Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Genesis.  Tonight is study #2 of Genesis, chapter 24, and I am going to read Genesis 24:1-4:

And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and JEHOVAH had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by JEHOVAH, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

I will stop reading there.  In our last study, we saw in verse 1 that JEHOVAH had blessed Abraham in all things.  We spent some time discussing the wonderful truth that this is the case with all God’s chosen people – every one of them.  We are blessed in all things because all things work together for good, so it does not matter.  We tend to think when everything goes smoothly and is working in a good way, insofar that we are not having any trouble and we are doing well, that is what it means to be blessed and that God’s favor is shining down upon us.  But that is not true.  It is not true.  The good things in this world are really “few and far between.”  There are less instances of good things than bad things, and that is the nature of the world, but we do not have to do what the people of the world do, which is to spend our lives in full pursuit of laughter, joy and happiness and just going after that and having fun.  No – that is the world’s idea of blessing.  But the truth is that whether we are enjoying ourselves or whether we are going through grievous things, like chastisement, if we have been saved by God, then it is all for good, and it is all going to work for our best interest.  It is going to be a blessing.

After telling us that Abraham was blessed in all things, it goes on to say in Genesis 24:2:

And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

We are told this was Abraham’s eldest servant, and that he ruled over everything that Abraham had.  Can we know who this man was, specifically?  Let us see if we can find out.  Let us turn back to Genesis 14:14-15:

And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

This was many years earlier when Abraham had 318 trained servants.  That would only be counting the men, but not counting the handmaids, women servants and children that had been born to them.  So Abram had hundreds of servants and his eldest servant had rule over all his house.  This certainly would have increased over the decades that were to come.  Who knows exactly how many people this eldest servant ruled over?  It certainly indicates that he was a man of great authority in the household of Abraham.  It was not a minor thing to be the ruler over Abraham’s house and all that he had. 

Think of a business today.  If you have a business where there are hundreds of employees and you rule over them as president or CEO, you have great responsibility.  So, too, did this servant.  We are not given the name of any of these servants in Genesis 14, but we are given one man’s name in the next chapter, in Genesis 15.  It says in Genesis 15:1-3:

After these things the word of JEHOVAH came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord JEHOVAH, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

So we find there is one servant and he is named.  And Abraham named him because Abraham continued to be childless and his heir was this Eliezer of Damascus.  What he is saying is that if his childless condition continued, then this Eliezer that was born in his house would be the inheritor and heir of Abraham’s fortune.  That is a whole other matter, but we are told that Eliezer is the steward, and it is very likely that this is the man in view (although we cannot be certain) and who was said to be the eldest servant of his house.  Going back to Genesis 15, it would have been fifty years, or so, earlier and before the birth of Ishmael.  We were not told about Ishmael’s birth until Genesis 16 when Abraham was 85 or 86, and he could have been even younger than that.  So it would have been 15 years or so until Ishmael was born, and then another 37 or 38 years to Genesis 24, or over 50 years.  This man Eliezer is the steward, the eldest ruling over all that Abraham had.  After such a long period of service, Abraham would have greatly trusted this man, and we can see why.  People work twenty or thirty years at the same job, and they gain a reputation for being trustworthy and someone to be counted upon.  So Abraham is calling upon him, as he has a very important task for this most-trusted servant to carry out.

If it was Eliezer, the name Eliezer means “God of help.”  The word “El” is a name for God and the word “ay-zer,” means “help,” so it would be “God help” or “God of help.”  He is a servant in Abraham’s household, and he will be the one that would be sent forth.  We are also told of Eliezer in Genesis 15:2: “and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus,” so he was not from Abraham’s area of origin, Ur of the Chaldees, but he was from Damascus.  What does Damascus represent in the Bible?  We can learn what Damascus represents when we turn to Acts 9 where we see that Saul of Tarsus is on his way to Damascus to hail men and women of the way and to cast them into prison, but he was intercepted as the Lord entered into his life.  It says in Acts 9:8-9:

And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

Then further on, it says in Acts 9:17-19:

And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.

