Chapter 24.
Last week we were in chapter 23.
We were at a funeral.
Today we're at a wedding.
It's the longest chapter in Genesis,
in case you ever have a question like that.
And it's all about Isaac meeting Rebecca.
But what can we learn?
Well, let's read God's Word.
We're not going to read all the chapter.
We're going to go as far as verse 28,
and then we'll pick up the end of the account.
So let's start in chapter 24, verse 1.
Abraham was now very old,
and the Lord had blessed him in every way.
He said to the senior servant in his household,
the one in charge of all that he had,
put your hand under my thigh.
It was a symbol, a sign of making an oath or a promise.
He says,
I want to swear by the Lord,
the God of heaven and the God of earth,
that you will not get a wife for my son
from the daughters of the Canaanites,
among whom I'm a living,
but will go to my country and my own relatives
and get a wife for my son Isaac.
The servant asked him,
what if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land?
Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?
Make sure that you do not take my son back there,
Abraham said.
The Lord,
the God of heaven,
who bought me out of my father's household
and my native land,
and who spoke to me and promised me on oath,
saying,
to your offspring,
I will give this land.
He will send his angel before you
so that you can get a wife for my son from there.
If the woman is unwilling to come back with you,
then you will be released from this oath of mine.
Only do not take my son back there.
So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham
and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
Then the servant left,
taking with him ten of the master's camels,
loaded with all kinds of good things from his master.
He set out for Aram Naharim
and made his way to the town of Nahor.
He made the camels kneel down the well
outside the town.
It was towards evening,
the time that the women go out to draw water.
Then he prayed,
Lord God of my master Abraham,
make me successful today
and show kindness to my master Abraham.
See, I am standing beside this spring
and the daughters of the townspeople
are coming out to draw water.
May it be that when I say to a young woman,
please let down your jar
that I may have a drink.
And she says,
drink and I'll water your camels too.
Let her be the one
that you have chosen for your servant Isaac.
By this I will know
that you have shown kindness
to my master.
Before he had finished praying,
Rebecca came out with her jar on her shoulder.
She was the daughter of Bethuel,
son of Milcah,
who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.
The woman was very beautiful,
a virgin.
No man had ever slept with her.
She went down to the spring,
filled her jar,
came up again.
The servant hurried to meet her and said,
please give me a little water from your jar.
Drink, my lord, she said,
and quickly lowered the jar to her hands
and gave him a drink.
After she had given him a drink,
she said,
I'll draw water for your camels too
until they have had enough to drink.
So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough,
ran back to the well to draw more water
and drew enough for all his camels.
Without saying a word,
the man watched her closely
to learn whether or not
the Lord had made his journey successful.
When the camels had finished drinking,
the man took out a gold nose ring
weighing a becca
and two gold bracelets
weighing ten shekels.
Then he asked,
whose daughter are you?
Please tell me,
is there room in your father's house
for us to spend the night?
She answered him,
I am the daughter of Bethuel,
the son of Milcah,
born to Nahor.
And she added,
we have plenty of straw and fodder
as well as room for you to spend the night.
Then the man bowed down
and worshipped the Lord saying,
praise be to the Lord,
the God of my master Abraham,
who has not abandoned his kindness to
and his faithfulness to my master.
As for me,
the Lord has led me on the journey
to the house of my master's relatives.
The young woman ran and told her mother's household
about these things.
Now, for much of the remainder of the chapter,
that whole account is repeated
as Rebecca's brother, Laban,
wants to know all about what's happened.
And the servant goes through
all the different things that had happened.
And so we pick it up in verse 61.
By now, everyone's come to the conclusion
that Isaac and Rebecca should get married.
It's a good idea.
Verse 61.
Then Rebecca and her attendants got ready
and mounted the camels
and went back with the man.
So the servant took Rebecca and left.
Now Isaac had come from Be'er-Lahai, Roy,
for he was living in the Negev.
He went out to the field one evening to meditate,
and as he looked up,
he saw camels approaching.
Rebecca also looked up and saw Isaac.
She got down from her camel and asked the servant,
Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?
