WEBVTT

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Good morning. How are you all doing today? It

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is a blessing to be back with all of you. If

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you are visiting our church here for the first

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time or if you're watching online for the first

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time, we want to say welcome to all of you. We're

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so glad you're here to worship with us here at

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Hosanna. I am Pastor Nathan, and today we're

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going to be looking at how God works through

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all of just the normal everyday events of our

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lives. You know, we read through the Bible, we

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see a lot of supernatural events that, you know,

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I'm not going to lie, would be cool to see, right?

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Love to be there for the Red Sea parting, right?

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To see that or, you know, the plagues in Egypt.

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Not that I wanted to experience those, but I

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mean, just to see these miraculous happenings,

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right? The transfiguration, how cool would it

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have been to be there for that? And there's so

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many things, you know, to see Lazarus walk out

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of the tomb after he was dead. And, you know,

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I don't know if you've seen this, but there's

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this new AI trend on social media where there's

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a few companies. making these videos with artificial

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intelligence and it's if the bible characters

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had an iphone and one of them is moses with a

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phone like this but it's looking at him and there's

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a c behind him and he's just like hey guys we

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just split the red sea you know and they crack

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me up they're so entertaining but you know all

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that supernatural stuff is is great and and it's

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exciting but Sometimes we can find ourselves

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thinking that unless an event, a happening is

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supernatural, a flashy wow factor, if it's not

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one of those things, then, well, it's not God.

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It's just natural occurrence of life. And the

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reality is, is that God's in everything. God's

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in every event, every moment. God's omnipresence,

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God's omnipotence. It's in and through all things.

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He works. through the everyday events of life

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far more than he does the supernatural. For example,

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in the book of Acts, we have the whole story

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of the development of the early church, right?

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In the book of Acts, the entire book, there's

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29 documented miracles. The book of Acts has

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28 chapters spanning approximately 30 years.

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If you average that out, that's basically one

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big supernatural miracle a year. for the first

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30 years of the growth of the church. And in

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between those miracles, 364 days of just people

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living life, following the Lord, praising the

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Lord, being guided and directed by the Lord.

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And so as we're approaching the close of Abraham's

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life here in our study of Genesis, we've come

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to the place where his beloved wife, Sarah, has

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passed on. We read how Abraham had purchased

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a grave site in the promised land as a declaration

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of his faith in God's promises that His descendants

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would one day possess all this land. But her

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death was also a reminder to Abraham of his own

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advanced age because he was a really old dude

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at this point. And so the son of the promise

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had been born. His son Isaac had come through

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a miraculous birth, the one through whom God's

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promised blessing of just blessing to the world

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would come. But Isaac... needed to marry in order

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to procreate, to carry on the line that the promise

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would come through. This is what chapter 24 is

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all about, the finding of Isaac's wife, Abraham

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taking the steps to secure a wife for his now

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40 -year -old son, according to the customs of

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the time. But unlike all of the flashy miracles

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or divine appearances, unlike the times where

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God showed up or rained fire on Sodom or flooded

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the whole world, what we're going to see here

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is a story of God working his will just through

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the everyday happenings of life. We're going

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to see prayer. We're going to see trust. We're

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going to see God do what God does. Because, you

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see, just because something happens through the

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normal everyday events of life, through our own

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decision making, through how God created the

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universe and the natural laws of the universe,

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it doesn't mean that it's any less God working

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on behalf of the promises for his children. And

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that's what this chapter is going to be about

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today. But before we get into all of that, we're

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going to worship. Because although God is amazing

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and almighty, well, he is, not although, but

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we get the opportunity to praise him every time

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we gather together. And it can become a routine

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or mundane thing for some people. It's like,

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oh, we start worship and da -da -da, but this

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is a holy moment. This is a moment where we recognize

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the God who guides every aspect of our lives,

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where we praise his holiness and his providence

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and his guidance and just express our heart to

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him. for who he is in our lives. And so I encourage

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you guys today, worship with your whole heart.

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Praise him with everything you got. Let's pray.

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Father, we love you so much. And we're so grateful

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that you sent your son to this earth to die for

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our sins. Lord, it is amazing to know that you're

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aware of every detail of every life that has

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ever and ever will exist on this earth, Lord.

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Truly you are God, almighty and amazing. And

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Lord, you are due all the glory because you are

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the only one worthy. And so Lord, as we learn

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through your word, God, to not just praise you

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in the miraculous things you do, God, that we

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would learn to praise you in every moment of

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every day, to seek your guidance in every moment

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of every day, to trust, Lord, that as the normal

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events of life happen around us, they are no

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less miraculous because you were in them too.

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God, we love you, we thank you, and we praise

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you now. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. We

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are in Genesis chapter 24 today, and believe

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it or not, we're gonna cover 67 verses. Right,

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so I'm just gonna read, and then amen, we're

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done. All right, so. No, we're gonna teach through

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here, but. Genesis 24 as I said is all about

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the matter of securing a wife for Isaac. It was

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a matter of incredible importance because Isaac's

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offspring would be the first generation past

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him, which is the second generation from Abraham,

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now fulfilling the promise to bring forth a blessing

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to the entire world. So it was very important

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that Isaac marry well, right? There were certain

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values that the family held, certain beliefs

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that the family held. And so it was a big deal

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to find an important wife, right? There was no,

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you know, eHarmony at the time, nothing like

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that. And the customs of the time were very different

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than today. Young women of the time were... didn't

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really have a whole lot of say in it, that oftentimes

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the marriage arrangements were built upon what

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was best for the two families, alliances, economic

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alliances and stuff. And that's not to say that

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the young ladies were unhappy, but it was a very

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different arrangement that we see today. But

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it was a very important method that they go through

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that we see in this chapter. But the overall

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theme that I want you guys to pay attention to

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all of this today. is that it all happens through

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the normal events of life. God works through

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what the people are doing normally. He works

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through what the people are doing in their lives

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as they would do every single day, and that's

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the important lesson of this chapter. So read

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with me starting in verse 1, Genesis 24. Abraham

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was now old, getting on in years, and the Lord

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had blessed him in everything. Now there's a

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couple details here that tell us how big of a

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deal it was that Isaac married the right woman

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here because Abraham has the elder of his household

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handle the business, right? This would be like

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the main steward. This would be the guy who answers

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to Abraham and is in control of everything going

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on in the house, all the business, all the activity,

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all the farming. He was in charge of all the

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servants, which would be like employees today.

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And so he had a very significant job to do there

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in the family, and yet Abraham is saying, I'm

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going to have you. go, to leave to go find a

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wife for my bride. And so I just... shows us

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the gravity of this decision. Now, this could

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be the guy that we saw in Genesis 15 named Eliezer.

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If you remember in Genesis 15, you know, God

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was saying, hey, Abraham, you're going to have

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a son. And Abraham's like, but I haven't, I have

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no son. You know, and he's like, you're going

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to have a land and all these people. And Abraham's

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just complaining, right? And in Genesis 15, he

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goes, you know, Eliezer is going to be my heir.

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And he was talking about the master of his household,

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right? I don't have a son. So everything I own

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is going to go to, you know, the CEO. of the

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house here. And then, you know, it was at that

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time God said, no, you're going to have a son

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of your own body. And so, you know, we've studied

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through all of that. But God had been faithful

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to that promise, right? As Abraham's life went

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on, we had the Hagar incident, and that incident

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taught Abraham to take very, very seriously the

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fact that God's promises are fulfilled God's

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way, not our own way. That God is the one who's

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going to fulfill what he said he's going to fulfill.

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And so after Abraham had that lesson embedded

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into his mind, then the son came. Isaac was born.

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A complete miracle. A supernatural thing because

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it was biologically impossible. Sarah was barren.

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And they were old. So it was just like, this

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can't happen. And yet God had come through again

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in a very miraculous way. And now the time had

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come to find a wife for Isaac. Now, so he has

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the manager of his whole estate here swear an

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oath. And it's done in a very strange way to

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us. And I'll explain that in a moment. But this

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oath here is invoking God as the witness to Abraham's

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request. And you know, that's just the whole

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idea of appealing to the most powerful, person

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thing you could think of, that God as my witness,

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right? When you invoke God, you're saying there

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is no higher authority to stand behind the truth

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of what I'm about to say or the fact that I'm

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gonna fulfill the promise, right? And so he takes

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this oath and it has two parts. One, Abraham

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says, don't take a wife for my son from the daughters

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of the Canaanites. Why? Because they're pagans.

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They're gross people. They worship other gods.

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They have all kinds of pagan practices. And on

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top of that, years, years, years prior, God had

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cursed the line of Canaan. So the whole concept

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of mixing Abraham's offspring with this cursed

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line of people, no. And Abraham was like. that's

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not going to happen. And then the second thing

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that he tells him as part of this oath is to

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go back to my family's land and find a wife from

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my people there. And we've talked about this

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in the past that like early in the creation of

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earth and early in the creation of man, we see

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instances where a brother married a sister or

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a married another cousin. And, you know, today

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we go, ew, that's gross, right? And there's a

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lot of reasons that that's gross on top of the

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biological consequences that come from those

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types of things with genetic defects and stuff.

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But way back in the early time, you know, when

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it started with two people, Adam and Eve, and

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then they started to multiply, it was by necessity

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that it was a close relative that a son would

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marry and then they'd have offspring. And then

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the understanding is that in the early... early

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times or the early moments of creation that the

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genetic line was so pure that those mutations

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and genetic abnormalities wouldn't happen. And

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so as the people grew, as these clans grew, they

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would marry within the clan to keep the clan

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identity, to keep the family line, if you will,

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with that. Now, God eventually said, hey, don't

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do that. That's gross. But right here, we're

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still, you know, following that same custom.

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So then he does this weird oath. Place your hand

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under my thigh. Like if any dude placed his hand

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under my thigh, we'd be fighting, right? Like

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that's weird, right? So what's going on here?

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Well, as you can imagine, if Abraham was sitting

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and he placed his hand under his thigh, he's

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placing his hand close to Abraham's powers of

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procreation, right? Very close to his junk. And

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people go, that's weird, right? Why is he doing

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this? Well, today in today's world, It used to

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be in courts. They don't do it in court anymore,

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which is just, anyways, side topic. You used

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to go into a court and you'd place your hand

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on a Bible, right? And then you'd go, I swear

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on this holy Bible to tell the truth, nothing

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but the truth, and all that stuff, right? This

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is... Kind of what's happening here, right? Back

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in Genesis 17, after the Hagar incident, God

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reiterated to Abraham, no, it's not gonna be

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through Hagar. The promise is gonna be fulfilled

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my way. And so since Abraham tried to procreate

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his own way, that's when God instituted the sign

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of circumcision. And the symbolism of that was

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the works of the flesh, the works of your own

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way, the works of you trying to do it on your

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own. God said, cut that off, right? That if you're

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going to be my people, you're going to follow

00:13:44.820 --> 00:13:47.559
me and do things my way. And so that covenant

00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:50.919
that God made there, this is what, in effect,

00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:54.440
the servant is swearing upon. It's like placing

00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:56.240
the hand on the Bible. He's placing his hand

00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:59.200
next to where there's a symbol of God's word,

00:13:59.299 --> 00:14:01.200
God's promise. And he says, you're going to swear

00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:03.720
on that God who made that covenant that you're

00:14:03.720 --> 00:14:06.120
going to do what I'm asking you to do. And so

00:14:06.120 --> 00:14:10.059
that is what's taking place here. places his

00:14:10.059 --> 00:14:12.919
hand there. He invokes the name of Jesus or the

00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:16.500
name of God to formalize his oath. Now, verse

00:14:16.500 --> 00:14:19.620
5. The servant said to him, suppose the woman

00:14:19.620 --> 00:14:22.580
is unwilling to follow me to this land. Should

00:14:22.580 --> 00:14:24.399
I have your son go back to the land you came

00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:27.799
from? Abraham answered him, make sure that you

00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:30.740
don't take my son back there. The Lord, the God

00:14:30.740 --> 00:14:32.639
of heaven, who took me from my father's house

00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:35.399
and from my native land, who spoke to me and

00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:38.059
swore to me, I will give this land to your offspring.

