Faith In Action

Chapter 24, verses 1 to 28, and that's on page 23 of the Red Bible.

So, Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.

He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had,

put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth,

that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living,

but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.

The servant asked him, what if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land?

Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?

Make sure that you do not take my son back there, Abraham said.

The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land,

and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, to your offspring I will give this land.

He will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.

If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine.

Only do not take my son back there.

So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master.

He sent out for Aram Naharim and made his way to the town of Nahor.

He made the camels kneel down near the well outside the town.

It was well towards evening, the time for women to go out and draw water.

Then he prayed, O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today and show kindness to my master Abraham.

See, I am standing beside the spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.

May it be that when I say to a girl, please let down your jar that I may have a drink, and she says, drink, and I'll wash your camels too.

Let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac.

By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.

Before he had finished praying, Rebecca came out with her jar on her shoulder.

She was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, and was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.

The girl who was very beautiful, a virgin, no man had ever lain with her.

She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up again.

The servant hurried to meet her and said, please give me a little water from your jar.

Drink, my lord, she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

After she had given him a drink, she said, I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking.

So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.

Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the lord had made his journey successful.

When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka, and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels.

Then he asked, whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?

She answered him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor.

And she added, we have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.

Then the man bowed down and worshipped the lord, saying,

Praise be to the lord, the god of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master.

As for me, the lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives.

The girl ran and told her mother's household about these things.

Thank you, Kate.

Just ask Michael now to come up and bring God's word to us.

Thank you, Michael.

It's nice to be back with you once again in Cargilline.

Always enjoy coming over and sharing the word with you.

And as we've heard, we want to look this morning at Faith in Action,

as it's seen in the lives of the characters that are mentioned in the story that we've read together.

It's a tremendous story.

It begins with Abraham, and it goes on through his servant,

and on to Rebecca, who would become the wife of Isaac.

Abraham is a man of faith,

and his faith continues right to the end of his days.

In the next chapter, we read about his death.

But right up until that time, he continued to live by faith,

and it's no mistake that the writer to the Hebrews refers to this faith.

I was surprised when I looked at Hebrews 11 again

that nearly a quarter of that chapter,

that catalogue, that photo of men and women of faith,

that a quarter of that chapter is taken up with the life of Abraham

and how he lived for the Lord.

So here is this man, Abraham.

He's getting on in years.

He's nearing the end of his life,

but he wants a wife for his son Isaac, the son of promise.

And he sends his servant, Eliezer,

to go out and to find a wife for his son.

And this story, although written in the Old Testament,

is so demonstrative of what faith really is.

We see faith in action right the way through.

We have the story of how Rebecca does indeed come back with the servant

and become Isaac's wife.

Paul, when he's writing to Timothy,

reminds us in his second epistle, chapter 3 and verse 16,

that all Scripture is God-breathed

and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting,

and training in righteousness.

And certainly this story, which is part of Scripture,

does indeed train us in righteousness.

It does show us the right way in which we ought to go.

It's also, of course, a beautiful love story, isn't it?

It's fascinating to read these customs of days gone by.

I think it's far better than a Mills and Boone faith in action

in this beautiful love story.

So let's look at these three characters

and see what they teach us about faith,

about trust in the Lord.

So the first one we look at is Abraham,

and we see his faith in God.

When old age comes,

of course there is a temptation, isn't there,

to sit back.

Most of you would not know about that being young,

but the temptation is to take things easy,

to let life go on by.

But that didn't happen as far as Abraham was concerned.

The years had taken their toll.

He was full of years.

He was getting on.

He didn't have the energy that he once had.

But he did remember the promises

that God had made to him.

The promise that God was going to send a seed,

and that seed had come in the form of Isaac.

And God had said to him

that through his seed all the earth would be blessed.

And this had, by definition,

had to have a son to be born to his son Isaac.

He needed a wife.

And so we have Abraham looking down through the years,

seeing what's going to happen in the future,

and knowing that the purposes of God will be fulfilled,

but they will be fulfilled in a wife for Isaac

and for other children being born.

Put your hand, he says, to his servant,

verse 2,

under my thigh.

I want you to swear by the Lord God of heaven,

the God of earth.

Something very important is about to take place.

Go and find a wife for my son Isaac.

The plan to us may seem very strange.

An arranged marriage.

But this arranged marriage

had its authority in heaven itself.

And it did meet the approval of God himself.

And we will see the hand of God through all the events.

