Prayer and Providence - Genesis 24
There’s an old story of a young lady who took a job in a textile mill, where yarn was turned into fabric for clothing and other things. In the mill hung a sign that read, “When your thread becomes tangled, call the foreman.”
But when her thread tangled, she felt that she should just untangle it on her own. So she tried, but it only became worse and worse -- until it was a real mess.
Eventually, she had to call for help, and when the foreman arrived, she was quick to say, “I did the best I could.” But the foreman very calmly answered, “No, the best you could’ve done was to call me.”
Why is it that we sometimes don’t seek help until the problem is clearly too big for us to handle?
Well, it can be difficult to ask for help because it is difficult to admit our need. But in 1 Peter 5 in the NT, the apostle Peter writes, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”
In other words, call out to God and admit your neediness to God and He will lift your spirits, bow down and lay your concerns before God, and He will pick you up and support you, because your concerns matter to Him.
God even accounts for human neediness as He fulfills His plans, and so prayer and providence take center stage as God carries out His holy will.
Earlier in worship, we saw good Biblical summaries of both. The doctrines of prayer and providence have, (among others) two things in common: both assume our need and not only God’s ability, but His attentiveness, His involvement.
And so these doctrines should be a source of great comfort and hope for us.But our sin causes us to underestimate the value of prayer and the reality of providence. Self-reliance and unbelief can take over.
And how much have you been influenced by the worldview that everything that happens in the world is a result of “fixed natural causes,” as Dr. R.C. Sproul says? Many people operate as if God does not exist, and many believe that even if He does exist, He isn’t really involved in what takes place here on earth. From that perspective, prayer is useless and providence is an illusion.
But that is completely opposite of the view presented in the Scriptures. God’s Word tells us that He is active and involved in His creation, and He cares. Jesus came into the world to defeat sin and all the lies that sin supports. Jesus came into the world so that we could call to God in faith and rely on Him.
And so followers of Jesus embrace the role of prayer and providence in our lives.
But what role do they play? Two things stated for you on p.7 of the WG. The results of prayer and the recognition of providence will do two things that we see here: 1. encourage your heart with the confidence that God is at work in your world, and 2. bear witness to others that God is at work in their world. And the more we are convinced of these things, the more we will call on Him for every need.
Now this is a very long chapter of Scripture. And so I’m going to handle it a little differently from how I normally do. We’re going to read it and I’ll explain it as we go.
Starting with verse [1] Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. [2] And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, [3] 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, [4] but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
Abraham’s wife Sarah was now deceased. He realized his life was coming to a close. And for God’s promise of many descendants to continue, a family tree that would eventually lead to the birth of Jesus Christ, Isaac needed a wife.
In ANE culture it was the responsibility of the father to find a wife for the son. But Abraham is too old to make the trip back to his homeland of Mesopotamia. However, he has a trusted servant, and he makes the servant take this oath before God.
“Putting the hand under the thigh” was probably related to the sign of circumcision that accompanied God’s covenant with Abraham, like swearing on the promises of God. God would help the servant because God is a covenant keeper. He is trustworthy.
Now, a wife from the Canaanite people would not do for Isaac. There would be allegiance to Canaan there, which would be problematic.
Now the servant asks a good question, verse [5] The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” If no woman agrees to come to Canaan, should he take Isaac back to Mesopotamia?
But notice verse [6] Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. [7] The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ He will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. [8] But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.”
Abraham deduces that if the servant is not successful, God must be doing things another way. Abrham knew God but he was not all-knowing; there were many things God didn’t reveal to him. But he’s confident in God’s involvement in the situation. He said God would send an angel.
And not to give things away too early, but this does work out as Abraham hoped it would. And yet, we never see what it is that the angel actually did.
How God affects circumstances is not always apparent to the human eye. We understand that there is both a physical realm and a spiritual realm. God, in fact, is a spirit and does not have a body as humans do. Likewise, His heavenly servants are not always visible to the human eye. But God operates in both realms.
Now the bottom line for the servant is that no matter what, Isaac must not leave Canaan. It is the Land God has promised to His descendants. Look at verse [9] So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter. [10] Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor. [11] And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water.
