Hope in the Promise

God, we thank you for your word, though it was written thousands of years ago, Lord.

It's timeless truths inspired by you, by your spirit.

Lord, speak to us, instruct us, and draw us closer to you.

We pray that you help us with the proper posture of humility to approach your word,

so that we may encounter you, hear your voice, and be transformed into the likeness of your son, Jesus Christ.

It's in his precious name we pray, amen.

When my first daughter, Ine, was two, she saw a kitty cake, ice cream cake in Star Market,

and she really, really wanted it.

And so we promised her, hey, when you turn three, birthday, we will get you that Hello Kitty cake.

And her birthday was still six months away or so, so we thought to ourselves,

surely she will forget in the span of the six months, and she's not going to ask us again.

But she remembered, and she actually rehearsed that promise in her mind every day, pretty much,

saying that, oh, when it's my birthday, you can give me the Hello Kitty cake.

When it's my birthday, you can give me the Hello Kitty cake.

So she remembered, and so on her third birthday, we did get her that exact Hello Kitty cake.

Thankfully, it was still there, and she was delighted.

And she hasn't, I mean, as a kid, experienced too many broken promises yet.

So she really believes, right?

When someone makes a promise to her, she knows and she believes that that's going to happen.

And the latest promise that she's been reminding us of daily is that when she turns four,

she gets to have not just one, but two vitamin gummies,

because that's what it says on the nutritional value chart, right?

And so now she's been asking for that nearly every time we give her the gummies.

Her eyes get wide, and she'll look at me and say,

really, matter of fact, with a teacher-like voice, she'll say,

oh, but when I turn four, I get to have two.

So I'm like, yeah, you get to have two when you turn four.

And so there's something that, as Christians, we can learn from children's example, right?

The childlike faith, right?

The humility, right?

The unqualified trust and dependence on her parents,

and really thinking that, yeah, they promised this to me.

They're going to give this to me, right?

If we had that as Christians, if we really believed God in us,

then we would pray, and we would pray persistently,

and we'd expect God to answer,

and we'd try to keep a record of the promise that He has made,

because we believe that He will answer those promises.

And that's what we see here happening in these chapters.

God had made these promises to Abraham.

He promised him a place for them.

He promised him a progeny,

and we see both of those things,

a place and a progeny, a place and a people,

fulfilled in chapters 23 and 24, respectively.

And then chapter 25 is kind of a summary of all these promises.

I'm not really going to cover that in depth,

but you could read that as well.

And altogether in these chapters,

God's teaching us that we can hold on to the promises of God,

as Abraham did,

because God has steadfast love and faithfulness toward His people.

So we can hold on to His promises

because God is steadfast in His love and faithful toward His people.

So let's go to Genesis 23 first

to see how God fulfills His promise of a place.

Genesis 23 begins with the notice of Sarah's death in verses 1 to 2.

It says,

And her husband Abraham wants to give her a worthy burial,

so he approaches the Hittites in verse 4 and makes this proposal.

I am a sojourner and foreigner among you.

Give me property among you for a burying place,

that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

This is really a revealing statement

because Abraham has now been in the land of Canaan for 62 years.

And for 62 years,

he's been holding on to God's promise

that he and his progeny are going to inherit this land.

And still he is a sojourner, a foreigner.

And that's how he identifies himself in the presence of these people.

And this was true.

Because even though Abimelech, as we saw earlier,

had granted him access to the well,

I mean, he has the well,

but he has no land property to his name, right?

Even though he had given the permission to freely dwell in the land of Canaan,

he doesn't still own any of the property.

So that's why he approaches the Hittites.

And this is a formal gathering.

It says it's at the city gates.

City gates are where the elders who are leading the town

sit together to make important decisions.

And conduct businesses.

And so here is Abraham presenting the case.

And in verse 10,

he asks for a property among you for a burying place.

Or he asks for it in this first few verses.

Now, notice that he's not just asking for permission to bury his wife,

but he's asking for the ability to purchase,

to buy a place for himself.

And the word possession that's used here is the same word that was used in Genesis 17,

8 to refer to God's promise of an everlasting possession.

It's the same word.

So we're about to witness whether God's promise to him of this possession will be fulfilled.

And the Hittites respond in a very considerate way,

but they're also very calculating.

You can see that in verse 6.

