[Text: Gen. 24)

Scripture Intro: Back in Genesis 15, God promised Abraham that he would live to a good old age. Now, after a good, long life, Abraham knows that the end is drawing near. What is his last concern? Why is it important?

[Read and pray]

Control is a big deal in our culture. People are anxious over who controls Congress, who controls their financial investments and who controls the TV remote. But then, control has been a big deal in every culture since the beginning of the world! One of the undercurrents beneath the rebellion of Adam in the Garden was a desire to take control of life out of the hands of God and into his own. And that selfish desire to control life remains in our hearts today. I see it in my own heart when I want my children (and let’s face it, everyone around me) to behave the way I want them to behave. We see it when we know what God says about how life works best and then run in the other direction; into lust instead of purity, into greed instead of generosity; into conformity to culture instead of conformity to the cross as we try to take control and turn life into what we want it to be. But the question you and I need to ask ourselves is this: where do our attempts to take control lead us; into greater fulfillment of life and joy or into frustration because things never work out quite like we picture them?

This story speaks into our world, like Israel’s long ago – a world of uncertainty, of questions, of challenges and near-impossible tasks – and tells of a powerful God who is in control and at work behind all things to keep His Story of Redemption moving forward. That’s part of what we mean when we say that God is sovereign. But in this story we also see our Sovereign God using imperfect-but-faithful humans in His plan to bring blessing to the world. It’s a story of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility walking hand in hand.

Let’s start with the human side of things. Humanly speaking, each of the characters could have taken control of the situation at several points in this story. But overwhelmingly we learn from them that the proper response to a Sovereign God is to surrender to His will and then seek to pursue it faithfully in obedience.

The story opens with Abraham in the twilight of his years on earth, being blessed by the LORD in all things. Even though all the promises of God had not fully come to pass because the Story wasn’t finished, still Abraham experienced the blessings God had promised to him when he was called by the LORD out of his homeland.

But what was his last concern, knowing that his death was drawing nearer? His heart was restless for his son. So he calls his most trusted servant and makes him swear an oath. The substance is this: “Don’t take a wife for my son from the Canaanites. They are a cursed and rebellious people that will be displaced in the coming years and they might lead my boy away from the LORD. Instead, take a wife for him from my own people back in Mesopotamia, but DO NOT take my son back there to find one. She’ll need to demonstrate faith in the LORD by a willingness to leave her home just like I have. But as for Isaac, he needs to be in this Land promised by God. Whatever happens, just don’t take him out of this Land, even if you can’t find a woman to come back here with you, because that would be going backward in the Story of Redemption that God is moving forward.”

Some parents manipulate their children’s relationships as a way to control them, but that isn’t what we see in Abraham here. Abraham knew that the promise of God about the Land meant that Isaac needed to stay there. But in order to be faithful and walk in line with what God had promised, then there needed to be a marriage – a marriage that would lead to children, which was the means through which the redemption of the world would come because of the promised “offspring” who would crush the head of the serpent and defeat all of the enemies of God and man, including death itself. Yes, Abraham wants a good wife for his boy. He wants someone to love and take care of his son after he is gone. But the deeper motivation behind his instructions to his servant is exposed in v. 7. Abraham wants a wife for Isaac because he wants the Story to move forward. And he believes that God wants a wife for Isaac so that the Story of Redemption can move forward, too. He says, the God who made promises to me will go before you and will lead you to a wife for Isaac. That’s faith acting in line with what God has spoken.

But notice, too, that he doesn’t presume this HAS TO BE what God intends. He submits his idea and desire to God’s sovereignty as he says in effect, “I believe the LORD will do this and go ahead of you, BUT IF HE DOESN’T then you are free from this oath, except for the part about taking my son back there.” When we act in line with what we’ve heard from the LORD, pursuing obedience and faithfulness, we must always say, even with Jesus in Gethsemane, “not my will, but yours be done, Lord.” It’s exactly what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said in Babylon as they were confronted with a choice to walk in line with what God said or to bow down to another god. Life was on the line when they said to Nebuchadnezzar, “… our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” They knew that living in light of what God says is our job. They knew that God often rescues His people. But they also knew, like Abraham, that we can’t presume upon God. Sometimes His providence allows his people to be burned in the flames, though that is not a sign of His abandonment of those saints. All He requires of us is to be faithful to what He has spoken and then to submit our will to His.

