly foolish thing to follow The Holy Spirit into uncharted territory, into a new and unknown life, into a destiny unbeknownst to us, possibly never even understanding the full significance of it in our lifetime.
Wedding day: Casting Crowns
©2020 Copyright: All rights reserved: HG Venter
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.