God's Faithfulness In Redemption For His People

Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban,

and Laban ran outside to the man at the spring,

referring to the servant that has come looking

for a wife for Isaac. When he saw the ring and

the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when

he heard the words of Rebekah, his sister, saying,

This is what the man said to me. He went to the

man, and behold, he was standing by the camels

at the spring, and he said, Come in, blessed

of the Lord. Why do you stand outside, since

I have prepared the house and a place for the

camels? So the man entered the house. Then Laban

unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed

to the camels, and water to wash his feet, and

the feet of the man who were with him. But when

food was set before him to eat, speaking of the

servants, he said, I will not eat until I have

told my business. And he said, Speak on. So he

said, I am Abraham's servant. The Lord has greatly

blessed my master so that he's become rich. And

he has given him flocks and herds and silver

and gold and servants and maids and camels and

donkeys. Now Sarah, my master's wife, bore a

son to my master in her old age, and he has given

him all that he has. My master made me swear,

saying, You shall not take a wife for my son

from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose

land I live, but you shall go to my father's

house and my relatives and take a wife for my

son. I said to my master, Suppose the woman does

not follow me. He said to me, The Lord, before

whom I have walked, will send his angel with

you and make your journey successful. And you

will take a wife for my son from my relatives

and from my father's house. Then you will be

free from my oath when you come to my relatives.

And if they do not give her to you, you will

be free from my oath. So, I came today to the

spring, and said, O Lord, the God of my master

Abraham, if now you will make my journey on which

I go successful, behold, I am standing by the

spring, and may it be that the maiden who comes

out to draw, and to whom I say, Please, let me

drink a little water from your jar, and she will

say to me, You drink, and I will draw from your

camels also. Let her be the woman whom the Lord

has appointed for my master's son. Before I had

finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebecca

came out with her jar on her shoulder and went

down to the spring and drew, and I said to her,

Please, let me drink. She quickly lowered her

jar from her shoulder and said, Drink, and I

will water your camels also. So I drank, and

she watered the camels also. Then I asked her

and said, Whose daughter are you? And she said,

The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah

bore to him. And I put the ring on her nose and

the bracelets on her wrists. And I bowed low

and worshipped the Lord and blessed the Lord,

the God of my master Abraham. who had guided

me in the right way to take the daughter of my

master's kinsman for his son. So now, if you

are going to deal kindly and truly with my master,

tell me, and if not, let me know, that I may

turn to the right or the left. Then Laban and

Bethuel replied, The matter comes from the Lord,

so we cannot speak to you good or bad. Here is

Rebekah before you. Take her and go, and let

her be the wife of your master's son, as the

Lord has spoken. When Abraham's servant heard

their words, he bowed himself to the ground before

the Lord. The servant brought out articles of

silver and articles of gold and garments and

gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things

to her brother and to her mother. Then he and

the men who were with him ate and drank and spent

the night. When they arose in the morning, he

said, Send me away to my master. But her brother

and her mother said, Let the girl stay with us

a few days, say ten. Afterward, she may go. He

said to them, Do not delay me since the Lord

has prospered my way. Send me away that I may

go to my master. And they said, 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 servants and his men. They blessed

Rebekah and said to her, May you, our sister,

become thousands of ten thousands, the gate of

those who hate them. Then Rebekah arose with

her maids, and they mounted the camels and followed

the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

Now Isaac had come from going to bear Laharoi,

for he was living in the Negev. Isaac went out

to meditate or pray 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. And the servant told Isaac

all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought

her into his mother Sarah's tent and took Rebecca,

and she became his wife, and he loved her. Thus

Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

When we think about all the many blessings that

we have and we enjoy as believers, When we think

about the cross of Christ, the heartbeat of Christianity,

and the work that the Lord Jesus Christ has done,

when we think about the reality that God sent

His Son into the world to take on flesh and dwell

among us, to obey the law of God on our behalf,

Brothers and sisters, when we think about the

reality that Christ died willingly on the cross

as a substitute and a sacrifice for undeserving

sinners, when we meditate and we dwell on the

fact that Christ burst forth out of death, that

He conquered the grave, and that He rose again

on the third day, that that same Christ, who

ascended to the right hand of the Father, will

return one day to consummate all of salvation

and all of His promises and to judge humanity.