But how do we see Abraham's faith?

Well, we see it

in that he's obedient to God's revealed will.

Abraham's faith in what God had made known.

That God would bring to pass what he had promised.

Remember that Abraham is living in a land that isn't his.

He's surrounded by unbelievers who worship a multiplicity of God's.

But he couldn't allow his son to marry any of these women.

He was a man of faith.

And he knew that it would be wrong for a believer to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever.

So he says,

verse 3,

You will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living.

He sends him out to find one who worshipped the true God.

The God who had made the world.

The God who lived.

The God who was active.

Abraham knew what was required of him.

He knew that through the seed of his son,

the nations of the world would be blessed.

So he sends his servant back to his relatives

that a wife might be found for Isaac.

Abraham's faith, if you like, is seen in his works.

His one desire is to be pleasing to God.

And how could he be pleasing to God

if he was disobedient to the revealed will of God?

And, accordingly, there's an application for each one of us here this morning.

Age, ill health,

prevents us from doing what we would like to do.

But we never reach that age in our lives

when we stop being obedient to the will of God.

We should always be committed to what God has made known to us

in his word.

No matter what our age might be.

Abraham knew what was required of him.

And we know what is required of us

if we are Christians this morning.

We have it here in the scriptures.

God has made known

how we should live our lives.

What we should do.

The whole revealed will of God is there for us to see.

And if we are committed to God

and if God has spoken to us through his word

then we must be obedient to that word.

We can never retire from this commitment.

We have his commands to obey.

And his commands, we're told, are not burdensome.

When I was a young child

I used to go along to

an organization which was called

the Bible Club Movement.

And they had a motto.

And it went like this.

God said it.

I believe it.

And that settles it.

And that should always be our motto.

God has said it.

God told Abraham

I'm going to bless

through the seed

that you are going to bring into the world.

And through his seed

the nations of the world

will be blessed.

And we are blessed

because we are children of Abraham

by faith.

So what took place all those years ago

has relevance to us today.

as God calls us

to live this life of faith.

Of being obedient

to what God has made known

in his words.

That Abraham's faith is also seen.

And that he believed

and submitted himself

to the overruling providence of God.

See what's happening here.

Abraham gives his servant

his instructions.

Verse 4

Go to my country

and to my relatives

and get a wife

for my son Isaac.

He'd left his family

almost a hundred years previously.

He'd left that land

because God brought him

into the land of Canaan

and God showed him that land

and God said to him

I'm going to give you this land.

I'm going to bless you.

So a hundred years later

he sends his servant back

in order to find

his family

to find a woman

who would be willing

to leave home

and family

and marry his son.

One who worshipped

one true God.

It was a big thing to do.

But Abraham is committed

to the will of the Lord

and he's also committed

to the overruling providence of God.

What if the woman doesn't come

says the servant?

What if she's not willing

to follow me?

It was a legitimate question.

Well whatever else happens

says Abraham

don't take my son back there.

We have left that old life.

We're committed to God's will

and we're committed

to his providence.

Look at verse 7.

The Lord, the God of heaven

who brought me out

of my father's household

and my latest land

and who spoke to me

and promised me on oath

saying to your offspring

I will give this land.

He will send his angel before you

so that you will get a wife

for my son from there.

Abraham was too far

in his walk with God

to lack confidence in God.

God wasn't going to let things

go wrong.

Is there doubt

in Abraham's mind?

What does he say in verse 8?

It appears at first reading

that there's some doubt

in Abraham's mind.

If the woman

is unwilling to come back

with you

then you will be released

from this oath of mine.

Only do not take

my son back there.

Now I don't believe

this is doubt at all.

We've emphasised the fact

that he believes

in the revealed will of God.

But he's also believing

that God is able

to providentially overrule

in all things

even if things

don't turn out

as expected.

If things don't turn out

as expected

if the woman

isn't ready

to go back

then obedience

must be the hallmark.

Obedience is required.

Isaac is not

to return

even if things

don't turn out

as we expect.

You see here is a man

who was saying

in effect

that if things

go wrong

I am there

for you.

I trust in you

the living God.

And you are

the living God

who can be trusted

regardless

as to the way

things turn out.

Abraham

wouldn't have known

Romans 8

and verse 28

but he surely

believed it

that all things

work together

for good

to those

that love God

and to those

that are the called

according to his purpose.

Of course

we know the end

of the story

but Abraham

at this time

remained in ignorance

as to how

things were going

to turn out.

