"THE CAMELS ARE COMING"
Intro. God declared through Hosea the prophet that He had spoken by the prophets, and had multiplied visions, and used similitude. Things that are similar to illustrate a point. This story of getting a bride for Isaac is one of the similitude or types of the Old Testament.
GEN 24:2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
GEN 24:3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
GEN 24:4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
I. THE CHIEF SERVANT IN ABRAHAM'S HOUSE WAS ELIEZER. WE ARE TOLD THIS IN CHAPTER 15:2.
A. The name Eliezer means (God is my help).
1. He is a type of the Holy Spirit.
2. Jesus in
John 14 referred to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter. The word Comforter comes from the Greek para-cletus which means to come along side to help.
3. Eliezer, God is my help; paracletus, One who comes alongside to help.
B. He is commissioned by Abraham to go to a far country to get a bride for his son.
1. Abraham is a type of God the Father, and Issac a type of Jesus and Eliezer a type of the Holy Spirit sent by the Father to get a bride for His Son.
2. In chapter 22 as Abraham offered His Son, his only son Issac as a sacrifice on Mt. Moriah, so, on the same mount 2000 years later God offered His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
3. As Abraham sent his chief servant to a far country to get a bride for his son, so the Father has sent the Holy Spirit into the world to get a bride for His Son.
C. The servant of Abraham was asked to swear that he would not get a bride for his son from among the people where they were living.
1. The servant brought up the possibility of the damsel being unwilling to come.
2. Abraham assured him that he would then be set free from the vow.
3. This shows very clearly that becoming the bride of Christ is strictly a matter of choice. God does not force a man to be saved, He gives the invitation to all, but the choice to respond or not respond is up the individual.
II. ELIEZAR'S PRAYER FOR SUCCESS IN HIS MISSION. VS 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."
A. Eliezar set forth a little test. "Behold,I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: 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;"
B. We read that before he even finished His prayer that Rebekah came to draw water from the well. He asked her if she would let down her pitcher to give him a drink and she volunteered to draw water for the 10 camels also.
C. When he discovered that Rebekah was a grand niece to Abraham, he rejoiced in the goodness of God to lead him to the family of Abraham.
D. There in the house of Bethuel he began his pitch to try to persuade Rebekah to come with him to become the bride of his master's son.
1. He tells them of the riches, glory and honor of his master.
GEN 24:35 And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.
GEN 24:36 And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.
2. The Holy Spirit testifies to us of the glory of the Father's kingdom. He has glory and splendor and riches that are beyond description, and He has given it all to His Son. In
Hebrews 1:2, we are told that Jesus has been made heir of all things.
3. The family of Rebekah recognizing the hand of the Lord in the sequence of events offer Rebekah to be the bride of Issac.
4. At this point, he gives gifts to Rebekah, even so as we consent to be the bride of Christ, the Holy Spirit begins to impart to us the gifts of the Spirit, as He wills.
5. In the morning the servant is anxious to get on his way he is excited with his success and desires to share it with his master as soon as possible.
a. With this the family objects, and asks that he wait for ten days before leaving.
b. As he then pleads with the family to let him go it is decided to leave the decision up to Rebekah, so the question is asked, "Will you go with this man," and she answered, "I will go."
GEN 24:61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
III. RIDING THE CAMEL WAS THE MEANS OF GETTING TO THE GROOM.
A. Riding a camel is not the most comfortable way to travel. Some of you who have visited the holy land and had your picture taken on a camel can attest to that. It could be described as a real test.
1. We presently are on a journey to meet our groom, and the ride is not always comfortable.
2. The Lord does not promise us a bed of rose petals. Often we are nicked by the thorns.
a. Paul spoke of his thorn in the flesh that he had learned to endure.
b. He discovered the purpose of the thorn was to teach him the riches of God's all sufficient grace.
B. The journey from Babylon to the promised land was long and arduous. Most of it was over the trackless desert, but she had Eliezer there to guide. In Hebrews we are encouraged to run with patience the race that is set before us, as we look unto to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
C. There were many dangers along the way, but again Eliezer was there to protect her. It was his duty to see that she arrived safely. Jude said, "Now unto Him, who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy."
D. The long journey was often wearisome, but the reward at the end of the journey was more than sufficient to keep her going. She was going to meet her husband to be, whom she already loved because of the descriptions given to her by the servant. "Peter said, Whom having not seen, you love, and though you do not see Him yet, still you rejoice with a joy that is indescrible and full of glory."
E. The goal made the whole trip worthwhile. As Paul said, "The present suffering is not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed."
F. As the journey neared the end, Isaac again appears on the scene he had dropped out of the story, after the sacrifice, and has not been seen again until now as we see him going out into the field at eventide, to meditate and as he looked up, he saw that the camels were coming, and he rose up to go out to meet them. Because of world events, I am convinced that we are nearing the end of the journey. I believe that our groom is on his way to meet us.
G. When Rebekah saw him approaching she asked Eliezer who the man was who was approaching them, and upon learning that it was his master she lighted off the camel and covered her face with a veil. Can you feel the emotion and excitment as they finally met and embraced each other? Can you imagine what it will be when we finally see Him, the one we have learned to love, face to face?
H. We read, "And Issac took Rebekah as his wife and he loved her." The Song of Solomon declares, "He took me into his banqueting house and his banner over me was love."
I. And as stories often end, they lived happily ever after. As Paul said to the Ephesians, "And through the ages to come, He shall be revealing unto us the exceeding riches of His love and mercy toward us."
Verse-Reference
Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]
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