Well, if you would turn with me please to the book of Genesis once more and to Genesis chapter 24 and those first 14 verses of the chapter that we've read in our service this morning. The subject is title, if you're into titles, is to find a wife. This marks the transition of a new era in the patriarchs of the Old Testament as Isaac and Rebekah as they establish a new covenant home Abraham, he, as it were, he begins to disappear from the scene. But we pass to what we would, I suppose in human terms, call a happier subject than we left behind in the previous chapter. because we turn from the arrangements of funerals and the burying of Sarah to the joyful business of finding a wife for Isaac, the marriage of Abraham's son. Here, of course, are the seeds of what will be a nation, a great nation that will fill the entire globe, the entire earth, and of course the seeds of a saviour as well. Peter, he puts it in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9, But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation. That's the nation that came out of the lions of Abraham. That's the nation of faith. That's the nation of God's people, God's children. And here is the beginnings. Here is where it all stemmed from, the source, the spring. Now some claim that the arranging of this marriage here is part of the culture, but we don't find that to be so, because we don't find any of the other patriarchs behaving in this manner. I think you'll see as we go through these verses this morning, you'll see exactly why Abraham did the arranging. But if any arranging is done here, I hope that you'll see in consequence as we expound these verses, I trust that you will see any arranging is done by God Himself. It's God who fixes Isaac up with a wife. But it's all about faith. If you miss that, then you miss the whole meaning of the entire chapter, all 67 verses. It's about faith, it's a further expression of Abraham's faith and that of his household as well. Abraham, you see, he holds on to the promises that have been given to him by God. He simply takes God at His word. He's got a holy stubbornness. He's like a dog with a bone. He's got hold of it. And you can shake him and rattle him. You can kick him and punch him. You can throw him one way or the other. But there's no way that he's letting go of that bone, of that promise. And he clings to it tenaciously, no matter what happens, all his failures, his ups and downs, backwards and forwards, he clings to the promise of God. Beloved, that's the highest reach of faith to hold onto, to believe, to trust in the Word of God. But we begin with this godly concern in the first four verses. Abraham was old and well stricken in age and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And then of course he goes on to speak about his concern about Isaac. The reason for his godly concern partly because of the age of Isaac. Because Isaac is now, by this time, he's 40 years of age as you will see. And then partly of course of, well part of what had been promised was fulfilled in Isaac to Abraham. the giving of the child in their old age and of course his arrival well that was part of it but that wasn't all of it because God promised much much more than that to Abraham there was more to come and Abraham he understood that and he holds on to that in faith Genesis chapter 12, now the Lord had said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee, and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing. So there's the promise you see, not just of a seed for him and Sarah, but there's the promise of the land of this territory of Canaan and then of course the great nation that would come out of Abraham's loins. So he understands there's more to come, this isn't the finish. We've got Isaac, my wife Sarah's dead, I've buried her, and he's an old age, he's well stricken in his old age, but he realises this man's not finished, he's not ready to lay down himself, not yet a while, he understands there's more to come from God. He's of a goodly age, verse 1, but yet he's not decrepit because he remarries after this. to a woman called Keturah so you see he's not by any means he's not finished yet but the loss of Sarah plus his age I think in Abraham's mind would have heightened the sense of urgency that's needed in finding a wife for his son Isaac It's not just that he's 140 years of age at this time, but he's stricken, his age has begun to tell. Now, age can be a good thing. You know, at times there are markers along the way in our pilgrimage, you know there's times when we arrive at a certain age and we start to take, if I could testify personally, when I got to the age of 60, I took stock, I thought to myself 3 years ago, well according to God's word, 3 score years and 10, that's if the Lord should permit, I've got something like 10 years of my life left. And I began to take stock, and I began to look at my life, I began to examine myself, things I was doing, places where I was, and all kinds of things with regards to my life. And it became an occasion for me of much repentance. things I put aside, things that I addressed, issues of course, we have this habit, don't