Genesis (Part 28)
Bible Study Time 1-11-09
(From James Roberts 3-2-97)
Bible Study Time 1-11-09
(From James Roberts 3-2-97)
Last week in our Journey Through the Scripture we saw that Abraham sent his servant back to the land of the Chaldeans to secure a wife for his son, Isaac. It's very interesting that Abraham did not want Isaac to go back to Abraham's homeland. This was because God had told Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldeans and go to a land that He would give to Abraham and his descendants as an inheritance.
So God brought Abraham to the land of Canaan where Abraham lived among the Canaanites. When it came time for Abraham to find a bride for Isaac, He did not want Isaac to marry one of the daughters of the Canaanites, but neither did he want Isaac to go back to the land of the Chaldeans. If Isaac had married a Canaanite woman, he might have been tempted to conform to the religious practices of the Canaanites, which were very sensual. On the other hand, if Isaac had gone back to the land of the Chaldeans, he might have been tempted to remain in that land.
So in Genesis, Chapter 24, we find that Abraham sent his servant back to Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac from among Abraham's own family members. When the servant got to the city of Nahor, he ask God for a sign to indicate the very woman that God had chosen for Isaac, and God honored his request. When Rebecca came to the well, she did precisely what had been requested in the sign.
Last week we emphasized the fact that the Jews require a sign, as noted in the book of I Corinthians. So in this passage we see that, even before there was a nation of Israel per se, we find sign gifts being introduced.
It's very important to realize that God was always willing to give the nation of Israel miraculous signs to help them in their lack of faith. All through the years of the Old Testament God gave the nation of Israel certain signs to help them believe His word, to authenticate His message. Then, when the Lord Jesus Christ came to the earth, we find that He performed certain miracles that were signs to the nation of Israel. These signs were given to authenticate His claim that He was the King of the Jews. Jesus did all of the things that the Old Testament prophets said the promised Messiah would do.
At the close of the Lord's ministry, the Jewish leaders came to Him and asked Him for a sign even though He had already done thousands of miracles. In response to their request, the Lord Jesus said, there shall no sign be given you but the sign of the Prophet Jonah, for just as Jonah was in the fish's belly for three days and three nights so must the son of man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
This sign was fulfilled with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ because Christ died and was buried and was in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. However, on the third day He arose from the grave, triumphant over death, hell and the grave.
Now during the time period covered by the book of Acts, the nation of Israel still had every opportunity to accept Jesus as their Messiah, and God gave the apostles many sign gifts to authenticate their message. But throughout the book of Acts, we read of Israel's rejection of Jesus as the Christ. As John, Chapter 1, says
John 1:11-12 NKJV
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
So, even though there were many Jews who did believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who did accept Jesus as the promised Messiah, the majority of the people of Israel, including those in leadership, rejected Jesus. Therefore, God's set aside His program for the Jews.
Since the calling out of Abraham, God had promised a Messiah who would establish a great earthly kingdom through the nation of Israel, but when the Jews rejected the Messiah, God set aside all of the promises that related to Israel hope of an earthly kingdom.
As a result, God established a new program for mankind, the program for the Church which is the Body of Christ. The truth concerning this program was revealed through the Apostle Paul who boldly declared that this truth was never revealed to men of other ages.
In this program for the Church, the miraculous sign gifts are strangely absent even though they were so much a part of God's kingdom program for Israel. This does not mean that God is incapable of doing miracles in our present dispensation, but it simply means that God no longer gives sign gifts to men to authenticate the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, today we do not look for signs, and we do not test God in the way that Abraham's servant did in Genesis, Chapter 24. Today, we ask God for guidance and direction in our lives, and then we study His word and trust in the leading of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. He is the one who reveals to us the specific will of God for our lives.
Now, after Abraham's servant realized that Rebecca was the one whom God has chosen to be Isaac's wife, he bowed his head and worshipped the Lord. Then he gave gifts to Rebecca, and she invited him back to her father's house. Once there, the servant began to explain exactly why he had come to Mesopotamia. His message was as follows:
Genesis 24:34-50 NKJV
34 So he said, "I am Abraham's servant.
35 The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and 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 Now 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 family, and take a wife for my son.'
39 And I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow me.'
40 But he said to me, 'The Lord, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father's house.
41 You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.'
42 "And this day I came to the well and said,'O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go,
43 behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, "Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,"
44 and she says 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 "But before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her, 'Please let me drink.'
46 And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.' So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also.
47 Then I asked her, and said, 'Whose daughter are you?' And she said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.