He is my master, the servant answered.
So she took her veil and covered herself.
Then the servant told Isaac all he had done.
Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah,
and he married Rebecca.
So she became his wife,
and he loved her.
And Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
Well, let's pray.
Father, thank you for the privilege
of being able to hear a story like this
about real people,
a real time,
a long time ago,
but yet a story that was written down and recorded
so that we can be blessed today.
And Father, that is our prayer,
that as we look at your word together,
as we hear your voice,
that we will be blessed.
and we will come to know something
of your great plan
of redemption,
your blessings to this world.
So teach us.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Well, at last,
some romance.
A beautiful love story
of a young man who finds
the wife of his dreams.
It's a script ready
for the movie makers of Hollywood,
isn't it?
Now, all this romance
can get us thinking about
weddings and funerals,
or weddings and marriages, rather.
In fact, last week,
as we looked at Sarah,
we thought about planning
for our own funeral.
And this week,
well, it all seems to be
about planning for our wedding.
So what does this chapter
have to teach us about
finding our true spouse?
Well, here's my three top tips
for finding the right spouse.
First of all,
look for a Christian.
Isn't that what Isaac had to do?
Find the right kind of person.
Not from the Canaanites.
They were pagans.
They didn't follow God.
But go find the right kind of person.
Find someone with the right character.
Wasn't Rebecca a fine woman?
Not only was she beautiful,
but what a servant she was.
going beyond and above duty,
watering 10 camels.
Somebody's worked out that
taking the average size of a container
to drop your water down into the well
to water 10 camels
would have taken 80 to 100 trips
back and forth to the well.
What character?
And then find somebody who's committed.
I mean, Rebecca was committed, wasn't she?
She was ready to leave her family
and go to Isaac's home.
We don't want to have someone
who's running back to mummy
every time they're in trouble.
They're to leave and be committed.
So there you have it.
Find your right spouse,
a Christian character and committed.
Sermon over.
Let's pray.
And we'll sing our last song.
Well, maybe it's about
finding our right spouse.
But let's be not too quick
to jump to that conclusion.
Because I don't think
this is about finding
your perfect partner.
Rather, this is actually
all about God's faithfulness to us.
In fact, this marriage story
tells us of the greatest marriage
we can all experience,
the marriage of God
to his people.
But more of that
in a little while.
Let's get back to the story itself.
Four things we're going to look at
this morning.
A marriage full of promise,
a marriage designed in heaven,
a marriage overflowing with blessing,
and a marriage filled with purpose.
So first of all,
a marriage full of promise.
Now before we get stuck
into the detail,
we need to pull back
with the camera lens
and remember the big story
of Genesis.
The big story that God
has made a promise
to renew this broken world
and restore
our disordered lives.
It was a promise
of redemption.
And that redemption
would come through
the family of a man
called Abraham.
So in Genesis 12,
verse 3,
we read,
and all people
or all nations,
all peoples on earth
will be blessed
through you.
A seed of Abraham,
a son would come
from the line of Abraham
who would deliver
God's promise.
A son who would bring
the blessing
of redemption
to the world.
He would come
and save and rescue
the peoples of the world
from their sin
and God's judgment.
That was God's
great promise.
But at the start
of the story,
in chapter 24,
we're faced with a problem.
Look at verse 1.
Abraham is now
very old.
And as we read on
through the story,
we realise that Isaac
is not yet married.
Now that's a big problem.
You see,
if Isaac doesn't get married,
then he has no children.
And no children means
no future children.
If there's no wedding
for Isaac,
then the promises
all come to a stop.
If there's no marriage,
then all the blessings
of God
are going to dry up.
If Isaac doesn't
get a wife,
then God's plan
of redemption
fails.
Everything hinges
on Isaac
finding
a wife.
You see,
this isn't about us
searching for
our perfect spouse.
No,
this is no
ordinary marriage.
marriage.
This is a marriage
which is central
to God's promises
and God fulfilling
his promises.
The promise of bringing
blessing
to the nations
through a marriage.
marriage.
