Gen. 24:13 Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.
Gen. 24:14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, “Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
Gen. 24:15 And it happened, before he had finished speaking...
It is likely that at some point in your life you have needed guidance in some decision you must make or job you must do. It is likely that at some point in time you have agonized over some dilemma when you have not been sure just what to do. There has likely been some important life event that has required wisdom. This is something we experience in the course of life and perhaps one of the more dreaded. What job do I take? Where should I live? Who should I marry? What career path do I choose? That is why it is so good to know that God gives guidance to those who ask!
Again it is probably a story that we know well. Isaac needs a wife and Abraham sends his servant to arrange the marriage with specific instructions concerning what to and not to do. However, this is also something that, truth be told, is just a bit foreign to us. After all, arranged marriages and household servants are not areas with which we have a lot of experience.
Put yourself in the sandals of the servant for a moment. Promise me, by God, that you will go and get a wife for my son (my only son, who I love!) What a huge responsibility. Do you feel the weight? It is bad enough when we have to make wise choices for ourselves but what about when we have to make them for others? This choice will affect no only Isaac, but the posterity of his masters house (the master that he loves) for ages to come. It is a difficult position to be put in and the man feels deeply the responsibility.
Having lived in his masters house for so many years and seeing the things he has seen, only one solution presents itself. Prayer!
His prayer. The servant prays to God because he knows that all good direction comes from the Lord. He knows that the task is beyond him. He knows what he must do. He knows what he is looking for, yet he knows that he will never find it without God’s providence. So this is very much a prayer of providence.
First he recognizes God. He acknowledges that God has made certain promises to Abraham and that God is a faithful God. He is sure that the God that Abraham has sought after in circumstance after circumstance is the same God that he must seek after. He has seen that God is faithful. He is also convinced that this same God must be the one to answer his prayer. As we come to God often we come to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, yet, I think, we doubt whether this God will truly direct us too. We want it to be Him but we are afraid that He will not hear us as He heard Abraham. Here we see that it wasn’t just Abraham that God answered and revealed Himself to, but to his servant as well. We have the privilege of approaching the same powerful, promising and personal God that the “great” Abraham did.
Second, his prayer is for himself and for others. He is not seeking God’s providence simply that he would “have success” but so as to be a blessing to others and that others truly may be blessed. Often we want God’s leading in our lives but we only have ourselves in view. Our personal comfort, our mission, our purposes. There is nothing wrong with asking for success, but that should not be the end of our prayer. We need to consider our role in the lives of others. How our actions affect them. How our decisions can bless them.
Third, there is “the sign”. Really it is an interesting “sign”. I think many of the signs that we ask for we want to be passive in them. We want them to just “happen”. But we see in the servant a willingness to move and be involved. He wasn’t just sitting back and waiting. He was out searching! Another thing about this sign is that it was far from supernatural. It was a natural thing. He wasn’t looking for God to prove Himself. He was honestly and realistically seeking God’s will. There was a well. There were girls coming to draw water. In other words, the servant had an idea of what he was looking for. In his mind he already had a way to test the “suitability” of the young woman that would come. He had thought about what would be good characteristics in a wife for Isaac. Perhaps he had a mental checklist 1. Lovely 2. Submissive 3. Hard working 4. wisely industrious 5. Hospitable 6. Chaste 7. Appropriate etc. But even with all those things in mind he still knew that he could only see the surface, but God would see the heart. No matter how well he looked to choose, still God would choose better. It is good for us to have an idea of what we are looking for and hold those ideals dear, yet at the same time give room for God to work, His hand to move. Then as God did this he would have assurance that had showed him the way ahead. Even later when the situation would get a little intense he could point back to the fact that God had led him and given him success so that he could finish his task and fulfill his promise. So that he could bless the hearts of his masters.
Fourth, we notice that even while he was still speaking God started to answer. God has His timing and He knows what we need and the exact moment that we need it.
Fifth, we see the man is patient and waits to see all of the answer before he moves forward. He is not willing to settle for anything less than God’s choice even if he must wait some time to confirm it to the end. Often we are impatient to wait and see God’s answers and be assured of His will. Then we rush ahead of God and wonder at the mess that we find ourselves in sometimes.
Gen. 24:26 Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the LORD.
Gen. 24:27 And he said, “Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me...
The man who asked and received from the Lord also remembers to worship. He cannot do anything else. All the glory goes to God and to Him alone. The man revels in the goodness of God, first to others and then to himself. God has led the great man Abraham, but God has now led him as well. God will also lead us.
Prayer Request
* That we would seek God's will and desire that we would be a blessing to others, especially in being able to share the Gospel and God's glory with them. That we would wait on Him for direction and be praising Him as He leads. That God would open the doors He wants for the things He wants done.
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