When we think about the glorious reality of the

Gospel and how we enjoy it and the blessings

in our lives, why is that true for us? Why do

you as a believer enjoy the things that you enjoy

in Christ? Why will those glorious realities

in the future come about that we will enjoy one

day? It's all because God has been faithful in

the past to bring about His redemptive purposes

in the future for His people. Christ came into

the world and suffered and died and rose and

ascended and he will return because God has been

faithful in the past. And he continues to be

faithful to us in the present and he will continue

to be faithful in the future to bring about all

of his promises. We see this in our text today.

The faithfulness of God to accomplish His own

purposes and His own plans in redemption, in

the gospel, and ultimately in the life of every

single person that professes faith in the Lord

Jesus Christ. There's two things I want us to

consider from this text today. First, there's

the servant's diligence in accomplishing the

mission. We really see this in verses 33 through

the end of verse 61. This will be mostly an explanatory

section. We'll just walk through and touch base

on it and explain it and make sure that we understand

what the author is saying. And then the second

portion of the message is going to be the success

of the servant's mission. We see this in verses

62 through 67, where Rebekah returns to the promised

land, where she returns home with the servant,

and the gays of Rebekah and Isaac come together

providentially. And we see the two being married

and coming into union together, and we see this

mission being fulfilled and accomplished, realized

in their marriage. So first, the servant's diligence

in accomplishing the mission. Observe several

things about this section. In verse 33, observe

his earnestness after Laban has approached him

with somewhat questionable motives. He sees the

ring and he sees the... the bracelets that his

sister has been given, has received from this

servant. And that piques his interest in who

this man is. And we know a little bit later,

because of Jacob's story, the character of Laban.

So we're getting a little bit of insight, even

now, into the character of this man who supposedly...

Commends the blessing of God. But also we know

worships idols later because Rachel steals his

household idols. So this man comes out and greets

him. And I think even in that culture, in that

day, there was great hospitality for caravans

and visitors that were traveling. But I think

what we see is a bit of flattery with Laban in

this text. And the servant sees right through

it. The servant's like, hey, I'm here with a

task. I'm here with purpose. I'm here with a

mission. He says in verse 33, I will not eat

until I have told my business. And Laban said,

speak on. He was earnest. He was diligent. His

face set in the direction he was going, and he

was determined to accomplish the task that God

had given to him, that his master had entrusted

to him to bring about. He was determined to be

faithful to his master's wishes, to the God of

his master, and to the promise that he himself

loved and believed. And looked forward to. But

also notice. In verses 34 through 49. That after

Laban says speak on. The servant gives a discourse.

Where he basically recounts. Everything he's

done up until this point. The whole situation.

When we think about this. It's really a retelling.

of the entire story. It's a retelling of the

events. Now, in the Old Testament literature,

they didn't use a highlighter in the sense that

we have a highlighter. They didn't use bold to

emphasize things. But what the Old Testament

authors did, and we see this a lot throughout

the book of Genesis, What they did was when there's

something significant, when there's something

important, they repeat the story. They double

it to make sure you don't miss it. To make sure

that the readers say, there's something important

taking place here because it was just said again.

So he does this, but what's the essence of what

he does in this? This recounting of the events.

Well, he makes sure to assure Laban and his family

that Rachel would be marrying somebody who's

a good suitor. He says, listen, Abraham, he's

rich. He's very, very wealthy. And then he makes

sure to say that Isaac is the sole heir of all

that wealth. That Isaac is the sole heir of everything

that Abraham possesses. And he even demonstrates

this whenever he thanks them and he gives them

gifts and garments and he celebrates and he just

lavishes them with blessings. He proves this.

But ultimately, in this discourse, the author

or the servant is showing Laban and Bethuel and

the household that this thing is of God. This

thing is from God. It is His will. It is His

purpose. He is pleased in these things. He is

working for these things. He is working in and

through these things. God is favorably disposed

toward these things. He's demonstrating that

it is the will of God for Rebekah to marry Isaac.

He wants them to know this is from God and this

is of the Lord. He's been observing and watching.

He's been walking in the midst of providence

in this whole situation. He's confident of it.

And so he shows this to Laban. It's interesting

that as we see the servant doing this and we

read this discourse, it's almost as though the

servant has a rational knowledge of God's work

in his life. At this time. Because he's been

watching. Observing. And looking. For what God

is doing. In the situation. He's walking. Before

the Lord. Seeking. To know what God is doing.