So first,
whoops,
I missed the first one,
a marriage full of promise.
And second,
a marriage
made in heaven.
Now we might know
the end of the story
that,
yes,
Isaac and Rebecca
do meet
and they do get married.
But what's important
for us to see
is how
Isaac and Rebecca
got together.
In other words,
we want to see
how God
fulfills
his promise
and accomplishes
his plan.
Now the way
marriages happen
today
is,
so I'm told anyway,
you get a
wedding planner.
Someone who
organises your day
from venues,
flowers
and photos.
Everything is
planned out
in detail
and yes,
you get an
enormous bill
for it all as well.
But when it comes
to the wedding day
and the celebrations,
as all the guests
arrive,
you might know
who the wedding
planner is,
but it seems
that everyone
is doing
what they're
meant to be doing.
It's like
everyone has a job.
Everything has
been designed.
There's a plan
in operation.
Well,
God is clearly
the wedding
planner
for Isaac
and Rebecca.
Look at the way
God works out
his plans
and his promises.
First,
Abraham
follows
God's plan.
Abraham
goes about
the business
of looking
for a wife
for his son.
Maybe different
to our cultures
today,
but that was
what they did
then.
And he calls
in his chief
servant
and gives
the command,
we're going
wife hunting.
But he's got
two conditions.
Here's the first
condition,
verse 3.
I want you
to swear
by the Lord,
the God of heaven
and the God
of earth,
that you will
not get a wife
for my son
from the daughters
of the Canaanites
among whom
I'm living.
But go to my
country and to
my own relatives
and get a wife
for my son
Isaac.
So make sure
you get the
right kind
of girl.
Second
condition,
verse 6,
make sure
that you do
not take
my son back
there.
He's not
to leave
his home
here and
go set
up home
there.
She's to
come to
him.
So a wife
must be
found who's
going to
keep in
God's ways
and who is
going to
come to
where Isaac
lives.
Now these
aren't just
personal opinions
of Abraham.
They're in
line with
God's
promises.
Verse 7,
Abraham
knows God's
promise and so
Abraham follows
God's plan.
He didn't
know everything,
he didn't
know how it
was all going
to work out
in detail,
but with the
little bit he
had, he
sought to
obey what
God had
said.
You see,
life is not
about telling
God what
my plans
are and
who my
future spouse
might look
like or what
they'll do
and asking
God for
his blessing.
no, it's
always about
us following
and submitting
to God's
plan.
So you say,
well what is
God's plan?
Well we don't
have to imagine
and think up
what is God's
plan.
God has
clearly revealed
his plan to
us in
scripture and
Genesis 24
is part of
that big
plan and as
we'll see as
we go through
the story,
how we can
be part of
that plan.
In other
words, if you
want to know
what God's
plan is for
your life,
read your
Bible.
Get on
board with
what God
is doing.
So we
follow God's
plan.
Second,
we notice
how the
servant
trusts God's
kindness.
Now the
servant has
travelled
hundreds and
hundreds of
miles with
his ten
camels to
the family
home of
Abraham.
And he
reaches his
destination and
he pulls
into the
equivalent of
apple green and
he gets
himself a
drink and
ready to
refuel his
camels.
So he's in
the right
place.
This is where
he should be.
This is
Abraham territory.
But my
goodness me,
there's a lot
of women here.
Who's the
right one?
How am I
going to know
which is
the right
wife?
Well he
comes up
with an
imaginative
test,
doesn't
he?
Look at
verse 14.
May it
be that
when I
say to
a young
woman,
please let
down your
jar that
I may
have a
drink,
and she
says,
drink and
I'll water
your camels
too.
Let her
be the
one you
have chosen
for your
servant
Isaac.
By this
I will
know that
you have
shown kindness
to my
master.
And,
whoa,
look what
happens,
verse 17.
He spies
a woman,
she's a
beautiful
woman,
and he
goes up
to her,
verse 17,
the servant
hurried to
meet her
and said,
please give
me a little
water from
your jar.
What's she
going to
do?