we, of procrastinating, putting things off, well I'll do it later, you know, I'll do it next week, I'll do it next year, well I'll think about that eventually. But there comes a time, you know, when we have to deal with issues, and for me, well for me personally, that was such a time, I was in a church where heresy was being taught and the leaders had no intention of dealing with the heresy. And it left me to the point of leaving the church for that very reason. So you see, Abram's come to such a time as this. He's taking stock. He's thinking. He's thinking about the future. He's thinking about the things that God has promised and he's thinking about putting his own house in order. There are no complaints, he's well stricken, his age is beginning to tell but there are no complaints because the Lord has blessed him in all things and everything he has been blessed. By faith he and Sarah had hoped in God's promises and their faithful covenant friend had not failed them in the least and especially in regards to their covenant heir Isaac that is. But age for Abraham had been a reminder that his time his time had come when he would die soon himself and so therefore he must put his house in order not just that he personally would be ready to face the judge of all the earth but his household his son the future seed and the projection of the covenant line if Isaac remains unmarried what will happen to the covenant line how can the promise be fulfilled and this is the godly concern of Abraham and then in verse 2 you have this godly gesture and Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house that ruled over all that he had could I pray thee thy hand under my thigh this gesture is more I hope you'll see than just simply a gesture The servant may have been Elisir, most commentators seem to think that it is, but Elisir is quite some age himself now, so it's not necessarily so that it is Elisir. The eldest referred to, the eldest servant of his house could simply refer to the senior man, you know, senior in rank, the eldest in rank. But whoever he is, he has to make this godly gesture. The word Psi here is what we call a euphemism. A euphemism is putting something in polite terms which would normally be offensive. It's putting it in genteel terms, if I might put it that way. Because it's not the thigh that's spoken of here, but it's Abraham's loins. Put thy hand under my loins, he is saying. Facing the death of the patriarch, you see, he secures his last will by an oath at the source of life. Let me explain it. Genesis in chapter 46 and 26. All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt which came out of his loins. Exodus chapter 1 verse 5. And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were 70 souls. Genesis 47 29 at the time and the time do nigh that Israel must die and he called his son Joseph and said unto him if now I have found grace in thy sight put I pray thee thy hand under my thigh and deal kindly and truly with me bury me not I pray thee in Egypt you see the same thing the same practice And as the person puts his hand upon Jacob's thigh, his loins, the procreative organs. You see? Because the oath involves the certainty of the seed. From Adam through all the believers looked forward to a saviour to be born. that Abraham knew and he believed that from his line the Saviour, the Messiah would come because the Messiah came to him, the second person of the Holy Trinity visited Abraham and Abraham rejoiced to see his day Jesus said, so Abraham knew quite well what the promise meant that from that out of his loins would come this nation, would come all this seed, would come the household of faith, including the Savior, including the Son of God. This oath was administered. This oath was administered in this way. It was this in view that the Saviour would come out of the loins of Abraham. The whole procedure is based on this. This godly oath. is taken by this godly man, a man equally of faith as Abraham is, taken and administered in the light of the greatest hope of all, the Saviour of the world. So you see, it's more than just simply a gesture, for he swears by the covenant, he swears by the covenant Lord's name. Look at verse 3. and I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth. He swears by the covenant Lord's name, the Creator, the covenant making and covenant keeping God of verse 3, the God of omnipotence, the God of omniscience. You see, His exalted concept of God So it's not just a gesture, this is a godly oath. This is an oath taken and made in faith. It's not just a gesture between two men. And added to that, of course, is the concern. Abraham's godly concern is that Isaac would be married, but not just off to some pretty thing, but that he would be married to the right woman, a godly wife. Verses 3 and 4. I will make thee swear by the God of heaven and earth that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell, but thou shalt go unto my country, to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. Not just anybody. some say this is a romantic chapter, if that's what it is then I surely don't know what romance is because I don't see an