Date of message: 31 August 2003 Issue
109
Subject: The Unnamed Servant
Shalom, Boker-tov (good morning),
There is a very interesting account in Genesis of a servant who was asked to perform a very vital task but his name was never mentioned in that chapter. And yet we find the faithful servant carrying out everything that his master wanted him to do and he did it so well that we can only admire his faithfulness.
Genesis chapter 24 starts with the line "Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age;" in verse 1 and then in verse 2 we have old Abraham calling his oldest servant of the house, who ruled over all that he had. From Genesis 15: 2 we know that this servant would be Eliezer of Damascus whom Abraham said would stand to inherit all his possessions because at that moment he had no children of his own and Eliezer was the one who was most powerful in his household. So why did the Holy Spirit not want to name this old servant and go direct and give the name as Eliezer? Why did the Holy Spirit leave the name out and just record him as the old servant?
Let us examine the story in Genesis chapter 24 in more detail and then maybe we can get a glimpse of who this person was. Abraham, by this time of the story, was close to 140 years old and Sarah had passed away many years prior. Isaac would have been in his late thirties and pushing on forty years old and therefore it became evident to Abraham that Isaac would need to marry and start his own family.
Abraham called the old servant and made him swear that he would find Isaac a wife from among Abraham's own family back in Ur of Iraq where he came from originally. And he further added that Isaac should not be brought along on the trip so that he would not make the wrong choice and ended up marrying a Canaanite woman.
The old servant swore to Abraham by placing his hand under Abraham's thigh which is a symbol for strength in the Bible. And after making the necessary preparations, the servant headed east.
Soon he was in Iraq and he came to the city of Nahor where Nahor and his family lived. The servant was thirsty and he rested by the well outside the city at evening time waiting for the maidens to come forth and draw water from the well. Not knowing who the intended bride would be, the servant started to pray for guidance and asked for specific signs to be revealed.
The Lord answered his prayers and soon Rebekah came out and drew water and when she had filled her water jugs, he approached her and she responded by not only giving the old servant water to drink but also gave water for his camels and his servants to drink. And as soon as she did that, the servant knew that Rebekah was the chosen one to be the bride for Isaac.
After that refreshing drink, the servant took out some gifts of gold and placed them on Rebekah. He gave her one gold nose ring and two gold bracelets and explained to her who he was and how the Lord had led her to him. It was no mere coincidence that the meeting took place and the servant worshipped the Lord.
I wonder, by now, whether you know who this old servant was. This servant was never named because he had no intention of drawing attention to himself but he loved to draw the attention onto his master Abraham and his son Isaac. Know of another Person who is like that? Jesus talked about Him in John 16: 13-15 that He will take what He hears from the Father and He will teach them to us - Jesus called Him the Helper, the Holy Spirit. Notice that the Holy Spirit was active throughout the early churches but His name was never mentioned because that is never His style. He loves to point us to God the Father and Jesus His Son but He does not want any attention for Himself.
If you may, here is the parallel - Abraham is the father of Isaac and God is the Father of Jesus His Son and so, as a typology, we may associate Abraham with God the Father and Isaac as Jesus the Son.
So the Holy Spirit was given a commission to go and find a bride for Jesus the Son. He found Rebekah, a beautiful lady, a kind and enthusiastic woman and more importantly, a close cousin of Isaac. In the eyes of God, the Church is a beautiful Bride for Jesus and the Holy Spirit showered the Church with spiritual gifts just as the servant gave Rebekah three gold items. These gifts of the Holy Spirit are recorded for us in 1Corinthians 12: 8-10 and they can be grouped into three groups of three each: -
Gifts of Discernment Gifts of Power Gifts of Utterance
Word of wisdom Gifts of faith Gifts of prophecy
Word of knowledge Gifts of healing Gifts of tongues
Gifts of discerning of spirits Gifts of miracles Gifts of interpretation of tongues
The nose ring represented the gifts of discernment as the nose is the most sensitive member of the body; a person may 'smell' out trouble even before there are any signs of the trouble being noticed. The two bracelets represented the two gifts of power and utterance.
When the old servant arrived at the home of Rebekah, he recounted the story of how he came to be on the journey, how he prayed to God the Father and the Lord showed him Rebekah and that he had now come to seek the permission of Bethuel (Rebekah's father) and Laban (her brother) to allow Rebekah to marry Isaac, his master's son.