- Parents, this isn’t a call for us to take up the ancient practice of arranged marriages. It also isn’t a proof text for controlling your children and making them do what seems best to you. Abraham wasn’t arbitrary in his instructions. They weren’t just based on his own ideas. They came out of the LORD’s own words. So this functions as a call for us to be deeply and lovingly and patiently involved in the lives of our children so that we are helping them walk in line with the Word and promises of God. This isn’t the time for a sermon from 2 Cor. 6, but the Lord there warns against joining ourselves to unbelievers who belong to a different people, a different kingdom. As parents we should understand the “why” of this warning (and help our children understand, too) so that our instructions aren’t arbitrary declarations by King “Me”, but rather bound to the Word and love of our God.

So, the servant has his instructions and he sets off on what we understand was likely a 550 mile journey (roughly the distance of Fuquay to New York City). And Abraham chose his servant well. The servant arrives at his first destination and prays.

Some might read this as a man seeking a sign from God and trying to control God by making Him prove His love for Abraham. In a way, it’s true that he is looking for a sign, but it’s different than how some people might try to use this text. This isn’t like someone today who wants to be married saying, “God, I know that the next person you bring into my life is going to be the one!” or “God, if I see four red cars in a row, I’ll know it’s a sign from you that I’m supposed to quit my job.” What we see is a man who is seeking the help of the LORD to wisely and faithfully do a job that has been given to him.

Listen to his desire to be faithful. He says in essence, “God, here I am in this land where I’ve been sent and here come some possible brides for my master’s son. Help me find the one whose actions flow out of a heart like yours – a heart that is compassionate and gracious and hard working and faithful. LORD, if you do that, then I’ll count it as you showing your steadfast love once again to Abraham.” The servant isn’t praying for the LORD simply to make his work easy by putting a neon sign over the woman saying, “Isaac’s Future Wife.” He isn’t trying to take control of the situation by making a deal with God. He’s asking the LORD to help him in this impossible task with thousands of possible choices to see the one who is going to live out the character of God himself toward his young master, Isaac.

The servant prays and then up walks Rebekah – beautiful, pure, gracious, hospitable and hard working Rebekah who does all that the servant was looking for as she serves him and waters the camels, too.

But in v. 21, even after she does the things he was looking for, the servant still “gazed at her in silence to learn whether the LORD had prospered his journey or not.”

Why? The sign he was looking for was given, right? Was this doubt and unbelief? No. It was still wisdom at work in this man who was seeking faithfulness because there was another qualification that needed to be seen. Abraham had said that the woman needed to come from Abraham’s family and the servant knew that faithfulness to his task depended on that qualification being fulfilled. Only after he discovers that Rebekah is part of Abraham’s family does he know that she could be the one. And see what that does to his heart. He worships and blesses the Sovereign LORD who has shown steadfast love and faithfulness to Abraham by leading the servant all along.

And still the servant demonstrates more faithfulness to his master. Even in the face of a feast after months “on the road,” which I can only imagine was as tempting as one of our church suppers, the servant won’t eat until his work is done. He tells the story of all that has happened to Rebekah’s brother and father, emphasizing (what we’ll soon see) that the hand of the LORD was behind everything.

In the light of such divine work, Laban and Bethuel admit they can’t do anything but agree that Rebekah was meant for Isaac. So they obey the LORD and, after receiving gifts as was the custom, celebrate and give Rebekah to the care of the servant for the long road back to Isaac.

There was a moment of, well, hesitation on Laban and Rebekah’s mother’s part. It was maybe a hint of them trying to control the situation. That’s a foreshadowing of what we’ll see later from Laban as he keeps Jacob out of the Promised Land for 14 years by controlling him for Laban’s own gain. But here, the faithful servant won’t be delayed. He reminds Laban of the need for obedience to the sovereign acts of God and implores Laban to send him on his way. So they ask Rebekah what she wants and Rebekah, recognizing the will of God and in obedience to that will, gives up control to God and leaves her country and her kindred and her father’s house in an act of faith very much like Abraham’s long ago. For her part, she was simply being faithful to what she was seeing and hearing from the LORD.

