Vs.39- “And I said unto my master, Peradventure the
woman will not follow me.”- The servant continues his account of his
errand. (See Vs.5)
Vs.40- “And he said unto me, The Lord, before whom
I walk,”- This recount of the story is a little different than what was said in
Vs.7. Abraham said in Vs.7, “The Lord
God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my
kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me..” Abraham spoke of God’s relationship to
him. God took him from his father’s
house, God spoke to him, and God promised him.
The servant reveals Abraham’s relationship to God. Abraham walked before God. To walk before God means to be conscientious
of the fact that God is always watching and to live a holy and upright life in
light of that fact.
“will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy
way,”-
The statement ‘and prosper thy way’ is not recorded in Vs.7. The servant simply makes the obvious
conclusion. If he is following his
master’s will and God sends an angel to direct His way then the obvious outcome
would be to prosper. Why else would God
send an angel to direct his path? Why
else would the angel of God lead the servant to Rebekah?
“and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my
kindred, and of my father’s house.”- (See Vs.7)
One-Line Explanation- The servant recounts his reservation
in going on the errand and Abraham’s assurance of prosperity.
Lesson: 1.) “The Lord,
before whom I walk.” We find walking
with God and walking before God mentioned throughout Scripture. To walk with God speaks of your relationship
with God, to walk before God speaks of your conduct before God. There are three elements to walking before
God. A.)
Confidence. We must trust by
faith and believe that God is there and God is watching. We have not seen God, but we have confidence
in His Word that He is always observing.
Faith is the foundation for everything.
The way a person believes effects the way they conduct themselves. If a person does not believe there is a God
then they will not live a holy lifestyle.
B.) Conscientiousness. Someone that walks before God is ever aware
of His presence. Those that walk before
God are in constant realization that God is with them, God sees them, and God
lives within them. C.) Conduct.
If we believe that God sees all things, and we are in a constant
realization of that fact, then the next obvious step is appropriate
conduct. We should live a life that is
holy and pleasing to God. He sees our
actions, He hears our words, He knows our thoughts, and He understands the motivation
of our hearts. We should seek to live a
life that is pleasing to Him. A child
will do bad things when he doesn’t think his parents are watching, but when he
is aware of his parent’s presence he is more likely to behave himself. The Lord is always present and He always
perceives, therefore we should live according to that truth. 2.) “..and
prosper thy way.” The Lord sent and
angel to guide and direct the servant to Rebekah. God prospered his way or made his endeavor
successful. God will never lead you
astray. The servant understood that if
God would direct him then the obvious conclusion was that God would prosper
him. We must understand the meaning of
the word, prosper. When we think of
prospering, we think of health and wealth.
The word literally means ‘to make successful.’ This is important to understand because
sometimes God leads us into time of trouble and difficulty. Sometimes God allows us to be tested and
suffer for His name. Job was following
the Lord, but was allowed to go through great trials and tribulations. We see this truth in the life of many Bible
characters and we know it to be true in our own personal lives. How do we justify the two statements? It seems like a contradiction to say that God’s
leading always results in prospering, but God’s leading can result in suffering
and persecution. The Bible tells us in Romans 8:28- And we now that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose. The Bible doesn’t
say that everything is good, but rather that everything works together for
good. We may have some potholes along
the narrow road, but the final destination is for our good and His glory. The Apostle Paul, for example, followed the
leading of the Lord when he was told by the Spirit of God to go to Macedonia
(Acts 16:9-10). Paul followed the
leading of the Lord and ended up beaten and in prison (Acts 16:23). But that’s not the end of the story! Paul is released from prison and leads the jailor
and his family to Christ (Acts 16:30-33)!
Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, was falsely accused and
thrown into prison, but eventually became a ruler in Egypt and saved his
household. Following God may have
troubles along the way, but the end result is prosperity! Your way will be prospered as long as you are
going God’s way.
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