CHAPTER 24

(1857 B.C.)

ELIEZER

¹And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. (Abraham was now about 140 years old, and would actually live to the age of 175 [25:7]. He lived some 35 years after Isaac was married, and lived to see Esau and Jacob nearly grown up.

Chapters 22 through 24 present a startling picture. In Chapter 22, the son is offered up; in Chapter 23, Sarah is laid aside, which represents Israel being laid aside; and in Chapter 24, the servant is sent forth to procure a bride for him who had been, as it were, received from the dead in a figure.

When we turn to the New Testament, we see a remarkable similarity: 1. The rejection and death of Christ, corresponding to the offering up of Isaac; 2. The setting aside of Israel after the flesh, corresponding with the death of Sarah; and, 3. The calling out of the Church to occupy the high position of the Bride of the Lamb, typified by a bride for Isaac.)

²And Abraham said unto his oldest servant of his house (Eliezer), who ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray you, your hand under my thigh (Eliezer, in a sense, is a Type of the Holy Spirit; the putting the hand under the thigh of the Patriarch, which was the source of posterity, points to Abrahams future descendants, and in particular to Christ, the Promised Seed; so the oath was equivalent to a swearing by Him Who was to come, namely Christ):

³And I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the Earth, that you shall not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell (these were descendants of Ham, and not Shem, with the latter being the lineage through which Christ would come, and only through that lineage [9:26]):

⁴But you shall go unto my country, and to my kindred (descendants of Shem), and take a wife unto my son Isaac (typical of the Holy Spirit calling out Believers as a bride for Christ, of Whom Isaac was a Type).

⁵And the servant (Eliezer) said unto him (Abraham), Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring your son again unto the land from where you came?

⁶And Abraham said unto him, You beware that you bring not my son thither again (by no means was Isaac to be taken to the particular land where his wife was to be found; the Promised Land was his home, and opportunity for temptation must not be put in his way).

⁷The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my fathers house, and from the land of my kindred, and Who spoke unto me, and Who swore unto me, saying, Unto your seed will I give this land; He shall send His Angel before you, and you shall take a wife unto my son from thence (the Lord would send an Angel who would precede Eliezer, and thereby prepare the way).

⁸And if the woman will not be willing to follow you, then you shall be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again (the instructions were specific: Isaac was to remain in Canaan, and the woman was to come to Canaan to be with him).

⁹And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master (as Abraham had demanded), and swore to him concerning that matter.

PRAYER

¹⁰And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed (the number ten portrays completeness; the Salvation of our Lord is a complete Salvation); for all the goods of his master were in his hand (all the goods of our Heavenly Father are in the Hand of the Holy Spirit, of Whom Eliezer was a Type): and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor (the Holy Spirit came to this Earth on the Day of Pentecost in a new dimension, of which Mesopotamia was a Type).

¹¹And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water (the well of water is a Type of the Living Water).

¹²And he said O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray you, send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham (Eliezer does not trust his own instincts or personal wisdom; he rather seeks leading from the Lord, ever conscious of the significance of his journey).

¹³Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:

¹⁴And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down your pitcher, I pray you, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give your camels drink also: let the same be she that You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that You have showed kindness unto my master (the fleece, so to speak, was not simple or easy; camels drink an awful lot of water, and for a young lady to draw enough water to slake the thirst of ten camels, and for her to volunteer to do so, even without being asked, would have to be the Lord).

REBEKAH

¹⁵And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abrahams brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder (we have the first mention here of Rebekah, who will be the wife of Isaac, and who will figure so prominently in the great Plan of God).

¹⁶And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up (a Type of the Church partaking of the Water of Life).

¹⁷And the servant (Eliezer)ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray you, drink a little water of your pitcher.

¹⁸And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.

¹⁹And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for your camels also, until they have done drinking. (Most of the wells in those days were fed by a spring, with a series of steps that led down to the water; consequently, to walk up those steps carrying one or two goatskins full of water was no easy task, especially to slake the thirst of ten camels.)

²⁰And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels (a Type of the Church giving the Water of Life to a lost world).

²¹And the man wondering at her held his peace, to witness whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not (wondering at her means that he eagerly or carefully watched her).

²²And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring (a jewel for her forehead) of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold (worth about $5,000 in 2003 money; a Type of the gifts given by the Holy Spirit to the Church);

²³And said, Whose daughter are you? tell me, I pray you: is there room in your fathers house for us to lodge in? (presents the question that the Holy Spirit asks of every believing sinner).

²⁴And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bore unto Nahor (Rebekah mentions her fathers mother to show that she was descended from a high born wife, and not from a concubine).

²⁵She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in (Rebekah said, There is room; the Holy Spirit awaits the same answer from us).

²⁶And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.

²⁷And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my masters brethren (the prayer of Eliezer shows that he understood the significance of all of this).

²⁸And the damsel ran, and told them of her mothers house these things.

²⁹And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well (Rebekah was a witness of what she had experienced, which brought others to Eliezer; we must be a witness as well).

³⁰And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and the bracelets upon his sisters hands (does the world see in us Righteousness and Holiness, of which these gifts were a Type?), and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spoke the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well (the Bible said that Laban saw and heard; the world must see and they must hear!).