And she goes with a blessing from her family. Although they wouldn’t be in her life every day, they could be faithful to their calling to be a blessing to her BY blessing her. And with that blessing, Rebekah takes the long, slow road into a strange country to meet her husband for the very first time.

It’s encouraging to us to see these people simply living life and trying to walk in line with what God would have of them. But the amazing, most encouraging thing is when we see that behind, around, and beneath all of their actions is a God who deeply cares about everything and orchestrates even the smallest of details so that His plan, ultimately the redemption of all things, comes to pass without fail.

It all begins, of course, with the words of promise God had spoken over and over throughout the Story so far. The LORD had said to Abraham, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” and the LORD had restated those promises and expanded on them time and time again throughout Abraham’s life.

And in this story the original audience would have been in awe as they heard about the ways their God was faithful to those promises as He provides a wife for Isaac to keep the Story moving forward.

I already mentioned the opening as it reminds the reader about Abraham’s old age and how the LORD had blessed him in all things. But look, too, how the Scripture emphasizes the work of God in v. 15. Even before the servant can finish his faithful prayer, the Faithful God answers it by sending Rebekah to him. Think about how unlikely that was! At the servant’s first stop in his master’s old country, at the first opportunity to meet a potential wife for Isaac, at the first well of water he comes to on the first evening in town, the first woman just happens to be a woman of marrying age who has never known a man and possesses all the attributes of God that the servant wants for his master’s son. On top of that, she acts (to the letter!) in line with what the servant asked God to show him!

You can call that coincidence if you like, but that sounds like a weak explanation to me. But even if that doesn’t convince you of the sovereignty of God, just keep looking.

In v. 24 we discover that not only is Rebekah a good candidate in general, but she fits the other qualification Abraham specified. And the servant’s response tells us that he believes there is only one appropriate response to what some might call a coincidence; worshipping the Sovereign God who shows His steadfast love by working His plan through the “coincidences” of life. In v. 27, he says that he’s convinced that the LORD had been leading him the whole time.

Then there’s the recognition on Laban’s and Bethuel’s parts in v. 50. As participants in the story, they can’t deny the servant’s assertion that the LORD is behind all of this. With no bargaining or objection, they willingly allow Rebekah to go to Isaac.

And then there’s Rebekah herself. Not only is this woman willing to leave everything and become the wife of a man she’s never met (which is an amazing work of God), but think about God’s work in Rebekah even before she met the servant. For years, God had been shaping her into the kind of woman who would be willing to not only give a drink of water to a stranger, but to show gracious hospitality by watering his ten camels, too. I don’t know if you know this, but even though camels can go a long time without drinking water, WHEN they drink water they drink A LOT of water. I can’t imagine how many times she lugged that jug of water back and forth from the well to the watering trough, but it sounds like a lot to me. And she knew what she was getting into when she offered to do it! God had been shaping this woman into a woman of grace and character for years and years before this moment, preparing her to be the wife of Isaac all along so that when this moment came she was ready.

Then there’s the blessing given to Rebekah. Now, I don’t know just how much of the Story Laban and his family knew, but look at how the blessing given to her lines up so perfectly with the promises made to Abraham. God said that Abraham would be made into a great nation. Rebekah is blessed to become “thousands of ten thousands.” Abraham was told that one of his descendants would “possess the gate of his enemies,” which echoed the promise of Gen. 3:15 of an offspring who would be victorious over the serpent and the dark power he represented. Rebekah’s offspring will “possess the gate of those who hate them (actually the better translation is, “who hate him (singular)”).” God is at work even conforming the blessing of Rebekah’s family to be in line with the blessing He already intends to give to her!

This should be a reminder to us that human actions and responsibility and control don’t mean anything if the actions of the Sovereign God aren’t behind them. Like the psalmist says,

“Unless the LORD builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

(Psalm 127:1 ESV)

What Abraham, his servant, Rebekah and Isaac all needed was the LORD’s sovereign blessing over them. And that is exactly what the LORD gave them. But what we need to learn how to hold together is the sovereignty of God AND human responsibility. Yes, God can work above and in spite of us, even against our sin and rebellion, to bring about His will. He does that all the time! But what this passage reveals to us is the goodness of His people walking in line with what the LORD has already spoken in faithfulness and obedience!

