Comments for January 13

On the matter of making a bargain with God - I cannot think of any others who did so in prayer.  However Abram bargains with the angels [the Lord] over Sodom. Moses, in a rather extreme way - [Exodus 32:32] bargains with God, laying his own life on the line.  And thinking about this Jesus in the garden 'if it be possible ...' [Matthew 26:39].  The example above and these others raise an fundamental question.  Is it possible to change God's mind by praying to Him?  The answer has to be 'yes' else there is no point praying!  Though we tend not to think that He will change his mind in response to what man says unto Him.

The behaviour of Elieazar - Abraham's servant - shows his total confidence in the providence of God.

Rebekah had left home before the servant had even started his prayer (v15).   God is perfectly able to
answer our prayers even before we have said them.  Never underestimate the value of prayer.

It is interesting to note that Isaac took but one wife. None of the other patriarchs had only one wife. Isaac and Rebekah are, therefore, types of the one bride that Christ takes to himself.

:30  'When he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands'
This speaks volumes about the sort of man Laban was.

:50-55  Laban told the servant to take Rebekah, but then once the servant had bestowed riches on her he changed his mind and suggested she should stay (v55). He had seen some of Isaac's wealth and so was perhaps plotting to get his hands on the rest. If she remained (for 10 months? see margin) Isaac might eventually have to come in person. Then Laban would have his chance.

Abraham and Isaac's long wait

At any time Isaac could have taken a wife from the Canaanite families whom Abraham was in league with. Yet he waited until he was 40 years old for a wife that Abraham, and by implication, God, would provide. Why didn't Abraham find a wife for his son earlier? Maybe he could see his son's single minded dedication to God and didn't want to side-track him too early. Or perhaps there's a clue in Gen 22:20-23 that Abraham knew of Rebekah's birth, and was waiting until she would be old enough to marry his son. What is clear is that careful, prayerful, God directed choice in marriage is a precedent in scripture going right back to Abraham, no matter how long we have to wait.

v.6 Why would the servant ask this question? If he came back to take Isaac Abraham would be there to stop him so why would Abraham have to give his this command. Could it possibly be based on 1. 1, that Abraham's advanced years and possibly failing health, Abraham had an expectation that he could die before his servant's return so he wanted to make sure his wishes were understood.  

Abraham's servant would recognize the future wife of Isaac, if she would give him a drink and water his camels. This may seem to have been an easy undertaking until you understand the man was not alone. In v. 32 it says that there were men with him so there were at least several camels, so the amount of effort to water these camels would have been fairly great and may have been a deterrant to a less compassionate or less hospitable more selfish young girl. A good test of Rebekah's character. 

Verse 30 speaks volumes about the sort of man Laban was. He had a mind like a cash till! Scripture records that the first thing Laban noticed was the earrings and the bracelets given to his sister by Abraham's servant. Thus Scripture presents Laban as being very much motivated by money & possessions - to such an extent that it turned him into a greedy, miserly, cheating skinflint who cheated and deceived his own nephew many times over many years - not only in wages & possessions but also cheated Jacob in love as well.

How true are the words of Paul in 1Tim 6:10 who states that the LOVE of money is the root of ALL evil!

Gen 24:12  We see in this chapter a theme for exhortation in the faithfulness of Abraham’s servant to his master.  Abraham’s trusted servant (Eliezer? Gen 15:2) faithfully obeyed his master’s instructions in seeking a wife for Isaac. Through prayer he showed his complete trust and faith the “LORD God of my master Abraham”(Gen 24:12). His prayer was immediately answer with the appearance of Rebekah at the well accompanied by the signs he prayed to see, (Gen 24:13-14). He acknowledged that “LORD God of my master Abraham”was working in the life of Abraham, (see, Gen 24:27,42,48) and had answered his prayer. He understood that the LORD (Yahweh) had begun to bless his master Abraham as promised (Gen 12:2).  Are we faithful and diligent in our service to our master the Lord Jesus Christ?  Having been freed from the bondage of sin and death are we now determined to be servants of righteousness? (Rom 6:17-18).

THE IDEAL SERVANT

Abraham’s servant was a pretty amazing sort of guy. It is worth us noting his character and doing our best to be like him in our lives as a servant of Christ.

• The servant is not named. His job was to serve and honour Abraham, not make a name for himself.
• He was the servant in charge of all Abraham had. To reach a position like this takes dedication, hard work, patience and diligence.
• He followed instructions. If Abraham said it, he did it and gave it all he had.
• He was a man of prayer and faith, trusting in the guidance of God and believing that God would answer his prayer.
• He did what he needed to do without procrastinating. He would not eat before he passed on his message. And when the answer came, he was ready to action it straight away.