00:14:38.669 --> 00:14:41.590
He will send his angel before you. And you could

00:14:41.590 --> 00:14:44.570
take a wife for my son from there. If the woman

00:14:44.570 --> 00:14:46.769
is unwilling to follow you, then you club her

00:14:46.769 --> 00:14:48.429
over the head and drag her by her hair to the

00:14:48.429 --> 00:14:51.389
cave, right? No, that's not what you do. It says

00:14:51.389 --> 00:14:53.529
if the woman is unwilling to follow you, you're

00:14:53.529 --> 00:14:57.549
free from your oath to me, right? But don't let

00:14:57.549 --> 00:15:00.289
my son go back there. So the servant placed his

00:15:00.289 --> 00:15:02.269
hand under his master Abraham's thigh and swore

00:15:02.269 --> 00:15:05.620
an oath to him concerning this matter. Now, if

00:15:05.620 --> 00:15:07.279
Isaac is the one that's going to be getting the

00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:09.360
wife, you would think, why doesn't Isaac go back

00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:12.480
to the land and find the wife, right? That would

00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:15.320
make sense, especially make sense in our Western

00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:17.460
culture. There are still arranged marriages in

00:15:17.460 --> 00:15:20.440
some places around the world, but in our culture,

00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:23.019
it's kind of unheard of to say, hey, go find

00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:24.639
me a wife, bring her back, and I'll marry her,

00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:27.700
right? Now, in this time, that was exactly how

00:15:27.700 --> 00:15:30.539
things were done, but Abraham's very emphatic

00:15:30.539 --> 00:15:34.960
here. Don't let my son go back there. He's going

00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:38.080
to stay here in the land of Canaan. And the reason

00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:42.860
is because the very presence of Isaac is a living

00:15:42.860 --> 00:15:46.559
declaration that God's promises are true. And

00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:48.320
the promises that haven't been fulfilled yet

00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:51.179
will be true. I mean, look, there's proof right

00:15:51.179 --> 00:15:54.399
here. The miraculous birth is standing right

00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:57.340
in front of us. And so he being here in this

00:15:57.340 --> 00:16:00.100
land is just a declaration of everything God

00:16:00.100 --> 00:16:03.009
said is true. And so, no. He's not gonna leave

00:16:03.009 --> 00:16:05.929
this land because this land is his home. This

00:16:05.929 --> 00:16:09.009
land is where the people are gonna be. And, you

00:16:09.009 --> 00:16:11.590
know, as you read through the story of Isaac,

00:16:11.690 --> 00:16:14.029
what's really interesting is Isaac is never once

00:16:14.029 --> 00:16:17.610
permitted to leave the land of Canaan. Abraham

00:16:17.610 --> 00:16:20.610
left, but he isn't allowed to go. Even in Genesis

00:16:20.610 --> 00:16:23.110
26, when there's a severe famine in the land,

00:16:23.210 --> 00:16:25.070
the very thing that caused Abraham to go down

00:16:25.070 --> 00:16:28.070
to Egypt, Isaac is not permitted to leave the

00:16:28.070 --> 00:16:31.440
Holy Land. And so Abraham's just kind of reiterating

00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:33.740
here, you know, look, God spoke to me. He promised

00:16:33.740 --> 00:16:36.620
the land to my offspring. Isaac is the miracle

00:16:36.620 --> 00:16:39.320
birth. He's the literal representation of this

00:16:39.320 --> 00:16:43.620
divine promise. And since God promised offspring

00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:46.080
that are gonna be more than the sands in the

00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:49.440
sea and stars in the sky, you don't need Isaac

00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:53.600
to go with you. God will go with you. Why? Because

00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:56.860
it's God's promise. And God is gonna fulfill

00:16:56.860 --> 00:16:59.820
God's promise God's way. And that's all you need.

00:17:00.379 --> 00:17:03.120
All you need is to trust in his guidance in your

00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:06.079
life. And so, again, we've learned this lesson

00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:08.980
over and over that when God promises, God fulfills.

00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:11.519
But you notice in the opening of this story,

00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:15.880
there's no supernatural sign. There's no dream.

00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:20.359
There's no visions, right? The sun doesn't stand

00:17:20.359 --> 00:17:23.440
still. The river's not stopped up. None of that

00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:26.440
type of thing to say, oh, God is speaking. God

00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:29.960
is moving. All we see here is very simply Abraham

00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:33.940
saying, this is what I want you to do. Now, we

00:17:33.940 --> 00:17:35.680
know that through Abraham's relationship with

00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:38.839
God, what he's telling him to do is from Abraham's

00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:42.119
experience with the Lord. But there's nothing

00:17:42.119 --> 00:17:44.539
supernatural taking place here like we've seen

00:17:44.539 --> 00:17:47.660
so many times elsewhere in Genesis. We just simply

00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:51.670
see. You see, these are the last words of Abraham

00:17:51.670 --> 00:17:54.490
in Scripture. We're not going to hear any more

00:17:54.490 --> 00:17:57.670
words of Abraham here, and they're full of faith.

00:17:57.950 --> 00:18:01.829
You notice in verse 7 he says, he will send his

00:18:01.829 --> 00:18:07.250
angel before you. Not he might, not pray and

00:18:07.250 --> 00:18:11.930
we'll see. He will send his angel before you.

00:18:12.789 --> 00:18:16.779
And we're going to see that God does. but the

00:18:16.779 --> 00:18:18.539
way he does it is through the normal events of

00:18:18.539 --> 00:18:21.759
life, through the customs of the day, through

00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:24.500
just the normal activities of the day, through

00:18:24.500 --> 00:18:26.680
the stresses, through the chance meetings, and

00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:29.680
even through the delays. And the whole lesson

00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:31.900
of this chapter, just this long chapter, is simply

00:18:31.900 --> 00:18:35.500
this, that believers are never in the grip of

00:18:35.500 --> 00:18:41.980
fortune or luck or happenstance or fate. Rather,

00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:45.099
all that happens to us as God's children, it's

00:18:45.099 --> 00:18:47.519
divinely orchestrated whether we know it or not.

00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:52.920
It's every event in our lives. Every event. And

00:18:52.920 --> 00:18:57.480
this includes the good and the bad. They're all

00:18:57.480 --> 00:19:03.339
opportunities to trust God more. And the things

00:19:03.339 --> 00:19:08.240
that happen in our life, both good and bad, The

00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:10.019
things that happen according to God's supernatural

00:19:10.019 --> 00:19:12.279
power or just simply the everyday providence

00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:17.119
that God has are meant to mold us and shape us

00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:19.579
and grow our faith and build our peace and trust

00:19:19.579 --> 00:19:22.039
in him and all of this stuff that happens. And

00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:27.119
so Abraham is like, God said, God will. Isaac

00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:29.240
doesn't need to go. Matter of fact, I don't want

00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:30.740
him to go because it's going to ruin the witness,

00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:33.740
right? He is the sign of the promise here in

00:19:33.740 --> 00:19:36.200
this land. So God's going to take care of God's

00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:39.180
business. just go and trust him along the way.

00:19:39.619 --> 00:19:41.380
Now, the servant didn't have that faith yet,

00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:44.240
and so this is where Abraham reassures him, you

00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:46.400
know, if she won't go with you, you're free,

00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:48.299
right? Because usually if you make an oath like

00:19:48.299 --> 00:19:49.839
this and you break it, it's kind of death penalty

00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:52.279
type of thing. But don't worry if she doesn't

00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:54.940
go. Your oath to me is null and void. But personally,

00:19:55.019 --> 00:19:57.059
I don't think Abraham believed that that would

00:19:57.059 --> 00:19:59.500
happen, right? He's just reassuring his servant

00:19:59.500 --> 00:20:01.180
here. And so the oath is ratified. The servant

00:20:01.180 --> 00:20:05.039
heads out. And then the rest of the chapter here,

00:20:05.079 --> 00:20:08.700
the bulk of it is, The story of how the servant

00:20:08.700 --> 00:20:10.880
got there, how he found Isaac's wife, Rebecca,

00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:14.500
and the story is told two times. Once as it's

00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:17.140
happening, and then the whole story is told again

00:20:17.140 --> 00:20:20.460
as the servant is relating the story to the father

00:20:20.460 --> 00:20:24.720
and the family of Rebecca. Now again, God is

00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:27.759
beyond our imagining, right? God is amazing.

00:20:29.869 --> 00:20:33.009
God maintains all of life. God orchestrates everything

00:20:33.009 --> 00:20:35.589
in the universe. He involves himself in every

00:20:35.589 --> 00:20:39.670
event. He directs everything to his will. But

00:20:39.670 --> 00:20:42.250
the supernatural things, the things we consider

00:20:42.250 --> 00:20:45.170
supernatural, right, the births from a barren

00:20:45.170 --> 00:20:47.670
woman, those types of things, those are the exception,

00:20:47.890 --> 00:20:53.849
not the rule. God works far more through the

00:20:53.849 --> 00:20:57.180
everyday life events. The everyday living that

00:20:57.180 --> 00:21:00.140
we do every single day, he works far more through

00:21:00.140 --> 00:21:02.079
those things than he does through the big supernatural

00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:04.259
things. Now, he does do supernatural things.

00:21:04.579 --> 00:21:08.619
God still heals. God still protects. God still

00:21:08.619 --> 00:21:11.740
does amazing things, but they're not the norm.