³¹And he said, Come in, you blessed of the LORD; why do you stand without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels (many people want the gifts of the Spirit, but they dont want to make room for the camels, i.e., that which they consider to be an imposition; but if we are to have the gifts, we must make room for the camels).

³²And the man (Eliezer) came into the house: and he (Laban) ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the mens feet who were with him (with Eliezer).

ELIEZER

³³And there was set meat before him (before Eliezer) to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told my errand. And he (Laban) said, Speak on (the Marriage Supper of the Lamb cannot commence until the errand of the Holy Spirit has been completed, which is to secure the Bride for Christ).

³⁴And he said, I am Abrahams servant (he is careful to say exactly what Abraham has said; we as well must be very careful that we faithfully deliver the Word of the Lord, and not err in that delivery).

³⁵And the LORD has blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and He has given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses (after Eliezer identifies himself, he promotes Abraham, which the Holy Spirit always does, of Whom Eliezer was a Type, as it regards God the Father and God the Son).

³⁶And Sarah my masters wife bore a son to my master when she was old: and unto him has he given all that he has (the Heavenly Father has given all things unto the Son).

³⁷And my master made me swear, saying, You shall not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:

³⁸But you shall go unto my fathers house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son (Israel was to be that wife, but having forfeited the position, the Church now takes Israels place, at least during the Dispensation of Grace).

³⁹And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.

⁴⁰And he said unto me, The LORD, before Whom I walk (order my behavior), will send His Angel with you, and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my fathers house (under the New Covenant, we now have the constant help of the Holy Spirit [Jn. 14:16], which is even greater than the help of Angels):

⁴¹Then shall you be clear from this my oath, when you come to my kindred; and if they give not you one (will not allow the girl to go), you shall be clear from my oath.

⁴²And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now You do prosper my way which I go:

⁴³Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin comes forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray you, a little water of your pitcher to drink;

⁴⁴And she said to me, Both (Eliezer and those with him) you drink, and I will also draw water for your camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD has appointed out for my masters son.

⁴⁵And before I had done speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray you.

⁴⁶And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give your camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.

⁴⁷And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter are you? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahors son, whom Milcah bore unto him: and I put the earring upon her face (on her forehead), and the bracelets upon her hands.

⁴⁸And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my masters brothers daughter unto his son.

⁴⁹And now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.

REBEKAHS JOURNEY

⁵⁰Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceeds from the LORD: we cannot speak unto you bad or good. (They obviously recognized the Hand of the Lord in all of these things, and conducted themselves accordingly.)

⁵¹Behold, Rebekah is before you, take her, and go, and let her be your masters sons wife, as the LORD has spoken. (The journey she would travel would be about 700 miles distant. It was very long in those days, and they would probably never see Rebekah again.)

⁵²And it came to pass, that, when Abrahams servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. (If it is to be noticed, Eliezer frequently worships the Lord, being careful to give Him thanks.)

⁵³And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. (Considering how rich Abraham was, and how important this event, the worth of all of this was undoubtedly staggering. Thus are the spiritual gifts to the Church, made possible by Christ and what He did at the Cross, and given to us by the Holy Spirit. He has given to us precious things.)

⁵⁴And they did eat and drink, he and the men who were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he (Eliezer) said, Send me away unto my master (give me permission to leave!).

⁵⁵And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.

⁵⁶And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD has prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master (knowing the urgency of his mission, Eliezer is anxious to get underway).

⁵⁷And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.

⁵⁸And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Will you go with this man (this is the question that the Holy Spirit is asking everyone who would be a part of the Bride of Christ)? And she said, I will go. (She was leaving her family and, as stated, possibly to never see them again. Whenever we come to Christ, we, in effect, as well, must give up our families, our friends, and everything, for that matter. Our answer must be as quick as was the answer of Rebekah, I will go!)

⁵⁹And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abrahams servant, and his men.

⁶⁰And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, You are our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let your seed possess the gate of those which hate them. (Little did they realize the staggering numbers they presented would in fact come to pass. Every single person who has ever come to Christ is a part of these thousands of millions. As well, her Seed, the Lord Jesus Christ, has possessed the gate of all enemies, signifying total victory in every capacity.)

⁶¹And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man (as well, we are to follow the Holy Spirit in all of His leading, and always without exception, He will lead us to Christ): and the servant (Eliezer) took Rebekah, and went his way.

ISAAC AND REBEKAH

⁶²And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country.

⁶³And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide (evening): and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming (while in prayer, he happened to look up and, behold, he saw the camel train coming).

⁶⁴And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel (Rebekah would meet Isaac at his place of prayer).

⁶⁵For she had said unto the servant (Eliezer), What man is this who walks in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a veil, and covered herself (the Lord had arranged this marriage, and all marriages which He arranges are as they should be; Rebekah was beautiful, a virgin and, above all, she was the Will of the Lord for Isaac).

⁶⁶And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done (it was quite a story!).

⁶⁷And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarahs tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mothers death. (In those days, the primitive marriage ceremony consisted solely of the taking of a bride before witnesses. The word death is added here by the translators. It was not in the original Text. It is as if the Holy Spirit would not conclude this beautiful and joyful narrative with a note of sorrow.)