Drink,
my lord,
she said,
and quickly
lowered the
jar to her
hands and
gave him a
drink.
But what
about the
camels?
Oh,
after she'd
given him
a drink,
she said,
I'll draw
water for
your camels
too until
they've had
enough to
drink.
Amazing!
Everything
is working
out.
But let's
remember,
this is not
random
coincidence.
This is the
result of
faithful
dependence.
Look at
how the
servant began
his search.
Verse 12.
Then he
prayed,
Lord,
God of
my master
Abraham,
make me
successful
today and
show kindness
to my
master
Abraham.
There's his
prayer,
show kindness.
Now,
kindness is
much more
than just
generosity.
It means
God's
faithful
covenant
love.
love that
is steadfastly
loyal to
his promises.
So,
as he
prays,
the servant
is asking
God to
be faithful
to his
covenant,
that God
would fulfil
his promises.
We can
almost imagine
him praying
as the
women are
at the
well.
Lord,
I need
to find a
woman here
and I
haven't got a
clue who
the right
one is,
but I
trust that
as I
choose,
you will
be faithful
to your
covenant.
May the
one I
choose be
according to
your promise.
Show this
kindness.
Amen.
And he
opens his
eyes and
he follows
through.
And so
when he
finds a
woman who
passes the
test,
look how
he prays.
Verse 26.
Then the
man bowed
down and
worshipped the
Lord,
saying,
praise be
to the
Lord,
the God
of my
master
Abraham,
who has
not
abandoned
his
kindness
and
faithfulness
to my
master.
As for
me,
the Lord
has led
me on
a journey
to the
house of
my
master's
relatives.
The Lord
has been
faithful to
his covenant
promises.
partners.
You see,
the principle
here is not
come up with
an imaginative
test to
find out
who your
future
partner will
be.
So for a
modern day
application,
let's swap
camels for
cars.
So you drive
to the nearest
petrol station
with your
prospective
partner and
they don't
know that you
fancy them
and all the
rest of it
and you say,
I need some
petrol.
And they
respond,
oh, let
me buy it
and guess
what, I'll
fill up your
whole tank.
Ah, there's
your answer,
I found the
right person.
No, that's
madness, we
can't do
that.
This is all
about trusting
God's
kindness.
Live your
life in the
knowledge that
God's promises
are best for
you.
Rather than
decide what
we think is
right, we
trust what
God says
is right.
We read
his revealed
will in
his word
and we
entrust
ourselves to
a God who
is steadfastly
committed to
working out
his promises
to us.
Promises that
are always
good for
us.
So we
follow God's
plan and we
trust God's
kindness.
love.
And then we
meet Laban,
the brother
who accepts
God's will.
Laban is
like the
big protective
brother.
Rebecca has
returned home
and she's got
a pile of
jewellery in
her bags.
Well, where
did they come
from?
Oh, I met
this guy, a
servant, and
he's looking
for a wife
and I think
this might be
it.
I haven't
met him
yet but
it seems
pretty good.
So he's
wanting to
check out
who this
guy is and
well, is
this going
to be a
good match
for my
sister?
And he
agrees and
arranges to
take the
servant back
to his
house because
he wants
to know
the story.
Verse 33.
Then food
was set
before the
servant but
he said,
I'm not
going to
eat until
I've told
you what
I have to
say.
Well, then
tell us,
said Laban,
tell us
the story.
And the
servant then
recounts the
whole course
of events.
He tells
them all
about Abraham
sending him
off to get
a wife for
his son
Isaac,
how she
must be
from his
family,
how she
must leave
that land
and go
to be
with Isaac,
all according
to God's
promise.
He explained
how he
prayed,
how he
sought God's
help,
how he
trusted in
God's
kindness,
leaning
upon God's
promises.
And he
describes the
events at
the well,
the little
test that
he had,
how he
asked for
a drink
for the
woman,
and how
she was
to offer
water for
the camels.
And guess
what,
Laban?
She did
everything that
we required.
Now, what
would big
brother Laban
think of
such a
story?