00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:15.720
And when we read through Scripture, sometimes

00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:17.559
we look at all those supernatural things and

00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:21.460
we go, oh, that's how God works. So when I'm

00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:23.420
just going about my everyday life, it's just

00:21:23.420 --> 00:21:26.410
everyday life. God's not in it. And that's a

00:21:26.410 --> 00:21:28.630
lie from the devil. He's in all of it. He's not

00:21:28.630 --> 00:21:31.470
just a God of miracles who occasionally shows

00:21:31.470 --> 00:21:33.369
up and does something mind -blowing. He orders

00:21:33.369 --> 00:21:35.089
everything, every moment, every event, every

00:21:35.089 --> 00:21:38.309
circumstance. And it's all to align with his

00:21:38.309 --> 00:21:42.309
foresight, his forethought, and his will. You

00:21:42.309 --> 00:21:45.289
know, think about that. Every moment of every

00:21:45.289 --> 00:21:47.630
single human's life that has ever existed, that

00:21:47.630 --> 00:21:50.009
exists today and ever will exist, God is aware

00:21:50.009 --> 00:21:54.599
of all of it. And his will is being weaved through

00:21:54.599 --> 00:21:56.819
all things. And that's a hard pill to swallow

00:21:56.819 --> 00:22:00.480
when bad things happen. The things we go, I don't

00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:04.099
understand how that can possibly have a positive

00:22:04.099 --> 00:22:08.200
element to it. And yet God is working in all

00:22:08.200 --> 00:22:11.779
things at all times. And that is why we need

00:22:11.779 --> 00:22:13.720
to be people who come back and we say, I trust

00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:17.500
you, God, even when I don't understand. I trust

00:22:17.500 --> 00:22:20.660
you even when it doesn't make sense. Well, if

00:22:20.660 --> 00:22:23.279
I believe you're God, if I believe you're God

00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:25.759
Almighty, if I believe you're God who knows all

00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:28.380
things and is everywhere at all times and can

00:22:28.380 --> 00:22:32.420
accomplish anything, well, then I also have to

00:22:32.420 --> 00:22:35.680
believe that every event of my life, not only

00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:37.680
are you aware of, but you're orchestrating your

00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:41.259
will for me through these things. And so this

00:22:41.259 --> 00:22:43.160
is kind of what we're gonna see here through

00:22:43.160 --> 00:22:46.539
this chapter. Now, if we look at things that

00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:51.140
way, then everything, is a miracle of God, isn't

00:22:51.140 --> 00:22:55.559
it? The single mom who finds time to get her

00:22:55.559 --> 00:22:59.079
kids to soccer practice, that's a miracle of

00:22:59.079 --> 00:23:04.059
God. The relationship, the marriage that has

00:23:04.059 --> 00:23:06.960
fallen apart, and then hearts just change because

00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:09.839
somebody was willing to say I'm sorry, willing

00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:12.200
to say I take responsibility, and reconciliation

00:23:12.200 --> 00:23:16.680
happens, that's a miracle of God. What about

00:23:16.680 --> 00:23:18.859
going down the street and you're just driving

00:23:18.859 --> 00:23:21.559
and you feel like, oh, wow, I feel like I'm supposed

00:23:21.559 --> 00:23:23.200
to turn left here instead of right, and you turn

00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:27.559
left. And then you bump into some person who

00:23:27.559 --> 00:23:30.460
you say, I feel like God wants me to share the

00:23:30.460 --> 00:23:31.740
gospel with them, and they're on the verge of

00:23:31.740 --> 00:23:34.259
suicide. But you lead them away from that sharing

00:23:34.259 --> 00:23:38.079
the gospel. That's God's fingerprints over every

00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:45.069
instance of life. Now, when we... look at the

00:23:45.069 --> 00:23:46.789
natural things of life and say, no, that's not

00:23:46.789 --> 00:23:49.549
God. We're reducing God to some God of our own

00:23:49.549 --> 00:23:52.869
imagination. And so he is working. And so verse

00:23:52.869 --> 00:23:55.970
10, the servant then takes 10 of his master's

00:23:55.970 --> 00:23:58.109
camels and with all kinds of his master's goods

00:23:58.109 --> 00:24:02.170
in hand, he went to Aram Naharim, to not Nahor's

00:24:02.170 --> 00:24:04.740
town. At evening, the time when women went out

00:24:04.740 --> 00:24:06.880
to draw water, he made the camels kneel beside

00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:11.420
a well outside of town. So this place, this area,

00:24:11.500 --> 00:24:15.200
should be familiar to us because the town of

00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:21.279
Haran is up in this area called Aram Naharim.

00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:23.599
So that whole purple area there is kind of this

00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:26.400
area. And Haran, if you remember, that is where

00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:28.359
Abraham and his family went to when they left

00:24:28.359 --> 00:24:31.789
Ur. Then they stayed there until... Abraham's

00:24:31.789 --> 00:24:34.569
father died and then Abraham left down to the

00:24:34.569 --> 00:24:36.890
promised land. And so what Abraham is saying

00:24:36.890 --> 00:24:40.069
that now from Hebron or even south in the Negev,

00:24:40.069 --> 00:24:43.109
he's going, go up to that area where my family

00:24:43.109 --> 00:24:48.109
still lives and seek a bride of my family. Now

00:24:48.109 --> 00:24:51.049
it's a very long trip and it's a very significant

00:24:51.049 --> 00:24:53.150
trip. And so there's a lot of supplies that need

00:24:53.150 --> 00:24:55.589
to be taken, but there's also a lot of golden

00:24:55.589 --> 00:24:57.170
goods as we're going to see, because that's a

00:24:57.170 --> 00:25:00.869
part of the whole engagement to the bride type

00:25:00.869 --> 00:25:04.210
of thing. And so 10 camels and all his master's

00:25:04.210 --> 00:25:07.049
goods. One, yeah, it's a long trip. You need

00:25:07.049 --> 00:25:11.809
a lot of supplies. Two, it's a situation of we're

00:25:11.809 --> 00:25:14.450
going to arrive and in the culture. They would

00:25:14.450 --> 00:25:16.329
say, hey, bride, we want you to come into this

00:25:16.329 --> 00:25:18.730
family. There would be gifts and things to make

00:25:18.730 --> 00:25:20.650
an impression on that bride and make an impression

00:25:20.650 --> 00:25:23.289
on her family. Because again, these marriages

00:25:23.289 --> 00:25:25.250
were often based upon what's going to benefit

00:25:25.250 --> 00:25:28.950
the family most, right? And so to ally with a

00:25:28.950 --> 00:25:32.089
very strong family would be a good thing. To

00:25:32.089 --> 00:25:35.190
connect with a family that is very rich and economically

00:25:35.190 --> 00:25:37.789
stable, a good thing. And so that's a part of

00:25:37.789 --> 00:25:40.509
this process of bringing all these goods down.

00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:42.839
But again, as we're going through the story,

00:25:42.920 --> 00:25:47.000
so far it's just typical road trip, right? Stopped

00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:50.140
at Circle K a couple times, got a Red Bull, and

00:25:50.140 --> 00:25:53.039
just was going. But when he gets to his destination

00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:57.640
to now fulfill what he's been sent to do, he

00:25:57.640 --> 00:25:59.660
does what we should all do at every crossroads

00:25:59.660 --> 00:26:05.180
of life. He prays. Verse 12. Lord, God of my

00:26:05.180 --> 00:26:08.279
master Abraham, he prayed, make this happen for

00:26:08.279 --> 00:26:11.059
me today. and show kindness to my master Abraham.

00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:14.160
I'm standing here at the spring where the daughters

00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:16.000
of the men of the town are coming out to draw

00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:19.759
water. Let the girl to whom I say, please lower

00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:22.559
your water jug so that I may drink, and who responds,

00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:25.920
drink, and I'll water your camels also, let her

00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:27.680
be the one you have appointed for your servant

00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:30.200
Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown

00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:34.400
kindness to my master. Now, what's very interesting

00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:36.519
is this servant here in these verses, this is

00:26:36.519 --> 00:26:39.799
the first person in Scripture seen asking for

00:26:39.799 --> 00:26:43.640
divine guidance at a critical crossroads. You

00:26:43.640 --> 00:26:45.740
go back to the previous Old Testament, you see

00:26:45.740 --> 00:26:50.940
people complaining to God. You see people simply

00:26:50.940 --> 00:26:54.319
stating things in exasperation or whatnot. But

00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:56.579
this is the first person in Scripture we see

00:26:56.579 --> 00:27:00.119
pulling up to a place and praying. Now, in verse

00:27:00.119 --> 00:27:03.460
45, we'll get to that later, tells the family

00:27:03.460 --> 00:27:05.400
that he was praying silently. And so the idea

00:27:05.400 --> 00:27:08.259
there is that this prayer was a spontaneous prayer,

00:27:08.440 --> 00:27:12.200
right? He pulls into town, the well, that's the

00:27:12.200 --> 00:27:14.299
gas station, right? He pulls into the gas station.

00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:17.119
He's like, all right, I'm in this land, this

00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:21.579
big land. And hey, God, I'm here. So God, do

00:27:21.579 --> 00:27:25.079
what you do. That's what he's praying. You know,

00:27:25.099 --> 00:27:26.980
that type of prayer is amazing to pray at every

00:27:26.980 --> 00:27:29.799
crossroads. You got a big sales meeting, trying

00:27:29.799 --> 00:27:34.309
to close a client. You pull up, okay, God, if

00:27:34.309 --> 00:27:37.970
it's your will, you're going to see family. Lord,

00:27:38.210 --> 00:27:40.329
just praying for everything to be awesome here,

00:27:40.390 --> 00:27:42.470
praying for the fellowship. If it's a strained

00:27:42.470 --> 00:27:45.069
family relationship, oh, God, I'm just, I'm here.

00:27:45.410 --> 00:27:49.549
So do what you do. As a pastor, that's the prayer

00:27:49.549 --> 00:27:52.750
I pray when I go on a hospital call. Because,

00:27:52.809 --> 00:27:55.390
man, that's a tough situation to go in and pray

00:27:55.390 --> 00:27:58.329
for, right? You know, oh, somebody is, they're

00:27:58.329 --> 00:28:02.450
passing away, they're dying. And you're like,

00:28:02.549 --> 00:28:05.750
God, what am I going to say? And yet there's

00:28:05.750 --> 00:28:08.670
situations where you walk in and every time it's

00:28:08.670 --> 00:28:11.990
like, okay, God, I'm here. I just pray that you

00:28:11.990 --> 00:28:14.950
give me the words to say and that you bring comfort

00:28:14.950 --> 00:28:18.349
to the family, right? So we see that he just

00:28:18.349 --> 00:28:21.130
got there and prayed. But you'll notice here

00:28:21.130 --> 00:28:23.289
in his prayer that he establishes some criteria.

00:28:23.589 --> 00:28:26.630
Okay, God, I just pray that you let this mission

00:28:26.630 --> 00:28:29.369
be successful. And this is how I'm going to know.

00:28:30.589 --> 00:28:33.430
right? And he goes through these certain criteria

00:28:33.430 --> 00:28:35.950
there, but you'll notice it was him that set

00:28:35.950 --> 00:28:39.230
the criteria. He didn't receive a dream and God

00:28:39.230 --> 00:28:42.269
said, this will be the woman. He didn't have

00:28:42.269 --> 00:28:45.549
a vision. It's going to be the camel lady, right?

00:28:45.950 --> 00:28:49.109
None of that. He just gets there, traveling as

00:28:49.109 --> 00:28:53.670
people do, going to the well as people do, and

00:28:53.670 --> 00:28:55.690
says, God, please work through me here, but this

00:28:55.690 --> 00:28:58.259
is how I'm going to know it's you. Now what he's

00:28:58.259 --> 00:29:00.819
doing in his prayer is he's simply employing

00:29:00.819 --> 00:29:02.799
the wisdom and the knowledge that he has of his

00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:06.140
master's virtues, right? I know my master Abraham.

00:29:06.299 --> 00:29:08.900
I know my master Isaac. And I know what they're

00:29:08.900 --> 00:29:10.640
like and I know their heart. And so I know the

00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:13.759
type of woman that would be good for him. And

00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:18.160
so he's praying these things through his circumstance.

