Torah: Genesis 23:1-25:18
Haftorah: 1 Kings 1:1-31

Sorry it’s been a few weeks since I posted. I had to take some more time to dedicate to my family. Thanks for being patient for the next post. It will take some time, but I will catch up, because I don’t want to pass by any of these portions. they are just too good. This is a continuation of my series going through the ancient reading schedule for the Torah and Prophets. For the reading scheduled for November 15, 2025, we’re going to keep looking for the prophecy of Jesus and our relationship with God.

Today, I want to begin not with Abraham, but his servant, whom some suppose to be the Eliezer that would have inherited Abraham’s house if he didn’t have a son (Gen 15:2). This is someone who Abraham trusted. I think most English translations say that this servant was the oldest in Abraham’s house, but the CJSB translates that he is the one “who had served him [Abraham] the longest, who was in charge of all he [Abraham] owned” (Gen 24:2). Now that strikes a different chord about his character, to me. He may also have been the oldest, but there’s a different kind of relationship you build with people who has actually been there with you down the long road, and in Abraham’s life, literally. He had servants when he left Haran, so this man would have been included. And since he is Abraham’s longest-serving servant, he may have even left Ur with them before that. He was there during Abraham’s life-long walk with God. He may have been the one Abraham called to pack the house in Ur, or break the camp first thing in the morning in Haran after he had encountered the God who told him to get himself out. He was there on the day God told Abraham to circumcise his household. He was there through Abraham and Sarah’s long barrenness and the miraculous birth of Isaac. He may have been the one helping prepare the goat that Abraham served to God Himself and His angels. He may have even gone to Mount Moriah with Abraham and Isaac and be the first one to see them descending the mountain after experiencing the One Who became known as the Fear of Isaac. Many people wish they could go back and firsthand see the ministry of Jesus. This man firsthand saw the faith of Abraham. This is the guy I want to spend some time on, Abraham’s servant, and what that means for believers, who are servants of God.

Abraham gives the servant specific instructions:

“Put your hand under my thigh, 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,but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac” (Gen. 24:2b-4).

The servant then asks Abraham a “What if?” question:

“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?” (Gen. 24:5b).

My kids, especially my six-year-old, are all about “What if?” questions right now. Sometimes it drives me crazy, and sometimes I don’t know how to answer because their scenarios are just too crazy. But I think it’s natural for humans to ask the “What if?” questions. The servant wanted to know what to do in all possible scenarios when he got to Haran. It’s not like he could call Abraham on the phone later and say, “Hey Abraham, she doesn’t want to go. What do I do now?” Abraham answered with the confidence of his faith,

“See to it that you do not take my son back there. 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. 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” (Gen. 24:6-8). 

The God who the servant learned about after serving Abraham the longest was going to have God’s angel go before him on his mission. I can imagine that must have been a profound moment for him to know that. Abraham spoke with certainty that the servant would find Isaac’s future wife, but he answers the “What if?” question anyway.

This is the beginning of the story of the match literally made in heaven. This match is recorded in the Bible because through it would be the continuation of the Abrahamic covenant, as Abraham reiterated to his servant in verse 7. Abraham’s descendants through Isaac would inherit the land. We know from earlier in Genesis, that the promise also included blessing the whole world, and we can iterate that blessing out as being the Bible and the Savior.

The servant got to Haran and said a prayer to God:

“O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 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.”

Then the Bible says his prayer began to be answered before he even finished praying! Jesus said God knows what we need before we ask (Mt. 6:8), and that was definitely the case here. Rebecca showed up and did everything the servant asked God for her to do and say without any of his prompting. She not only gave him water, but she watered his 10 camels. A camel can drink 30 gallons of water at one time. Rebecca could have been pulling up to 300 gallons of water out of the well! Talk about a workout. But the servant didn’t jump the gun. Instead, he “gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not” (Gen. 24:21). And 300 gallons later, it could have taken a while. When he saw how his prayer was answered completely to the detail, he knew this was God’s will. Then he acted, just like his master, Abraham. He gave her gifts and told her who he was and whom sent him. This man took his mission so seriously, that he wouldn’t even eat before he had a chance to tell Rebecca’s family about it. When he had a choice, he put his master and God ahead of his own personal gratification. And he didn’t waste time looking for a response from them.

^“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” (Gen. 24:49).

The CJSB translates his words as, “So now if you people intend to show grace and truth to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me, so I can turn elsewhere.” The servant puts in the “What if?” scenario to them. If Rebecca wouldn’t marry Isaac, the servant was going to go find the woman who would. This translation gives the impression that the servant does not doubt that God would prosper his mission, but he left room to see how God would prosper it. This reminds me of Mordecai’s words to Esther. Mordecai knew God would deliver the Jews from Haman’s destruction, and Esther had the opportunity to be a part of that:

^“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

Esther had to choose, and Rebecca had to choose. They both chose to be a part of God’s story. They chose not to perish (sort to speak in Rebecca’s instance). We would know nothing of Rebecca if she refused. She would have perished to history, to His story.

Laban plainly saw “[t]he thing has come from the Lord” (Gen. 24:50). The next morning, the servant rose early to pack up, just like his master Abraham would do when he knew God’s will. Abraham wouldn’t waste time, so he wouldn’t waste time. Rebecca’s family wanted to give it some time, 10 days specifically. The servant was not like-minded. He said,

“Do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master” (Gen. 24:56b).