Well, we're
told,
verse 50,
Laban,
that's the
brother,
and Bethuel,
the father
he was
in listening
to,
answered,
this is
from the
Lord.
We can
say nothing
to you
one way
or another.
Who else
could be
in it?
Here is
Rebecca,
take her
and go,
and let
her become
the wife
of your
master's
son,
as the
Lord has
directed.
There's no
debate.
They can
clearly see
God's hand
in all of
this.
They submit
themselves to
God's will,
they accept
God's will,
when they
consider God's
promises to
Abraham,
when they
think about
the servant's
prayer and
his dependence
on God's
kindness and
his covenant
faithfulness,
the circumstances
at the well,
well, put it
all together,
it makes
perfect sense.
The God
of heaven
and earth
is in
all of
this.
This is
a plan
they can
follow.
You see,
God doesn't
do coincidences
or chance
happenings.
This is not
a random
event.
No,
God is
directing
the whole
show.
Isn't that
what we see
here?
God has
made a
promise
and God
has a plan
to fulfil
that promise.
Abraham
may send
his servant,
the servant
may set
a test,
but this
is God's
plan.
This is
from the
Lord.
This has
all come
about,
end of
verse 51,
as the
Lord has
directed.
You see,
God is
the wedding
planner.
This is a
wedding made
in heaven.
love al��rrr,
amen.
Now,
it's a
random
event in
the
Lord's
age and
Almighty,
everything we
experience
is all
under
God's
sovereign
will.
In fact,
this story
is teaching us that God is so intricately involved with this world.
He's so invested in our lives
that he is working out his plan of salvation for you.
His purpose for you is that you would know God's blessing.
His plan is that you would experience the ultimate marriage,
a marriage relationship with God.
Are you sure?
Absolutely.
Let's see.
So third, a wedding overflowing with blessing.
The wedding may be planned.
Laban and the servant and Bethuel think this is good
and they give the thumbs up.
Well, what about Rebecca?
I mean, doesn't she have a say in all of this?
After all, she's getting married to Isaac.
What does she think?
Well, there's been a bit of discussion about things
and verse 57, they said,
I know.
Let's call the young woman and ask her about it.
Good thinking.
Verse 58.
So they call Rebecca and ask her,
will you go with this man?
Now, she doesn't go,
oh, what colour are his eyes?
What kind of job has he got?
Has he got money?
No, nothing like that.
I will go, she said.
She's heard the story.
God's promises to Abraham.
God's kindness to the servant.
She's heard her brother's response.
It all makes sense.
This is the Lord's will.
This is of the Lord.
You see, Rebecca isn't just committing herself in marriage to Isaac.
That's part of the story.
But the big story in all of this is,
Rebecca trusting God's promises and kindness.
By saying, I will go,
Rebecca is entrusting herself,
not just to her new husband,
but to God.
By saying yes to all of this,
Rebecca isn't just sharing in Isaac's wealth,
she is sharing in the promised blessings of God.
Remember, it's through Isaac
that the blessings are going to come.
So Rebecca's yes to the marriage
is Rebecca saying yes to God.
I will go.
It's an act of faith.
She doesn't know the future,
but she has God's promise and God's blessing
and she's going to leave behind her life,
her family,
and step out and entrust herself
to the God of redemption and blessing.
But it's not just Rebecca who gets blessed.
And it's not just Rebecca who gets called
to share in the blessing.
God's plan of salvation, remember,
is that all the nations would be blessed.
That all people would get to share
in what God has to give.
And as we read through Scripture,
we see God's heart for the nations.
And the big theme,
the big picture we see of this is
God as the husband
pursuing us, his people,
as his bride.
Listen to what God says.
You might remember these words from Hosea.
You can follow on the screen.
This is what God says.
In that day, declares the Lord,
you will call me my husband.
You will no longer call me my master.
I will betroth you to me forever.
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in love and compassion.
I will betroth you in faithfulness
and you will acknowledge the Lord.
I will show my love to the one I called,
not my loved one.
I will say to those called,
not my people,
you are my people.
And they will say,
you are my God.
You see,
this is God's plan.