00:29:18.279 --> 00:29:20.940
He's not asking for a miraculous sign. He's not

00:29:20.940 --> 00:29:23.980
asking, you know, the lady you highlight in holy

00:29:23.980 --> 00:29:26.799
radiance, you know, that'll be the one. He's

00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:28.940
just saying as the women come to the well as

00:29:28.940 --> 00:29:32.380
they do every day and get water from the well

00:29:32.380 --> 00:29:35.640
as they do every day, the one who shows this

00:29:35.640 --> 00:29:41.140
kindness, this generosity, this work ethic, if

00:29:41.140 --> 00:29:44.640
you will, that's going to be the one. He just

00:29:44.640 --> 00:29:46.539
sought guidance through the ordinary events of

00:29:46.539 --> 00:29:48.859
life. Now, some people go, well, that's just

00:29:48.859 --> 00:29:52.799
like fleecing, right? You probably could argue

00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:54.500
that, I guess. But when you go look at the story

00:29:54.500 --> 00:29:56.319
of Gideon, that's where we get the fleecing story

00:29:56.319 --> 00:29:58.799
from, right? God said, Gideon, you're gonna go

00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:00.319
defeat the army and do all these things. And

00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:02.799
Gideon's like, I'm not so sure, God. And so he

00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:05.079
goes, look, I'm gonna put this fleece outside

00:30:05.079 --> 00:30:09.460
and it's gonna be dewy everywhere else. Everything's

00:30:09.460 --> 00:30:11.660
wet except the fleece. What he's asking for is

00:30:11.660 --> 00:30:16.380
a supernatural sign. And then God, in his kindness,

00:30:16.579 --> 00:30:19.299
says, okay, boom, fleece is dry. I might have

00:30:19.299 --> 00:30:21.380
it backwards, but then the opposite. He's like,

00:30:21.440 --> 00:30:23.099
well, God, I'm not so sure about that. Even though

00:30:23.099 --> 00:30:26.180
it was supernatural, I need more. So let the

00:30:26.180 --> 00:30:27.940
fleece be wet and everything else is dry. God

00:30:27.940 --> 00:30:31.180
does it again, right? That's when people go,

00:30:31.319 --> 00:30:33.900
oh, throw out a fleece to the Lord, you know?

00:30:34.519 --> 00:30:37.759
I struggle with that because what fleecing is

00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:40.940
is Gideon hearing God and disobeying and not

00:30:40.940 --> 00:30:44.009
trusting the Lord. So when I hear people go throw

00:30:44.009 --> 00:30:45.750
out a fleece, I'm like, wait, you want me to

00:30:45.750 --> 00:30:50.009
go test God and doubt God? You know, I'm not

00:30:50.009 --> 00:30:52.009
so sure about that. How about I just pray and

00:30:52.009 --> 00:30:54.349
get in his word and let him, you know, show me

00:30:54.349 --> 00:30:57.049
what he's showing me. But this servant here,

00:30:57.150 --> 00:30:59.190
he's not asking for supernatural signs and stuff.

00:30:59.250 --> 00:31:01.349
He's just like, look, this is the normal events

00:31:01.349 --> 00:31:03.809
of life. This is what happens here. And so as

00:31:03.809 --> 00:31:05.970
this is going on, these are the details that

00:31:05.970 --> 00:31:07.190
are going to just let me know that it's you,

00:31:07.250 --> 00:31:11.240
Lord. Again, it was normal for people to pull

00:31:11.240 --> 00:31:13.740
into the well. It was normal to stop and ask

00:31:13.740 --> 00:31:16.460
for a drink. It was normal to do all that. And,

00:31:16.500 --> 00:31:19.200
you know, I read this quote from a scholar named

00:31:19.200 --> 00:31:22.329
Nahum Sarna, and it says this. Nothing is more

00:31:22.329 --> 00:31:24.529
characteristic of a biblical man than a profound

00:31:24.529 --> 00:31:27.190
and pervasive conviction about the role of divine

00:31:27.190 --> 00:31:30.789
providence in everyday human affairs. It should

00:31:30.789 --> 00:31:32.950
be noted that the servant does not ask for a

00:31:32.950 --> 00:31:35.829
miraculous divine intervention or for a revelation

00:31:35.829 --> 00:31:38.329
that would designate exactly who Isaac's bride

00:31:38.329 --> 00:31:44.369
is to be. He prays rather that the rational criteria

00:31:44.369 --> 00:31:47.009
of suitability that he himself determines might

00:31:47.009 --> 00:31:49.710
be in accordance with God's will and be effective.

00:31:51.160 --> 00:31:54.819
And so he prays. And I think it's okay to pray

00:31:54.819 --> 00:31:57.380
those types of things. I've had situations where

00:31:57.380 --> 00:32:00.940
I'm like, okay, God, I'm not sure what your will

00:32:00.940 --> 00:32:02.759
is in this, Lord. I'm about to go talk to somebody.

00:32:02.839 --> 00:32:05.660
So if they say such and such, that'll just be

00:32:05.660 --> 00:32:08.839
the clue that it's you, right? And I've had that

00:32:08.839 --> 00:32:11.960
situation. I've also used that situation to get

00:32:11.960 --> 00:32:13.680
out of things, right? Oh, Lord, well, if they

00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:16.839
say such and such, I know it's you. Years ago

00:32:16.839 --> 00:32:19.829
when I... was depressed and I had fallen away

00:32:19.829 --> 00:32:22.529
from the Lord and was suicidal and then God started

00:32:22.529 --> 00:32:25.130
to restore me and I finally came back to church

00:32:25.130 --> 00:32:26.529
after a number of years and I was sitting in

00:32:26.529 --> 00:32:28.970
that back corner over there and I remember the

00:32:28.970 --> 00:32:33.109
Lord had told me, go to Pastor Gary and tell

00:32:33.109 --> 00:32:35.930
him you're supposed to teach again. And I'm like,

00:32:36.009 --> 00:32:38.289
Lord, that's the most arrogant thing I've ever

00:32:38.289 --> 00:32:40.069
heard. I can't say that to Pastor Gary. I walked

00:32:40.069 --> 00:32:43.390
out on this church two years ago. God said, go

00:32:43.390 --> 00:32:46.579
tell him that. And I'm like. I said, all right,

00:32:46.599 --> 00:32:48.339
God. So I came to church, and I sat back there,

00:32:48.380 --> 00:32:50.619
and I went, well, Lord, if Pastor Gary stops

00:32:50.619 --> 00:32:54.839
and says, Nathan, hi, I'll know it's you, right?

00:32:55.240 --> 00:32:57.079
Now, for those of you that were here during Pastor

00:32:57.079 --> 00:33:00.220
Gary's years, I stay up here in front after service

00:33:00.220 --> 00:33:01.839
for prayer, but one of the things he did was

00:33:01.839 --> 00:33:05.500
go out and greet at the door, right? And he would

00:33:05.500 --> 00:33:08.279
greet every single person on the aisle as he

00:33:08.279 --> 00:33:11.599
went out. So I'm like, well, of course. Pastor

00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:14.940
Gary, the kindest man in the world. greets every

00:33:14.940 --> 00:33:17.259
single person, and then walks by me without even

00:33:17.259 --> 00:33:19.880
making eye contact. I'm like, oh, no. He hates

00:33:19.880 --> 00:33:23.519
my guts. Man, and I'm supposed to tell him I'm

00:33:23.519 --> 00:33:26.519
supposed to teach again? Lord, he's going to

00:33:26.519 --> 00:33:29.259
punch me in the face, I think. And the Lord said,

00:33:29.420 --> 00:33:31.779
you're going to do this. And I was like, okay.

00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:35.380
So I came back to church the next week. I said,

00:33:35.420 --> 00:33:38.079
okay, Lord, if he comes down the aisle and the

00:33:38.079 --> 00:33:39.579
Lord just stopped you, and I remember clear as

00:33:39.579 --> 00:33:42.000
day the Holy Spirit was like, no. You're going

00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:44.099
to approach him. You're going to tell him you

00:33:44.099 --> 00:33:45.339
need to talk to him. You're going to tell him

00:33:45.339 --> 00:33:47.619
what I've told you to tell him. And, you know,

00:33:47.640 --> 00:33:49.900
the rest of that story I did, and that's how

00:33:49.900 --> 00:33:51.799
I got back involved in ministry, and the Lord

00:33:51.799 --> 00:33:53.660
just restored all these wonderful things. But,

00:33:53.660 --> 00:33:57.299
you know, the idea here is, okay, if this person

00:33:57.299 --> 00:34:00.000
says this, that's not a bad thing to pray for,

00:34:00.119 --> 00:34:03.880
you know? And this is what the sermon does. So

00:34:03.880 --> 00:34:05.720
he makes this request in line with his master's

00:34:05.720 --> 00:34:08.619
wishes, the normal activity of the day, the criteria.

00:34:09.300 --> 00:34:11.400
Although it was normal, it was significant, right?

00:34:11.559 --> 00:34:13.860
I'm going to ask a lady to take a drink. That's

00:34:13.860 --> 00:34:15.460
a normal thing. She's going to say, oh, here,

00:34:15.519 --> 00:34:18.139
have a drink, right? A normal thing to be done.

00:34:18.440 --> 00:34:20.940
And then she's going to say, let me water your

00:34:20.940 --> 00:34:23.460
camels also. Okay, that's pretty big, right?

00:34:23.519 --> 00:34:25.500
Because he had 10 camels. And we're going to

00:34:25.500 --> 00:34:28.380
get into that in a moment. But still, nothing

00:34:28.380 --> 00:34:31.199
supernatural here. And the woman who would volunteer

00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:32.920
to do what he asked had to have been a woman

00:34:32.920 --> 00:34:35.579
who was very kind and generous and a hard worker.

00:34:35.699 --> 00:34:39.099
So verse 15. Before he had finished speaking,

00:34:39.280 --> 00:34:42.659
there was Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel, son of

00:34:42.659 --> 00:34:44.760
Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor,

00:34:44.760 --> 00:34:47.360
coming with a jug on her shoulder. Now the girl

00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:50.679
was very beautiful, a virgin. No man had been

00:34:50.679 --> 00:34:52.800
intimate with her. She went down to the spring,

00:34:52.980 --> 00:34:55.639
filled her jug, and came up. Then the servant

00:34:55.639 --> 00:34:58.369
ran to meet her and said, Please. Let me have

00:34:58.369 --> 00:35:00.690
a little water from your jug. She replied, Drink,

00:35:00.909 --> 00:35:04.150
my lord. She quickly lowered the jug to her hand

00:35:04.150 --> 00:35:06.769
and gave him a drink. When she had finished giving

00:35:06.769 --> 00:35:09.570
him a drink, she said, I'll also draw water for

00:35:09.570 --> 00:35:11.469
your camels until they've had enough to drink.

00:35:12.110 --> 00:35:14.289
So she quickly emptied her jug into the trough

00:35:14.289 --> 00:35:16.190
and hurried to the well again to draw water.

00:35:16.369 --> 00:35:19.329
She drew water for all his camels, while the

00:35:19.329 --> 00:35:21.429
man silently watched her to see whether or not

00:35:21.429 --> 00:35:24.329
the Lord had made his journey a success. You

00:35:24.329 --> 00:35:26.570
see, remember his criteria. She would give me

00:35:26.570 --> 00:35:29.650
a drink and offer to give a drink to all my camels,

00:35:29.730 --> 00:35:32.510
right? Well, there's a lot of camels here, so

00:35:32.510 --> 00:35:34.849
let's see what's going on. Now, here's the cool

00:35:34.849 --> 00:35:36.730
thing about this, and this is God's providence.

00:35:38.449 --> 00:35:40.510
Rebecca probably went out every day to go to

00:35:40.510 --> 00:35:42.190
the well to get water at evening because that's

00:35:42.190 --> 00:35:44.489
just what you did, right? The reason you went

00:35:44.489 --> 00:35:46.869
out to the well to get water at evening is because

00:35:46.869 --> 00:35:49.389
it's hot in a desert. And you don't go out in

00:35:49.389 --> 00:35:51.150
the middle of the day to do that. So you'd go

00:35:51.150 --> 00:35:52.710
out in the evening, collect the water for the

00:35:52.710 --> 00:35:54.530
home, take it back. You had water for the next

00:35:54.530 --> 00:36:00.250
day, right? Normal activity of life. So she leaves

00:36:00.250 --> 00:36:03.929
her house to go to the well. Servant's coming

00:36:03.929 --> 00:36:07.090
into town. He gets to the well. She's still on

00:36:07.090 --> 00:36:10.510
her way. He starts praying. Okay, God, just the

00:36:10.510 --> 00:36:13.969
girl that does this. And as soon, it says, before

00:36:13.969 --> 00:36:15.630
he had finished speaking, there was Rebecca.

