Vs.21- “And the man wondering at her held
his peace,”- The servant is pondering and speculating the events that have
just transpired. He is wondering about…
1.) The attributes of this young
lady. She has been courteous, humble,
willing to serve, diligent, and quick in her service. Numerous positive qualities have been
displayed by this woman in a short matter of time. 2.)
The providence of God. Providence
is the care and superintendence which God exercises over His creation. God oversees and orchestrates events to bring
to pass His will. He does this many
times in accordance to the prayers of His children. The servant’s prayer was that the Lord would
lead him to the right woman for his master’s son and that the Lord would make
it evident by having this woman perform certain tasks. Rebekah was placed in the path of the servant
and has performed every duty the servant requested in prayer to the Lord. Now he is in deep thought as to whether the
Lord has truly answered his prayer.
Could it be a coincidence that all of these things have come to pass
just as he had prayed for them to? Could
it be that Rebekah was the answer to his prayer? 3.)
The next step. The servant is
probably thinking, “If she is the one, then what do I do now?” He is determining in his mind if she is truly
the one and if he should pursue this further.
“to wit whether the Lord had made his journey
prosperous or not.”- ‘To wit’ or ‘if’ the Lord
had made his journey prosperous. His
contemplation was on whether or not God had truly prospered him in his journey.
One-Line Explanation: The servant
wonders whether Rebekah is an answer to prayer or not.
Lesson: 1.) How do I know? The servant prayed a specific prayer. His prayer was that God would reveal the
woman for Isaac to him by having her give him something to drink and offering
water to his camels as well. Soon after
his prayer, Rebekah has come on the scene and fulfilled everything the servant
prayed for and she has done so with an excellent spirit and has revealed an impeccable
character. Yet, through all of this, the
servant still wonders and speculates whether she is the one or not. I have been here many times. I think this is just human nature. We are prone to doubt and debate in our
minds. I have prayed specific prayers
also, and God has answered those prayers just as I desired, but yet I struggled
in my mind whether it was really the Lord or if it was just circumstances. There are a few indicators here that tell us
how the servant knew these events were God’s providence in answer to prayer and
not merely circumstance. A.) The events that transpired. You could probably debate whether it was circumstance
or not concerning Rebekah’s willingness to give the servant a drink of water
upon his request, but the fact that she offered his camels drink as well, just as
he had prayed, is not usual. For
example, I was working at a church in Lewisville, TX. The church was an older church and was in
need of a renewed vision for reaching the younger generation. The pastor put me in charge of the scheduled
soul-winning my first week at the church.
I scheduled the soul-winning time for 10:00 AM on Saturday. I was praying all week that God would help us
to get some young people into our church.
I drove to the church that morning and every route to the church was
blocked off. I had no idea what was
going on. I had to park a block away and
walk to the church. It just so happened
that that morning was the high school parade through town. The parade with all of the floats started
right in front of our church and the road was blocked off. I felt like such an idiot! None of our soul-winners were going to be
able to get to the church. I waited at
the church and sure enough no one showed up.
As I was sitting at the church feeling like a failure, a tornado siren
went off and it began to rain very heavily.
Everyone was instructed to find shelter immediately. The leaders of the floats came to me and
asked if I would let the young people into the church. I got out my key and opened the door and let
in 300-400 teenagers. God answered my
prayer literally! Through the duration
of the storm I went from one group to another witnessing to them and inviting
them to our church. I have seen God work
circumstances in my favor according to my prayers many times. I don’t believe this was coincidence. I believe it was the providence of God. B.)
Timing. The text seems to
indicate that Rebekah showed up fairly soon after the servant’s prayer. God will use timing to reveal His providence
to us. There have been many occasions
that God has given us the money we needed right when we needed. Couldn’t God give us the money earlier? Yes, but then we wouldn’t know that it was
God in His providence coming through for us.
God reveals Himself to us by coming through right on time. God’s timing reveals God’s providence. 2.)
Give it some thought. This
servant is about to make a very important decision. This decision involves the life partner of
his master’s son. It also involves
choosing one of the matriarchs in the Messianic line. The promise of blessing is through
Isaac. The servant has a very important
job to do and a very important decision to make. I do not criticize him for stopping for a
second and thinking about what has transpired before he proceeds any
further. Don’t ever jump too
hastily. It is great wisdom to stop and
think about your current situation and decisions that have to be made before
you make an important decision. Stop and
think before you choose your career, stop and think before you pick the college
you will spend the next four years or more, stop and think before you choose a
life partner. I am amazed at the women
who marry abusive and ungodly men and say that they didn’t know him that well
when they got married. Shouldn’t you
stop and think and consider such things before making such a monumental life
decision? I am convinced that the
majority of sins committed would be avoided if the person involved would take a
minute and consider the consequences before engaging in the activity. Stop and ponder before you act.
An excellent lesson!
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