Vs.27- “And he said, Blessed be the
Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his
mercy and his truth:”- Abraham’s servant praises the Lord out loud and thanks God for
providing mercy and truth. By mercy he
speaks of God’s favor and kindness towards Abraham. God showed mercy in prospering the way of the
servant in this endeavor and kindness in providing a suitable wife for
Isaac. The provision of truth is
speaking in particular of God’s promise to make a nation of people out of the
seed of Isaac. If Isaac is to be the
line through which this nation is born then he must have a wife. God has promised a blessed nation and a
Saviour through the lineage of Abraham and Isaac. God’s word is true and he will provide a way
for truth.
“I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house
of my master’s brethren.”- The
servant also praises God for directing him and leading him to Isaac’s family in
Mesopotamia. ‘I being in the way’ speaks
of following God’s direction and seeking God’s direction. He was sent by his master to the land of
Mesopotamia and while he was pursuing a wife for his master’s son, God directed
his steps.
One-Line Explanation:
The servant praises God for mercy, truth, and direction.
Meaning of Names and Terms:
1.
Destitute- Not having or possessing;
wanting; as destitute of virtue, or of peity; destitute of food and clothing.
It differs from deprived, as it does not necessarily imply previous possession.
Lesson: 1.) “Blessed be
the Lord God of my master Abraham.” When
he says, “Blessed be the Lord God,” the sense is that of extolling, praising,
or magnifying. Because of God’s favor
and provision for him he praised, extolled, and magnified the Lord in front of
the others. A.) His Declaration. The servant was declaring to all those present
that the God he served was a wonderful God worthy of praise, worship, honor,
majesty, and glory. We should be
declaring the goodness of God. Some may
say, “Well, I just worship God in my heart.”
That sound spiritual, but the Bible says in Heb.13:15- By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise
to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his
name. God expects us to praise Him with
our lips. We should magnify and praise
the Lord to our children, to our co-workers, to our friends, to our neighbors,
and to all we are in contact with.
B.) His Designation. The servant makes it clear which God he is
speaking of. In vs.12 I mentioned how
Jehovah God is called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob throughout
scripture. This is a term of
designation. We live in a day where we
are told to pray and speak in general terms so as to not offend anyone. Preachers are asked to pray at political
gatherings and are instructed not to pray in the name of Jesus, but to just use
the generic term “God.” This is done so
that when the generic title is used a Muslim will not be offended because the
individual praying could be speaking to Allah, or some other religionist would
feel that their deity is the one being addressed. I believe, however, in terms and titles of
distinction because the Bible is clear on the subject. We are to worship Jesus, pray to Jesus, and
praise the name of Jesus. The Scripture
is clear on the fact that God’s name is precious and to be honored. The servant said, “Blessed be the Lord
(Jehovah) God (Elohim) of my master Abraham.”
Jehovah, translated ‘Lord’, is the national name of God in Israel. Elohim, translated ‘God’, is the generic term
usually used for the one true God, but sometimes used for false gods. The servant distinguishes who he is speaking
of in two ways. i.) By using the national proper name of God. He blesses Jehovah God. ii.)
By clarifying that the God he blesses is the God of Abraham. This would be like a modern day Christian
saying, “Praise the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible.” There would be no doubt who we were speaking
of. 2.)
“Who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth.” Abraham was not lacking in mercy or in
truth. When we think of the word
destitute, we think of lacking food, clothing, or other physical necessities of
life, but we rarely think of being spiritually destitute. The riches of this world are temporal, but
the true riches in Christ are eternal.
We thank God for giving us monetary blessings, and we should, but we
rarely give thanks for the spiritual blessings of God. The servant praised God for three
things. A.) Mercy.
Mercy is that benevolence,
mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries,
or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice,
and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to
forbear punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant. In this
sense, there is perhaps no word in our language precisely synonymous with
mercy. That which comes nearest to it is grace. It implies benevolence,
tenderness, mildness, pity or compassion, and clemency, but exercised only
towards offenders. Mercy is a distinguishing attribute of the Supreme Being. As wicked, depraved sinners that have
violated the law of God, we deserve nothing but hell and judgment; but God,
through His sacrifice on the cross, has given us mercy. By trusting Christ as our Saviour we receive
mercy instead of what we rightly deserve.
I deserve nothing from God; therefore, anytime God shows me kindness and
blessing, He is extending mercy. We
should constantly praise God for His mercy on us. B.)