00:36:16.460 --> 00:36:18.820
Rebecca left her house to go do her normal everyday

00:36:18.820 --> 00:36:21.159
thing before the servant was even there praying.

00:36:21.360 --> 00:36:24.260
Do you see God's fingerprints? Do you see God

00:36:24.260 --> 00:36:27.679
orchestrating through the normal everyday events

00:36:27.679 --> 00:36:30.960
of life? We're meant to see God's hand in this.

00:36:31.019 --> 00:36:34.260
We're meant to see him, his providence in just

00:36:34.260 --> 00:36:36.179
bringing things together in a way that's like,

00:36:36.260 --> 00:36:42.059
oh, that was obviously God. So, and then the

00:36:42.059 --> 00:36:43.880
icing on the cake, right? We're gonna see later

00:36:43.880 --> 00:36:47.440
that she is from? Abraham's family, precisely

00:36:47.440 --> 00:36:50.380
what Abraham requested. So the whole watering

00:36:50.380 --> 00:36:52.699
her camels thing, this is why this is significant.

00:36:53.019 --> 00:36:56.860
You remember he brought 10 camels, right? A thirsty

00:36:56.860 --> 00:37:00.480
camel can drink up to 25 gallons of water, one

00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:03.139
camel. The jug that she carried, the typical

00:37:03.139 --> 00:37:05.460
type of jug of the day would carry three gallons

00:37:05.460 --> 00:37:08.280
of water. And then the well there, you see that

00:37:08.280 --> 00:37:10.340
it says she went down to the spring, filled her

00:37:10.340 --> 00:37:12.179
jug and came up. It wasn't, you know, the bucket

00:37:12.179 --> 00:37:15.219
and get some water type of thing. It was a big

00:37:15.219 --> 00:37:19.650
hole. and it had a pathway that descended all

00:37:19.650 --> 00:37:21.590
the way down to where the water was at. You would

00:37:21.590 --> 00:37:24.230
fill your jug and then walk all the way back

00:37:24.230 --> 00:37:27.030
up out of the well to get three gallons of water.

00:37:27.949 --> 00:37:32.210
So if you do the math here, 25 gallons per camel

00:37:32.210 --> 00:37:36.809
times 10 camels, meet it out at three gallons

00:37:36.809 --> 00:37:39.150
at a time, that means Rebecca made between 80

00:37:39.150 --> 00:37:42.760
and 100 trips down this well. carried the water

00:37:42.760 --> 00:37:45.079
jug all the way back up, down the well, carried

00:37:45.079 --> 00:37:47.199
the water jar back up. That's a significant amount

00:37:47.199 --> 00:37:50.480
of work. And then when you consider that a camel

00:37:50.480 --> 00:37:54.440
takes about 10 minutes to drink its fill of water,

00:37:54.739 --> 00:37:57.679
she did this over a period of about two hours.

00:37:58.980 --> 00:38:01.019
Back up and down the well, back up and down the

00:38:01.019 --> 00:38:02.860
well. And he's just sitting there silently watching.

00:38:04.179 --> 00:38:06.139
Now, if I was there silently watching, I'm like,

00:38:06.179 --> 00:38:08.690
she's probably going to quit at camel two. Maybe

00:38:08.690 --> 00:38:11.050
camel five, right? It's like, bro, why'd you

00:38:11.050 --> 00:38:13.030
bring so many camels? Here's the jug, have at

00:38:13.030 --> 00:38:18.769
it, right? But she kept going. And she kept going.

00:38:19.130 --> 00:38:21.550
And I could just imagine him as she carried the

00:38:21.550 --> 00:38:25.289
last few jugs of water. Camel eight is done.

00:38:26.510 --> 00:38:31.170
Camel nine. All right, camel 10. We've been here

00:38:31.170 --> 00:38:34.750
for almost two hours. Those last couple jugs

00:38:34.750 --> 00:38:38.500
into the trough. His heart racing. And then finally,

00:38:38.599 --> 00:38:40.440
the last jug is poured out. The camel drinks.

00:38:40.579 --> 00:38:45.679
She's the one, right? Genesis 24, 22. As the

00:38:45.679 --> 00:38:48.679
camels finished drinking, the man took a gold

00:38:48.679 --> 00:38:50.639
ring weighing half a shekel, and for her wrist,

00:38:50.679 --> 00:38:53.280
two bracelets weighing 10 shekels of gold. Whose

00:38:53.280 --> 00:38:56.199
daughter are you, he asked. Please tell me, is

00:38:56.199 --> 00:38:58.000
there room in your father's house for us to spend

00:38:58.000 --> 00:39:00.880
the night? She answered him, I am the daughter

00:39:00.880 --> 00:39:03.920
of Bethuel, son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.

00:39:04.840 --> 00:39:07.159
He also said to him, we have plenty of straw

00:39:07.159 --> 00:39:11.440
and feed and a place to spend the night. Now

00:39:11.440 --> 00:39:15.260
again, he just went up to this area, happened

00:39:15.260 --> 00:39:18.800
to stop at the place that Nahor's family lived,

00:39:18.960 --> 00:39:21.480
happened to arrive at precisely the time where

00:39:21.480 --> 00:39:23.980
as he's praying, Rebecca shows up, happens to

00:39:23.980 --> 00:39:26.699
ask her specifically, and she happens to fulfill

00:39:26.699 --> 00:39:28.320
the whole thing, right? We see things like this

00:39:28.320 --> 00:39:33.480
and we go, miracle. Sure, you can argue that

00:39:33.480 --> 00:39:38.019
it's a miracle. I mean, I would argue that one

00:39:38.019 --> 00:39:40.519
who could coordinate all of these random variables,

00:39:40.840 --> 00:39:45.039
that's pretty miraculous. But from the perspective

00:39:45.039 --> 00:39:47.059
here, it's just the normal everyday things of

00:39:47.059 --> 00:39:50.800
life. Yet God is orchestrating all of it. And

00:39:50.800 --> 00:39:54.639
you happen to be from his house too? How amazing.

00:39:54.780 --> 00:39:57.239
And so he gives her the adornments, the bracelets

00:39:57.239 --> 00:40:01.099
and stuff. That would be like a modern day, what's

00:40:01.099 --> 00:40:04.300
it called? engagement ring, right? I'm expressing

00:40:04.300 --> 00:40:07.840
the intentions here that I would like to, you

00:40:07.840 --> 00:40:09.679
know, have you be the wife for my master. And

00:40:09.679 --> 00:40:12.920
so verse 26, then the man knelt low, worshiped

00:40:12.920 --> 00:40:16.880
the Lord and said, blessed be the Lord, the God

00:40:16.880 --> 00:40:19.320
of my master Abraham, who has not withheld his

00:40:19.320 --> 00:40:22.400
kindness and faithfulness from my master. As

00:40:22.400 --> 00:40:25.119
for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to

00:40:25.119 --> 00:40:29.019
the house of my master's relatives. So the first

00:40:29.019 --> 00:40:32.940
thing he does, is worship God. The moment he

00:40:32.940 --> 00:40:36.699
recognizes this is the Lord, I see his fingerprints,

00:40:37.039 --> 00:40:38.860
I prayed for these things and they're coming

00:40:38.860 --> 00:40:42.139
together, he worships God and that's always a

00:40:42.139 --> 00:40:46.880
good thing to do. Immediately. You know, you're

00:40:46.880 --> 00:40:48.900
having your events of life, you're traveling

00:40:48.900 --> 00:40:50.800
to work, you're going to get coffee at Starbucks

00:40:50.800 --> 00:40:53.750
or something, you know, like, Lord, just... You

00:40:53.750 --> 00:40:54.969
know, I want to share with the person at the

00:40:54.969 --> 00:40:57.030
thing, you know, and give them a track or whatever.

00:40:57.570 --> 00:40:59.429
So God, I really want to talk to so -and -so

00:40:59.429 --> 00:41:01.570
who looks like this. And you pull up to the window

00:41:01.570 --> 00:41:03.409
at Starbucks and they look exactly like that.

00:41:04.050 --> 00:41:06.190
That's a good moment to go, God, you're awesome.

00:41:06.670 --> 00:41:10.130
Praise God. To worship him for his providence,

00:41:10.150 --> 00:41:12.610
to worship him for what he's doing. And so he's

00:41:12.610 --> 00:41:14.530
overcome with thankful gratitude to the Lord.

00:41:14.610 --> 00:41:16.889
He worships right then and there. And really,

00:41:16.969 --> 00:41:20.289
we see that truly the Lord did go before him.

00:41:20.690 --> 00:41:23.230
The Lord did lead the way. The Lord did prepare

00:41:23.230 --> 00:41:25.710
the way for him. And so he pretty much has no

00:41:25.710 --> 00:41:28.469
doubt at this point, right? So verse 28, the

00:41:28.469 --> 00:41:30.289
girl ran and told her mother's household about

00:41:30.289 --> 00:41:33.030
these things. Now, Rebecca had a brother named

00:41:33.030 --> 00:41:35.869
Laban, and Laban ran out to the man at the spring.

00:41:36.429 --> 00:41:38.610
As soon as he had seen the ring and the bracelets

00:41:38.610 --> 00:41:40.809
on his sister's wrists, and when he had heard

00:41:40.809 --> 00:41:42.969
his sister Rebecca's words, the man said this

00:41:42.969 --> 00:41:46.139
to me, he went to the man. He was standing there

00:41:46.139 --> 00:41:48.920
by the camels at the spring. So obviously, Rebecca,

00:41:49.099 --> 00:41:51.139
knowing what these bracelets mean, you know,

00:41:51.159 --> 00:41:54.820
I'm being proposed to. She runs in. She sees

00:41:54.820 --> 00:41:57.900
him worshiping. I imagine that being a part of

00:41:57.900 --> 00:42:00.820
Abraham's broader family, that they knew about

00:42:00.820 --> 00:42:02.739
God, right? Because he'd been the one to lead

00:42:02.739 --> 00:42:04.739
them out of her and say, God told us to go. And

00:42:04.739 --> 00:42:07.719
so God was at least a part of their life in some

00:42:07.719 --> 00:42:10.460
degree. So she hears the worship. She understands

00:42:10.460 --> 00:42:12.719
the meaning of the gifts. She runs home. She's

00:42:12.719 --> 00:42:15.579
super excited. And now we're introduced to this

00:42:15.579 --> 00:42:18.760
man named Laban. Laban is going to be a character

00:42:18.760 --> 00:42:21.940
who will cast a long shadow over the lives of

00:42:21.940 --> 00:42:24.679
God's chosen. This is the same Laban for you

00:42:24.679 --> 00:42:26.980
that are familiar with Genesis that will later

00:42:26.980 --> 00:42:30.239
on deceive Isaac's son Jacob. That's the story

00:42:30.239 --> 00:42:33.000
where Jacob goes to work for him and he sees

00:42:33.000 --> 00:42:34.539
Laban's daughter and he goes, wow, I want to

00:42:34.539 --> 00:42:37.179
marry her. And Laban says, sure, work for me

00:42:37.179 --> 00:42:40.079
for seven years and you can have her. Seven years

00:42:40.079 --> 00:42:44.239
of labor and then Laban disguises his other daughter,

00:42:44.420 --> 00:42:46.900
gives him to her, and finds out that it's the

00:42:46.900 --> 00:42:50.260
wrong daughter, but he'd already been with her

00:42:50.260 --> 00:42:52.820
and stuff, so the marriage was consummated. You

00:42:52.820 --> 00:42:55.480
tricked me. Laban says, work for me for another

00:42:55.480 --> 00:42:56.760
seven years, and you can have the other one,

00:42:56.840 --> 00:42:59.679
right? So we know this guy Laban is a conniver.