Hear us, my Lord.

You are a prince of God among us.

Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs.

None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.

Well, that's really nice, right?

You could bury your wife in the best of our graves.

But notice what they leave out.

They intentionally omit the fact that of any mention of property and possession.

Abraham asked for a place he can buy and own for himself to bury his wife

so that it can be guaranteed for the future generations that she'll be safe there.

But they don't mention that.

They say, no, just bury them among our tombs.

That's what they're saying.

And now Abraham is not ready to give up yet,

so he presses them and surely avoids that omission

and makes a second more specific proposition in verses 8 to 9.

If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight,

hear me and entreat for me Ephron, the son of Zohar,

that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns.

It is at the end of his field.

For the full price, let me give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.

You could see Abraham's concern to own the place.

Because if he receives the place for free,

in the future if disputes arise and someone wants to reclaim the land,

if Ephron wants to reclaim the land, he could potentially lose it

or Ephron could make demands of him because now he's indebted to him.

So he wants a secure place.

He wants to own the place, a property and possession.

And so he insists on that.

Now then Ephron responds in this way,

I give you the field and I give you the cave that is in it.

In the sight of the sons of my people, I give it to you.

Bear your dead.

And Abraham says, but if you will hear me,

I give the price of the field.

Accept it from me that I may bury my dead there.

And so Ephron is kind of pushing the corner.

And so now he finally ascends in a way because he says in verse 15,

My lord, listen to me.

A piece of land worth 400 shekels of silver.

What is that between you and me?

Bear your dead.

So in other words, he's saying,

We're both so rich and we're both so close.

What is 400 shekels?

Don't worry about it.

Just take it, right?

That's what he's saying.

And this is actually,

But the fact that he casually inserts the actual full price of the land

shows that he's not really interested in giving away for free.

If you're going to take it,

and if you're insisting on having to own it,

then you better pay me is what he's saying.

And that's actually the very typical way in the ancient Near East

they made transactions.

So it's kind of a semblance of,

you preserve a semblance of cordiality and relationship by saying,

Oh, you have it for free,

but if you're really, I want to know it costs this much.

And then they say, Okay, well, fine.

And so Abraham doesn't miss a beat.

So he goes, Okay.

Then he pays the amount.

He counts the money,

or rather he weighs the silver in verse 16.

And this is an official transaction.

And the fact that this is a public official transaction

is repeated throughout this passage

from phrases like in the hearing of the Hittites

or in the presence of the Hittites.

It's repeated five times throughout this passage

to show that this is that momentous time

when Abraham finally comes to own property

in the land of Canaan.

And notice how specific verses 17 to 18 is.

So the field of Ephron in Mechapolim,

east of Mamre,

the field with the cave that was in it

and all the trees that were in the field,

throughout this whole area,

was made over to Abraham

as a possession in the presence of the Hittites

before all who went in at the gate of the city.

And this is important

because even though the occasion for this purchase

is Sarah's death and her burial,

the whole narrative is really taken over

by this interaction with the Hittites and Abraham.

And the narrator focuses on that intentionally

because this shows God's faithfulness

in fulfilling his promise to Abraham of a place.

And notice it's near Mamre, right?

That's the place where God had given Abraham

and Sarah the promise

that in a year's time,

you will have Isaac, a son.

That's also the place when Abraham,

when he first entered the land of Canaan

in chapter 13, 18,

he built an altar

and staking out the land spiritually,

saying,

this is the land God has promised to me.

So it's a place that's really dear

to Abraham and Sarah's heart.

And that's the place God first gives to Abraham to own.

I hope you can appreciate the tenacity

and the perseverance of Abraham and Sarah

because it's not easy to be an immigrant.

It's not easy to be a foreigner, right?

Every day you live, right,

you have to learn an unfamiliar language,

get used to unfamiliar customs,

and they have to live with pervasive reminders

everywhere in the culture

and the society of their foreignness

with the lagging doubt in the back of their minds

that they don't quite belong.

And Abraham lived with this for 62 years

in this land of Canaan,

and he stayed

because he was holding on to the promises of God.

And that's why he's held up as an example of faith

in Hebrews 11.

It says in Hebrews 11, 9 to 10,

by faith Abraham went to live in the land of promise

as in a foreign land

living in tents with Isaac and Jacob

heirs with him of the same promise.