Truth. What is truth? God’s Word is truth. John 17:17- Sanctify them through thy
truth: thy word is truth. Psa.119:160- Thy word is true from the
beginning: and every one of thy righteous
judgments endureth for ever. What is
truth? Jesus is truth incarnate. John
14:6- Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. What is truth? Truth is absolute. Many believe today that truth is
relative. Relative truth is defined as
truth that is true at only one time and at one place. It’s true to some people and not to
others. It’s true now but it may not
have been true in the past and it may not be again in the future, it’s always
subject to change. It is also subject to
perspective of people. Absolute truth is
defined as follows; whatever is true at one time and at one place is true at
all times and at all places. What is true
for one person is true for all persons.
Truth is true whether we believe it or not. Truth is discovered or it is revealed, it is
not invented by a culture or by religious men.
The Bible is absolute truth and we should thank God every day that we
have truth. C.) Direction.
The servant praised the Lord for directing his steps and leading
him. We are simple sheep following the
Good Shepherd. We should praise the Lord
for directing us and leading us in the right way. 3.) “I
being in the way.” This is a great
statement! It was God that blessed the
servant and prospered his way, but the servant put himself in position to be
blessed. The truth is simply this: You do what you can do and trust God to do
what you can’t do. You have to make the
first step. God won’t do for you what
you can do for yourself. James 4:8- Draw
nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you…
There are hundreds of verses similar to this one in Scripture. These are cause and effect verses. If we draw nigh to God then he will draw nigh
to us. If you delight yourself in God
then he will give us the desires of our hearts (Psa.37:4). If we seek first God’s kingdom, then all of these
things will be added unto us (Matt.6:33).
If you want God’s blessings and leading then you must position yourself
to be blessed by God. God won’t bless
you if you are living in sin or if you are lazy and not following Biblical
principles. The servant needed God’s
help in finding a wife for Isaac, but he had to do his part. He had to load the camels, travel 400 miles
to Mesopotamia, pray, etc. You say, “I
need God to give me a good job to take care of my family.” Alright, then I suggest that you send out
your resume, fill out applications, get on-line and find a job, and pray. Do everything you can do and trust God to do
the rest. If you want God to use you in
the area of evangelism, then you need to get your fishing pole in the
water. You need to be in the way. You need to have tracts in your pocket, you
need to pray for divine appointments, you need to be looking for opportunities to
witness, you need to go with your church on their designated soul-winning
day. We can’t make anybody get saved,
but we won’t see anybody saved if we aren’t ‘in the way.’ Elisha would not leave Elijah’s side. On three different occasions Elijah told
Elisha to tarry or wait while he went somewhere. Elisha responded by saying he would not leave
Elijah’s side. 2 Kings 2:9-10- And it came to pass, when they were gone over,
that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken
away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy
spirit be upon me.
(Vs.10) And he said, Thou
hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am
taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. Elisha
would not leave Elijah’s side and he was eventually blessed because of it. Elisha was positioning himself for
blessing. He was making sure that he was
‘in the way.’ I thought of a few ways to
be ‘in the way.’ A.) Be at church.
The church is God’s idea and it is commanded that you attend. You cannot have God’s blessings on your life
if you are not ‘in the way’ at church.
Position yourself for blessing and be at church this Sunday. B.) Be
‘in the way’ at your church’s soul-winning program. Our church has a set time to go into our
community and give out the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has promised to bless those that give out
the Gospel. C.) Be ‘in the way’ in the area of
relationships. Pro.13:20- He that
walketh with wise men shall be wise: but
a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
If you want to position yourself for God’s blessings on your life then
make sure you hang around the right crowd that won’t cause you to forfeit God’s
best for your life. D.) Be ‘in the way’ when it comes to God’s
will. If God calls you to be a
missionary to Nicaragua then the best thing you can do is follow God’s
will. Jonah was called to go preach to
Nineveh, but instead he ran from God’s will and fled to Tarshish. God prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah
and readjust his attitude. God had a
plan for Jonah, but he did not want to be ‘in the way.’ Wherever God leads he will provide. We worry about how we are going to make it
financially, or how we will cope in a different culture, or how we will make it
in a different climate, or how we will survive in a third world country,
etc. Wherever God calls you to go, just
obey and go. It is our job to simply ‘be
in the way’ and God will lead us and guide us as he did this servant.
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