Bethuel and Laban gave no objection to the marriage proposal and advised the old servant to inquire of Rebekah herself and to obtain her own consent. Our own decision to follow Christ Jesus must be personal and not a result of our parents' faith. Faith is personal and as soon as Rebekah announced her decision, the servant brought out more gifts not just for Rebekah but for her mother and brother. Genesis 24: 53 tell us that there were gifts of silver, jewelry of gold and clothing. In the New Testament, we read of the 'robes of righteousness' and the 'garments of praise'.
The old servant wanted to leave as soon as possible to escort the beautiful Rebekah back to Beersheba but Laban delayed the departure for another ten days in the hope of receiving more gifts from the servant. However, the servant did not dispense with more gifts to Laban. In life itself, I have found that there are many delays and distractions. The Holy Spirit would love to bring us home to Jesus as soon as practical but the timing is decided by the Father.
Finally the day for the departure arrived. Rebekah bade her farewells to her parents and to Laban her brother and went on with the old servant to become the bride for Isaac. We too need to bid our own loved ones fond farewells as we too would need to embark on our own journeys of life.
The journey from Ur to Beersheba was a long one lasting approximately 157 days. As they were crossing hostile country teaming with bandits and harsh weather, the entourage had to travel in the shade of nightfall and under cover of darkness so as not to draw unnecessary attention to the large amount of precious jewels and gold.
Rebekah was homesick and often had to have the old servant repeat to her all the wonderful stories of the tenderness of Isaac and his love for her. In the same light, we do get discouraged in our daily walk in Christ but praise the Lord, the Holy Spirit is always there to lift our spirits and to remind us of the goodness of Jesus and His love for us and then we would be able to carry on.
Finally the entourage arrived at Beer Lahai Roi (Well of the One Who lives and sees) and Isaac saw the camels from a distance. He got up to greet them and from a distance, Rebekah saw Isaac and, not knowing that it was Isaac, inquired of the old servant who the handsome man was. When the old servant told her that it was Isaac who was approaching them through the field, she grabbed a veil and covered herself and she fell from the camel straight into the arms of Isaac. They were married and they stayed in Sarah's tent and so Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
The Church is constantly reminded by the Holy Spirit of the love that Jesus has for her and one day we too will be swept off our feet and be raised from this earth to meet our Lord Jesus Christ in the air. That event, known in the Church as the Rapture, is just around the corner. In an atomic second we will be transformed into our eternal bodies and we will rise up into the heavens and meet Jesus there and to spend eternity with Him. There will be a huge wedding banquet in heaven and only the Believers will be there as participants and as the Bride of Christ.
Are you ready for the Lord's return? Just as the old servant in Genesis 24 took quite some time to make that long journey home with Rebekah, it has now been close to two thousand years since Jesus our Lord came and died for all our sins. If you have not believed in Jesus yourself, then I would urge you to take that first step of faith and invite Jesus into your heart. He is faithful and He will definitely come and live in you. Choose Life and put your faith in our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus and He will make you sons and daughters in His Family, special positions reserved only for those whom He loves dearly (John 1:12).
One day, after all the Christians have been taken home to be with the Lord, and should you perchance be reading this article, be assured that Jesus loves you so much that He already demonstrated His love for you on the cross and there will be no condemnation for you once you put your faith in Him and you will have eternal life (Romans 8:1). The Lord cannot lie. For Him, whatever He speaks will come to pass.
Pray this simple prayer and invite Jesus into your heart and immediately you will experience His peace coming your way.
Our heavenly Father, thank you that You love us so much that You sent Jesus Your only Beloved Son into this world to die for all our sins so that we can enjoy all Your blessings. Thank you that we who received Jesus into our hearts will not be condemned but we received Your eternal life.
Lord Jesus, thank you I am now a child of God the Father and as Your child, I can start enjoying all Your blessings for my life. Thank you that I am now eternally forgiven of all my sin, greatly blessed among all men, highly favored children of God, deeply loved by the Father and completely protected in the Lord and in the most precious name of Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha' Mashiah, I pray Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer for the first time, welcome to the Family of the Father (and it is a very large universal family). It is important that you are not alone facing your personal challenges but that you can obtain good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find your own local Christian family (local church) and worship the Father together? You will be greatly encouraged when you meet together to worship the Father, for fellowship and for the study of the Word of Christ.
Start receiving the blessings of the Father as you walk with Him in faith. It is your inheritance in Christ and He wants you to start enjoying these blessings right now. You do not need to wait until you reach heaven and there is more from where they come from.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace. Numbers 6: 24 -26

Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee

This and other archived messages can also be found on the following URL
http://www.oocities.org/fibredrive/index.htm