For he was looking forward to the city

that has foundations

whose designer and builder is God.

And it says later in verses 13 to 16

of the same chapter of Hebrews,

these all died in faith,

not having received the things promised,

but having seen them and greeted them from afar

and having acknowledged

that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

They desired a better country

that is a heavenly one.

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God,

for he has prepared for them a city.

The author of Hebrews is making a typological connection

here between the promised land,

the physical land of Canaan,

and heaven, the dwelling place of God.

And he's saying that this land of Canaan

that was promised to Abraham was a type,

it's a prefigurement of the ultimate promised land,

which is to dwell with God in heaven.

And as Christians,

then we are called to live as sojourners

and foreigners on earth,

looking ahead to that promised land,

holding on to the promises of God

in the same way Abraham did.

Now, what does that look like for us today,

right,

to hold on to the promises of God?

Well, the world tells us, right,

that wealth will bring us happiness,

that we should accumulate more

so that we could spend more,

so that we could be more happy, right?

But God tells us in Matthew 6, 19 to 20,

do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth

where moth and rust destroy,

where thieves break in and steal,

but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven

where moth and rust do not destroy,

where thieves do not break in and steal.

So then we don't place our hope

in the riches of this life,

but as Christians,

what it looks like for us

to hold on to the promises of God

is we live generously

and we give sacrificially

and we store up treasures in heaven,

holding on to what is promised to us in Christ,

our eternal inheritance,

imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,

kept in heaven for us.

That's what it looks like

for a Christian to live

holding on to the promises of God.

Some of us watch what we eat,

exercise regularly,

count the calories

so that we can be healthy

or look good or both, right?

And it's a good thing to take care of our body

because we're called by God

to be stewards of our bodies

because they're temples of the Holy Spirit,

as Paul writes in Corinthians.

But we do much more than that, right?

Because our hope is not in this world

but in the world to come.

So that's why 1 Timothy 4, 78 tells us,

Train yourself for godliness.

For while bodily training is of some value,

godliness is of value in every way

as it holds promise for the present life

and also for the life to come.

So what does it look like

to hold on to the promises of God as Christians

is we tend to not just to our bodies

but to our souls, right?

So we examine ourselves

and we repent of sins in our lives

and we share them.

We surround ourselves with mentors,

disciples, pastors, friends, and encouragers.

In short, we surround ourselves with the church

so that we can continue to grow

in our likeness to Christ.

We train ourselves for godliness

by cultivating godly habits and rhythms

that foster humility and holiness.

That's what it looks like

to hold on to the promises of God.

Some people live and die

for the approval of other people, right?

They work hard in school

to earn good grades

so they can win the approval

of their parents or teachers.

Or they play really hard

and party and drink

so they can win the approval

of their peers.

They work overtime and grovel

before their superiors

so they can win their approval

and maybe win a promotion.

But Colossians 3, 23, 24 tells us,

Whatever you do, work heartily.

Ask for the Lord and not for men,

knowing that from the Lord

you will receive the inheritance

as your reward.

You are serving the Lord Christ.

So what does it look like

for Christians to work

and to live with the promises of God

in hand, holding on to the promises of God?

We work as unto the Lord

and we look to Him

and make Him our hope

for the inheritance that we have,

the reward that we will receive,

not men.

And we have a wonderful example

of that here, chapter 23,

in Abraham,

holding on to the promises of God.

And then in chapter 24,

so we saw in 23

the promise of place fulfilled

and in 24 we see the promise

of progeny, of people

beginning to be fulfilled.

And as he nears,

so Abraham is now nearing his death

and as he does so,

he's thinking about his future,

his child, his Isaac, his son.

And he makes charge

to his most reliable servant

in verses 2 to 4, chapter 24.

Put your hand under my thigh

that I may make you swear

by the Lord,

the God of heaven

and God of the earth,

that you will not take a wife

for my son

from the daughters of the Canaanites

among whom I dwell,

but will go to my country

and to my kindred

and take a wife

for my son, Isaac.

It's a, here we see,

this is another example

of Abraham holding on

to the promises of God

and the reason why is this,

because land of Canaan,

there's probably dozens

of women, right,

who are eligible

that Isaac can marry

and Isaac is an heir

of a very, very wealthy

and powerful man in Abraham

and it would have been

very easy for him

to find a wife

in the land of Canaan.