ounce of romance in it at all. But of course it's strange to our modern culture today that Isaac's not even consulted in the business. But an example is set here. Abraham seeks a wife out from amongst the Semites, not the cursed Canaanites. You see, faith is the dominating and controlling principle in Abraham's life in every part of it, everything he does. His faith is not an add-on, it's not a sideline, it's not something, it's not a social activity that he engages in on a Sunday, you know, going to church meetings and then, you know, and having nice, you know, tea and cookie parties afterwards. His faith is a real business, you know, and it works in every aspect and every area of his life. It dominates and it controls his thinking and everything that he does. It's not just something to bring him to heaven after he's enjoyed the world. Abraham's deepest motive here, it is godly concern. And remember too, beloved, remember how little, how little of the promise Abraham actually saw. He never saw the fulfillment of the land. He never saw, he never saw the fulfillment in his earthly pilgrimage of everything that God had promised to him. But that was no hindrance to him. He simply had a word from God and he clung to that word. He wouldn't let it go. And he brings. He's bringing the matter into the presence of God. What he's doing is, Abraham's actually, he's really praying to God. And he's praying for the right wife for his son. Not just some woman that will make him happy, but a woman who will be useful, a woman who will be godly, a woman who will not be a hindrance to him, and a hindrance to the purposes of God in his life. And of course we have the New Testament principle that's clear about God's children, God's people not marrying unbelievers, not being unequally yoked. Because if you do, that will just be simply nothing but a hindrance to your Christian life and experience. It will draw you down and away from God altogether maybe. That's all we're loving. You ought to be praying for your children. And for your grandchildren, now, now, for God to prepare the right woman, the right man that they will one day marry. Godly, useful, that won't be a hindrance to them, but an encouragement to them in the way of the Lord. It's too late when he or she comes home and says, Mum, Dad, I'm going to marry this pagan, heathen man or woman. The Gracious Promise, verses 5-9. And the servant said unto him, Peradventure, the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land. Must thy needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abram said unto him, Beware thou, that thou bring not my son hither again. The pervading spirituality of Abraham stands out here quite clearly. You see the urgent covenant consciousness that he has. He wants to see the outworking. He wants to see the projection. He wants to see the fulfilling of God's covenant. The promises that God has given to him. And he's very conscious of it. All important. It's all important. Beloved, it's all important for believing fathers. The promise you see here in verses 5 and 6, the promise is stood upon. What if she won't come, says his servant? What if she refuses to come? Shall I take Isaac, shall I remove Isaac from here, from Canaan, and take him there? No way, says Abraham, no way. There is no way that my son Isaac, by any stretch of the imagination, there is no way that my son is to go back there. It's not that Abraham doesn't doubt the availability of a suitable woman. Abraham's social position, he's a rich man. And his social position would make his son a very, very suitable suitor. You could have had women lining up all over Canaan to marry this young man. But the problem that the servant envisages is that of immigration. What if the woman won't immigrate? What if she doesn't want to leave her own country? What if she doesn't want to leave her own family and come and live here? Because a young woman with such courage as that to simply not knowing where she's going and not knowing what kind of family she's coming into, to find a woman with courage like that, you know, that's something else. But the servants made an oath under God. You see it wasn't just simply a gesture putting the thigh under his loins. It was a godly oath. It was done in the presence of God and it was done in God's name. And Abraham, or rather the servant, he wants from Abraham, he wants to be absolutely clear what's required of him in the way that he should take concerning this matter, this business. And Abraham, he says, the alternative is out of the question. It is strongly and strictly forbidden. You will not take my son Isaac back there. Beware thou! He puts a solemn responsibility on him. Beware thou that you do not do this thing. Because Abraham himself was faithful to the call of God. God called him out of his homeland, called him to leave the Ur of the Chaldeans. and now he works to make sure that his seed does exactly the same thing because God has promised that land to him and to his seed and they dare not go back. So if she won't come, if she won't leave her home, if she won't leave her family and her country then you are freed from this oath. But