Isn’t that how God calls us? When the Hebrews left Egypt, they left suddenly. Jesus’ ministry was all about calling people suddenly. That’s how the 12 disciples became His disciples. They dropped their fishing nets or whatever they were doing and followed him right away. Conversely, the Bible tells us about disciples who did not pick up and follow him suddenly like the good examples.

Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” (Mt. 8:21-22).

Now Jesus wasn’t telling him to be callous or leave his deceased loved one to decompose above ground. At that time, it took at least a year to bury someone. They first wrapped them and buried them in a tomb, then a year later or so, after the soft tissue had decayed, they picked up the bones and gathered them in an ossuary to be buried in the final sense. Jesus said that He couldn’t waste time, and neither could his disciples. Abraham’s servant couldn’t waste time, and neither could Rebecca.

As we enter the Christmas season, I think Mary is like Abraham’s servant. When Gabriel told her God’s will, she asked a “What if?” question too.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” And the angel departed from her (Lk. 1:26-38).

Like Abraham’s servant, she asked a “What if?” question, and like Abraham’s servant, she obeyed. She submitted herself to God as His maidservant. Abraham’s servant swore to him to do as he said.

Believers are servants of God. The Apostle Paul referred to himself like that often in his letters. As His servants, believers have been given instructions from the Master, specifically, the Great Commission:

And he [Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mk. 16:15).

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:18-20).

Wow. If Abraham’s servant obeyed his earthly master as he did, believers should realize we have an obligation to obey God. Just go. In Mark, Jesus tells them the “What if?” answer before they get to ask, “Lord, what if Your creation will not hear and believe?” The Master of the believer has been given all authority by the Father. In fact, Jesus and God are actually One. Jesus gained authority over sin and death by His death for sin on the cross.

Jesus gave His disciples instructions until He returns. Peter, having walked with Jesus during His earthly ministry, knew these things well, and he says,

Since all these things [the present heavens and earth] are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (1 Pet. 3:11-13).

When I read these verses, I wondered to myself, “I can wait for Jesus’ coming, but how can I hasten it?” I mean, if someone wrote that today, do you think that would sound heretical to many Christians? But no, Peter says we can hasten that day. The Bible doesn’t actually say the date of Jesus’ return is fixed. It does say only the Father knows the day (Mt. 24:46, Mk. 13:32). In fact, Jesus said the Father cut the days short “for the sake of the elect” (Mt. 24:22, Mk. 13:20). We can hasten His coming. God will cut the days short for the sake of believers. So how can we be a part of hastening His coming? Well, I think we can pray. God does hear our prayers and He responds to them. But Jesus also gave us a checklist as recorded by Matthew in the 24^th chapter of his gospel:

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (vs. 3-14).

Believers have one active role in this list: proclaim the gospel to all nations. To proclaim the gospel, according to Jesus’ sequence, you have to not be led astray, you have to be delivered up to tribulation, and you have to not fall away. Many will, but those like the servant of Abraham, those like Rebecca, those like Esther and Mary will not. They will nor perish to history or death. They will be in the Book of Life (Rev. 3:5).

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16).

So if you are a believer, put off your own fleshly gratification as Abraham’s servant did, pursue God’s mission by spreading the gospel without delay and with perseverance. Where you see God prospering your way, rise early in the morning and go. You don’t just have God’s angel going before you, you have God’s Son with you. God fulfilled His promise to Abraham to bless the world by giving the Bible and the Savior through the Jewish people, and now believers have the job to spread the Bible and the gospel to all nations, to the world. The job isn’t done yet. Did you get that? Believers get to be a part of God’s promise to Abraham! Jesus spoke a lot of parables about good servants and lousy servants. Don’t be the lousy servant.

If you do not believe, you have a choice. Just as surely as Abraham and his servant knew God would provide Isaac a wife, you can be sure that God will bring salvation to the world. Rebecca had a choice. Rebecca chose to be Isaac’s wife (Gen. 24:57-58). The Bible calls Israel the bride and God the Bridegroom. Song of Songs is understood in this light. See also Hosea, particularly Hosea 2:19-20. The New Testament calls the church the bride of Christ and Christ the Bridegroom (Mt. 9:15, Mt. 25:1-10, Mk. 2:19-20, Lk. 5:34-35, Jn. 3:29, Eph. 5:25-27). You can be a part of God’s story or you can perish. That’s not hate speech. That’s the truth in the Bible, and I pray you choose life, I pray you choose to submit to God as His servant, like Abraham’s servant did. I pray you choose to be the bride of Christ, like Rebecca did. Until next time, God bless.

Gifts

If I had the wisdom of Solomon
Or had the integrity of Joseph—
Or Sampson’s strength would be enough—
If I had the valor of Gideon—
If only I had the faith of Daniel
Or the authority of Elijah—
Had I the discernment of Deborah,
Eliezer’s guidance at the well
Or others not enumerated here,
There’s one more thing of you I would ask:
All of the gifts You give me would adhere
To your will and the plan You have amassed
Through Christ. And with the Holy Spirit near
You give me daily dole for my own task.

If you like this poem, this is part of a book of poetry I sell on Amazon in print and ebook format. You can check it out here. Proceeds go to charity. If someone in your life is looking for a new devotional or loves poetry, this would make a great Hanukkah or Christmas gift.