But why does Abraham

charge his servant

to make sure

he doesn't take a wife

for Isaac

from among the Canaanites?

And we see the reason,

the rationale for this

in the later expression

of God's law

through Moses.

In Exodus 34,

Exodus 34:13–16

verses 13 to 16,

God commands Israelites,

don't take the daughters

of Canaanites

for your sons,

lest their daughters

whore after their gods

and make your sons

whore after their gods.

That's the rationale, right?

To intermarry

with non-Jews,

people who did not

have faith,

was to risk apostasy,

to leave God,

to risk faithlessness

to God himself.

And because Abraham

knew his identity,

because he knew his call,

that his mission

was to be a blessing

to the nations

and he could only be

a blessing to the nations

if he's faithful

to the Lord God

and make sure

that generation

after generation

his progeny

are faithful to him.

And because of that,

he charges his servant

to take a wife

for his son

from his kindred.

And we find,

you know,

New Testament counterparts

for this as well, right?

In 2 Corinthians 16,

Paul tells us

equally yoked

with unbelievers.

In 1 Corinthians 7, 39,

it tells us, right,

he tells us

to marry only in the Lord,

right?

It's the same rationale.

It's not because,

you know,

God hates those people.

It's not because,

you know,

God doesn't care about those,

but because God cares

so much about people,

so much about him.

He's jealous

for your affection

and your relations.

That's why

this,

with such severity,

right?

Abraham charges

his servant Isaac.

And servant is doubtful

that he can accomplish this.

You know,

they live kind of far,

you know,

from where his kindred live.

You know,

and you think that

this woman's going to come

marry Isaac

whom she has never seen

and Abraham

whose wealth

she has never seen.

Do you think

she's going to come

all the way over here

and say,

what if she says

she doesn't want to come?

And so,

the servant's trying to find

because he's making

an oath with Abraham.

And Abraham is even more severe

in the way he responds to it.

He says,

see to it,

verse 6 to 8,

that you do not take

my son back there.

Right?

And he says,

if the woman's not willing

to follow him,

then he's released

from his oath.

Right?

So,

the reason why he does this

is because he's holding

onto,

once again,

the promises of God.

The land of Canaan

is placed

God had promised for them.

So,

don't,

whatever happens,

take Isaac back

where he came from.

That's what he's saying.

And so,

in verse 10,

the servant complies.

He takes the oath.

And the oath,

interestingly,

is you put your hand

under the thigh.

Right?

That's,

in the ancient Near East,

people held onto sacred objects

in order to,

you know,

make their oath

much more severe

and,

and,

I guess,

it's that way

of showing reverence

to that oath.

And so,

this is a euphemism.

So,

under the thigh,

really,

literally,

probably,

it's referring to

under the genitals.

Right?

So,

it's considered sacred

because it's

considered source of life.

And for Abraham,

this is particularly significant

because he's circumcised.

Right?

So,

these genitals

not only represent

source of life.

For him,

it represents

the covenant of God.

And so,

under that,

the servant makes

this oath.

And he goes in verse 10.

He says,

then the servant

took ten of his master's camels

and departed,

taking all sorts of choice gifts

from the master.

And he arose

and went to Mesopotamia,

to the city of Nahor.

Now,

this is a,

the reason why

he's taking so much stuff

is because in this call,

they had what is called

the bright price.

Right?

And,

and you pay,

a bright price

to the wife's family.

And then,

and eventually,

that,

that wealth,

the bright price

that the wife's family received

will be passed on

to the wife

when she got married

as a dowry.

Right?

And that,

it's easy for us

to,

you know,

look at that

and,

and,

and think,

oh,

how primitive,

why do they do that?

They're treating women

like property.

What's going on?

Right?

It's,

in this day and age,

in this culture,

it's,

women do not work.

Right?

And they're working at home.

Right?

And they don't get,

have paid jobs.

And so,

if they happen to be

so unfortunate

to come across

a dud of a husband

who neglects her

and,

and abandons her

or divorces her,

she has no source

of livelihood,

especially if her,

her parents have passed.

And so,

dowry ensures,

dowry is guaranteed

to the wife.

It doesn't belong

to the couple.

And that ensures

that the wife

has a source of livelihood,

even if she were

to come across

a bad husband.