you see how Abram's not easily moved? You know? What would most of us say? What would most of us say today, in these circumstances? We would say, oh, well, she won't come. The woman won't leave her own kith and kindred. She won't leave her own country. She won't come and join the young man. So we'd come to the conclusion, we'd say, well, it must be the will of God that Isaac should go to her. Go on, send Isaac up there. What does it matter? As long as the two of them are happy together. See what I mean? Abraham, Abraham has a promise and he stands upon the promise. God did not tell him to go back. God told him to come out of that land and he told him not to go back. And he stands upon the promise of God's word. Isaac is not going back there. Because God promised. And God promised with an oath, verse 7, the Lord God of heaven which took me from my father's house and from my land of my kindred and which spake unto me and that swear unto me, swear unto me, saying unto thy seed will I give this land He shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. You see what I mean? There's not a shadow of doubt in Abraham's mind. The angel of the Lord, the second person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God will go with you. And he will take a wife, and you'll bring her back here. And why? Why does he have such confidence? Why is he so assured of that? Because the Son of God, the Angel of the Lord, met with Abraham, those chapters back, and swear unto him in his own name. That's swear unto me, verse 7. So it cannot be. In Abram's mind, the will of God cannot be otherwise. He fetched us out. He gave us the land. So we dare not forsake it. Chapter 12, verse 7. The Lord appeared unto Abram and said unto thy seed, will I give this land? And there builded he an altar unto the Lord who appeared unto him. Genesis 13 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and thy seed for ever. So Abram knows the promise isn't just to him, it's to his seed, it's to Isaac, and to Isaac's seed. I say forever I give thee this land all that you can see do you remember he took him outside the tent he said look Abraham look all around you as far as you can see look this way look that way look backwards look sideways all that you can see it's yours And He even promised, He even promised with an oath, Genesis 15, and it came to pass that when the sun went down and it was dark, there was a smoking furnace and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. And the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land. This is the God. This is the God of whom all of Heaven's resources are at His command. His angel, His angel who appears to and succors His own people. Genesis 16, Hagar, remember, in the wilderness, the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur and rescued her. Who we saw in chapter 16 is divine. So Abram's faith, Abram's faith is in the same God. It's still in that same God. And that he believes that that same God who made those promises, who swore unto him, that that same God will prosper his servant in his journey. He believes that that same God will remove all the difficulties and all the hindrances, even from Rebecca's mind if there be any. The same God who has brought Abraham this far and who has been faithful to him in every way and blessed him in all things. The same God who brought a child out of his dead lions and a child out of his wife's dead womb. The same God will do this. If Abraham with so little to go on, with nothing but the word of God beloved. If Abraham could trust God in this way, can you not trust him? What lies before you? What lies before you in this year 2008? You don't know and I don't know. Maybe there will be great trials. Maybe there will be tragedies. Maybe there will be triumphs. Maybe there will be victories and joys. Maybe it will be a victory. Maybe it will be a mixture of both. But whatever lies before you, whatever hindrances might be in your way, whatever difficulties, whatever seeming impossibilities, beloved, faith in this God is the answer. Because he's a mountain moving God. And he says to you, he has given you, he has given you carte blanche. He says to you, say unto this mountain, be removed and it shall be removed. This is the God who calls into being what is not. The servant pledges his own posterity. Verses 8 and 9. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath. Only bring not my son again. Said it again. And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abram his master and swear to him concerning that matter. Why does he send the servant and not Isaac himself? Why doesn't he say to Isaac, get you back to my own people and find yourself a wife? Because Isaac's a weak character, that's why. He's 40 years of age and he shows no inclination whatsoever in taking a wife for himself. He's very clearly the son of his mother. and he's still mourning three years after the death, after the demise of his mother and it's only Rebecca, it's only when he marries Rebecca that that puts an end to his grief. If you go right to the very end of the chapter to verse 67, the back end of the verse the whole verse and Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent and took Rebecca and she became his wife and he loved her and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. For three long years he's been pining the death of his mother. Rebecca was the stronger of the two. Isaac was not a man of initiative and this would explain perhaps why the transaction all had to be done by Abraham because left to Isaac nothing would ever have been done. Hence he doesn't trust Isaac with this journey. He rather fears that if things are left alone Eventually he'll fall prey to one of the Karenite-ish women. This is not snobbery. This is not nationalism. But it's a spiritual, it's a godly concern for the covenant line. The Canaanites were excluded from the covenant. They were under a divine ban. They were notorious for their immorality. Sodom and Gomorrah gives you an example of that. They were from the line of Ham which was cut off. They were cursed under Noah's prophecy. So the servant accepts the conditions and again the gesture he places his hand under Abraham's law in verse 9 invoking the covenant and its sign which is circumcision in the Old Testament and it invokes the death penalty, no posterity for the one who breaks the oath. You see what a solemn business, you see what a responsibility he takes upon himself, you see as far as Abram's concerned on his side the future of the covenant's at stake if this man doesn't fulfil what's required of him. And for the servant himself his own posterity's at stake. Because God's judgment, obliteration of his own posterity is the result of taking a false oath not fulfilling which he swears to do here. If the servant's action leads to a betrayal of the covenant, Isaac's future is at stake. And then by the oath, He invokes the same judgment on himself and his own posterity. A very, very solemn business and a very solemn oath. Verses 10 through 14, the God of Abraham. And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master and departed for all the goods of his master were in his hand and he arose and went to Mesopotamia unto the city of Nahor. Nahor's city is Haran, where of course Abraham came from. The journey is uneventful and so it's by and large it's skipped over. But this caravan would make an impressive entourage. Ten camels and of course they're laden with all kinds of good things, which of course are all at Abraham's disposal. But this man, this servant, you see, he arrives here, verses 10 through 12. He's God's messenger. The journey is completed and he turns himself to prayer because, you see, he's a man of light faith with Abraham. He had a good teacher. He had Abraham for his instructor. And in simple childlike faith, he commits the issues to the Lord, acknowledging that God is the God of Abraham, his master. But that doesn't mean that God is not his own God. But rather he's acknowledging that he's a servant. He's the servant of Abraham. He's been sent, verse 12, by his master Abraham. But it's not just simply Abraham's business. It's ultimately God's business. He's God's messenger. He's about God's business, and so therefore he puts it, he places it before the Lord. But ultimately, of course, that's what prayer is. I guess if you don't pray, then you're not depending upon the Lord. Faith that depends upon the Lord, it, dare I say, automatically prays. It can't do any other. You can tell that he had a faith of his own. The way that he addresses the Lord, the Lord God. Unbelievers the world don't speak about God in that way. They speak about God, God this and God that and God the other. He's something, he's some abstract thing that they don't know personally. They don't speak about him as the Lord. Then there's the matter of prayer. He prescribes. Do you see the way that he prescribes what God ought to do? Almost as though he's ordering, almost as though he's telling God what to do. It's an earnest desire. Because he doesn't want to choose a wife for Isaac. He's simply God's agent. He's simply God's messenger. It was God Himself who brought Rebecca to Isaac. And He wants, as God's man, as God's messenger, He wants God to do the business. He wants God to show an act of covenant kindness, of loving kindness to his master, to Abraham. Even the timing fits in perfectly. It's God's timing. Verse 12, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee send me good speed this day. He professes later in verse 27 to have walked in the way of the Lord. Well his prayer you see, his prayer is an evidence of this. Because this is the way of the Lord isn't it? The way of prayer is the way of the Lord. He prays for good speed. He doesn't just go bundling into the city looking for the first woman or the prettiest girl that can be found there. He waits, he's dependent upon the Lord. He waits on the Lord. Because it's not for him to decide. He might make the wrong choice. He might choose the wrong woman. It's the Lord that must choose the woman. It's got to be God's woman for this man. And so he asks for good speed. He asks for the Lord's timing. And he asks for direction. His prayer for purpose. And a request for kindness. For God to show the grace of His covenant