Mission Accomplished!

Genesis 24:50-67 (NLT)
⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The Lord has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”
⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord. ⁵³ Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing and presented them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother. ⁵⁴ Then they ate their meal, and the servant and the men with him stayed there overnight.
But early the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Send me back to my master.”
⁵⁵ “But we want Rebekah to stay with us at least ten days,” her brother and mother said. “Then she can go.”
⁵⁶ But he said, “Don’t delay me. The Lord has made my mission successful; now send me back so I can return to my master.”
⁵⁷ “Well,” they said, “we’ll call Rebekah and ask her what she thinks.”⁵⁸ So they called Rebekah. “Are you willing to go with this man?” they asked her
.And she replied, “Yes, I will go.”
⁵⁹ So they said good-bye to Rebekah and sent her away with Abraham’s servant and his men. The woman who had been Rebekah’s childhood nurse went along with her. ⁶⁰ They gave her this blessing as she parted:
“Our sister, may you become
the mother of many millions!
May your descendants be strong
and conquer the cities of their enemies.”
⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her servant girls mounted the camels and followed the man. So Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and went on his way.
⁶² Meanwhile, Isaac, whose home was in the Negev, had returned from Beer-lahai-roi. ⁶³ One evening as he was walking and meditating in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming. ⁶⁴ When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel.⁶⁵ “Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” she asked the servant.
And he replied, “It is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. ⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.
⁶⁷ And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.

Examine the Scriptures

Review:

Genesis 24:12 (NLT) (The servant’s prayer)
¹² “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham.

Genesis 24:50-67 (NLT)
⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The Lord has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say. 

“The Lord has obviously brought you here.”

• Laban and Bethuel recognized that God was actively working through Abraham’s servant.

¹ Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”

 “… as the Lord has directed.”

God was directing these events and Laban and Bethuel, along with others, were responding appropriately.

 ⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord. 

“… he bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord.”

Genesis 24:26-27 (NLT)
²⁶ The man bowed low and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ “Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.”

 Genesis 24:48 (NLT) (repeating Genesis 24:26-27)
⁴⁸ “Then I bowed low and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me straight to my master’s niece to be his son’s wife. 

• Abraham’s servant continued to recognize God’s sovereignty and continued to worship and praise the Lord.

 ⁵³ Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing and presented them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother. 

 “… expensive presents …” “Bride price” not dowry

• Presenting expensive presents to Laban and Bethuel finalized these arrangements.

 ⁵⁴ Then they ate their meal, and the servant and the men with him stayed there overnight.

 But early the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Send me back to my master.”

 As before, Abraham’s servant wanted to get right down to business.

His mission was successful. (As a servant he had to be “dismissed”.)

 ³³ Then food was served. But Abraham’s servant said, “I don’t want to eat until I have told you why I have come.”

⁵⁵ “But we want Rebekah to stay with us at least ten days,” her brother and mother said. “Then she can go.”

Time to prepare for the departure. (a reasonable request.)

 ⁵⁶ But he said, “Don’t delay me. The Lord has made my mission successful;

 “The Lord has made my mission successful.”

Genesis 24:26-27 (NLT)
²⁶ The man bowed low and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ “Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.”

Genesis 24:48 (NLT)
⁴⁸ “Then I bowed low and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me straight to my master’s niece to be his son’s wife. 

• God made Abraham’s servant mission successful. 

now send me back so I can return to my master.”
⁵⁷ “Well,” they said, “we’ll call Rebekah and ask her what she thinks.”⁵⁸ So they called Rebekah. “Are you willing to go with this man?” they asked her.

 And she replied, “Yes, I will go.” 

• When asked, Rebekah was willing to return immediately with Abraham’s servant.

 ⁵⁹ So they said good-bye to Rebekah and sent her away with Abraham’s servant and his men. The woman who had been Rebekah’s childhood nurse went along with her. ⁶⁰ They gave her this blessing as she parted:

 “Our sister, may you become
the mother of many millions!
May your descendants be strong
and conquer the cities of their enemies.”

 This blessing echoed the promises God made to Abraham.

• The blessing given to Rebekah echoed the promises God had previously made to Abraham.

 Genesis 13:14-16 (NLT)
¹⁴ After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. ¹⁵ I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. ¹⁶ And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted!

Genesis 15:5-7 (NLT)
⁵ Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”
⁶ And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
⁷ Then the Lord told him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.”

Genesis 17:6-8 (NLT)
⁶ I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!
⁷ “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.” 

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her servant girls mounted the camels and followed the man. So Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and went on his way.
⁶² Meanwhile, Isaac, whose home was in the Negev, had returned from Beer-lahai-roi.
 ⁶³ One evening as he was walking and meditating in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming. ⁶⁴ When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel.⁶⁵ “Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” she asked the servant.
And he replied, “It is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. ⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.
⁶⁷ And Isaac (age 40) brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.

• Rebekah became Isaac’s wife.

Review

Four participants:

Abraham in preparing for the future.

Genesis 24:1-4 (NLT)
A Wife for Isaac
¹ Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. ² One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. ³ Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. ⁴ Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”

The servant in carrying it out.

Genesis 24:9-10 (NLT)
⁹ So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions. ¹⁰ Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled.

Rebekah in responding to it.

Genesis 24:57-58 (NLT)
⁵⁷ “Well,” they said, “we’ll call Rebekah and ask her what she thinks.”⁵⁸ So they called Rebekah. “Are you willing to go with this man?” they asked her.
And she replied, “Yes, I will go.”

Human responsibility was evident

God in performing it.  27, 48, 50-51 God was not visibly active.  No word from God, no miracle, no prophetic oracle.

Genesis 12:2-3 (NLT)
² I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. ³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

 Genesis 15:18-21 (NLT)
¹⁸ So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River— ¹⁹ the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

Genesis 17:3-8 (NLT)
³ At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him,⁴ “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! ⁵ What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!
⁷ “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

Genesis 24:6-7 (NLT)
⁶ “No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there. ⁷ For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son.

Genesis 24:48 (NLT)
⁴⁸ “Then I bowed low and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me straight to my master’s niece to be his son’s wife.

Genesis 24:50-51 (NLT)
⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The Lord has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”

God was behind the scenes directing the actions.

 

What role has God given to you?

Will your response be similar to that of Abraham’s servant?