But he believes God

he trusts God

and he recognized

that even if things

didn't turn out

as he expected

them to

that God still

had to be

obeyed.

He still

trusted.

And surely

this is a principle

that is vitally

important

as we face

the circumstances

of life.

We commit

ourselves

to a life

of obedience

to the Lord's

will

if we are

Christians.

We take

the Lord Jesus

Christ

as our

Saviour

and our

Lord

and we ask

him to

direct our

paths.

And we need

to constantly

exercise

our faith

in him

when things

don't turn out

as we expect

them to.

Abraham

believed God.

Do we believe

God?

Do we trust

him if things

are not going

as we expect?

Are we going

on being

obedient?

Or do we

say,

alright,

as Abraham

might have

said,

if the woman

won't go,

then I'll

send Isaac

back.

But that

couldn't happen

because he

knew God's

will for

his life.

And we

know God's

will for

our lives.

We're called

to be obedient

to this

word.

So even

when things

go wrong,

even when

things are

difficult,

we are to

trust him.

Faith

in action.

But that

faith of

Abraham

is also

seen in

the servant.

The servant

was one

who evidently

knew God

for himself.

That God

could be

trusted.

So we

look at

the servant's

faith in

God.

This man

who was

sent out

to find

a wife

for Isaac.

Isaac

from whom

would come

blessing for

the whole

world,

I remind

you.

We've

never been

given a

responsibility

like that.

But we

are given

responsibilities

to live

for the

Lord.

And how

can we

live for

the Lord?

Well,

we can

live for

the Lord

as a

servant

did.

Notice

his faith

as it

is seen

in his

praying.

How he

is totally

dependent

upon God.

Look at

verses 12

to 14.

He's

travelled

out through

the desert.

He's

come to

the well.

And we

read,

Then he

prayed,

O Lord

God of

my master

Abraham,

give me

success

today,

and show

kindness to

my master

Abraham.

See,

I am

standing

beside

this

spring,

and the

daughters

of the

townspeople

are coming

out to

draw water.

May it

be that

when I

say to

a girl,

please let

down your

jar that

I may

have a

drink,

and she

says,

drink,

and I'll

water your

camels

too.

Let her

be the

one you

have chosen

for your

servant

Isaac.

By this

I will

know that

you have

shown

kindness

to my

master.

He's

seeking

God

for

himself.

It's

not a

second-hand

faith,

for we

find him

in verse

26 and

verse 52,

as we

will refer

to again

in a

moment,

bowing

down and

worshipping

the Lord.

He knew

this God.

He went

out on

his journey

knowing that

there were

difficulties

to overcome.

He doesn't

know where

Abraham's

family are.

He knows

the danger

of going

ahead of

God.

Will God

direct him?

And so

he seeks

God in

prayer,

because the

girl of

God's

choice

must be

found.

It must

not be

his choice.

So he

leaves it

in the

hands of

God.

He's

asking God

to direct

his steps.

He's

asking God

to clearly

show him

the girl

who will

be the

wife of

Isaac.

And as

he prays,

he expects.

Of course,

this man

had seen

the good

hand of

God upon

his master

Abraham.

And his

prayer is

that God

would continue

to be

gracious.

O Lord

God of

my master

Abraham,

give me

success

today and

show kindness

to my

master

Abraham.

And a

girl comes

to the

well.

Is this

the girl

that God

has chosen?

we have

here an

example

don't we

of

believing

prayer

and the

importance

of prayer

in the

life

of faith.

I remember

when we

had our

children a

long time

ago

but when we

had our

children

Rosemary,

my wife,

knew

that there was a fair chance,

and I use a chance in inverted commas,

that those who they would marry

were also being born at that particular time.

And so she began to pray

when the children were very small

that they would be led to the right partners,

that they would be led to the right people

that would become their wives, their husband.

And how God has graciously overruled in our lives,

and I thank God for a praying wife.

The Lord granted her her request,

and as I joined with her also in prayer.

James Montgomery, a hymn writer, wrote this,

Prayer is the simplest form of speech

that infant lips can try,

but prayer is the sublimest strains that reach

the majesty on high.

Prayer is saying,

Lord, you work out your sovereign purposes.

And we have this man waiting upon God,

seeking God in prayer.

And then waiting upon God,

for we read in verse 21,

Without saying a word,

the man watched her closely

to learn whether or not the Lord

had made his journey successful.

Prayer.