to His Master. to show kindness. His prayers are a recognition of his faith. A recognition that God has a certain woman. Not just any woman. God has a specific woman for this man Isaac. Not just anyone. And so he says, he decrees, that the woman's response would be an important factor. Let me know Lord. Let me know by this, by the way that the woman responds. Let me see her. Let her be distinctive to me. Let her respond to me in a particular way. She would show grace and kindness herself to a stranger, to him who is an alien in that foreign land. I'll know her by this Lord, she'll be gracious and she'll be kind to me even though I'm a stranger, even though I'm an alien. And so he reckons that if she's gracious and kind to him, an alien, well then she'll be kind and good to his master's son. And then she'll show Lord, she'll show a hospitable attitude as well. She'll take my camels and she'll water them. Now, you might think that's a small thing, but if you know anything about camels and the way that they drink, to water ten camels, that would just about, that would nigh on empty the River Trent. No small thing. but you see an hospitable attitude as well. His prayer is simply that God graciously would reveal the kind of woman, the characteristics, the traits of a godly woman, a kind, loving and hospitable and a hard-working woman. Note there's no mention of beauty. There's no mention of her dress size. There's no mention of her figure. There's no mention of her clothes. There's no mention of her makeup. There's no mention of bangles and beads. Hospitality, kindness, grace, industry. A godly woman. hospitality, kindness and industry, a willingness to help even an alien, even a stranger. By this means, I will recognize your choice, Lord. Your choice. And the Lord heard him. And the Lord answered his prayer, he says in verse 15, even before he had done speaking. God's guidance, verse 14, and let it come to pass. Let the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink, and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camel's drink also. Let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac, and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master. Such character demands as he makes here. Are the demands of faith? Are they not? Because he's not asking for what's easy. Women like this don't grow on trees. They're not ten a penny. He's not asking for the ordinary. He's not asking for the run of mill. He's asking for a girl that will stand out. Lord, I will see her clearly. She will stand out. She will stand head and shoulders above the rest. I will distinctly and clearly see this is the one. Please don't miss the servant's strong faith in the province of God. I know Abraham's the main player, Isaac and Rebekah and Sarah. These are the main players. This man's just a servant, but don't miss his strong faith in the providence of God. And it's vital. It's very important. Remember that Abraham's household is a paragon of hospitality. So what better touchstone? What better touchstone could be more appropriate than this for the girl who's going to marry into such a hospitable family. You see, it was a very shrewd character test. But all the time, all the time this man, this servant, all the time he is conscious of the presence of the angel of the Lord. What did Abraham say to him back in verse 7? The Lord God of heaven which took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred which spake unto me and that swear unto me saying unto thy people I give this land. He shall send his angel before thee. And he is very conscious of the presence of the Lord with him in this matter, even going before him in this matter. Our struggles with guidance, speculation, and our experimentations with relationships, Sometimes, beloved, we act like God grudged the fulfilment of our desires, our heart's desires. But we must believe. In faith, beloved, we must believe. that He wants and He plans for us, as He does for Abraham, as He does for Isaac, as He does for His servant here, when they operate in the realm of faith, believing that God wants and plans for us the best that can possibly be for us. In the beginning, with simplicity and clarity, God brought the woman to the man. Genesis chapter 2, He brought Eve to the man. We know that soon relationships were spoiled, human willfulness and stupidity came into it, listening to the devil instead of God. But had they trusted their relationships to God, believing, believing His will for them in their lives with fullness, was abundance, was the best that it could possibly be. How different, how different it would have been for Adam and Eve. But here, it's not Abraham. It's not his servant. It's not Isaac who makes the important decisions. It's the Lord. It's the Lord that makes the important decision. He chooses the wife for Isaac. And when it comes to the important decisions in our lives, believe me, beloved, it's best left to him. It's best left to God to make those decisions. I say to you, wait, beloved, wait, no matter how long you have to wait. I say to you, wait on the Lord. That way, you will never, never be disappointed or put to shame. Amen.