If only we could be that sort of person for our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s be the servant who honours Jesus more than we care about ourselves; the diligent servant who obeys in everything; the servant that is full of prayer and faith; and the servant who gets on with what we should be doing when we should be doing it.

24:4 go to my country and my kindred and take a wife for my son Isaac

Abraham was insistent that Isaac obtain a wife from his family in Haran. This seems a strange request given that there were two other possibilities for obtaining a wife from a faithful community : Salem, where Melchisedec had been a king priest over a community; and Abraham's own faithful household which was quite sizeable (cp Genesis 14:14). It may be that Abraham's third wife, Keturah, was someone he knew from within his own household (How else would he have met her?).

So why was Abraham so insistent?  Two possibilities emerge:

1. He  was so annoyed by the wickedness of the surrounding Canaanites (24:3) that he wanted to play it safe by having Isaac's wife come from a community not near, or immersed in, wickedness.

2. God may have given Abraham some undisclosed instructions.

Either way, this is a warning to us all in seeking a marriage partner from within the household of faith.

Psalm 29  This Psalm provides a description of the hand of God in the works of creation. "and God said"  Gen 1  "the voice of the LORD"  in this Psalm. It is also a plea to recognize the Power of God.

Psalm 30   A prayer of thankfulness for either David being allowed to bring up the Ark to Jerusalem, or a prayer of thanksgiving for the restoration of his health, and the preservation of his life.   

Psalm 29 gives expression to the power and might of the Lord's voice as focused through natural elements.  He has used, and will use again, the ferocity of natural elements to destroy His enemies.
We, as God's children, should not be afraid of His angry voice.  Rather, like Elijah (1Kin 19:11,12), we should be listening for the still small voice of instruction, guidance, and comfort.

Psa 29 - This whole Psalm is of praise to God and a graphic recognition of His power.  May we remember the importance of praise and worship in our everyday lives, as it breeds humility.

30:3 - As Peter Cresswell noted this appears to be about Christ. Also of significance is "my soul" KJV is translated "me" in the NIV. Thus we have one of many passages that a "soul" Heb. "nephesh"<5315> can be the entirety of the person. The word for "grave" is Heb. "sheol"<7585> and means "grave, hell, pit". Was Christ brought up from a fiery hell alive or was it merely the cave in which he was buried from which he was resurrected?

Psa 30 From the subtitle there can be no doubt that this Psalm was used at the dedication of the house of David. Even though David was not there to witness the Temple's dedication, at least one of his Psalms was used on the occasion. It is interesting to note the Temple was not built until after the death of David, we normally identify it as Solomon's Temple, the house is still called "the house of David"

30      The title, when talking about ‘the house of David’ is clearly talking about the tent that David had pitched in Jerusalem. The use of the words ‘house of David reminds us that David was caused to realise that the place of worship was not to be restricted to a physical building but was to extend to a group of people – those who are called and chosen by God.

Psalm 30 does not give any indication as to which house the dedication applied.  If it is to the temple, then which one: Zerubbabel's; Solomon's; or the temple to come in the Kingdom.  Consider another suggestion, that this is a dedication to the altar which was built on Araunah's threshing floor (2Sam 24:20-24).  The reason for the altar was to appeal to Yahweh to stop the plague that was devastating the people.  Yahweh was pleased with the sacrifices and did stop the plague (2Sam 24:25).  The psalm speaks to death; a plea for mercy; and rejoicing after deliverance.  All the elements of the plague; the appeal; and the cessation of the plague are incorporated in this psalm.

Ps. 29 The voice of the Lord is might and in it you can see the wind, fire and earthquake yet in 1 Kings 19:12 we know also know that the voice of the Lord can be a gentle blowing. I wonder if Ps. 29 was in the mind of Elijah he had to learn that the Lord also works in less visibile ways.   

29:10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever

The flood could refer to the people ruled over by God from the millenium onwards. It follows on from verse 3 where "the voice of the LORD is over the waters ... over many waters", a reference to the nations.

This reminds us of  the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters prior to God's voice speaking (Genesis 1:2,3). So God was enthroned over a literal flood in Genesis 1 and will sit enthroned over a flood of people in the kingdom and beyond. God's plan for the earth will finally be fulfilled in this second flood.

13:44,46            Jesus repeats the lesson from these parables later –Luke 12:33 – when talking to the disciples. Good teaching needs to be repeated simply because we are inclined to forget it. Or even if we remember it are inclined not to put it into practice.

15:22 Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David

Despite being rebuffed by the disciples, and apparently even by Jesus, the Canaanite woman retains her absolute respect  for Jesus, calling him "Lord" three times and "Son of David" once. Yet she was a gentile! She knew who Jesus was, and acted upon it.  Jesus was impressed with her faith (15:28)