Not only that,

the bright price

ensures that the families

are more tied

collectively together,

and it dissuades,

you know,

frivolous,

you know,

promiscuous suitors

from coming and saying,

oh, hey,

I'll marry your wife

and,

and then I will marry

this woman

and marry her

and then abuse her

and leave her.

Right?

You can't do that.

So,

the substantial requirement

of the bright price

discouraged,

you know,

frivolous suitors

and encouraged

and made sure

that only serious suitors

who we want,

intended to marry

and keep,

stay married,

came to,

to court these women.

And so,

the servant goes

and he takes 10 camels.

So,

this is a suggestion

of great wealth

of Abraham.

Camels are like

the Porsche

and Ferraris

of their day,

right?

Really expensive

and rare.

And the fact

that he has 10 of them

he can spare

along with his servant

is a sign

of great,

great wealth.

So,

he leaves.

And then,

once he leaves,

he,

when he arrives

at his destination,

he prays to God first,

asking God for help

and he devises

an ingenious test.

He prays

that the woman

who comes out

to water,

who not only

offers him drink,

but also offers

to water

all his camels,

should be the one

that God has appointed,

the word is used,

for Isaac to marry.

Now,

at first,

this might seem like,

that's not too difficult.

I mean,

if I were in that station,

I think I would have done that.

And especially considering

the ancient hospitality,

you might think this,

anyone,

maybe the first woman

who comes would do that.

But this is actually

not the case

because it's really easy

for the woman

to offer Abraham a drink.

I mean,

not Abraham.

Abraham served in a drink.

But it's actually

very difficult

for the woman

to water all the camels

because how many camels

did Abraham's servant bring?

He brought 10 camels

and the camels

are known to be

animals of burden

in the desert.

Why?

Because they're so good

at going without water

for many days.

And if a camel goes

for several days

without water,

as they would have done

in this case,

they are so parched,

it says that one camel

can drink

as much as 25 gallons

of water.

25 times 10,

250 gallons of water.

And a container

of that time

would be what?

At max,

a few gallons.

And if you look down later,

it says that it's a,

verse 16,

it tells us that

it's a well

that you have to walk down to

to fill with water

and you walk up

three gallons.

Or how many trips is that?

Right?

80 trips to the well?

This is a lot of work.

And even if we,

you know,

offer more conservative estimates

and say that camels

were not completely parched,

this is still very,

very,

very labor intensive.

So he takes a woman

of great,

exceptional hospitality

and kindness

to offer that.

So he's devised

a pretty stiff test.

And he prays

that God will make

this woman do this.

And before the servant

could even finish

uttering his prayer,

it says that our female,

our female protagonist

comes on the scene

in verse 15.

Before he had finished speaking,

behold,

Rebekah,

who was born to Bethuel,

the son of Milcah,

the wife of Nahor,

Abraham's brother,

came out with her water jar

on her shoulder.

I love the way it's phrased.

This reveals the graciousness,

the eagerness

of our heavenly father

to answer prayers

according to his will.

Because God said

about his people

in Isaiah 65, 24,

Before they call,

I will answer.

While they are yet speaking,

I will hear.

That's what we see here

God doing.

That's God's heart

to answer our prayers

when we pray

according to his will

for our good

and for God's glory.

He's not reluctant.

He's not loath

to answer our prayers.

And when we do that,

before we're even done speaking,

he says,

Yes,

I want to give this to you.

Yes,

that's his heart,

the father's heart for us.

If we only believe

that simple truth,

it'd make us so much

more eager to pray

and transform our life

in interaction with him.

And these next few verses

are one of the most

exciting passages

in the whole book of Genesis,

just brimming over

excitement and anticipation.

And by the way,

there are some very helpful tips here

for singles

who are looking for

marriageable partners,

so pay attention too.

Verse 15,

it tells us

that this young woman's name

is Rebekah

who was born to Bethuel,

the son of Milcah,

the wife of Nahor,

Abraham's brother.

Of course,

that's the most important part

of this description

because that's the express reason

for which Abraham's servant

was sent out

to find someone among his kindred,

someone who shares

the faith of the Lord God.

And then,

secondly,

we find here in verse 16,

the young woman

was very attractive

in appearance,

a maiden whom no man

had known.

