| Subject: Genesis 24 vss 10-21 Post #123 |
Author:
Hillbilly
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Date Posted: 11:20:27 01/01/10 Fri
Genesis 24:11-21 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. 11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. 12 And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: 14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master. 15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. 16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. 18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. 19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. 20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. 21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
The servant of Abraham, loaded down with several camels of Abraham's wealth, arrives at the city of Nahor and stops by a well to refresh before entering the city. It is evening and the customary time to draw water for the night for each family and their livestock. Eliezer knows the women of the city will be coming at this time to draw water from the well and as his mission is to find a wife for Isaac he realizes this will be a good time to look at the prospects. The servant knows the importance of his mission and does not make the selection on his own but prays to God to show him HIS CHOICE. What a lesson for us to learn here. How many of us have asked God to show us our prospective mates? How many have taken the time to trust God for the one He has appointed for us. How many divorces and broken homes would have been spared if we had only asked God and trusted Him in our marriages.
Notice the sign that Eliezer asks from God to show him His appointed. She is to offer him water and then offer to draw for his camels. According to Wikipedia the camel is capable of drinking up to 40 gallons of water at one filling. Abraham's servant had 10 camels and in addition there would be a number of attendants to help with the camels and their loads. How would you like to go down into a well that might be 20 feet deep and haul up enough water for 10 camels "until they have done drinking". Not only was the water heavy (approx. 8 lbs. to the gallon) but the pitcher that probably held at least a couple of gallons would have been heavy clay. We are not being shown a light task that is being undertaken but a very tiring and strenuous task that took much endurance to accomplish. This young woman was a tireless and willing worker. She was gracious to this stranger and entourage and everything she did was with a willing heart and completely voluntary.
If Rebekah is a type of Church then we are being given a glimpse of the attributes that God looks for in His Church. If the Spirit of God (typified as the servant) is in the world to take out a "bride" (Isaiah 61:10, 62:5, Matt. 25:6) for the "Bridegroom" then we can use the attributes of Rebekah as a yardstick to measure how we stack up as a member of the bride of Christ. She was a virgin and beautiful to the eyes of Eliezer: The Church is beautiful to God (Song of Sol. 6:4) and is a virgin in His eyes. 2 Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. We need not forget also that the mother of Jesus was a virgin. You might ask how the Church, which has demonstrated itself to be full of sinners, could ever meet this requirement as to be "unspotted" by the world (James 1:27). The answer lies in the inner man and the outward man. The soul of man is (through an action of the Spirit) separated from the flesh. (For conformation of this I would suggest you read Romans 7:14-8,10. To go into this doctrine now would make this study much too lengthy and sidetrack us from our study in Genesis) When God devised His plan for our salvation He knew the weakness of the flesh and that it could never be sinless in it's mortal state. His plan therefore excluded the flesh and focused on the redemption of the soul. Paul wrote in Romans 8:8-10 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. This then is the test. If you belong to Christ and are apart of the body of Christ, His bride, then you have the Spirit of God dwelling in you. Your soul is redeemed and you await the "marriage".
Pure in heart. A tireless worker. Compassionate. Eager to serve. Selfless. These are the attributes and in looking at the spiritual condition of the Churches today it seems we have fallen far short of God's expectations.
It also should not be lost on us where Eliezer finds the prospective bride for Isaac. It is at a well of water! In John chapter 4 Jesus offers salvation to the "oft married woman" by a well of water. It is by a well of water that Moses finds his future wife (Exodus 2:15). Jacob meets Rachel by a well of water (Genesis 29:1-10). The water of the wells represent the Spirit of God. Just as water is essential for life the Spirit of God is essential for eternal life. Much of the attributes of the Spirit is displayed in water. Water will always form to the shape of the container. Just as the Spirit indwelling us is held in the soul and conforms to that shape. The soul conforms to the shape of the body. To see this illustrated all we need look at is the picture of Lazarus, the rich man and Abraham in the heart of the earth in Luke 16:19-31. All had died and all were in the heart of the earth. Their bodies were either in graves or as with Lazarus cast aside on the earth. In reading the account you will notice the rich man felt, saw, heard, thirsted, had memory and a longing his five brothers not come there. Water will quench the thirst just as the Spirit will quench the need of the soul to be in fellowship with God. In the well of water we have a picture of life being at hand but it must be drunk to utilize it's life giving properties. The Spirit can be near by but until it enters the soul that soul is doomed. The water is consumed willingly and so must the Spirit be taken by invitation. God will not force Himself on you. You must receive Him by invitation. The illustration is found in Revelation 3:20: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
We would all do well to ponder and meditate on the lessons hidden in the account of Eliezer meeting with Rebekah and the lessons shown in her life.
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