Vs.42- “And I came this day unto the well,”- After a long journey, the
servant came to the well. He rehearses
in their ears the events of the day.
“and said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, if
now thou do prosper my way which I go:”- The servant tells them of his prayer
unto God. His prayer is thus, “Lord, if
you see fit to show me favor and make my endeavor successful then please show
me some sign or evidence of such.” (See
Vs.12)
One-Line Explanation- The servant tells Rebekah’s family
about his prayer at the well.
Vs.43- “Behold, I stand by the well of water: and it shall come to pass, that when the
virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a
little water of thy pitcher to drink:”- The servant continues his rehearsal in
their ears of his prayer earlier that day.
(See Vs.14)
Vs.44- “And she
say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath
appointed out for my master’s son.”- The servant tells them of his prayer and
Rebekah’s response to indicate to them that he feels God has orchestrated all
of this. (See Vs.14)
One-Line Explanation- The servant tells Rebekah’s family
about his petition to God at the well.
Lesson: 1.) I believe
God is in this. In rehearsing this part
of the story, the servant is making it clear to Rebekah’s family that he
believes God has orchestrated the events of the day. He believes God has directed him to Rebekah’s
family and prospered his way. It is
evident in Vs.50 that the message was received and Rebekah’s family felt that
God was sovereignly moving as well. There
are a few interesting thoughts about this.
A.) Why did the servant feel that
God was involved? How did he detect the
invisible hand of God moving? I believe
there are three ways he knew God was moving.
i.) The Path. The servant knew that he was doing his master’s
will. If we are following God’s Word and
God’s promises, if we are following our Master’s will, then we can know that
God will move and guide us. ii.) The Place. The servant was not only doing what he was
supposed to, but he was also where he was supposed to be. He said, “I being in the way…” We know that if we follow the Lord and go
where He wants us to go then we can expect His hand to move in our favor. I believe that God calls people to specific
locations and specific ministries and churches to serve the Lord. iii.) The Prayer. The most evident way of knowing God was
moving was that the servant’s specific prayer was answered quickly and
precisely. iv.) The Person. The servant was sent to find a relative to be
Isaac’s wife. Only a few people would
qualify. Rebekah met all of the
qualifications! When we are following
God’s Word and God’s will for our lives and God answers specific prayers and
works out all of the exact details; He makes
it evident that His sovereign hand is pulling the strings behind the
curtain. B.) It
is God that brings two parties together.
God used the servant, but orchestrated the events. We must realize this truth when we are
witnessing. God uses us as servants to
give out the Gospel. Rebekah would have
never married Isaac if the servant had not gone to Mesopotamia. It is our job to go into all the world and
preach the Gospel to every creature. The
servant had to go, but he could not make Rebekah choose to marry Isaac. We must go and we must realize that we can’t
save anybody. Only the Lord can save
someone. It is the Lord that brings
fallen man back into fellowship with a holy God. Some plant, some water, but God gives the
increase. 2.) ‘the woman whom the Lord
hath appointed.’ The word appointed
means ‘chosen; selected; fixed; set; established; decreed; ordained;
constituted; allotted.” The Lord had a woman
pre-selected and chosen for Isaac. There
is no doubt that the Scripture teaches that God chooses His bride (those that
will be saved). The Bible uses the word
elect or election on numerous occasions.
To elect means to choose just as we elect a president every four
years. The doctrine of election is
clearly in the Scriptures and is not controversial at all, but what are
controversial are the questions of how and in what manner God chooses who will
be saved. There are two main views. A.)
The prescient view. This is the
view that God, in His omniscience, knows who will in the course of time through
their own free will accept Jesus as their personal Saviour. On the basis of this foreknowledge, God
elects them to salvation before the foundation of the world (1 Pet.1:2). This view is seen as robbing God of His
sovereignty, but that is not true. God
being sovereign means that He is in control and He makes the rules. I give my children choices all of the
time. Allowing my children a free will
to choose does not rob me of my authority and leadership in their lives. B.)
The Augustinian view. This is the
view that God is in complete control of the salvation process. God chooses whom He will save (and those He
will damn) before the foundation of the world. God calls (effectual calling) the elect and
they are drawn to salvation by irresistible grace. It is God that grants them the faith to be
saved. In other words, God chooses who
will be saved and who will be damned, it has been settled since the foundation
of the world and there is nothing we can do about it either way. This view robs man of his free will and it
robs God of His love. How can we say
that God loves everybody if he elected them to damnation before the foundation
of the world? I personally believe the
first view. The Bible tells us what God
basis His election on. We are “elect according
to the foreknowledge of God.” The Bible
says He hath chosen us in him (Eph.1:4).
If we want to get technical, God has chosen His Son as the way of
salvation. It is Jesus that is
chosen. We are chosen ‘in Him.” If you are in him by trusting Him as your
Saviour, then you are the elect. The
bride of the son is an appointed bride.
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