Are we a praying people?

Have we this kind of attitude

as we seek the Lord's will for our lives?

Are we seeking him daily in prayer?

Of course, there's a greater example

of a praying life in the Lord Jesus,

who was also the servant.

Remember how he comes into the world.

And we know that he is going to bring blessing

through the world,

through his death,

and through his resurrection.

We know that he was the seed of Abraham.

And as he comes to the cross,

how does he pray?

Lord, not my will,

but yours be done.

He submits himself to the sovereign will of God,

and waits patiently upon God,

and triumphs through his death and resurrection.

The servant's faith in God

ought to be our faith as well.

And as we learn from the servant,

so we must learn from that greater servant,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

But the servant's faith is also seen

in his earnestness.

Now, I don't know whether you will find

the word earnestness in the dictionary.

If you like, put it zeal.

But you know what I mean.

There was a practice, of course,

in the East to show hospitality.

And we find eventually

the servant is taken to Rebecca's home.

We didn't have time to read

the whole story this morning,

but I do recommend that you read it through,

because it is a beautiful story,

right from the whole of the chapter.

But food is set before this servant.

Verse 33.

Then food was set before him,

but he said,

I will not eat

until I have told you

what I have to say.

Now let's remember that here's a man

who's been traveling in the desert.

He's been under the hot sun,

desert sun.

He's been sleeping under the stars at night.

And there's a feast spread out before him.

And we would expect him,

and even excuse him,

if he sat down and enjoyed his meal.

But here is a man who is on his Lord's business.

Here is a man who is on God's business.

He knows that his father,

his master's son needs a wife,

that God's promise might be fulfilled.

And we find him earnestly pursuing that business,

and he doesn't really rest

until Rebecca is on the way home.

Rebecca's relations want her to stay for a while.

But he says,

verse 56,

Do not detain me

now that the Lord has granted success

to my journey.

His faith was such

that he was ready even

to put the legitimate to one side

in order that the purposes of God

might be worked out.

Do we have a faith like that?

There's so many things

that are legitimate and okay.

But faith

is ready to put aside the legitimate

in order to serve God.

Is not our life

more than food?

Said the Lord Jesus

in the Sermon on the Mount.

Did not the Lord Jesus

put this into practice

when he says

that the well

my meat is to do the will

of him who sent me?

Are we not reminded again

in the Sermon on the Mount

that we should seek first

his kingdom

and his righteousness?

What is our priority?

How earnest are we

in the Lord's business?

There's a temptation

as we've already said

to give up.

But we're called to endure

to the end.

And we're called to be zealous.

We're called to be earnest

in our walk with the Lord

as this man was.

And we capture something

of the urgency,

this longing

to do what God

required of him.

But the servant's faith

in God

is not only seen

in his praying,

in his earnestness,

but also in his worship.

I think here is a man

who worships

in spirit

and in truth.

Rebecca comes

and she draws water

for him

and his camels.

And he discovers

that she comes

from the right family.

That God has indeed

directed his footsteps.

That God has brought him

to this particular place.

But what does he do?

Does he give himself

a pat on the back

and say,

I've made it?

I've done it?

No, he worships.

He gives all glory

to God

and faith does that.

Verse 26,

Then the man bowed down

and worshipped the Lord.

Praise be to the Lord.

He gives glory to God

and true faith

always does that.

We find it again

in verse 48.

Then he bowed down

and worshipped the Lord.

I praise the Lord,

the God of my master Abraham,

who has led me

on the right road

to get the granddaughter

of my master's brother

for his son.

True faith

gives glory to God.

The man takes no credit

to himself.

The servant

was all that he ought to be.

We live, don't we,

in a very man-centered world.

And that man-centered world

can enter into the church

where our worship

becomes man-centered.

It's all about us.

But no,

the Lord blesses us

in so many different ways

as he blessed this servant.

But as he gave glory to God,

so we must give glory to have.

All that we have,

all that we are,

all that we are able

to accomplish,

all that we're unable to do

is of him.

And to him must be

all the glory.

How dare we take the glory

to ourselves?

The faith

of the servant.

But finally,

let's look at

Rebecca's faith

in God.

How do we see that

manifested

in the pages

of Scripture?

Well,

we see it,

first of all,

in her purity.

Verse 16.

The girl was

very beautiful,

a virgin.

No man

had ever

laid with her.

Her beauty

was more

than skin deep.

There was a purity.

There'd be no

sexual laxity.