It shouldn’t surprise us when we see that the same God who demonstrated His sovereignty in the past reveals that that is how He always works and then invites us to embrace His work through faith. He shows Himself to be the Sovereign King and Savior who then invites us to walk in line with what He has said and done through Jesus.

The first half of Ephesians 1 is just one passage among many that pulls back the curtain for us to see the bigger picture of God’s work of redemption. Starting in v. 3, listen to just a brief survey of the language to hear the control of the Sovereign God who uses his control to have mercy on sinners like you and me.

“Blessed be…God…who has blessed us in Christ…”

“…even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world…”

“In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…”

He made “known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time…”

v. 11 – “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will…”

“…so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.”

Can you hear how good it is for God to be the One in control of all things; for salvation not to depend on our will or our efforts but on a powerful God who has mercy? This text stands as a monument to the power of God and as an encouragement to weak humans whose attempts at control only end in frustration and futile rebellion against the Sovereign God.

So what are you tempted to take control over? Students, can you control your entire future through your education? Has it become a means of control for you? Or is it rather a tool to help you follow God’s calling on your life? Parents, why do you instruct your children the way you do? Is it a means of control to have the appearance of the perfect family? Is it simply behavioral control to lessen your frustration? It is for me sometimes. God commands us to instruct our children, but He commands us to instruct our children in the ways of the Lord and to push them toward Jesus. Each of us has our own ways we seek to control life, even God to try to shape Him into our image. Some use their giving at church to try to obligate God to bless them. Some try to use their understanding of theology to obligate God to save them. Some of us here try to control God through the good things we do in an effort to manipulate Him into saving us as we think, “I try to do everything He says, so He just HAS to save me.” There is no end to the ways we are tempted to take control of our lives, even of our salvation. We do it subtly all the time when we try to use anything to determine our standing before God instead of resting in Jesus and the finished work of His cross.

When you are tempted to take control, remember how big your God is and turn away from such silliness. God isn’t asking you to take control of your life (much less the lives of others). He’s asking you to rest by faith in His Son and in what He has done through his cross and resurrection. And then He is going to work on you to help you walk in line with that reality, like He did with Abraham and his servant and Rebekah, by joyfully submitting to a Sovereign God who chose you by running hard after faithful obedience to what He has already shown you.

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There’s one more thing that I want us to see from the story of Rebekah and Isaac, however, and it comes from the last part as Rebekah meets her husband. She has been on the road for some time now, almost certainly hearing about her soon-to-be husband, hearing about the promises of God that have been set on him in order to bring the blessing of God to the whole world.

As she lifts up her eyes and sees him standing in the field watching their approach, you can almost hear the anxious joy in her voice as she says, “Who is that man?” And as the servant reports everything to Isaac, the bride waits for his response. Will he accept her? Will he take her as his wife? Did any fear come into her mind? I don’t know. All I know is that Isaac accepts her and brought her into his life and she became his wife and he loved her. She was chosen for him, not merely by men but by God himself and he welcomed that gift and cherished her.

I don’t go for allegorical readings of Scripture and that isn’t what we see here. But there is a pattern in this text that reflects the Story of Redemption in a beautiful way. This is the story of a father sending a servant to get a bride for a marriage ceremony. The Story of our salvation is of the Sovereign Father sending His Spirit to prepare a bride for a marriage to the Son. Far from recreational dating, the Bride of Jesus was chosen – you were chosen – by the Sovereign God before the foundations of the world!

As the Bride of Christ, are you listening and learning about the promises of God attached to Christ? Is that filling you with hope and excitement? Is there any lingering fear about your being accepted at the end? Have no fear, Christian, because the Bride chosen by God himself is loved by Christ already. He already has proved his love by his death! And the blood of Jesus’ death is what will make you presentable and acceptable to him, in all the radiant beauty of a bride, on the day of our marriage to the Lord. That certainty and joy is why our Scriptures close with the eager expectation of Christ’s return as it says,

“The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price…. He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:17,20 ESV)

Your heavenly husband is coming, Bride. Take heart. Live believing and acting as if that is true. And let it lead you into true rest from the tyranny of control.