The Big Fat Jewish Wedding

 

This message was preached by Colin D via zoom  Word of Grace Church, on Oct 4th 2020. For the audio please click here.. For the worship please Click here

Imagine you're sitting at home sipping a cup of hot tea with nice vada pav. Your teenage daughter comes home with an expensive gold nose ring and gold bracelets. Along with her come a few men asking for your daughter's hand in marriage for someone in their family.
How would you feel?

In Genesis 24, we see a beautiful love story. This is the longest chapter in Genesis. In fact the creation of the world was narrated in 31 verses while this love story was narrated in 67 verses.

In verse 1, we see that Abraham was old and well advanced in age.
In verses 2 to 4, Abraham called the chief servant and asked him to find a wife for his son, Isaac by travelling to his own country. That's a tall order! How can someone find a wife like that?

In verse 5, the servant asks Abraham, what if the woman he finds is not willing to come along with him to this land?
Should I take your son back to that country?
Abraham says, "No."

In verses 7-8 Abraham says that the God of heaven, who brought him out of his father's land and promised him an oath saying that he'd give this land to his offspring will send his angel before the servant so that he can get a wife for Isaac.

Then immediately the servant starts his journey by taking 10 camels with him.
Those days, camels were like Mercedes Benz. People with camels are known for their wealth. The journey was very long. It was about 500 miles.

In verse 10, we see that the servant reaches the town of Nahor. Near a well, outside the town, the servant made the camels kneel down. There he saw many young women coming to the well to draw water. Looking at the women, the servant prays to God - Lord, when I ask a woman for water, may the one for Isaac give me water and also say that she'd give water to my camels. Before he finished the prayer, Rebecca, daughter of Bethuel came to the well. When the servant asked her for water, she says, "Drink, my Lord. I will draw water for your camels too until they had enough."

We got to admire Rebecca because a camel drinks about 1600 litres of water after a journey. Imagine the number of times Rebecca would've drawn the water.

In verses 22, we see that the servant put an expensive gold nose ring and two gold bracelet on Rebecca and asked about her. Rebecca takes the servant to her father Bethuel who welcomes the servant with happiness.

Before even he had the food served to him, the servant told them about Abraham and how he had come this far to find a wife for Isaac. He told them about the prayer he made and that God answered by letting Rebecca come to the well and draw water for him and also the camels. Immediately Bethuel and Laban believed that this was from the Lord. They have Rebecca to the servant and asked him to take her and go.

The next morning, Laban and his mother wanted Rebecca to stay with them for 10 days and then go. But the servant asked that he be allowed to go back to his master.
So they all decided to ask Rebecca.
When Rebecca was asked, she said, "I will go."
Wow! What a woman of faith!

Today's end of this story we see that while Isaac is in the field, he sees the convoy approaching him.
The servant gives Isaac an account of everything that had happened in the town of Nahor.
And then Isaac and Rebecca get married.

 When we read this story, we need to know what it says about God the Father, Christ the Son and Holy Spirit.

In Luke 24:27, Jesus himself explains what was said in the old testament concerning himself.

Luke 24:27 - ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

So in this story of Isaac and Rebecca -

* Where do we see Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
* Where do we see ourselves?

Let's go back to Genesis 24.

We see 3 things -

1.     Faith of Abraham

Abraham was considered a friend of God, Father of all nations.
He was faithful and full of faith.

We see this in Abraham's movement from his father's land to a place he didn't know.
We also see in Sarah conceiving at a very old age.
Yet again we see it when Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his one and only son Isaac. Abraham knew that God promised that many nations will be blessed through his offspring, Isaac.
Still, Abraham trusted in God and took Isaac and made everything ready to sacrifice him. God provided a ram in place of Isaac.

 Now Sarah died. The promise given by God needs to be fulfilled. For this, Isaac needs to get married. So Abraham asks his servant to go to his Nation and find a wife for Isaac.

 He told his servant not to go to Canaan to find a wife for Isaac. This is because the Canaanites were worshipping the idols and Abraham knew that this place will be destroyed too just like Sodom and Gomorrah.

 It is very important to find the right person to marry. If you are single, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:14, do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.

 

2 Corinthians 6:14 - 14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

 

The person you marry can either propel you towards the purposes of God or chain you back from fulfilling the purposes of God.

Here, we see our Father in heaven looking for a perfect bride - blameless, for His one and only beloved son, Jesus.

All of history is moving towards one climax - Marriage of Christ and his bride, the church.

 

Ephesians 5:23 - 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

  

2.     Faithfulness of the servant

 The servant Abraham chose was -

* The oldest of all
* In charge of everything
* Entrusted with a delicate matter
* Faithful

 We see 2 main things in the servant –

 

i)                A man of obedience

Verse 10 says that the servant was quick to obey his master. The journey was very long. It's 500 miles. Can you imagine?
Despite these facts, the servant was quick to obey his master.

 Genesis 24:10 - 10 Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim[b] and made his way to the town of Nahor.

 

ii)              A spiritual man

In verse 12, we see that the servant prayed to God.
Later on, when he found Rebecca, he worshipped God.

 Genesis 24:12 - Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘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.”

Genesis 24:26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, 27 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.”

 At Bethuel's home, even before he started to eat, he wanted to say whatever he was supposed to say.

 Genesis 24:33 Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.” “Then tell us,” Laban said.

The servant knew his priorities and he relied on God for guidance.
Towards the end of the story, in verse 66, we see that the servant gave an account of everything that happened. He was accountable.

  Today, if you are a believer, you are the servant in this story. You are given the commission to find the bride. We are entrusted with the most delicate task i.e., to find a bride. The bride is not one but many from all nations. That’s the church.

 In the story, we don't know the servant's name. But he played a very important role. The key role! The servant found Rebecca for Isaac and both of them had a son, Jacob. And through Jacob, all the nations are blessed.

 

We're entrusted with a mission. We need to go and preach the gospel.
Matt 24:14 says that the gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations. Only then will the end come.

 Matthew 24:14 - 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

 There are many people groups who haven't heard about Jesus.

Gospel is yet to be preached to all these groups.

 Rev 7:9 says that a great multitude from every Nation, tribe, people and language stood before the throne and before the lamb worshipping the Lord.

 

Rev 7:9 - After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

 This morning, we are like that chief servant. Will we be faithful like him? Will we be obedient like him?

 

  

3.     Favor and Faith of Rebecca

 

In verse 16, we see that Rebecca was a beautiful woman, a virgin (holiness) and very hard-working.

 Genesis 24:16 - 16 The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

 In verses 18 and 19, we see that Rebecca agreed to give water to the servant and did not wait for him to ask her to give water to his camels.

 Genesis 24:18-19 18 “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. 19 After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.”

 

We see the willingness to serve and also humility in Rebecca.
This nature of hers changed the whole story.
God's favor was upon her.

 

After Bethuel agreed to send Rebecca with the servant to get married to Isaac, the next morning, Rebecca's brother, Laban and his mother asked the servant if Rebecca could stay for 10 days and then go with him.
The servant asked them to let him go back to his master. So they decided to ask Rebecca.

 

Genesis 24:54 – 57 - 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.” 55 But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you[e] may go.” 56 But he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.” 57 Then they said, “Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.”

 

In verse 58, when Rebecca was asked if she's willing to go with the man, she said, "I will go".

 Genesis 24:58 - 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she said.

  

Rebecca didn't know anything about the man. But she decided to go with him because she believed what the servant explained and put her faith in God.

 

How do we see ourselves here?

 If anyone hasn't put their faith in Jesus yet, would you do it this morning? When you do that, you become a part of the bride for Jesus Christ. All the inheritance of God the Father belongs to you.

 In Rev 21:2, we see that the new Jerusalem comes down out of heaven, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

 Revelation 21:2 - 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

 We, the church is going to be presented as a beautiful bride for Jesus.

 Today is the day of salvation. May I urge you to put your faith in Jesus if you haven't.

Like Rebecca, make the decision so that you could be a part of this beautiful love story of Jesus and his bride - The church.

 The father wants to find a bride for his one and only beloved son.

The servant goes to find a bride.
Rebecca put her faith and becomes the bride.

   Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is a part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.