48 And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.
49 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."
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said,"The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good.
At his point, Abraham's servant gave the option to Rebecca as to whether she would go back with him to Canaan, and having heard all that the servant said, Rebecca said, I will go.
I can just imagine what it must have been like for Rebecca as she travelled with Abraham's servant on the way back to Canaan. I'm sure she had many questions about Isaac and Abraham, and I'm sure that this servant faithfully answered all of her questions so that she grew to love Isaac, and she grew to love Abraham even though she had never seen them.
In I Peter, Chapter 1, Peter indicates that the Jews of his day were in very much the same situation as Rebecca was as she travelled to Canaan. Verse seven of that chapter says:
1 Peter 1:7-8 NKJV
7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
What a wonderful illustration this was for the New Testament Jews. They actually able to see a picture of themselves as they looked back at the account of Rebecca travelling to the promised land with the servant of Abraham.
These Jews had put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, who had been crucified by the Jews and then raised from the dead to enter into the glory of heaven. But now the Father in heaven had sent the Holy Spirit as the servant to God to lead them on their journey to be united with Christ. As they travelled, they had the opportunity to listen to the Holy Spirit as He spoke of the glory and majesty of the Lord Jesus. So Peter said, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, and even though you have not seen the Lord Jesus, you love Him.
Today, the Holy Spirit is still working in the world today. Like the servant of Abraham, He does not speak of His own glory and power even though He is equal with the God the Father and God the Son, but He reveals the things pertaining to the Father and the Son to those who are willing to study God's word. He reveals the glory of Christ and the riches of Christ to us so that we can even now come into an understanding of all the blessings that we have in Christ. In the book of Colossians we find that:
Colossians 2:3 NKJV
3 in (Jesus Christ) are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Even now we can begin to explore and appropriate these great treasures for ourselves. Rebecca received many presents even while she was still in Mesopotamia, and yet when she able to join Isaac and Abraham in Canaan, she finally saw all of the glory and riches of Abraham and Isaac. Then she was able to actually see all of the glorious things that she had heard so much.
I trust today that you have allowed the Holy Spirit to show you the riches of Christ, that He loved you and died for you that you might have eternal life, and that even now you can began to explore the riches of God's grace in Christ. In so doing, you will be able to love Him more and more each day even though you have not seen Him with you physical eyes.
I see our time is gone. It's been good to be with you. I trust that Bible Study Time has been a blessing to you as we have continued on our Journey Through the Scripture. Until next week, we bid you goodbye.
Church links:
So God brought Abraham to the land of Canaan where Abraham lived among the Canaanites. When it came time for Abraham to find a bride for Isaac, He did not want Isaac to marry one of the daughters of the Canaanites, but neither did he want Isaac to go back to the land of the Chaldeans. If Isaac had married a Canaanite woman, he might have been tempted to conform to the religious practices of the Canaanites, which were very sensual. On the other hand, if Isaac had gone back to the land of the Chaldeans, he might have been tempted to remain in that land.
So in Genesis, Chapter 24, we find that Abraham sent his servant back to Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac from among Abraham's own family members. When the servant got to the city of Nahor, he ask God for a sign to indicate the very woman that God had chosen for Isaac, and God honored his request. When Rebecca came to the well, she did precisely what had been requested in the sign.
Last week we emphasized the fact that the Jews require a sign, as noted in the book of I Corinthians. So in this passage we see that, even before there was a nation of Israel per se, we find sign gifts being introduced.
It's very important to realize that God was always willing to give the nation of Israel miraculous signs to help them in their lack of faith. All through the years of the Old Testament God gave the nation of Israel certain signs to help them believe His word, to authenticate His message. Then, when the Lord Jesus Christ came to the earth, we find that He performed certain miracles that were signs to the nation of Israel. These signs were given to authenticate His claim that He was the King of the Jews. Jesus did all of the things that the Old Testament prophets said the promised Messiah would do.
At the close of the Lord's ministry, the Jewish leaders came to Him and asked Him for a sign even though He had already done thousands of miracles. In response to their request, the Lord Jesus said, there shall no sign be given you but the sign of the Prophet Jonah, for just as Jonah was in the fish's belly for three days and three nights so must the son of man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
This sign was fulfilled with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ because Christ died and was buried and was in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. However, on the third day He arose from the grave, triumphant over death, hell and the grave.