Now,

this is not a requirement,

but it's a nice bonus,

right,

if the someone you want to marry

is very attractive to you.

And so that's what we find here.

And she's also chased.

It says she's a maiden

whom no man had known.

So she's a virgin.

And in verse 17,

the servant then carries out his plan

and then asks Rebekah

if she would offer him some drink.

And the prayer that the servant prayed

is fulfilled in exactly the way

he had prayed it.

So Rebekah not only offers him a drink,

but offers to water all of his camels.

And she is described

as being exceptionally industrious

and diligent

because twice in verse 18 and 20,

it says that Rebekah did her work quickly.

So she's an amazing woman,

it seems.

And so by the time Rebekah is done,

the servant is quite confident

that this is the woman

that God had appointed for Isaac.

And so he then showers her with gifts

and then questions her

so that he is taken back to her house

to meet and get the approval

of her family.

Now,

when he arrives there,

he's greeted by Laban,

who is Rebekah's brother.

And he says this in verse 30,

As soon as he saw the ring

and the bracelets on his sister's arms.

You see where the emphasis is here,

what he's looking at.

And heard the words of Rebekah,

his sister,

thus the man spoke to me.

He went to the man

and behold,

he was standing by the camels

at the spring.

Remember the camels,

that's the Ferraris and the porch.

So this is a beautiful portrait.

It's a wonderful portrait of Laban.

So you have Rebekah here

who is described as really selfless

and Laban here is as selfish as can be.

The only thing he's noticing,

he's not trying to test

the character of the man

or asking questions.

He's looking at,

oh,

he's got lots of bling bling

and he's got this nice bride

that he's sitting next to,

right?

And so when they,

and then he offers his hospitality

as a result.

But when they sit down for a meal,

the servant is very urgent.

And he makes this proposition.

He says,

I am Abraham's servant,

verses 34 and following.

The Lord has greatly blessed my master

and he has become great.

He has given him flocks and herds

and silver gold,

male servants and female servants,

camels and donkeys, right?

So this is the part that interests Laban.

And so he mentions it shrewdly.

And he's very smart.

He says in verse 35,

and Sarah,

my master's wife,

bore a son to my master

when she was old.

Now this is an important point

because it's,

you can remember Nahor,

right,

is Abraham's brother

and Rebecca is his granddaughter,

right?

And Isaac is Abraham's son.

So they could potentially think

that there's a huge age gap here.

And then so they met,

the family might be thinking

to themselves,

oh,

well,

our daughter is a beautiful maiden,

very attractive.

Why should we give her hand

in marriage to this shrivelly old man,

right?

And so he says,

no,

Sarah,

my master's wife,

bore a son to my master

when she was old.

So this is a young son,

okay?

She had him when she was old.

And not just that,

he mentions that the Lord has,

the fact that he mentions

that he's the only son

is significant

because that means,

and he mentions that Isaac

is the exclusive heir

to all of Abraham's inheritance,

right?

So at first,

this may have come across

as a little bit,

like if you say Abraham

is so blessed,

why does he only have one son?

So that could be a fact

that's kind of a deterrent for them.

But then the servant

turns that around

and uses it to his advantage

to say,

oh,

ha ha,

you thought that was a bad thing,

but what turns out to be

his loss is your gain

because he's going to get

everything Abraham has,

right?

So this is a very shrewd servant.

No wonder Abraham

entrusted everything he had to him.

And so he does that

and then more importantly,

he gets the main purpose

of his journey across

in verses 37 to 41,

telling the family

that he has come

to find a wife for Isaac

among his kindred.

And he slips in the fact

that, you know,

if the woman does not come with him,

the deal is off.

He's going to take

his proposition elsewhere.

And so he's kind of said

everything he needed to say.

And then the final conclusion

in verse 49

can't be any stronger.

Now then,

if you are going to show

steadfast love

and faithfulness

to my master,

tell me.

And if not,

tell me.

Then I may turn

to the right hand

or to the left.

Right?

He says,

if you are going to show

steadfast love

and faithfulness

to my master.

So in other words,

if you're going to show

kindness to humanity,

if you're going to fulfill

your obligation

as Abraham's kindred,

well then,

there's only one right answer

you can give me.

Right?

And not only that,

steadfast love

and faithfulness

are two of the most

frequently mentioned

attributes of God.

