Vs.2- “And Abraham
said unto his eldest servant of his house,”- 1.) His Name- Although the servant’s name is not
mentioned, most believe this to be Eliezer mentioned in Gen.15:2. The story that is about to unfold in Genesis
Ch.24 is about the father (Abraham) sending his servant (Eliezer) to go to a
distant country to get a bride (Rebekah) for his son (Isaac). This is a beautiful picture of how God the
Father sends the Holy Spirit into the world and is calling out the bride of
Christ, the church, for the Son, Jesus Christ.
The Hebrew name Eliezer means “God is help.” John 14:6 tells us that the Holy Spirit is
our comforter or paraclete. The word
means that he is one called alongside to help.
The Holy Spirit is our helper.
Jesus said that it was expedient for him to go away so that he could
send the Holy Spirit to help us. This
servant seems to be an obvious type of the Holy Spirit in this portion of
scripture.
2.) His Age- The
servant is said to be the eldest servant of Abraham’s house. If this is Eliezer, which I believe it is,
then he has been with Abraham for over 50 years. Eliezer is mentioned in Gen.15:2 which is
sometime before Hagar was given to Abraham.
Hagar and Abraham had a son named Ishmael who was 14 years of age when
Isaac was born. Isaac is 40 years of age
in this story, Ishmael would be 54, and thus we must conclude that Eliezer has
been with Abraham at least 55 years.
Abraham is about to give Eliezer a very important task. He did not just give this job to anyone. Abraham made sure that he sent his most
trusted servant. Greatness is not
measured in years, but in decades.
Eliezer had proven himself to Abraham for many years now. We also know from scripture that wisdom is
found in grey hairs. Abraham knew that
Eliezer was a wise and faithful servant and could be trusted with this great
task.
3.) His Position- He
was a servant of Abraham. We do not know
how Eliezer became Abraham’s servant.
The word for servant (Ebed) means a slave or bondservant. He was owned by his master and expected to
follow his master’s bidding.
that ruled over all that he had,
Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:- 4.) His Responsibility- We see here that Eliezer
was a man given great responsibility.
A.) His past responsibility- He
was over all that Abraham owned. This
was a major task! Abraham is extremely
wealthy and has much cattle, servants, gold, silver, etc. Gen.15:2 describes this servant as the
steward of Abraham’s house. He was in
charge of keeping everything organized and running smoothly. This reveals to us that Abraham had great
trust in this man. B.) His present responsibility. Abraham trusted him with all of his substance
so it is no surprise that he would now give this great task at hand to the
servant he puts absolute confidence in.
Abraham has Eliezer put his hand under his thigh. This was an ancient way of swearing an
oath. Apparently the idea is that if you
don’t keep the oath you promised then may the descendants of the one you lied
to rise up and deal with you. I’m glad
that this is not something we follow today!
Abraham is about to have Eliezer swear to him concerning the important
task at hand.
One-Line
Explanation- Abraham desires that his eldest servant
make a promise to him.
Lesson: 1.) God has given us a helper to convict us
of our sin, comfort us in our sorrow, and guide us in our study. We cannot live the Christian life without the
aid of the Holy Spirit. God has given us
a great gift. Let us be sure not to
quench or grieve the Holy Spirit, but rather yield to the Spirit and obey His
promptings in our life.
2.) We
live in a society that has a negative view of the older community. They see the older crowd as out of date,
ignorant, out of style, and out of touch.
The older generation may not know how to use the internet or a cell
phone as well as you do, but they have years of wisdom and should be
respected. The World War II generation
may not know how to get a hold of you via e-mail, but they know how to get a
hold of God via prayer. They may not be
as savvy on technology, but they know how to walk with God. We see them as ignorant, but their generation
served God and ours is vastly rejecting and turning away from God. I think it would do some of us well to look
to the old preachers and the old saints and seek their wisdom. Abraham understood that there was much wisdom
with his eldest servant.
3.)
There is no greater position than that of a servant. We are the servants, bond slaves, of the Lord
Jesus Christ. A.) I am a servant by purchase. Jesus purchased me with His own blood on the
cross of Calvary. Therefore, I am not my
own; I am bought with a price. It is my
obligation to serve Christ because He purchased me. B.) I
am a servant by choice. A servant could
be set free, but decide that he loves his master and wants to be a servant
forever. He would then pierce his ear
with an awl as an outward symbol of his devotion to his master. (Exo.21:5-6)
I am not just a servant by purchase, but by choice. I choose to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. There is not greater position than to be a
servant of the King of Kings.
4.)
Eliezer was given great responsibility because he had proven himself
over many years of faithful service.
Many people want great responsibility, but they don’t want to make the
sacrifices and put in the years of service to earn that right. The Bible teaches that you must first be
faithful over the little things before God will make you faithful over great
things. The cream always rises to the
top. If you desire to be used by God and
given great responsibility then be faithful, have a servant’s spirit, and do you
best at whatever task God gives you. Luke 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is
faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in
much. Luke 16:11 If therefore ye have
not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the
true riches? Luke 16:12
And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who
shall give you that which is your own? If you
will be faithful in the small thing then God can trust you with bigger
things. Some people won’t come to church
unless they have some position in the church.
The way it works is exactly the opposite. God will not put you into a position until
first you show that you can be faithful in the small things like church
attendance. Why should the Pastor make
you a Sunday school teacher and allow you to teach God’s word when you are not
faithful to obey yourself? If you want
God to promote you and give you more responsibility then you must first prove
that you can be faithful with the requirements He has already given you. God doesn’t move you on to the 2nd
grade until you have completed first grade.
If you are not faithful to tithe, attend church, or witness, don’t
expect God to make you the next great evangelist. Eliezer was faithful to his master and as he
served he was trusted him with more and more responsibility.
No comments:
Post a Comment