Now during the time period covered by the book of Acts, the nation of Israel still had every opportunity to accept Jesus as their Messiah, and God gave the apostles many sign gifts to authenticate their message. But throughout the book of Acts, we read of Israel's rejection of Jesus as the Christ. As John, Chapter 1, says
John 1:11-12 NKJV
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
So, even though there were many Jews who did believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who did accept Jesus as the promised Messiah, the majority of the people of Israel, including those in leadership, rejected Jesus. Therefore, God's set aside His program for the Jews.
Since the calling out of Abraham, God had promised a Messiah who would establish a great earthly kingdom through the nation of Israel, but when the Jews rejected the Messiah, God set aside all of the promises that related to Israel hope of an earthly kingdom.
As a result, God established a new program for mankind, the program for the Church which is the Body of Christ. The truth concerning this program was revealed through the Apostle Paul who boldly declared that this truth was never revealed to men of other ages.
In this program for the Church, the miraculous sign gifts are strangely absent even though they were so much a part of God's kingdom program for Israel. This does not mean that God is incapable of doing miracles in our present dispensation, but it simply means that God no longer gives sign gifts to men to authenticate the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, today we do not look for signs, and we do not test God in the way that Abraham's servant did in Genesis, Chapter 24. Today, we ask God for guidance and direction in our lives, and then we study His word and trust in the leading of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. He is the one who reveals to us the specific will of God for our lives.
Now, after Abraham's servant realized that Rebecca was the one whom God has chosen to be Isaac's wife, he bowed his head and worshipped the Lord. Then he gave gifts to Rebecca, and she invited him back to her father's house. Once there, the servant began to explain exactly why he had come to Mesopotamia. His message was as follows:
Genesis 24:34-50 NKJV
34 So he said, "I am Abraham's servant.
35 The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and 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 Now 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 family, and take a wife for my son.'
39 And I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow me.'
40 But he said to me, 'The Lord, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father's house.
41 You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.'
42 "And this day I came to the well and said,'O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go,
43 behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, "Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,"
44 and she says 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 "But before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her, 'Please let me drink.'
46 And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.' So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also.
47 Then I asked her, and said, 'Whose daughter are you?' And she said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.
48 And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.
49 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."
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said,"The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good.
At his point, Abraham's servant gave the option to Rebecca as to whether she would go back with him to Canaan, and having heard all that the servant said, Rebecca said, I will go.
I can just imagine what it must have been like for Rebecca as she travelled with Abraham's servant on the way back to Canaan. I'm sure she had many questions about Isaac and Abraham, and I'm sure that this servant faithfully answered all of her questions so that she grew to love Isaac, and she grew to love Abraham even though she had never seen them.
In I Peter, Chapter 1, Peter indicates that the Jews of his day were in very much the same situation as Rebecca was as she travelled to Canaan. Verse seven of that chapter says:
1 Peter 1:7-8 NKJV
7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
What a wonderful illustration this was for the New Testament Jews. They actually able to see a picture of themselves as they looked back at the account of Rebecca travelling to the promised land with the servant of Abraham.
These Jews had put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, who had been crucified by the Jews and then raised from the dead to enter into the glory of heaven. But now the Father in heaven had sent the Holy Spirit as the servant to God to lead them on their journey to be united with Christ. As they travelled, they had the opportunity to listen to the Holy Spirit as He spoke of the glory and majesty of the Lord Jesus. So Peter said, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, and even though you have not seen the Lord Jesus, you love Him.
Today, the Holy Spirit is still working in the world today. Like the servant of Abraham, He does not speak of His own glory and power even though He is equal with the God the Father and God the Son, but He reveals the things pertaining to the Father and the Son to those who are willing to study God's word. He reveals the glory of Christ and the riches of Christ to us so that we can even now come into an understanding of all the blessings that we have in Christ. In the book of Colossians we find that:
Colossians 2:3 NKJV
3 in (Jesus Christ) are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Even now we can begin to explore and appropriate these great treasures for ourselves. Rebecca received many presents even while she was still in Mesopotamia, and yet when she able to join Isaac and Abraham in Canaan, she finally saw all of the glory and riches of Abraham and Isaac. Then she was able to actually see all of the glorious things that she had heard so much.
I trust today that you have allowed the Holy Spirit to show you the riches of Christ, that He loved you and died for you that you might have eternal life, and that even now you can began to explore the riches of God's grace in Christ. In so doing, you will be able to love Him more and more each day even though you have not seen Him with you physical eyes.
I see our time is gone. It's been good to be with you. I trust that Bible Study Time has been a blessing to you as we have continued on our Journey Through the Scripture. Until next week, we bid you goodbye.
Church links:
