A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES: AN ALL IMPORTANT DECISION P/6

   A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

                  AN ALL IMPORTANT DECISION

                                      PART VI

“I, Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, kept watching this very kind young woman as she watered the ten camels I had brought with me from Canaan… I was so pleased to see her not give up taking care of them until all of them had had enough water to drink… I decided that the moment had come to give her some of the gifts my master Abraham had given to me for the young woman who, God willing, may become the wife of his son Isaac…. As I presented her with these gifts, I asked her who she was…. I was so delighted to hear that she is part of my master’s family… Only God could have arranged that in answer to my prayer to Him… She told me as well that she will arrange for me to stay at their home that night…. Rebekah, for that is the name of the young woman, has now gone home to tell her family about me…. I were back on my knees to thank the Lord for His goodness.”… Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that the young woman at the well is part of Abraham’s family…

                   ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES                                   

                                                    AN ALL IMPORTANT DECISION

                                                                     PART VI

It seems God may have answered Abraham’s servant’s prayer, which he prayed while at the well just outside the town of Nahor. However, he still needs to know who the young woman is who has been so kind to him as you can read in Genesis 24:22-27

When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor.” And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.” Then the man bowed down and worshipped the Lord, 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.”

God has answered Abraham’s servant’s prayer to the smallest details. The first thing he does is to thank God by bowing down and worshipping the Lord. He knows this would not have happened without the Lord’s help. Only the Lord can have made this encounter with the young woman Rebekah possible.

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A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

                AN ALL IMPORTANT DECISION

                                 PART V

“I, Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, am so grateful to God…. For He answered my prayer…. A young woman came to the well that is located just outside the town of Nahor… she carried a jar on her shoulder…. I got up from my knees…. And I approached her…. I asked her for a little water… She very kindly gave me something to drink… I waited if she would say more… To my delight she told me that she would be happy to water my camels as well…I did not say anything at that time… I just watched her as she patiently watered all ten of my camels until they had finished drinking….Would she be the one the Lord has chosen as the future wife for my master’s son?…. Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn of a young woman who came to the well outside the town of Nahor and gives Abraham’s servant, Eliezer, a drink of water…

                     ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

                                                     AN ALL IMPORTANT DECISION

                                                                           PART V

Does God answer Abraham’s servants’s prayer, which he prayed at the well just outside the town of Nahor? Let’s read Genesis 24:15-22 to begin to find outl

Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give us me a little water from your jar.” “Drink my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking.” So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water; and drew enough for all his camels.Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.

No doubt, the servant is very grateful that this young woman, whose name he does not yet know, has not only given him some water but has begun to give water to his camels as well. Nevertheless, he knows that it it too early to be sure that this young woman is the one the Lord has chosen for his master’s son Isaac.

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A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

                 AN ALL IMPORTANT DECISION

                                    PART IV

“I, Eliezer, Abraham’s servant have arrived at the well of the town Nahor where my master is from originally… I am quite tired as you can well imagine…. However, I am here on a mission to find a wife for my master’s son Isaac… So I cannot rest as yet…I know too that it is impossible for me to find her by myself… I need help from the God of my master…. That is why I knelt down…. And I began to pray to Him…. I told Him exactly my location… I told Him as well that at this time of the day the young women of the town come to the well to draw water… After all, God is in heaven… And I am here on earth…. Things are done differently in heaven… So I thought I better explain to God not only exactly where I am… But how things are done over here…I then asked Him if He would be kind enough to help me know which young woman He has selected to become the wife of my master’s son by having her offer to give water to my camels…. I am now waiting to see if God will answer my prayer.”…. Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that Abraham’s servant, Eliezer, prays a  very specific prayer to Abraham’s God….

                       ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

                                                   AN ALL IMPORTANT DECISION

                                                                      PART IV

Abraham’s servant, Eliezer, who is at the well just outside the town of Nahor, knows that in a practical sense he has done everything he possibly can but he knows too that it is not enough for he needs to prepare spiritually for this very important task his master has given him so after he has made the camels kneel down, he himself kneels down as well as he prays that God will help him choose the right wife for his master’s son Isaac as you can read in Genesis 24:12-14

Then he prayed, “O, Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, “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.”

And the servant is very specific in the way he asks the Lord to answer his prayer giving God full details as to where he is at that moment and that at this time of the day the young women of the town will come to the well to fetch water. Abraham’s servant may have felt the need to be so specific because God resides in heaven where, no doubt, things are done very differently than here on earth. However, God knows everything what happens on earth even while He is in heaven so He will have known that Abraham’s servant is at the spring and that the young women are about to go to the spring to fetch water. I think we can sometimes be like that, cann’t we? Thinking we have to tell God how it is, not realising that He knows better than we do how things really are for God is all-knowing.

                     

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A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

                  AN ALL IMPORTANT DECISION

                                    PART III

“I am Abraham’s servant, Eliezer…. I have been with Abraham and his wife Sarah for many, many years…. He trusts me completely… A while ago he called me into his tent…. He spoke to me about his son Isaac… it is time for his son to be married…However, Abraham does not want his son to marry a local young woman… I can understand his concerns…. That is why he has asked me to travel to the country he is from originally…. To find a wife for his son from among his relatives…. I left for Aram Naharaim very soon after our conversation… Of course, I did not just go by myself…. I took with me ten of my master’s camels… And all kinds of good things…. For my master is very wealthy… I have now arrived in the town of Nahor…. I am at the well just outside the town… it is towards evening…. The time that the young women come to the well to draw water.”…. Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that Abraham’s servant, Eliezer, has arrived in Nahor, the town Abraham is from originally.

 

                     ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORY

                                                    AN ALL IMPORTANT DECISION     

                                                                      PART III

And so the servant, being faithful to his master Abraham, sets off on his trip to find a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac as you can read in Genesis 24:10-11

Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. He made the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was towards evening, the time the women go out to draw water.

After a long journey, Abraham finds himself in Nahor where he has strategically placed himself at the well just outside the town. And he has brought with him all kinds of gifts to help make his offer of marriage acceptable to the young woman of his choice and her family.

                        

A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD RESTAMENT STORIES: AN ALL IMPORTANT DECISION P/2

 

                                   

A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

                 AN ALL IMPORTANT DECISION   

                                       PART II        

“I, Abraham, am so grateful to God for my son Isaac… He truly is God’s gift to my wife, Sarah, and I…Especially because he was born to us when I was already 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old…. Isaac has now grown up… And it is time for him to get married… I am too old to find a wife for him… I have, therefore, asked my trusted servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for my son Isaac… I know that he can be trusted to choose a suitable wife for my son… However, I told him that he should not choose a wife for my son from among the people we are living… Instead, I have told him to go to the country I am from originally…. And find a wife from among my relatives… I believe that the Lord will send an angel ahead of my servant to help him find the right wife for my son Isaac.”…. Please read the typed out attachment to learn that Abraham asks his servant Eliezer to find a wife for his son Isaac…

                     ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE;OLD TESTAMENT STORIES                                                                       

                                                   AN ALL IMPORTANT DECISION

                                                                           PART II

Isaac, Abraham’s and Sarah’s son, grows up and one day Abraham instructs his servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for his son. His instructions are very specific about who to choose for his son Isaac as you can read in Genesis 24:1-9

Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?” “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. “The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, “To your offspring I will give this land”- He will send His angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.” So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.                                             

Abraham has full confidence in the Lord that He will guide his servant to the right woman for his son Isaac.

                                                                     

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A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

                AN ALL IMPORTANT DECISION

                                     PART I

In this story we will focus on a young woman named Rebekah. However, before doing so, we will take a brief look at a man named Abraham. You van read of him in Genesis 12:1-3

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Abram (later called Abraham) had obeyed God and had taken his wife Sarah, his nephew Lot and his servants with him and they had travelled to the land of Canaan. Eventually, he and is wife had a son named Isaac as you can read in Genesis 21:1-5

Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Abraham may have wondered if God's promise to him would ever come to pass since he had to wait until he was a hundred years old before he and Sarah had a son.

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A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

        GOD MEANS IT FOR GOOD

                  PART LXXXVI

“I, Joseph, the official under Pharaoh, am getting on in age…. I just celebrated my 110th birthday… We had a wonderful celebration with my family… I was very tired afterwards…. That is not too surprising… I am getting quite frail now… I sense the Lord is preparing me that my time here on earth is coming to an end…That will mean I will never see my homeland again… I am too old now to travel back to Canaan…However, I know that one day my people will go back there…. It may not happen right away… But I know it will happen…God knows when it is the right time for my people to go back to Canaan…In fact, my great-grandfather Abraham was told we would be in Egypt for 400 years before we would return to the Promised Land… So it will not happen for quite a while as yet….I know too that my body should not remain here in Egypt…My body should be buried in Canaan… I must, therefore, give instructions for my body to be embalmed so it can be preserved and taken back when it is time to do so.”… Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn of Joseph’s death at the age of 110.

                        ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

                                                     GOD MEANS IT FOR GOOD

                                                                 PART LXXXVI

Joseph, the official in charge of the grain distribution in Egypt, knows that at the age of one hundred and ten he is about to die as you can read in Genesis 50:26

So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

The family takes care of Joseph’s body and prepares it for an eventual return to Canaan.

                                             

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A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

          GOD MEANS IT FOR GOOD

                    PART LXXXV

“I, Joseph, the official under Pharaoh here in Egypt, had my brothers come before me earlier today…They had, in fact, especially requested to see me….I am, of course, always very pleased to spend time with them…I wondered if they wanted to tell me how much they missed our father since his death…. I miss him very much too… But I am so grateful that all my brothers and their families are now living with me in Egypt…. I never thought that would happen… After all, I had been taken to Egypt as a seventeen-year old… But my family was in Canaan… Of course, I dreamed of being back in Canaan one day…. but I did not really believe that could happen… Especially, since I was only a slave in someone’s household for many years…And afterwards I spent time in prison for doing the right thing… It is true, God had given me two dreams in which I saw my family bow down to me when I was a young seventeen year old…. But I had put these dreams out of my mind… As far as I was concerned, they could not ever happen since I was never again going to be with my family…But one day God made these dreams come true…. My family bowed down to me… But not in Canaan… In Egypt…. Only God could have arranged that… I now know that what my brothers did to me all these years ago was used by God to save many lives…. And I told my brothers this when they spoke with me… As I already mentioned, I thought they wanted to talk with me about the loss of our father… However, they approached me because they were afraid I may want to take revenge for the harm they caused me all these years ago…. But they do not need to be worried… I have no intention to do them evil… I intend to continue taking care of them and their families for the rest of my life.”…. Please read the typed out attachment when you will read of Joseph’s encounter with his brothers…

                      ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

                                                       GOD MEANS IT FOR GOOD

                                                                      PART LXXXV 

Joseph, the official in charge of the grain distribution in Egypt wants his brothers to understand that God is the One who has been in charge of what has happened to him as you can read in Genesis 50:19-21

But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he re-assured them and spoke kindly to them.

Joseph knows  his brothers need assurance that he will continue to take care of them after the death of their father Jacob.