In his midst. He takes time. To consider the

divine purposes. that are at work in his circumstances

and around him at this time in his life. I think

that's important for us to recognize and to know.

In many ways, I believe that this is a lost art,

something that men of old and men throughout

the ages have given themselves to, looking for

the work of God in their life. Looking for the

work of God around their life. Looking for the

work of God in their circumstances. Watching

providence. Looking and seeing and trying to

figure out what God is trying to do in the circumstances

that He has placed us providentially and sovereignly

in our own lives. This is something that's very,

very commendable for the servant. Again, I think

one of the reasons that Abraham so astutely chooses

this servant for this task. Abraham knows that

this servant is a spiritually minded man. That

he looks for the hand of God in all that he does.

That he looks for the hand of God in everything

that's taking place. So we see this servant gives

this discourse and seeks to convince them that

this is of the Lord. How does Laban and the household

respond? We see this in verses 50 through 51.

They recognize and they say, the matter comes

from the Lord. So he cannot speak. to you good

or bad. And then they say, here's Rebecca. Take

her. She's yours. She can go and be married to

your master. Now what's interesting about this

is that a little bit later, there's a different

kind of response when it's actually time for

them to leave. Now, we know that Laban was an

idol worshiper because of the later chapters

of Genesis with Rachel and Jacob. But we also

think that he probably, in some way, shape, or

form, worshipped the God of Israel, Abraham's

God. We don't know for sure. But he worshipped

the true God and he worshipped idols. We don't

know for certain. But even this man who was an

idol worshiper recognized the hand of God in

this situation in some way. He saw that this

was of the Lord in some capacity and that it

was a commendable thing and that they weren't

someone to go against that providence and that

divine purpose. The servant responds as he did

previously when Rebekah told him who he was.

He falls to the ground. He thanks God. And he

worships the Lord. He gives them gifts. And then

he pays the dowry price most likely. Meaning

he pays for any services that Rebekah would have

rendered to Laban in the household during that

time or in the future. So probably a good...

Amount of money. Then we see. That they fellowship.

They break bread. And then he wakes up the next

day. Or a little bit longer. A little bit later.

And he says. I'm ready. To return to my master.

We've celebrated. We've thanked God. We've worshipped

him. Back to my purpose. Back to the mission.

Back to the task at hand. The servant is very,

very diligent. Even though we see that Laban

hesitates. Even though Laban has second guesses

with regards to what? He had already previously

said. Why is he going back on his word now? We

see that he does this in verse 55. Listen to

what he says. But her brother, meaning Laban,

and her mother said, Let the girl stay with us

a few days. Say ten. Afterward she may go. The

language in this verse is very, very broad, very,

very vague, and very, very general. It's basically

like he's saying, let her stay a couple days

or much longer. Why is he saying this all of

a sudden now when he already said, we can't say

good or bad, take her. He's going back on what

he previously said. we see Laban's character

again revealing itself in some way. The mother

probably just wanted the daughter to remain because

this is a sudden thing. It's come on them suddenly.

She's not going to see her daughter again. She

wants time. But Laban most likely is trying to

get something out of the situation. He's trying

to milk it for what it's worth. He knows that

the servant has wealth. He knows that the servant

has money. And he wants to get as much as he

can possibly get from Abraham's household and

the servant. But the servant says, no, no, no,

no. That's not what we said. That's not what

we're doing. I have a purpose here. He says in

verse 56, Do not delay me since the Lord has

prospered my way. Send me a way that I may go

to my master. Don't go against providence. Don't

go against the divine purpose of God in this

situation. Don't set yourself in opposition to

the divine purposes of God that he's accomplishing

through these things. It's a subtle warning to

Laban and his family. He diligently perseveres

and stays on track and focuses on his mission.

And then we come to the big moment in verse 58.

They leave it up to Rebekah. Will she stay or

will she go? Will she go to this foreign land

she's never been? Will she marry this foreign

man she's never met, she's never known about?

Will she travel with this servant that she's

never met before this period of time in her life?

She will. She willingly goes. It's almost like

this is the culminating point. where she decides

to go with the man and to marry Isaac. She steps

out into the unknown in this situation by faith,

I believe. Then she's blessed by the household.