This is God's love for the world,
his love for the nation.
God has accomplished his plan
and he has done that in love
by sending the person of his son,
Jesus.
And he's demonstrated this love
and compassion by giving his life for us,
by taking our sin,
the curse of judgment on himself,
so that we might enjoy the wealth
of his blessing.
God's plan to bless the nations,
which means we are blessed.
You want to know how much God loves you?
How much God is committed to you?
He's saying,
look at my faithful promises.
Look at what I've accomplished.
Look at the cross.
Even though you've rejected me
and turned your back on me,
and wandered away,
I have come
to win you back
so that you might be one with me,
that we might be married.
This is God's plan.
He is pursuing the nations in love.
To those not yet belonging to me,
he says,
I will be your faithful, loyal husband
and I'm not going to fail you,
but I'm going to bless you.
God, who is kind and compassionate,
stands before each one of us today
and is asking for our hand in marriage.
And like Rebecca,
we are called to step out in faith
and say,
I will go.
So fourth,
a marriage filled with purpose.
You see, when we say yes to God,
when we say,
I will go,
I will follow you,
we're committing ourselves
to serving God's great purposes.
You see,
the way in which God is going to bring blessing
to the nations
is through his people,
through people like you and I.
So,
two things for us to think about
as we finish.
This means that your life
has purpose.
God is now calling you
to share
his story of redemption,
to declare the good news
of God's ultimate marriage.
Like Abraham,
we are to follow God's plan.
Like the servant,
we are to trust in God's kindness,
that he will be faithful
to his promises.
And we can step out
with confidence and assurance,
knowing that God
is directing all things.
He is the planner of our life.
He is the planner
of every situation.
Because there are no coincidences.
Think about your own life.
It is all according
to his design and purpose.
Where you live
and the people next door to you
is not an accident.
The people you meet each day
when you are out walking the dogs
or when you go to work
is not random.
The family that you have been born
into is not by chance.
You might be the only Christian
in each of those contexts.
It may be difficult.
But remember,
God has you
where you are meant to be
so that you can be
a conduit
of God's blessing
to those around you.
This is God's purpose
for your life.
Bringing the blessing of God
to the nations.
That's the big plan.
It really doesn't matter
what college you go to
or what job you take up.
It's whatever you're doing,
see that the purpose
of your life
in that context
is to bring the blessing
of God to the nations.
And also it means
if you are married
or you plan on being married
that your marriage
has a purpose.
This might not be
an account about
how to find
your future spouse
but it does reveal
to us something
of the purpose
of marriage.
Look,
when Isaac and Rebecca
got married,
they weren't just
committing themselves
to one another,
they were serving
the grand big purposes
of God.
You see,
marriage isn't about
satisfying your need
or fulfilling your desire
and if that's your view
of marriage,
you're heading
for a train wreck.
God's design
for marriage
is that we partner
together
to serve
the greater
and bigger purposes
of God.
It's not about
me and my spouse
or me and my children
hiving away
and doing our own thing.
It's about husband
and wife
partnering together
in God's mission.
Now maybe some of us
need to remember that
and recommit to that.
Somehow in the
busyness of life,
the pressure to take on
more into our lives
or invest more
into the lives
of our kids
running here,
there and everywhere,
means that we've
lost sight
of what marriage
is all about.
Whatever our status
here today,
whether we're married
or unmarried,
whether we would love
a husband
or a wife,
let's just take
the bigger step back
and remember that
God is the wedding
planner
who is working out
his plan of redemption
through us.
So trust
God's kindness.
Follow God's
plan.
The Lord
is directing
your life
so we can go
with confidence
and assurance,
being a conduit
of God's blessing
to all we meet.
Let's pray.
Father God,
we thank you
for this
marriage account
of Isaac
and Rebecca.
thank you for the way
in which it points
us
to the ultimate
marriage
with you,
Father God.
We pray
that we would
take from this
all that we need
that we might
become the people
you call us
to be.
Help us to live
our life
trusting you,
following your
revealed plan
in Scripture
and walking
confidently
as you direct
every one of our
steps.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.