00:42:59.760 --> 00:43:02.300
We know that he's about what's best for him.

00:43:02.360 --> 00:43:05.739
We know that he's interested in money and all

00:43:05.739 --> 00:43:07.420
these things, so I think that when he saw the

00:43:07.420 --> 00:43:09.320
gold bracelets and stuff, that's what got his

00:43:09.320 --> 00:43:12.030
attention. You know, oh, and they want to take

00:43:12.030 --> 00:43:14.010
you into that family. Whoever that family is,

00:43:14.130 --> 00:43:17.409
they're rich. So he runs out. Now, verse 31,

00:43:17.750 --> 00:43:20.809
Laban said, come you who are blessed by the Lord.

00:43:20.889 --> 00:43:23.269
Why are you standing out here? I have prepared

00:43:23.269 --> 00:43:25.110
the house and a place for the camels. So the

00:43:25.110 --> 00:43:27.809
man came to the house and the camels were unloaded.

00:43:28.329 --> 00:43:30.570
Straw and feed were given to the camels and water

00:43:30.570 --> 00:43:32.650
was brought to wash his feet and the feet of

00:43:32.650 --> 00:43:35.289
the men with him. A meal was set before him,

00:43:35.329 --> 00:43:38.030
but he said, I will not eat until I've said what

00:43:38.030 --> 00:43:40.599
I have to say. And so Laban said, Please speak.

00:43:41.099 --> 00:43:43.139
And this is where we go through the very long

00:43:43.139 --> 00:43:45.320
retelling of everything we've just looked at

00:43:45.320 --> 00:43:47.619
with the servant. And so he's gonna talk about

00:43:47.619 --> 00:43:49.980
his commission from Abraham. But as we go through

00:43:49.980 --> 00:43:51.880
it, pay attention that there's some details he

00:43:51.880 --> 00:43:54.719
leaves out. There's some details he expands on

00:43:54.719 --> 00:43:57.219
because his goal here, his whole purpose here

00:43:57.219 --> 00:44:00.480
is to convince them that this is God's doing.

00:44:00.639 --> 00:44:03.860
So verse 34. I am Abraham's servant, he said.

00:44:04.199 --> 00:44:06.719
The Lord has greatly blessed my master and he's

00:44:06.719 --> 00:44:09.760
become rich. He has given him flocks and herds,

00:44:09.760 --> 00:44:12.239
silver and gold, male and female slaves, and

00:44:12.239 --> 00:44:14.139
camels and donkeys. And that's where I'm sure

00:44:14.139 --> 00:44:17.460
Laban got real excited. Sarah, my master's wife,

00:44:17.780 --> 00:44:20.099
bore a son to my master in her old age, and he

00:44:20.099 --> 00:44:22.579
has given him everything he owns. My master put

00:44:22.579 --> 00:44:25.260
me under this oath. You will not take a wife

00:44:25.260 --> 00:44:27.119
for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites

00:44:27.119 --> 00:44:29.780
in whose land I live, but you will go to my father's

00:44:29.780 --> 00:44:31.679
family and to my clan and take a wife for my

00:44:31.679 --> 00:44:34.929
son. But I said to my master, suppose the woman

00:44:34.929 --> 00:44:37.630
will not come back with me. He said to me, the

00:44:37.630 --> 00:44:39.849
Lord before whom I have walked will send his

00:44:39.849 --> 00:44:41.829
angel with you and make your journey a success,

00:44:42.130 --> 00:44:45.110
and you will take a wife for my son from my clan

00:44:45.110 --> 00:44:48.590
and from my father's family. Then you will be

00:44:48.590 --> 00:44:51.110
free from my oath if you go on to my family and

00:44:51.110 --> 00:44:53.030
they do not give her to you. You will be free

00:44:53.030 --> 00:44:56.090
from my oath. Today, when I came to the spring,

00:44:56.190 --> 00:44:59.989
I prayed, Lord, God of my master Abraham, if

00:44:59.989 --> 00:45:03.139
you will only make my journey successful. I am

00:45:03.139 --> 00:45:05.400
standing here at a spring. Let the young woman

00:45:05.400 --> 00:45:07.500
who comes out to draw water and I say to her,

00:45:07.559 --> 00:45:09.360
please let me drink a little water from your

00:45:09.360 --> 00:45:12.179
jug and who responds to me, drink and I'll draw

00:45:12.179 --> 00:45:15.000
water for your camels also. Let her be the woman

00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:18.000
the Lord has appointed for my master's son. Before

00:45:18.000 --> 00:45:20.159
I had finished praying silently, there was Rebecca

00:45:20.159 --> 00:45:23.739
coming with her jug on her shoulder and she went

00:45:23.739 --> 00:45:26.219
down to the spring and drew water. So I said

00:45:26.219 --> 00:45:29.010
to her, please let me have a drink. She quickly

00:45:29.010 --> 00:45:31.329
lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, drink,

00:45:31.329 --> 00:45:34.090
and I'll water your camels also. So I drank,

00:45:34.230 --> 00:45:37.269
and she also watered the camels. Then I asked

00:45:37.269 --> 00:45:39.090
her, whose daughter are you? And she responded,

00:45:39.349 --> 00:45:42.630
the daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, whom Milcah

00:45:42.630 --> 00:45:45.449
bore to him. So I put the ring on her nose and

00:45:45.449 --> 00:45:47.670
the bracelets on her wrists. Then I knelt low

00:45:47.670 --> 00:45:49.610
and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord,

00:45:49.630 --> 00:45:52.309
the God of my master Abraham, who guided me on

00:45:52.309 --> 00:45:54.170
the right way to take the granddaughter of my

00:45:54.170 --> 00:45:57.940
master's brother for his son. Now if you're going

00:45:57.940 --> 00:45:59.719
to show kindness and faithfulness to my master,

00:45:59.820 --> 00:46:03.039
tell me. If not, tell me and I'll go somewhere

00:46:03.039 --> 00:46:05.960
else. Now again, you read a portion of scripture

00:46:05.960 --> 00:46:07.659
like this and you say, okay, God was speaking

00:46:07.659 --> 00:46:09.800
to Moses and Moses decided to write down this

00:46:09.800 --> 00:46:12.440
lengthy retelling of what we just read. What

00:46:12.440 --> 00:46:15.079
is the point? I think the point is so we don't

00:46:15.079 --> 00:46:19.239
miss the point, right? Look what God did and

00:46:19.239 --> 00:46:24.980
how he did it. Pay attention to what... The servant

00:46:24.980 --> 00:46:27.300
was making decisions on and pay attention to

00:46:27.300 --> 00:46:29.400
how God worked through those things. Pay attention

00:46:29.400 --> 00:46:31.780
to how God worked through just the details of

00:46:31.780 --> 00:46:33.400
the day. Rebecca going to get water from the

00:46:33.400 --> 00:46:35.719
well. Pay attention to what God is doing. And

00:46:35.719 --> 00:46:38.719
so obviously this is to convince them that Rebecca

00:46:38.719 --> 00:46:41.280
is God's answer to his prayer. And so verse 50,

00:46:41.460 --> 00:46:44.780
Laban and Bethuel answered, this is from the

00:46:44.780 --> 00:46:47.380
Lord. We have no choice in the matter. Rebecca

00:46:47.380 --> 00:46:50.269
is here in front of you. Take her and go. Let

00:46:50.269 --> 00:46:52.849
her be a wife for your master's son just as the

00:46:52.849 --> 00:46:56.269
Lord has spoken. When Abraham's servant heard

00:46:56.269 --> 00:46:58.409
their words, he bowed to the ground before the

00:46:58.409 --> 00:47:01.170
Lord. Then he brought out objects of silver and

00:47:01.170 --> 00:47:04.010
gold and garments and gave them to Rebekah. He

00:47:04.010 --> 00:47:06.329
also gave precious gifts to her brother and her

00:47:06.329 --> 00:47:09.050
mother. Then he and the men with him ate and

00:47:09.050 --> 00:47:11.469
drank and spent the night. When they got up in

00:47:11.469 --> 00:47:13.550
the morning, they said, send me to my master.

00:47:14.309 --> 00:47:17.210
And so convinced, they're like, yes, let's do

00:47:17.210 --> 00:47:20.039
this. got all the gifts out. That was a part

00:47:20.039 --> 00:47:22.179
of the whole like dowry type of system, right?

00:47:22.300 --> 00:47:25.980
We're gonna give you all these riches in exchange

00:47:25.980 --> 00:47:28.820
for her becoming a part of our family. And so

00:47:28.820 --> 00:47:32.420
time to go. Verse 55. But her brother and mother

00:47:32.420 --> 00:47:35.320
said, let the girl stay with us for about 10

00:47:35.320 --> 00:47:39.619
days. Then she can go. But he responded to them,

00:47:39.679 --> 00:47:42.590
do not delay me. Since the Lord has made my journey

00:47:42.590 --> 00:47:44.889
a success, send me away so that I may go to my

00:47:44.889 --> 00:47:47.489
master. So they said, let's call the girl and

00:47:47.489 --> 00:47:50.250
ask her opinion. They called Rebecca and said

00:47:50.250 --> 00:47:52.590
to her, will you go with this man? She replied,

00:47:52.909 --> 00:47:56.610
I will go. Have you ever been in a situation

00:47:56.610 --> 00:47:59.309
where you're like, okay, Lord, you know, if this

00:47:59.309 --> 00:48:01.369
and this happens, I'll just know it's the decision

00:48:01.369 --> 00:48:03.210
you want me to make and it happens. And you're

00:48:03.210 --> 00:48:04.849
like, wow, the Lord's in this. And so you start

00:48:04.849 --> 00:48:07.070
stepping forward and you're like, okay, God,

00:48:07.130 --> 00:48:10.090
guide me, direct me. This is obviously the Lord.

00:48:10.170 --> 00:48:12.289
And then some ridiculous delay gets in the way

00:48:12.289 --> 00:48:17.590
and you go, God, I thought this was you. I thought

00:48:17.590 --> 00:48:19.969
you told me to do this. And now this delay, what

00:48:19.969 --> 00:48:23.210
does that mean? Gosh, did I hear the Lord right?

00:48:23.489 --> 00:48:25.389
Did he really speak to me? Did I just make it

00:48:25.389 --> 00:48:29.130
up in my own head? I imagine the servant here

00:48:29.130 --> 00:48:33.010
was kind of dealing with some of this. And we

00:48:33.010 --> 00:48:35.050
all are going to have unexpected delays because

00:48:35.050 --> 00:48:38.719
God is even working in those delays. to do something,

00:48:38.840 --> 00:48:41.539
to mold our character, to leave a testimony,

00:48:41.840 --> 00:48:45.360
to work in the person across from us. God works

00:48:45.360 --> 00:48:46.980
through all those things because God is omni

00:48:46.980 --> 00:48:49.900
-everything. His providence extends over everything.

00:48:50.219 --> 00:48:53.219
And so when he says here, let her stay 10 days,

00:48:53.420 --> 00:48:55.460
I don't know exactly why the 10 days. Maybe it

00:48:55.460 --> 00:48:57.260
was because, well, you know, maybe she'll change

00:48:57.260 --> 00:49:01.150
her mind. I don't know. I think they wanted her

00:49:01.150 --> 00:49:02.889
to go, but maybe mom was like, I can't let her

00:49:02.889 --> 00:49:05.809
go. That's speculation, but I don't know. I think

00:49:05.809 --> 00:49:07.449
when they called Rebecca to ask her opinion,

00:49:07.530 --> 00:49:10.989
that is highly unusual because they didn't really

00:49:10.989 --> 00:49:12.630
care about the girl's opinion in those days,

00:49:12.710 --> 00:49:14.570
right? We're marrying you off, and that's what

00:49:14.570 --> 00:49:15.929
you're going to do because that's what's good

00:49:15.929 --> 00:49:18.769
for the family. I think it's possible that they

00:49:18.769 --> 00:49:21.250
said, let's get her opinion because according

00:49:21.250 --> 00:49:23.849
to custom, she would not dishonor the family

00:49:23.849 --> 00:49:26.190
and dishonor those who said, we want her to stay

00:49:26.190 --> 00:49:27.929
10 more days by saying, no, I'm not going to

00:49:27.929 --> 00:49:30.699
do that. That's my opinion there. But they call

00:49:30.699 --> 00:49:35.599
her and she says, yes, I'll go. Her saying, yes,

00:49:35.619 --> 00:49:38.699
I'll go, is her proclaiming that I believe it's

00:49:38.699 --> 00:49:40.679
God. I believe everything that's happened is

00:49:40.679 --> 00:49:43.280
God too. I agree with this servant. And then

00:49:43.280 --> 00:49:46.619
when she says, I will go, it was effectively

00:49:46.619 --> 00:49:51.519
her saying, I do. And so they leave, verse 55.

00:49:53.469 --> 00:49:55.610
So they send away their sister Rebekah with the

00:49:55.610 --> 00:49:58.489
one who had nursed her and raised her, and Abraham's

00:49:58.489 --> 00:50:01.789
servant and his men. They blessed Rebekah, saying

00:50:01.789 --> 00:50:04.510
to her, Our sister, may you become thousands

00:50:04.510 --> 00:50:07.250
upon ten thousands. May your offspring possess

00:50:07.250 --> 00:50:09.429
the city gates of their enemies. And then Rebekah

00:50:09.429 --> 00:50:12.030
and her female servants got up, mounted the camels,

00:50:12.050 --> 00:50:14.750
and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah

00:50:14.750 --> 00:50:17.840
and left. Now, the interesting thing here is

00:50:17.840 --> 00:50:20.920
the blessing that they give to Rebekah is almost

00:50:20.920 --> 00:50:24.260
the exact same blessing Abraham gave to Isaac

00:50:24.260 --> 00:50:29.719
when God spared him on the mountain, right? This

00:50:29.719 --> 00:50:31.900
happens all the time and is another fingerprint

00:50:31.900 --> 00:50:35.760
of God in our lives. You talk to somebody, you're

00:50:35.760 --> 00:50:38.440
getting counsel, and you're like, the three other

00:50:38.440 --> 00:50:40.420
people I talked to said the exact same thing.

00:50:41.260 --> 00:50:43.780
And what do we conclude out of that? Gosh, this

00:50:43.780 --> 00:50:47.309
must be the Lord, right? Or I'm sure this has

00:50:47.309 --> 00:50:49.750
happened or never happened to any of you, but,

00:50:49.769 --> 00:50:53.110
you know, the pastor's preaching, and he'll say

00:50:53.110 --> 00:50:55.030
something that all your friends and everybody

00:50:55.030 --> 00:50:56.630
have been saying to you for weeks, and you're

00:50:56.630 --> 00:50:59.449
just like, okay, God, I hear it. It's never happened

00:50:59.449 --> 00:51:02.650
here, right? How did he know that, right? All

00:51:02.650 --> 00:51:06.429
that type of stuff, right? God works even just

00:51:06.429 --> 00:51:08.230
through the words people say in their normal

00:51:08.230 --> 00:51:12.829
conversation. And it's for us to be aware to

00:51:12.829 --> 00:51:16.400
discern his fingerprints in those things. Verse

00:51:16.400 --> 00:51:19.340
62, now Isaac was returning from Bir Lahairoi

00:51:19.340 --> 00:51:23.139
for he was living in the Negev region. In the

00:51:23.139 --> 00:51:25.280
early evening, Isaac went out to walk in the

00:51:25.280 --> 00:51:28.480
field and looking up, he saw camels coming. Rebecca

00:51:28.480 --> 00:51:30.820
looked up and when she saw Isaac, she got down

00:51:30.820 --> 00:51:33.519
from her camel and asked the servant, who is

00:51:33.519 --> 00:51:36.280
that man in the field coming to meet us? The

00:51:36.280 --> 00:51:39.260
servant answered, it is my master. So she took

00:51:39.260 --> 00:51:41.860
her veil and covered herself. Then the servant

00:51:41.860 --> 00:51:43.900
told Isaac everything he had done, and Isaac

00:51:43.900 --> 00:51:46.440
brought her into the tent of his mother, Sarah,

00:51:46.619 --> 00:51:49.219
and took Rebecca to be his wife. Isaac loved

00:51:49.219 --> 00:51:51.719
her, and he was comforted after his mother's

00:51:51.719 --> 00:51:55.719
death. The idea here is they kind of saw each

00:51:55.719 --> 00:51:58.239
other about the same time. Now, every time I've

00:51:58.239 --> 00:51:59.800
ever heard this story about Isaac and Rebecca,

00:52:00.079 --> 00:52:02.780
even though I've read it, but now sometimes we

00:52:02.780 --> 00:52:05.099
remember hearing things about Bible stories and

00:52:05.099 --> 00:52:07.199
then when we go back, it's not there, right?

00:52:07.280 --> 00:52:09.920
I've always been told that when Isaac saw Rebecca,

00:52:10.139 --> 00:52:12.780
he was, oh, she's so beautiful. He was floored

00:52:12.780 --> 00:52:14.699
and overwhelmed by that, right? It doesn't say

00:52:14.699 --> 00:52:17.480
that here. We know she's very beautiful. That's

00:52:17.480 --> 00:52:20.199
what we read earlier in the thing. But I imagine,

00:52:20.340 --> 00:52:22.519
and speculatively, that he looked up and he's

00:52:22.519 --> 00:52:27.380
like, whoa. Who's that? She gets down and she

00:52:27.380 --> 00:52:32.679
goes, servant, who's that? They just saw each

00:52:32.679 --> 00:52:35.019
other and as soon as she knew that that's your

00:52:35.019 --> 00:52:38.139
husband to be, she dropped the veil over her

00:52:38.139 --> 00:52:40.199
eyes because again, she's about to be given as

00:52:40.199 --> 00:52:43.219
a bride to a man and so she drops the veil over

00:52:43.219 --> 00:52:47.380
to represent her purity and all the things that

00:52:47.380 --> 00:52:49.880
come with that and so they get together and then

00:52:49.880 --> 00:52:51.860
it just tells us that their marriage was immediate.

00:52:52.780 --> 00:52:55.940
He took her into what was Sarah, his mother's

00:52:55.940 --> 00:53:00.340
tent. Why? Because she was now the matriarch

00:53:00.340 --> 00:53:04.219
of Israel. And as Sarah had passed, Rebekah is

00:53:04.219 --> 00:53:06.920
now the mother of the family. Now, we do know

00:53:06.920 --> 00:53:09.320
Abraham marries again later on, but at this point,

00:53:09.360 --> 00:53:12.639
the family authority, if you will, is starting

00:53:12.639 --> 00:53:15.059
to transfer over. It told us earlier that Abraham

00:53:15.059 --> 00:53:17.909
had given everything he owns to Isaac. So we

00:53:17.909 --> 00:53:20.750
see that Rebekah is now symbolically here the

00:53:20.750 --> 00:53:22.909
matriarch and literally the matriarch of Israel.

00:53:22.969 --> 00:53:25.690
And it says Isaac loved her. This is one of the

00:53:25.690 --> 00:53:28.510
first times that love is used to specify the

00:53:28.510 --> 00:53:31.190
physical consummation of a marriage, right? The

00:53:31.190 --> 00:53:33.150
wedding night type of thing. It's the first reference

00:53:33.150 --> 00:53:36.510
to marital sexual love in the Bible. And so that

00:53:36.510 --> 00:53:39.190
was how a marriage was consummated. It wasn't

00:53:39.190 --> 00:53:41.269
the marriage certificate. It wasn't signed by

00:53:41.269 --> 00:53:43.789
a judge or a pastor. It was when you were together

00:53:43.789 --> 00:53:46.289
that marriage was official for you to become

00:53:46.289 --> 00:53:50.909
one flesh. So through this whole story, we see

00:53:50.909 --> 00:53:54.280
God working. in what people are just doing anyways.

00:53:55.199 --> 00:53:58.320
We see God working like this all the time. God

00:53:58.320 --> 00:54:01.280
works in the events of history. God works through

00:54:01.280 --> 00:54:05.099
nature, his creation. God works through individual

00:54:05.099 --> 00:54:07.940
people, and you know, lest anybody misunderstand

00:54:07.940 --> 00:54:11.039
me here, the lesson of this story is not, so

00:54:11.039 --> 00:54:13.519
when you pray, make sure you give God some specific

00:54:13.519 --> 00:54:16.239
criteria, and that's how you're supposed to pray.

00:54:17.139 --> 00:54:19.219
That's not the lesson here. I don't think there's

00:54:19.219 --> 00:54:22.860
a problem with that, per se, but The lesson of

00:54:22.860 --> 00:54:26.239
this is as you're going through life, living

00:54:26.239 --> 00:54:30.719
life, following God, discerning his will, letting

00:54:30.719 --> 00:54:32.840
him guide you, figuring out where he wants you

00:54:32.840 --> 00:54:35.159
to go, when and how and all that thing, trust

00:54:35.159 --> 00:54:39.739
him. Trust that he's leading you. Trust that

00:54:39.739 --> 00:54:42.300
he's with you every second of every day because

00:54:42.300 --> 00:54:47.300
he is. Trust that he is always listening and

00:54:47.300 --> 00:54:49.699
the moment you pray, he hears those prayers and

00:54:49.699 --> 00:54:53.420
he's gonna answer according to his will. The

00:54:53.420 --> 00:54:55.980
idea is trusting him in all of it. As you live

00:54:55.980 --> 00:54:57.780
for him, you're trusting his word, you're communing

00:54:57.780 --> 00:54:59.960
in prayer. And sometimes it might be something

00:54:59.960 --> 00:55:02.719
weird that he tells you to do. It's not so much

00:55:02.719 --> 00:55:04.719
supernatural, but it's weird and you gotta listen.

00:55:06.239 --> 00:55:08.059
Like there's a story I heard a long time ago

00:55:08.059 --> 00:55:11.599
and I'm probably gonna butcher the details, but

00:55:11.599 --> 00:55:13.760
it was a story about a guy driving down the street,

00:55:13.960 --> 00:55:17.059
just doing his thing and on the way to somewhere

00:55:17.059 --> 00:55:19.480
and he just feels impressed upon his heart, turn

00:55:19.480 --> 00:55:23.380
left here. He's like, oh, okay. Well, Lord, I

00:55:23.380 --> 00:55:25.159
guess I'm supposed to turn left here. And he's

00:55:25.159 --> 00:55:27.619
driving down this residential street. And then

00:55:27.619 --> 00:55:29.360
he's like, okay, God, I'm here. What's next?