She was all

that a young woman

ought to be.

And it demonstrated,

I would suggest to you,

her faith in God.

Do we have

that kind of faith?

How pure

are our lives?

young men,

young women

who are here

this morning.

You're living

in a world

where you're being

pressurized

into a mold

to live

your lives

in this

particular way

as the world

lives.

But oh,

when the time

comes for your

marriage,

may it be able

to be said

of you

that you

are pure.

that there's been

no sexual

laxity.

A faith

in God

will show

itself in the

life that is

lived in

a world

which is

promiscuous.

But Rebecca's

faith in God

is also seen

in her works.

Look at

verse 17

to 20.

We believe

that a man

is justified

by faith

alone

in Christ

alone

for salvation.

It is faith

plus nothing

that saves us.

But faith

without works

is dead.

Works

shows

our faith.

And faith

is put

to test

by the servant.

Give me

something

to drink.

drink.

And she

runs and

gets water

for him

and offers

to get

water

for the

camels

as well.

The story

tells us

that there

were 10

camels.

And I

looked up

some few

facts and

figures.

Do you

know a

camel

can drink

25

gallons

of water?

So she's

not offering

him a

glass of

orange,

is she?

She's going

beyond the

call of

service.

This was

commitment.

And she's

not doing

it for

reward.

Yes,

there was

a reward

of bracelets,

etc.

But she

didn't know

that at

the time.

She is

showing true

hospitality,

true love.

she doesn't

know the

reason for

it at

this time.

Yet she

walks in

obedience to

the Lord.

Not only

in purity,

but she

goes the

extra mile.

And faith

is ready

to go the

extra mile.

It's ready

to do

more

than what

is asked.

Give me

a drink

of water.

water.

Yes,

and I'll

give the

camels

as well.

But finally,

Rebecca's

faith is

seen not

only in

her purity

and in

her good

works,

but in

her submission

to the

will of

God.

If you

read the

story carefully,

you will

see that she

sees the

hand of

God in

all that

has happened,

in all that

has taken

place.

So when

she is

asked in

verse 58,

will you

go with

this man,

this servant,

she says,

I will

go.

She

recognises

that this

is the

will of

God,

and off

she goes

to Canaan

to become

Isaac's

wife.

love.

And a

fitting

postscript

is provided

for us

in verse

67.

Isaac

brought her

into the

tent of

his mother

Sarah,

and he

married

Rebecca.

So she

became his

wife,

and he

loved her,

and Isaac

was comforted

after his

mother's

death.

Rebecca's

faith,

her

commitment

to her

God,

is seen

in all

of her

actions.

And our

commitment,

our faith,

will be

seen in

ours also.

I think

of another

man,

a heavenly

bridegroom.

Will you

go with

this

bridegroom?

It's

something,

a question

we all

have to

ask

ourselves.

Will you

go with

this,

our heavenly

bridegroom?

Will you

go with

him?

Will you

become

his bride?

Will you

know that

over you

is banner

is love?

Will you

go with

him in

the life

of faith?

And it's

a challenge

for each

one of

us today,

from the

youngest to

the oldest.

Will we

walk the

path of

faith?

Will we

walk according

to his

revealed

will?

Will we

walk that

life of

faith,

recognising

his overruling

providence

in our

life?

Will we

walk the

life of

faith in

prayer?

Will we

have that

faith that

earnestly

desires God's

will to be

carried out

above everything

else?

Will we

have that

faith that

gives God

the glory

and causes

us to

bow in

worship?

Will we

have that

faith that

will show

itself in

purity of

life?

Will we

have that

faith that

shows itself

in good

works?

will we

have that

faith that

says I

will go

with this

man, the

Lord Jesus

Christ, to

the end of

my days.

I will

trust him.

May the

Lord give

us that

kind of

faith that

his name

might be

glorified.

Amen.

Let's pray

together.

Father, we

thank you

for the

continual

challenge of

your word

and we

pray that

the word

that has

been spoken

this morning

and read

will indeed

enter into

not only

our minds

but also

into our

hearts.

We pray

that the

evil one

will not

snatch away

the seed

but rather

it will

bear fruit.

And if

oh Lord

we have

been tempted

in the

past week

or will

be tempted

in the

week that

lies ahead

or the

month that

lie ahead

grant that

we will

remember what

we have

heard today

and continue

to walk

by faith

and not

by sight.

Help us

to this

end we

pray in

Jesus name.

Amen.