Genesis 24:1 -2Abraham was now a very old man, and God blessed him in every way. One day Abraham said to his household administrator, who was his oldest servant,
3-4 “Swear by Jehovah, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not let my son marry one of these local girls, these Canaanites. Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife for him there.”
5-9 “But suppose I can’t find a girl who will come so far from home?” the servant asked. “Then shall I take Isaac there, to live among your relatives?”
“No!” Abraham warned. “Be careful that you don’t do that under any circumstance. For the Lord God of heaven told me to leave that land and my people, and promised to give me and my children this land. He will send his angel on ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a girl from there to be my son’s wife. But if you don’t succeed, then you are free from this oath; but under no circumstances are you to take my son there.” So the servant vowed to follow Abraham’s instructions.
Talk about impossible assignments! Eliezer of Damascus has been Abraham’s chief deputy ever since reaching adulthood. At one point prior to Isaac’s birth, Eliezer would have inherited everything from Abraham; however, Isaac has taken his rightful place as chief heir. Still, Abraham has always looked on Eliezer as a second son, one whom he loves as much as Ishmael, if not more. In the past, Abraham has relied on Eliezer to make sure things have run smoothly in the camp, but today Abraham is giving him a different assignment, one Eliezer would just as soon dodge. Abraham wants Eliezer to travel all the way back to Haran to Abraham’s nephew Nahor, to find a wife for Isaac.
The journey is a daunting one, 500-600 miles, lasting between 9-20 days, depending on road conditions, weather, bandits, etc. Eliezer must carry all the feed for the camels with him, for he cannot depend on finding grazing along the route. The caravan must also carry plenty of water, for who knows where the streams and wells are? And Abraham insists that Eliezer carry rich gifts with him to entice the girl to come and to placate her family. While Abraham is busy issuing orders, Eliezer is quaking inside! What if he fails to find Haran? What if he reaches Haran, only to find there are no eligible young ladies? And what if he reaches Haran, only to find that no eligible young lady wants to follow him off into an unknown future with a strange man? All through the journey, Eliezer continues to worry. Finding Haran is not so difficult because it is right on a major caravan route. But finding Abraham’s relatives? Who knows what will happen? Abraham has been gracious and generous to Eliezer for years; the last thing Eliezer wants to do is to disappoint Abraham, but the fears of failure remain.
Perhaps you can identify with Eliezer. Perhaps you have found yourself burdened with tasks that look impossible to complete. What comfort can you find? God promises that He will be with us, no matter what. Isaiah 43:1-3 tells us, “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…” Now let’s return to Eliezer, for his story holds even more encouragement.
10-11 He took with him ten of Abraham’s camels loaded with samples of the best of everything his master owned and journeyed to Iraq, to Nahor’s village. There he made the camels kneel down outside the town, beside a spring. It was evening, and the women of the village were coming to draw water.
12-14 “O Jehovah, the God of my master,” he prayed, “show kindness to my master Abraham and help me to accomplish the purpose of my journey. See, here I am, standing beside this spring, and the girls of the village are coming out to draw water. This is my request: When I ask one of them for a drink and she says, ‘Yes, certainly, and I will water your camels too!’—let her be the one you have appointed as Isaac’s wife. That is how I will know.”
Throughout the Bible, there are examples of people praying for God to give them signs that they are doing His will. Eliezer’s prayer is one of the earliest examples of such prayers, and he must be shaking in his sandals as he prays. There is every chance that no young lady will come to the spring until later. There is every chance that the young ladies will all look at Eliezer and rush back into the village to call their male relatives to deal with him. Eliezer is praying to a God whom he really doesn’t know but whom his master has trusted for years. If ever someone needs comfort, Eliezer needs it right now!
15-19 As he was still speaking to the Lord about this, a beautiful young girl named Rebekah arrived with a water jug on her shoulder and filled it at the spring. (Her father was Bethuel the son of Nahor and his wife Milcah.) Running over to her, the servant asked her for a drink.
“Certainly, sir,” she said, and quickly lowered the jug for him to drink. Then she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have enough!”
20-23 So she emptied the jug into the watering trough and ran down to the spring again and kept carrying water to the camels until they had enough. The servant said no more, but watched her carefully to see if she would finish the job, so that he would know whether she was the one. Then at last, when the camels had finished drinking, he produced a quarter-ounce gold nose ring and two five-ounce gold bracelets for her wrists.
“Whose daughter are you, miss?” he asked. “Would your father have any room to put us up for the night?”
24-27 “My father is Bethuel,” she replied. “My grandparents are Milcah and Nahor. Yes, we have plenty of straw and food for the camels, and a guest room.”
The man stood there a moment with head bowed, worshiping Jehovah. “Thank you, Lord God of my master Abraham,” he prayed; “thank you for being so kind and true to him, and for leading me straight to the family of my master’s relatives.”
Talk about getting prayers answered! Now God shows up! Scarcely has Eliezer finished his prayer, then God begins answering it right down to the smallest detail. Eliezer is ready to collapse in relief. Not only has God brought the right girl at the right time, but He has brought a young woman from the very family Eliezer is seeking. Little wonder that Eliezer immediately bows his head and worships Jehovah.
There’s a song from Fiddler on the Roof that speaks of L’chaim, Life. “Life has a way of abusing us, blessing and bruising us.” Work in medicine long enough, and you will learn medicine can do the same thing. Through the years, I have lost patients who should have lived; on the other hand, patients I was certain would die have recovered miraculously. At the end, all I can say is that it’s all up to God. That’s the same thing Eliezer is thinking.
Eliezer is not a young man, nor yet a foolish one. As the chief manager for Abraham’s teeming household, Eliezer has repeatedly made judgment calls that have brought great success. But when it counts most, Eliezer has depended on God, not his own judgment or his own calculations. Eliezer receives comfort from God because he is depending on God and not on himself. So many things could have gone wrong with Eliezer’s mission: Camels could have fallen sick or died. Water sources could have dried up. Sandstorms could have come up, hiding the road and causing Eliezer’s party to wander aimlessly until they died. Bandits could have attacked, murdering everyone and seizing the rich presents Eliezer was carrying for Abraham’s relatives. And even when Eliezer succeeds in reaching Haran, the wrong maiden might have approached him first. But God! But God has intervened, bringing the right girl from the right family at the right time to say the right things.
Today, do you feel like Eliezer? God has called you to step out in faith and you are terrified that everything is going to go wrong. Hang on. Remember that desperate prayer Eliezer prayed. God doesn’t play favorites. The same God who guided Eliezer, the same God who brought Rebekah to the spring at the right time, that same God is still on the throne and still answers prayers. Remember Isaiah 43 and be comforted.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, many of us are stepping out in new directions this year, terrified that something will go wrong. Please comfort and strengthen all of those following Your leading, so they will continue to trust and go forward. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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