They depart and they return and they start back

on their return to the promised land. So we see

the diligence and the labor and the commitment

of this servant to the task that Abraham has

entrusted to him. And I think it's important

for us to understand and remember at this point

the reason the servant was doing this. It's because

Abraham was concerned about the future of the

gospel or the promise. Abraham is concerned about

preserving and continuing the blessing and the

promise and having heirs in that blessing and

that promise. So he wants his son to have a wife.

Now this leads us to the second thing. The second

part of this that we see. The success of the

servant's mission. We see this in that last section.

In verses... 62 through 67, where she returns

home and she finally comes together with her

husband. They're married. They're united. Now,

it's interesting in this text that there's a

providential moment in it that confirms this

is of the Lord's will. The language of the text

wants us to recognize this. It carries this idea

that Isaac is walking around, wandering around,

praying or meditating. He's walking around. Maybe

he's expecting them to return home. Maybe he's

looking and watching for them. But he's meditating.

He's praying. Probably, most likely, with his

eyes closed. And as he's walking around, He opens

his eyes and he sees the caravan coming towards

him. And his eyes look out and they lock with

this woman that's on her way toward him. But

it's not just that his eyes lock with her eyes.

The text wants us to know and recognize that

at the exact same moment that Isaac looks up

and sees and locks eyes with Rebekah, Rebekah's

eyes look up and they see. And they lock in with

Isaac's eyes. It's not happenstance. It's not

luck, brothers and sisters. It's the divine hand

of God orchestrating, blessing, and bringing

about His divine purposes. And He gives us this

providential scenario to confirm the reality

that this really is a marriage of God. But there's

more than just a marriage taking place, isn't

there? There's more than just a wedding happening

in this situation. We don't come to this section

of Scripture looking for marriage principles

for soulmates. Brothers and sisters, there's

something much, much deeper taking place in this

text. And that is the preservation and the perpetuity

and the continuance of the gospel of Jesus Christ

in the world. God is making preservation for

the gospel in future generations and future ages.

Ultimately, so that the gospel can come about

in time. and history, and the person of Jesus

Christ, and all the nations can be blessed by

Him. There's something much deeper taking place

than just a marriage. And it's all of the Lord.

We see this in a couple different ways. The providential

meeting, but we also see it And if you remember,

when the servant left, he was referring to Abraham

as his master. That Abraham was his master. When

he gets back to the promised land, now who is

he referencing as his master? Isaac. There's

been a transfer of leadership in the home. There's

been a transfer of the headship. From Abraham

as the patriarch of God's people to Isaac as

the patriarch of God's people. And then we see

that Rebekah is being taken into the tent of

the former matriarch. And now she's replacing

Sarah as the matriarch of God's people. What's

happening here, brothers and sisters? God is

preserving His people throughout the ages to

bring about Jesus Christ that sinners might be

forgiven and redemption might be accomplished.

More than a marriage is taking place here. More

than a relationship is present in this text.

The gospel is being accomplished. God is taking

one step. He's bringing the gospel in history

one step closer by progressing his redemptive

purposes in the world. The author wants us to

know that the future of the promise is secured.

It is safe. And it is guaranteed. It is sure.

And it is steady. And it's been brought about

and supported by divine providence and divine

power. Divine superintendence. He wants us to

know that redemption is a little bit closer because

God has faithfully been bringing about his purposes

through these people. We must recognize in this

text, and we have to recognize it, we have to

recognize the instrumentality of men in God's

purposes and His plans. We can't come to this

text and not recognize that God used the servant.

He did, brothers and sisters. God, in His mysterious,

sovereign purposes, and according to His good

pleasure, Chooses to use sinful men. To bring

about his purposes in the world. And I think

in the servant. We have a wonderful picture.

Of what those people are like. That God uses

in this world. They are spiritually minded. They

look for the hand of God. They are prayerful.

They are grateful. They are thankful. They are

diligent. They set their face and they stay on

task with the mission of the Gospel in their

lives, just like the servant did. They walk in

reverence and fear before the living God. I think

that's the greatest commendation of this servant.

He walked before the face of God the whole time.

He was conscious and aware. of God's working

and God's protection and God's provision and

God's providence in his life and in the situation.

He is an important and a vital part of God bringing

about his purposes. God uses men as instruments,

but we have to recognize that though men are

instrumental, The ultimate source of success

for any redemptive work is the Lord himself.