00:55:30.360 --> 00:55:32.300
And then he feels impressed upon his heart pull

00:55:32.300 --> 00:55:33.820
over right here. He's like, all right, pulls

00:55:33.820 --> 00:55:36.840
over and looking around. And he's just in this

00:55:36.840 --> 00:55:38.019
neighborhood. And he's like, Lord, what do you

00:55:38.019 --> 00:55:41.539
want me to do? And then he feels the Lord direct

00:55:41.539 --> 00:55:43.280
him to this mailbox across the street. And he

00:55:43.280 --> 00:55:44.699
goes, go to that mailbox and stick your head

00:55:44.699 --> 00:55:46.480
inside of it and yell, God hears you as loud

00:55:46.480 --> 00:55:49.800
as you can. Now, those are the moments where

00:55:49.800 --> 00:55:53.239
you go, I think I'm crazy, right? I ain't doing

00:55:53.239 --> 00:55:55.440
that. They're going to call neighborhood watch,

00:55:55.619 --> 00:55:57.480
right? They're going to come pick me up. But

00:55:57.480 --> 00:56:00.480
again, this individual is like, okay, Lord, that's

00:56:00.480 --> 00:56:03.599
weird, but I'll do it. So he goes across the

00:56:03.599 --> 00:56:06.079
street. He's looking around, sticks his head

00:56:06.079 --> 00:56:07.980
in the mailbox and screams as loud as he can.

00:56:08.119 --> 00:56:13.539
God hears you. Pulls his head out. Gets in his

00:56:13.539 --> 00:56:17.320
car, right? Now, I don't know how this piece

00:56:17.320 --> 00:56:19.199
of the information got back because this is allegedly

00:56:19.199 --> 00:56:21.739
a true story. But what that man didn't know,

00:56:22.440 --> 00:56:24.500
is that there was a guy inside that house who

00:56:24.500 --> 00:56:27.840
was about to kill himself. And in his desperation,

00:56:28.039 --> 00:56:31.340
he said, God, do you even hear me? And right

00:56:31.340 --> 00:56:33.840
then he hears this voice from outside, God hears

00:56:33.840 --> 00:56:39.119
you. And he didn't kill himself, right? Now,

00:56:39.199 --> 00:56:41.860
I'm sure that that was a miracle to that man.

00:56:42.639 --> 00:56:45.699
But it wasn't heaven opening up. It wasn't pillar

00:56:45.699 --> 00:56:48.699
of fire coming down. It was some dude sticking

00:56:48.699 --> 00:56:52.059
his head in a mailbox. But a life was saved.

00:56:53.079 --> 00:56:55.719
And you see, God wants us to learn how to just

00:56:55.719 --> 00:57:00.039
trust him in every little thing because there's

00:57:00.039 --> 00:57:02.179
gonna be a big thing he needs you to trust him

00:57:02.179 --> 00:57:04.280
in and he wants you to be ready for that. He

00:57:04.280 --> 00:57:07.019
wants you to have the habit already deep within

00:57:07.019 --> 00:57:09.159
you that's like, God, you speak, I jump, right?

00:57:09.380 --> 00:57:12.800
You tell me, I go. I trust you and I don't need

00:57:12.800 --> 00:57:15.820
to see the miracles because God, you've already

00:57:15.820 --> 00:57:18.789
demonstrated yourself to me. I know you're real.

00:57:18.849 --> 00:57:21.130
I know you're working. And so I just trust you.

00:57:21.130 --> 00:57:23.809
I trust your will. I trust your timing. You see,

00:57:23.869 --> 00:57:25.889
Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, it says, trust in the Lord

00:57:25.889 --> 00:57:28.070
with all your heart. Do not rely on your own

00:57:28.070 --> 00:57:30.150
understanding, but in all of your ways, know

00:57:30.150 --> 00:57:34.949
him and he will make your paths straight. Providence

00:57:34.949 --> 00:57:38.110
is God working through the normal things of life.

00:57:39.849 --> 00:57:42.230
Providence is God's gracious working out of his

00:57:42.230 --> 00:57:48.670
purposes in Christ in dealing with us. His will

00:57:48.670 --> 00:57:51.349
is being accomplished through us. Now, do we

00:57:51.349 --> 00:57:54.150
sense that we divert things and all that? God

00:57:54.150 --> 00:57:58.570
is still gonna have his will be done. And we

00:57:58.570 --> 00:58:00.309
look around and we go, oh no, oh no, did I mess

00:58:00.309 --> 00:58:03.889
it up? Sure, there's situations where we feel

00:58:03.889 --> 00:58:05.730
like God is impressing upon you or speaking to

00:58:05.730 --> 00:58:08.710
you to do something and you say no. Do you think

00:58:08.710 --> 00:58:12.030
you just derailed God's plans for creation? Do

00:58:12.030 --> 00:58:15.920
you think you have that much power? I've often

00:58:15.920 --> 00:58:17.900
been told, you know, in people in ministry, I've

00:58:17.900 --> 00:58:19.980
even said this to some people, that you identify

00:58:19.980 --> 00:58:21.659
somebody and you go, wow, you have real calling

00:58:21.659 --> 00:58:25.639
on your life. And, you know, man, God's hands

00:58:25.639 --> 00:58:27.400
on you. You should teach or you should do this

00:58:27.400 --> 00:58:29.039
or that. And they resist and they go, no, I don't

00:58:29.039 --> 00:58:33.280
want to. I don't want that. And then sometimes

00:58:33.280 --> 00:58:35.000
people would be like, well, you mean the people

00:58:35.000 --> 00:58:36.639
you're supposed to reach and the people you're

00:58:36.639 --> 00:58:37.940
supposed to preach to, if you don't listen to

00:58:37.940 --> 00:58:39.340
God's will, you know, they're not going to hear

00:58:39.340 --> 00:58:42.380
the gospel. I don't necessarily agree with that.

00:58:43.920 --> 00:58:45.940
If God wants to get the gospel to somebody, God's

00:58:45.940 --> 00:58:47.400
going to get the gospel to somebody. Now, if

00:58:47.400 --> 00:58:48.880
it's one of his dumb people who don't want to

00:58:48.880 --> 00:58:51.699
listen, he's going to do it another way. But

00:58:51.699 --> 00:58:55.800
all of that is in God's counsel. Our part is

00:58:55.800 --> 00:58:59.280
to just be faithful. You see, every single moment

00:58:59.280 --> 00:59:01.519
of life, God is fulfilling this promise in Romans

00:59:01.519 --> 00:59:04.679
8, 28. We know that all things work together

00:59:04.679 --> 00:59:07.760
for good, for the good of those who love God,

00:59:07.940 --> 00:59:10.909
who are called according to his purpose. For

00:59:10.909 --> 00:59:12.829
those he foreknew, he also predestined to be

00:59:12.829 --> 00:59:14.550
conformed to the image of his son so that he

00:59:14.550 --> 00:59:16.329
would be the firstborn among many brothers and

00:59:16.329 --> 00:59:19.190
sisters. And those he predestined, he also called.

00:59:19.349 --> 00:59:21.269
And those he called, he also justified. And those

00:59:21.269 --> 00:59:27.150
he justified, he also glorified. The lives of

00:59:27.150 --> 00:59:29.949
God's children, really the lives of everybody

00:59:29.949 --> 00:59:31.969
in this world, they're not ruled by chance and

00:59:31.969 --> 00:59:35.369
luck and happenstance. They're ruled by God,

00:59:35.489 --> 00:59:44.309
the creator. His will is always going to be what

00:59:44.309 --> 00:59:48.190
happens. He is and will always be faithful to

00:59:48.190 --> 00:59:50.289
his people. Our challenge is to be faithful to

00:59:50.289 --> 00:59:53.409
him. Our challenge is to trust him in every moment

00:59:53.409 --> 00:59:57.230
of every day. Contrary to the statement that

00:59:57.230 --> 00:59:59.369
people often attribute to the Bible, but it's

00:59:59.369 --> 01:00:03.469
not there, people say God helps those who help

01:00:03.469 --> 01:00:07.670
themselves. God does not help those who help

01:00:07.670 --> 01:00:11.400
themselves. He helps those who entrust themselves

01:00:11.400 --> 01:00:14.280
fully to him and cling to him with everything

01:00:14.280 --> 01:00:17.079
and to know through experience of walking with

01:00:17.079 --> 01:00:19.320
him that God is faithful always no matter what,

01:00:19.340 --> 01:00:21.659
just like Abraham knew, just like this servant

01:00:21.659 --> 01:00:31.679
knew. Let's pray. Father, Lord, faith is a strange

01:00:31.679 --> 01:00:37.769
thing. Lord, as your people, we believe. But

01:00:37.769 --> 01:00:44.469
so often we wrestle with your will. And God,

01:00:44.510 --> 01:00:47.349
sometimes we could find ourselves trying to run

01:00:47.349 --> 01:00:49.530
our own lives because we think, oh, these little

01:00:49.530 --> 01:00:54.389
details, God doesn't care about those. Lord,

01:00:54.469 --> 01:00:56.389
when it comes to detail you care about, the Bible

01:00:56.389 --> 01:00:59.030
says you know how many hairs are on our head.

01:01:01.170 --> 01:01:03.650
I'm not quite sure how more detailed you can

01:01:03.650 --> 01:01:09.340
get than that. Lord, we are your kids and we

01:01:09.340 --> 01:01:12.159
love you and we want to live by faith. We want

01:01:12.159 --> 01:01:14.500
to follow your leading and your prompting, Lord,

01:01:14.579 --> 01:01:18.280
and let us be people who don't wait or only move

01:01:18.280 --> 01:01:21.639
when we see some supernatural sign, Lord, but

01:01:21.639 --> 01:01:24.340
that we would see you working through the normal

01:01:24.340 --> 01:01:28.599
things of life. That we would be able to step

01:01:28.599 --> 01:01:33.760
back and even in tough times to be able to say,

01:01:33.840 --> 01:01:37.500
well, I believe God is omnipotent. And although

01:01:37.500 --> 01:01:39.460
I may not understand a particular situation,

01:01:39.920 --> 01:01:44.460
my experience with God tells me that there's

01:01:44.460 --> 01:01:49.260
a purpose and a reason for this. Lord, in just

01:01:49.260 --> 01:01:51.940
the positive things of living life for you, Lord,

01:01:52.000 --> 01:01:54.900
may we be people who just at every moment, as

01:01:54.900 --> 01:01:57.219
we recognize your fingerprints, just praise you.

01:01:59.599 --> 01:02:01.659
That God, we would know and understand that you're

01:02:01.659 --> 01:02:05.519
with us every moment of every day. that there

01:02:05.519 --> 01:02:09.800
is not a moment you are not ready to direct us

01:02:09.800 --> 01:02:13.980
and to guide us. But Lord, simply the problems

01:02:13.980 --> 01:02:18.440
we run into is when we neglect being aware that

01:02:18.440 --> 01:02:21.739
you're with us. Lord, your word tells us that

01:02:21.739 --> 01:02:24.780
you are a counselor. You're the one who leads

01:02:24.780 --> 01:02:26.599
and guides and directs, Lord, and so help us

01:02:26.599 --> 01:02:29.820
to lean on that. And God, when you do the big

01:02:29.820 --> 01:02:34.400
supernatural stuff, awesome. But God, let us

01:02:34.400 --> 01:02:37.599
not think that the little things are any less

01:02:37.599 --> 01:02:42.739
you working your will in this world. Lord, we

01:02:42.739 --> 01:02:45.659
love you. We thank you for everything. It's in

01:02:45.659 --> 01:02:47.260
Jesus' name we pray. Amen.