At Damascus, Saul became saved.  God saved him.  He found the grace of God in Damascus, after having grown up in Israel and being under the Law and following the Law zealously, but it was not until he went to Damascus that he became saved.  We are also told about this when Paul testified in Galatians 1:14-17:

And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

Here, Damascus, as well as Arabia are mentioned.  When we look at this spiritually, we understand that Saul became saved and became the Apostle Paul, and then he went from Damascus to Arabia in his journey.  Arabia was the place where the Law was given, in mount Sinai in Arabia.  Basically, he is saying that when he became saved, he went to the “Law of God,” spiritually.  Where is the Law of God?  It is the Bible.  And as he went to the Bible, it says, “I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.”  The picture is that when someone becomes saved, they turn to the Bible and they learn the Law of God, but it always leads them back to Damascus where grace was found; that is, they do not come under the Law, but they realize as they look to the Law and attempt to live their life by the Law of God, the Bible, it shows their sin.  And every time it does so, there is a return, as it were, to the place of grace – Damascus.  “Yes, God commands me to keep Sunday as His holy day, but I fail to do so, but I fail to do so, and I go back to the grace of God where even that sin is covered.  God commands me to be perfect in my thinking, and I fail and stray, but it leads me back to the grace of God or back to Damascus.  It leads me from Arabia where the Law is to the place of grace.

This is the reason that individuals have a certain horrible idea.  (I cannot think of anything worse.)  They have this horrible idea that once we are saved, we no longer under the Law in the sense that we have to observe it and keep the moral law; we are not under any of the commandments.  This is wrong.  It is horrible.  It is hurtful and damaging, spiritually, on numerous levels. 

By the way, after salvation do we try to keep the Law?  Of course, we do.  Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”  So if God has shown His love to us by saving us, and we love Him because He first loved us, and how do we show forth that love toward Him?  We keep His commandments.  The idea that someone would think, “Oh, I do not have to stop smoking – I am under grace.  I can have a drink if I want to.  Do not tell me that it is not for kings to drink wine because that is the Law and I am under grace.”  This is horrible – just horrible. 

It is nothing new, of course.  It is an old doctrine that was developed hundreds of years ago and some theologians correctly labeled it as “antinomianism.”  It comes from the Greek words “anti” and “nomos,” which means “against the law.”  This is basically the doctrine that these people have come up with in their carnal attempt to be under the grace of God, and it means they are not under the Law, so they say, “So do not tell me that the Bible says I am not to drink or smoke.  Do not tell me that the Bible tells me not to do my pleasure on God’s holy day.  Do not tell me I cannot work on Sunday.”  Of course, it is because the Greek text “anomos” in the Bible is translated as “without law” or “transgression” or in numerous like ways, and in every case, it has to do with the sinful, rebellious nature of man that does not want to live according to the dictates and commandments of the God that created them.  So, obviously, when people come under the hearing of the Gospel and they do not become saved, they hear this idea: “Oh, we are saved by grace.  Hallelujah!  Therefore, do not let anyone tell you that you have to do this or that or anything the Law says any longer – we are not under the law.”  So “antinomianism” is a very apt description that means they are “without law.”  They are outlaws.  It is basically the same condition as the sinner out in the world, so you can see why it appeals to the natural man: “I am under grace, and I will do what I please.  Let me enjoy my sins and all the while believing I am saved and under the grace of God.”  It is a horrible teaching that has all kinds of outworking that are equally horrible.

Anyway, we find that the Bible teaches that we become saved, as typified by the place Damascus where Paul became saved, and Paul is an example of the believers, is he not?  He is a pattern for them that believe, as we are told in 1Timothy 1:16.  So we become saved at Damascus and then we go to Arabia – we desire to the will of God.  How in the world are they going to know what the will of God is if they do not turn to the Law, which is God’s Law book, the Bible?  How do they know which way to go in following Christ and following the Spirit’s leading?  They think that following the Spirit is some sort of metaphysical thing that you cannot label: “I am following the Spirit as it leads me,” but, basically, they are saying that they are following their own minds.  They have developed a god of their own making. 

But after we become saved, we turn to the Bible, the Law of God, and the Bible tells us: “You are a father.  Raise your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.  You are a son.  Honor your father and your mother.  You are a wife.  Submit to your husband.  You are a husband.  Love your wife.  You are a worker.  Then work heartily as to the Lord.”  In every situation in life, we are directed by God: “This is what you must do.  Love your neighbor.”  So we go to Arabia, and every time we fail (and we will fail), we go right back to Damascus, saying, “Oh, Lord, I am sorry.  I did not love my wife perfectly.  I did not work heartily as to you.  I did not do this, and I did not do that, but thanks be unto God for your unspeakable gift in forgiving me all my sins, including these.”  Then, in the next moment, you go back to Arabia or back to the Word of God, and you keep His commandments. 

These antinomians do not understand the grace of God.  They do not understand God’s magnificent salvation program.  Once we are saved, we desire to keep the Law and do the things the Bible tells us to do, but it does not place us back under the Law.  No way.  We do not think we lose our salvation when we fail.  But it really indicates the enormous error in understanding that these antinomians have regarding God’s salvation program.

Lord willing, when we get together in our next Bible study, we will look further at the information about Eliezer of Damascus.