Genesis 24:1-9
Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.” The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?” “No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there. For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son. If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath of mine. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there.” So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions.
For each of the last three years
this text has jumped off the page each time I read it. And then, I had no choice but to write what
God was saying to my heart. I went back
and read each of those devotional pieces and found the common thread of Abraham
living in the faith he proclaimed. The
writer of Hebrews explains:
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. Hebrews 11:8-10
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…the faith, this belief in One whom
they could not see, and living in that reality was passed on to successive
generations by….well, faith!
By entrusting finding a bride for
Isaac to his servant, Abraham was staking the entire future of more than his
family to this man; Abraham was putting the witness of God’s faithfulness on
the line. I believe the patriarch had
finally learned, at that stage of his long life, to be comfortable with
trusting God’s way more than trying to control everything to make it all come
out right. This is not exactly a doctrinal
textbook definition of faith, but it sure says what it means to live it on the
ground.
By comparison, Abraham’s servant
may have been overthinking, rather than serving. Perhaps he’d been hanging around Abraham too
long, and had seen too many of his master’s flaws, lying to the Egyptians, and
trying to give God’s promises a little extra insurance by having a backup heir in
Ishmael. The servant, like a cunning
politician, wanted every possibility covered.
When he heard Abraham’s instructions, he asked, well, what if…and
what if…and what
if….
Abrahm’s oldest, most trusted servant was overthinking the issue of
faith. In patient, but no-nonsense
faith, Abraham told the man…no
what if’s, just do what I asked you…if God doesn’t do what He said, then
you’re released from your promise.
In hindsight, I believe Abraham had
learned to trust that what he’d heard from God was to be believed, not overthought. If God didn’t bring it all to pass, it was
Abraham who had misunderstood God, and God would handle even that.
Abraham’s servant took the oath,
and, later we find him wondering as he’s looking at Rebekah, is this the one? The man had sworn an oath, and he was trying
his best to fulfill his responsibility, but he just couldn’t help himself
trying to make sure. Abraham’s man may
have been his oldest and most trusted servant, but he was also his Overthinker-in-Chief!
Let’s
Pray Together:
Father, we’d much rather live like Abraham, trusting You, no matter what the circumstances look like, or what the prevailing culture prescribes we should do, or not do. Help us to receive for this day Abraham’s kind of faith.
For You Today
You
chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.
Have a blessed day!
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