So he's saying,

in essence,

well God's behind this.

God's shown

steadfast love

and faithfulness.

So if you don't want

to obey God,

if you don't want

to follow His will,

then you can decline

this offer.

So this is a really strong,

you know,

he's pressing his deal.

And so,

of course,

they can only say

one thing.

So they say,

verses 50 and 51,

the thing has come

from the Lord.

We cannot speak to you

bad or good.

Behold,

Rebecca is before you.

Take her and go

and let her be the wife

of your master's son

as the Lord has spoken.

It's a really good example

even though they're not

the most godly people,

it seems,

but they still believe

that if the Lord has spoken,

they must follow it.

Right?

When the Lord has spoken,

when God's word

says something,

it's not a time

to debate,

say this is bad or good.

No,

it's time to obey

and to submit to His will.

But later,

as the servant

hastes to leave the family,

maybe they're starting

to second guess

this abrupt proposal

and agreement.

Maybe they want to,

you know,

change some of the terms

of the agreement

so they want to buy some time

so they try to delay

their departure.

And because

this tension builds

and now this is the climax

of this narrative

and they ask,

they decide to bring Rebecca in.

Let's ask her.

Let's make her decide

since she's the one

that's going.

Verse 58,

and they called Rebecca

and said to her,

will you go with the man?

And as they wait

with bated bread,

she says,

I will go.

And that simple,

decisive statement,

I will go,

aligns her

with Abraham

and not with her family

because it's Abraham

in chapter 12

who was commanded

by God

to go from your country,

from your kindred

and your father's house

to the land

that I will show you.

and now Rebecca

proves herself

to be in that promised line

and connected

to Abraham's family

and she says,

I will go

and she too

leaves her country

and her kindred

and her father's house

to be part of God's plan.

And so,

it's not surprising

that the blessing

that she receives

as she departs

exactly mirrors

the blessing

that God had given Abraham

in Genesis chapter 22,

Genesis 22:17

verse 17.

And so,

she leaves

and then she meets Isaac

and verse 67

is so tender

and intimate.

It says,

Then Isaac brought her

in to the tent of Sarah,

his mother,

and took Rebecca

and she became his wife

and he loved her.

Biblically speaking,

loving the person you marry

is a far greater concern

than marrying the person you love.

Right?

The Bible spends much more time

talking about loving

the person you marry.

So,

saying that,

you know,

we've fallen out of love

and using that

as a basis for divorce,

breaking up a marriage

is a completely

unbiblical answer.

A feeling of love

can be cultivated

and deepened

with persevering acts of love.

Right?

That's what Christ calls us.

And we do this

by daily finding

our satisfaction in God,

not in our spouses.

Right?

Because if we,

if we demand

our spouse

is what God

can only fulfill,

then we will be

disgruntled and dissatisfied.

We do this

by daily considering

our spouse

better than ourselves.

Right?

Instead of fixating

on their faults

and foibles,

right?

We decide to focus

instead on their

final traits.

And we choose

to love the person

we married.

And that's what

happens here

with Isaac.

Rebecca became his wife

and he loved her.

And not only is Rebecca

blessed throughout this,

through this marriage,

Isaac is blessed

beyond measure.

It says,

Isaac was comforted

after his mother's death

by his marriage

to Rebecca.

Right?

This is such a,

it's kind of a minor detail,

but isn't that amazing

what kind of character

of God this reveals

for us?

Right?

God's right now

fulfilling this cosmic plan

which will be fulfilled

in Jesus

to redeem all,

redeem humanity,

to redeem people

for himself.

And while he is unfolding

and implementing

this cosmic plan,

he's also taking care

of Isaac

because he's mourning

his mother's death.

He comforts him

with Rebecca.

God cares about

our brokenness,

our suffering,

the small things

that we might deem

unimportant in the

grand scale of things.

He cares about those things

even though he's

the God of the universe.

And so we saw

in chapter 23

God's fulfillment

of place.

And here we see

God's fulfillment

of progeny.

And at this point

we might object,

well, it's easy

for Abraham to hold

on to the promises

of God

because he's seen

all kinds of,

you know,

evidences of God's

faithfulness

and his power, right?

His wife, Sarah,

gave birth to his son

when she was 90 years old

and menopausal.

That's a miracle, right?