Men are but instruments in God's hands. An instrument

is only as good as the person that picks it up

and uses it. A wrench is only good if someone

picks it up and fixes something in a car or twists

the bolt. An instrument is useless if a sovereign,

mighty, powerful being does not use the instrument.

The same is true here. The ultimate source of

success for any redemptive work is the Lord himself.

God is the grand designer of all of redemption.

But brothers and sisters, he's not just the grand

designer. He's the supreme worker of redemption.

He is the supreme mover of redemption. He is

the grand orchestrator of all things Christ.

He is the grand orchestrator of all things in

the life of the church. He is the grand orchestrator

of the beautiful, wonderful work of redemption

that every single believer enjoys and takes part

in. He is the grand orchestrator of your sanctification

and your godliness in your life. He's not just

a designer. He's the orchestrator and the accomplisher

and the worker of those things. He didn't just

bring about the gospel in the person of Christ

and secure it in Christ and through the promises

in the Old Testament. But listen, He accomplishes

it in your life as redemption is applied. He's

still the grand worker. He's still the grand

designer. But He is the grand mover. In all things,

redemption. In every single aspect. Notice in

this text, just the portion that we read today.

How often a reference to the Lord takes place.

We see it in verse 31. Come in, blessed of the

Lord. Verse 35. The Lord has greatly blessed.

We see it in verse 40. He said to me, the Lord

before whom I have walked. Verse 42. Oh Lord,

the God of my master. Verse 44. Whom the Lord

has appointed for my master's son. Verse 48.

And I bowed low and worshipped the Lord and blessed

the Lord, the God of my master. Three references

in that one verse. Verse 50. Then Laban and Bethuel

replied, the matter comes from the Lord. Then

we see it again in verse 51, as the Lord. Then

we see it in verse 52, himself to the ground

before the Lord. We see it in verse 56. He said

to them, do not delay me. Since the Lord has

prospered my way, send me a way that I may go

to my master. And surely, whenever we read in

verse 66, and the servant told Isaac all the

things that had happened, how many times do you

think he referenced the Lord in recounting the

situation to his master himself? Brothers and

sisters, the servant was faithful. But listen.

We must never get this confused. It was God who

accomplished the divine work. It was God who

efficaciously brought about His purposes in this

situation. Because the Lord is the ultimate source

of success, For all his gospel purposes. All

of them have come about. And all of them will

come about. And they will be brought to their

appointed ends. He has been faithful in the past.

He is faithful now. And he will be faithful in

the future. Will he not brothers and sisters?

That means that he will be faithful to build

his church and to call in all those lost, dying,

unregenerate men who don't know Christ and to

gather them into his people. That means, brothers

and sisters, that he will sustain and preserve

his church throughout the ages until the return

of Christ. That means, brothers and sisters,

that He will accomplish and bring every single

gospel purpose in your life to its appointed

ends. Every single one. That's why the cross

came about. Because God was faithful to bring

it about. Just as certain. As God accomplished

the work in Genesis 24, God accomplished the

work with Christ in the Gospel, just as certain

is His accomplishment of His work in our lives

today, and just as certain, as those are true

and a reality and have come about and are being

brought about, He will bring about every future

purpose He has. For his people. But there is

another thing. That we have to recognize. Just

as sure. And just as certain. As redemption is.

Just as sure. And just as certain. As the cross.

Will be judgment. Every single person who does

not know Jesus Christ by faith and repentance

will certainly be judged for their rebellion

against the living God. Just as sure as God has

brought about every gracious design that he has

in Christ, he will bring about judgment upon

the head of those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ.

He has accomplished redemption in the Lord Jesus.

It has been proclaimed throughout the ages. The

gospel has been made known. Don't cast that off

because of the fickle desires of your heart for

iniquity and for sin and for worldliness and

carnality. Forsake those things and look to the

Lord Jesus Christ by faith. And find safety and

refuge and hope and eternal life and joy in the

person and in the work of Christ. Be changed

and be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And have your future guaranteed and certain because

of the cross. God is a faithful God, brothers

and sisters. And He is faithful to all His purposes.

So the plea is to look at the faithfulness of

God to bring about His redemptive purposes. And

be compelled to run to the Lord Jesus Christ

because you know that He will judge those outside

of Christ just as certainly. He has accomplished

redemption for those in Christ.