It’s always good to see plain old common sense on display in the Scriptures. If you’re looking for a woman, go where the women go and go when they go there! But notice that his common sense is coupled with faith. He trusts God’s providential working, but also, he prays. Verse [12] And he said, “O LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. [13] Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. [14] Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”
The servant appeals to God’s covenant with Abraham. He appeals to God’s “steadfast love” which could also be translated “covenant loyalty.” And he asks God to cause Him to succeed.
Now, he asks for a sign, but notice that it’s not an extraordinary one. A woman responding to his request for water in this way wouldn’t seem supernatural. The servant is basically asking God to lead him and Isaac’s future wife to one another.
This is not an arbitrary sign; there is a purpose to it. By her response, the servant will get a sense of the young woman’s character and attitude. If she offers to water the camels, that will be a lot of water. There were 10 camels!
Now watch what happens, 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. [16] The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up.
Notice the timeline here. The servant didn’t pray and then the woman went to the well. No - she had already been traveling that way.
Helen Roseveare was an English doctor and missionary in the Congo in the 1950s and 60s. She served in hospitals there and was imprisoned for a time, enduring terrible assaults. But she remained committed to her calling and those people. And during those years, Helen came to understand more and more the role of prayer and providence in God’s plan.
Once, she was caring for a newborn baby whose mother had passed away. The hospital was cold in the middle of the night, and the baby was cold, which was dangerous, so she sent for a hot water bottle to place with the child, but was told that the last one had burst.
They managed to keep the baby warm that night, buit the next day Helen told some orphans in her African village about this orphan baby. She told the children that they needed a hot water bottle, and a little 10-year-old girl named “Ruth” replied that they should pray and ask God to send one.
So Ruth prayed right then, and expressed to God that tomorrow might be too late. Also, she asked God if He could send the little orphan child a baby doll, so that she could know that God loves her.
Helen Roseveare admitted that she didn’t really know what to think. Who would send a hot water bottle to the continent of Africa? But that afternoon, a package arrived. It was filled with goods for the children and for the hospital. And there, near the bottom, was a hot water bottle made of rubber!
When Ruth saw the bottle, she cried out that the baby doll must be there also, and sure enough, there was the doll she had prayed for. Helen soon learned that her former Sunday school class had packed and shipped that package – five months earlier.
Through prayer, God hears our desires for things that agree with His holy will; And through providence, He governs our lives in ways that agree with His holy will. Often, God has begun His work before we even express our need. And He works in ways that we don’t always understand.
Do you carry your specific needs before God? Do you doubt God’s activity in your life, or do you fear that He may not get involved in some situation that is important to you? Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is ask.
Now let’s look at these next verses.Verse [17] Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” [18] She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. [19] When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” [20] So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. [21] The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the LORD had prospered his journey or not.
Remember – the wife of Isaac must be from the family of Abraham. Moses, who wrote Genesis, tells us who she is, but the servant did not yet know that. Verse [22] When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, [23] and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
It seems that he had a strong sense that she was the one. He has the gifts ready to give to her. And see her response, verse [24] She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” [25] She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.” After traveling so far from Canaan back to Mesopotamia, here is this young woman, kind and hospitable with the heart of a humble servant. And she belongs to the family of Abraham’s brother, Nahor!
Look at the servant’s response, verse [26] The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD [27] and said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.” He says, “The LORD has led me in the way.” God guided Him; God made a way.
Friends, listen to me: the results of prayer and the recognition of providence will encourage your heart with the confidence that God is at work in your world.
This is the encouragement and confidence that we need in our world today. God calls us to step out on faith. And it takes faith to pray. That’s why prayer is often difficult. But God will not let His people down! He must fulfill His plans! God will encourage you as He works in your life, and His work will bear witness of His glory to others.
Let’s keep reading. Verse [28] Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. [29] Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring. [30] As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, 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. [31] He said, “Come in, O blessed of the LORD. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”
We learn later on in Genesis that Laban is not upstanding. He sees the gifts of gold that his sister received, and so he’s very nice to this traveler. He even uses the name of Yahweh.
Verse [32] So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and there was water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. [33] Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” He said, “Speak on.”
Laban tells him to speak. [34] So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. [35] The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. [36] And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has. [37] 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 dwell, [38] but you shall go to my father’s house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.’ [39] I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ [40] But he said to me, ‘The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father’s house. [41] Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my clan. And if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’
The servant recounts God’s blessing of Abraham’s and Abraham’s command, and the oath. He reiterates God’s mysterious work in the situation.
He goes on, Verse [42] “I came today to the spring and said, ‘O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go, [43] behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” [44] and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,” let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master’s son.’ [45] “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ [46] She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also. [47] Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms.
What some might call “coincidence” the servant recognizes as “providence.”
Verse [48] Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD and blessed the LORD,
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. [49] Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.” [50] Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the LORD; we cannot speak to you bad or good. [51] Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has spoken.”
Without a doubt, this retelling of the events made an impact on these people. We shouldn’t take for granted that they believed; not all people would recognize God’s hand in these circumstances. It is true that it could all be explained away. Even as Jesus performed miracles, there were doubters who explained things away.
From a human perspective, this might look like “chance.” But God’s providential work and His answers to prayer will often look that way. And we shouldn’t be discouraged by that. I mentioned recently Proverbs 16, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”
Now, Rebekah’s brother and father have an interesting response. They say, “The thing has come from the LORD; we cannot speak to you bad or good.” In other words, we have nothing to say to that. They are in awe.
Maybe you’ve heard of God’s work in a situation and all you could do was stand in awe. You may have wondered, “Is that really true?” but then maybe you also thought, “Well, if God is God, then He could do that.”
And here is another role that prayer and providence play in leading us to call to God in faith and rely on Him: the results of prayer and the recognition of providence will bear witness to others that God is at work in their world. Your testimony of God’s work in your life can compel others to look to Him.
Now let’s look at the final section. Verse [52] When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the LORD. The servant praises God for their response. [53] And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. [54] And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my master.” [55] Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.” [56] But 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.”
The servant was likely ready to get back before the death of Abraham. Incidentally, Abraham lived many, many years after this, but who could have known? Again, God worked in these peoples’ lives, but He didn’t reveal everything to them.
Verse [57] They said, “Let us call the young woman and ask her.” [58] And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.” Here we see the strong faith of Rebekah. Yet another sign that she and Isaac are right for each other. They will carry forward God’s promises together. They will be a team, as husband and wife should be.
Verse [59] So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. [60] And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become thousands of ten thousands, and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate him!”
This blessing that they speak to Rebekah is much like the one the angel of the LORD speaks to Abraham in Genesis 22 regarding Isaac. Are there words the result of the angel’s influence also? Maybe so.
Verse [61] Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way. Now the action jumps ahead to their arrival back in Canaan. It wraps up here. Verse [62] Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb.
Isaac is apparently far from Hebron, where Abraham was. The sense here is that Isaac is perhaps a little bit lost after the death of his mother. He was mourning. Was he praying for his father’s servant to return with a wife? We aren’t told that, but it seems likely. Proverbs 13:12 comes to mind here. It says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”
Isaac is about to know that fulfillment. And the results of prayer and the recognition of providence is about to bear witness to Isaac that God is at work in his world.
Verse [63] And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming. [64] And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel [65] and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. Verse [66] And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
The servant told Isaac about the prayer; and he told Isaac about God’s providence. Verse [67] Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. This is interesting: he took her into his mother’s tent. Rebekah takes her place as the matriarch of the family, and God’s promises move forward.
The ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham came through Jesus Christ. Isaac and Rebekah are part of the story of Jesus’ earthly life. You see, prayer and providence played a role in Jesus coming into the world to save His people. Nowhere is God’s care and involvement in His creation more apparent than in the person and work of Jesus. In His life on earth, He demonstrated perfect prayer and perfect trust in the providence of God.
And Jesus is not just our model or our example. He is our substitute. He displayed the trust in God that we naturally fail to display. This is why Jesus is a worthy Savior for sinners who underestimate the value of prayer and the reality of providence.
What else is appropriate but to surrender to Him today?
What else but to admit your need Him, to trust in Him?
“The Lord is near; [6] do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and asking with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Let’s bow in prayer.