Do We Believe God Direct Our Steps?
“And they said, [Rebekah’s brother & mother]
(Genesis 24: 57-61 NASB)
“We will call the girl and consult her wishes.”
Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”
And she said, “I will go.”
Thus they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men.
They blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“May you, our sister,
Become thousands of ten thousands,
And may your descendants possess
The gate of those who hate them.”
Then Rebekah arose with her maids, and they mounted the camels and followed the man.
[Rebekah followed Abraham’s servant, riding away from her home,
going toward the Promise Land].
So the servant took Rebekah and departed.”
In the Bible, there are sixty-six books: thirty-nine residing in the Old Testament & twenty-seven comprising the New Testament.
In the Bible, encased within the first book Genesis, we find the retelling of the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah, a marriage unlike others because this retelling requires sixty-seven verses. Why?
We may ask this question, wondering why God would require Moses to record so much detail.
- The servant of Abraham (Isaac’s father) traveled far, leaving Canaan.
- The servant of Abraham had one task: seek a wife for Isaac (Abraham’s son).
- The servant of Abraham had served his master a long time, for Abraham was old, nearing death.
- The servant of Abraham believed God & knew of God’s Covenant Promise given to Abraham, even when Abram was living in his homeland.
- The servant of Abraham was the oldest servant in all of his master’s household, serving Abraham many years; maybe that’s why he was chosen to go.
- The servant of Abraham made a promise to his master that he would not choose a wife for Isaac from the land of Canaan, not choosing a wife from a godless and pagan world.
- The servant of Abraham promised his master Abraham that he would travel to the homeland, to choose a wife for his son Isaac from the believers in God living there.
- The servant of Abraham promised to not take Isaac with him on this journey but to leave him behind in the Promise Land, waiting for the deliverance of his chosen wife.
- The servant of Abraham took his master’s camels from the herd and set out with a dowry, in search of Isaac’s wife.
- The servant of Abraham traveled to the city of Nahor, to his master’s land in Mesopotamia.
- The servant of Abraham stopped his journey at the city well, arriving at evening time when the women came to draw the water.
- The servant believed God would deliver, so he began to pray.
The servant of God believed He would answer, so he paused to pray, asking God—
“He said,
(Genesis 24: 12-14 NASB)
“O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today,
and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham.
Behold, I am standing by the spring,
and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water;
now may it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.”
- The servant of Abraham believed God would deliver.
- The servant of Abraham believed God would answer his prayer.
- The servant of Abraham believed God would keep his covenant promise He made long ago.
- The servant of Abraham believed God would lead the right daughter, the correct girl, the chosen bride for Isaac.
The servant of Abraham believed God would direct her steps.
Even though the servant of Abraham had never met Rebekah, the relative of Abraham from his homeland, still he knew God would answer his prayer. He prayed and then he waited for—
- The LORD answered his prayer!
- The LORD was faithful, as HE ALWAYS IS!
- The LORD answered his prayer, just as HE ALWAYS DOES!
The LORD directed Rebekah to approach the servant of Abraham, listening & obeying his specific directions—JUST AS HE HAD PRAYED!
- Was it coincidental and happenstance?
- NO!
- It was God-ordained & providential.
Do We Believe God Direct Our Steps?
What prayer concerns drive us to our knees, as we lift intercessory prayers for those we love?
What circumstances are we praying over today as we cry out to our Father?
What life-situations are so heavy, so burdensome, that the only possible solution is to lift the prayer need to the Father?
What thanksgivings are we praising our Father for this day?
- Our salvation?
- Our daily needs?
- Our children’s safety & future?
- Our day’s events?
- Our _____________________________ (EVERYTHING)?
Do we pray with faith, knowing God will answer, just as He has promised He would?
Do we pray with thanksgiving, remembering how God has always been faithful?
Do we pray & pray & pray & pray without ceasing?
If we DO BELIEVE GOD will answer our prayers—OR—If we think GOD needs our efforts, our help, to work out the details of our own lives, or if we think God will not answer our prayers—THEN WHY ARE WE EVEN PRAYING?!!!
- GOD WILL DIRECT OUR STEPS!
- DO WE BELIEVE?
- GOD WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYERS!
- DO WE REALLY BELIEVE?
As we continue to read God’s Word, we come to the end of this longest chapter in Genesis, right before the death of Father Abraham, we see how the servant of Abraham’s prayers were answered. We read how this servant believed God, reading the specific details how Isaac came to know, to meet, and to wed his wife Rebekah. We find—GOD’S COVENANT PROMISE WAS FULFILLED THROUGH ABRAHAM’S HEIR (ISAAC)—JUST AS THE LORD PROMISED!
“Now Isaac had come from going to Beerlahai-roi;
(Genesis 24: 62-67 NASB)
for he was living in the Negev.
[the homeland of Abraham]
Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening;
and he lifted up his eyes and looked,
and behold, camels were coming.
Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac
she dismounted from the camel.
She said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?”
And the servant said, “He is my master.”
Then she took her veil and covered herself.
[Rebekah prepared herself for the wedding, God’s Promised Covenant]
The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent,
and he took Rebekah,
and she became his wife, and he loved her;
thus Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”