So of course,

Abraham could have faith

and hold on to the promise,

but what about us?

How can we hold on

to the promises of God?

What reason do we have

to hold on

and believe

in the promises of God?

The answer to this

lies throughout

this passage

and the rationale,

the basis,

the reason

for the fulfillment

of God's promises

in these passages

is given

in the repeated words,

steadfast love

and faithfulness.

Right?

In chapter 24,

verses 12 to 14,

when the servant

is praying,

asking God

to give him success

regarding finding Rebecca,

he says twice,

he calls upon

God's steadfast love.

Blessed be the Lord,

the God of my master.

This is verse 27 also.

After, right,

after God's answer

to his prayer,

he says again,

blessed be the Lord,

God of my master Abraham

who has not forsaken

his steadfast love

and his faithfulness

toward my master.

And then again,

in verse 48,

when it says,

the God of my master Abraham

who had led me

by the right way

to take the daughter

of my master's kinsman

for his son.

Right way

can be translated

true way,

faithful way.

It's the same word.

Again, loving,

it's a steadfast love,

faithfulness.

Steadfast love,

faithfulness.

That is the basis

for God's fulfillment

of his promises

to Abraham.

And what is steadfast love?

Steadfast,

it's unchanging.

It harkens back

to the gracious,

unconditional promises

that God made to Abraham.

And it's the overflow,

it's the overflow

of God's loving kindness

that finds its basis

not in our worthiness

or our merit,

not our deservingness,

but on the fact

that God is generous

and giving.

Do you know

that this is the word

that's translated

in the New Testament

as grace,

undeserved favor?

Do you realize

that we don't deserve

God's love?

We have not earned

an ounce of it,

yet God,

because of his,

solely because of his bounty,

his generosity,

the overflow

of his loving kindness,

he has steadfast,

unchanging love

towards people.

That's steadfast love,

grace.

And the word faithfulness,

it's also translated

as truth.

It's a reference

to God's faithfulness

to his character.

He's always true

to who he is.

He never changes.

He's faithful.

And these two ideas

is combined.

Faithfulness

is what lies behind

sometimes the New Testament

Greek translation

of the word truth.

And this is what's behind

John's statement

in John 1, 17,

where he says,

the law was given

through Moses.

Grace and truth

came through Jesus Christ.

Steadfast love

and faithfulness

came through Jesus Christ.

In other words,

Jesus is ultimate fulfillment

and embodiment

of God's grace

and truth,

his steadfast love

and faithfulness.

And in Jesus,

then,

we have a far more

compelling reason

to hold on

to our promises in God

than Abraham

ever had.

Because Jesus came

and he died for us.

He was the perfect

son of God,

holy one,

yet he died

for our sins.

He died in our place.

That's grace,

loving kindness,

steadfast love

that we did not deserve

but poured out for us.

Yet God was faithful

to who he is.

He's just.

We were sinners,

we were rebels,

and we deserve

to be punished

and God had to punish

if he had,

if he's going to be

faithful to himself

because he's just,

because he's holy.

And so as I say,

right,

the proverbial,

the proverbial,

unstoppable force

of God's grace

meets the immovable object

of his justice,

his truth.

And that's when

the cross happens.

That's the beauty

and the paradox

of the cross

where Jesus dies

as our substitute

so that even though

we deserve to die,

God unleashes his punishment,

meets out his judgment,

not on us

but on our substitute,

Jesus,

his son.

So he absorbs

the punishment himself.

And that's the reason

why we can have

eternal life

with him

if we believe in him,

repent of our sins

and believe in him

instead of death.

And it's when we look

to Jesus,

his face,

that's when we see

steadfast love.

It's when we look

to Jesus,

that's when we see

faithfulness.

And when we look

to him

and hold those

two things together,

that's when we can live

as Christians

who are holding on

to the promises

of God.

So let's pray together.

God,

God,

it's so mind-boggling

to think

that you yourself

have made a way

for us to come to you.

Even though we

were your enemies,

even though we

rejected you,

even though we

sinned against you,

Lord,

thank you

for your steadfast love.

Thank you

for your faithfulness.

Thank you

for your grace

and truth

that abounds

for us.

Help us

to live

in light of that

today,

this week,

so that we grow

in our love

and affection for you

and in our faith

and trust in you.

In Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.