Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Genesis.  Tonight is study #33 of Genesis, chapter 24, and we are going to read Genesis 24:32-49:

And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him. And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on. And he said, I am Abraham's servant. And JEHOVAH hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son. And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. And he said unto me, JEHOVAH, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house: Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath. And I came this day unto the well, and said, O JEHOVAH God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom JEHOVAH hath appointed out for my master's son. And before I had done speaking in mine 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 thee. And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. And I bowed down my head, and worshipped JEHOVAH, and blessed JEHOVAH God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son. And now if ye 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.

I will stop reading there.  Again, Abraham’s servant (who was likely Eliezer) was recounting the events since the time his master Abraham sent him on this journey, up until the present.  We saw in our last study that this relates to declaring the whole counsel of God.  He left nothing out.  He told the whole truth, which is what God’s people have always done throughout the history of the world; that is, all that God revealed to them, they declared, holding nothing back.

God has held certain things back through time, as those that lived in the time of the Old Testament did not understand as much as those that lived during the time of Christ or during the church age.  But those that lived during the church age did not understand as much as those elect that are living at the time of the end of the world.  That is where we are and that is who we are, or that is my hope for all our listeners.  So God used progressive revelation, revealing more and more truth through various periods of time according to His timetable.  Now at the time of the end, He has taken the seals off the Bible to reveal tremendous amounts of true doctrine that had never previously been known.

So this servant is doing what God’s people have always done, and that is to tell the whole matter of his errand.  Remember the word “errand” is related to the word “daw-bawr,” which means “word,” and he was telling the whole word to Rebekah’s family.  Now he is at a point where he is going over the short history of his errand, because it all happened a little while before in Genesis 24:42: “And I came this day unto the well, and said, O JEHOVAH God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go.”  And to “prosper” has to do with God’s blessing in bringing it to pass according to His mission, which was to find the bride.  We know that the Lord spiritually prospered the mission of His people down throughout the history of the world in forming the bride of Christ.  Every time the Gospel went forth and someone became saved, that was all in accord with this particular assignment that the people of God have been involved in throughout the whole history of the world.

So he positioned himself at the well, and he was a stranger.  We know the well identifies with salvation.  We can look at Isaiah, chapter 12.  Since I read that verse in Peter about these things being brought to remembrance, it would be good if we turn there, to Isaiah 12:3:

Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

So he was by the well of salvation, as it says in Genesis 24:43:

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

She was a virgin.  Actually, there would have been virgins of the city, as she would not have been alone, but he had a specific virgin in mind, which would be his master’s son’s wife.  So he was not looking for just any young woman that was a virgin, but a very definite young woman that was a virgin, and we know that God does liken the saved and the unsaved to virgins in the parable of Matthew 25 about five wise and five foolish virgins.  All ten were virgins.  The Lord established this scenario that must be fulfilled so the servant could know that this (virgin) was the right one, so he said, “When the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink.”  Then it said in Genesis 24:44:

And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom JEHOVAH hath appointed out for my master's son.

We discussed the word “appointed.”  It is the same word found back in Genesis 24:14:

And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.

We discussed the meaning of the word “appointed,” but it certainly also has to do with those chosen beforehand to become saved, all the elect in God’s election program.  And, here, this is what it is referring to when it says, “Let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac.”  God had a certain woman in mind who He had selected for Isaac, a great type of Christ, so this is very clearly a reference to God’s salvation program in choosing a bride for His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  So the scenario was that the servant would be by the well, and when a virgin gave him drink and drew for his camels as well, it would be the woman appointed. 

We spent some time discussing how the servant pictures those that are “needy.”  They are thirsty and they would desire a drink from a well water, and that would tie in with people that need  salvation.  If you remember, we spent some time talking about the virgin relating to the corporate church and the church’s responsibility to bring the Gospel to strangers.  It was really a testing ground that God set up to discover and find the true bride (the wise virgins) that would be the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ.  God kept a close eye on how the elect ministered the Gospel to others.  We know this is the case because of what we read in Matthew 25, and this is the same chapter we read earlier about the situation with the five wise and five foolish virgins.  It says in Matthew 25:31-34:

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Notice that it is “the kingdom prepared for you,” specifically for you.  And, of course, we understand now that the reference to the “foundation of the world” is the point at which Jesus Christ was the Lamb slain (for our sins).  But we see prior preparation for these specific people that was done long before we were ever born.  The Lord Jesus Christ is speaking, and He goes on to say in Matthew 24:35:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

And we see in our account in Genesis 24 at least two of these conditions because Rebekah gave him drink.  He was a stranger and they took him into their house.  So that is how we can say that this servant can represent God, but he can also represent those that became saved, the elect.  But he also pictured the Lord Jesus Christ because what is done to them is done to Christ.  And we are not just guessing about this because that is the explanation Jesus gave, after saying, “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in.”  Then He went on to say in Matthew 24:36-40:

Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

But, on the other hand, it goes on to say in Matthew 24:41-46:

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

This should really make us think a little bit and consider what is in view because people in the churches in many denominations and many congregations bring people the Gospel.  They are eager.  They are zealous in many cases.  They also go on mission trips.  They have their own tracts.  They use their funds and resources to bring the Gospel, so we would have to say, “Then everyone in the churches that bring the Gospel would be those “on the right hand” that took care of the thirsty, the hungry, and the health and clothing issues for the least of the brethren.  Therefore, everyone that did service and ministered to them did also minister to the Lord Jesus Christ, but that would be incorrect.  That would be wrong.  There have been vast numbers of professed Christians down through the church age and, especially, now, that have very actively and zealously going forth with their brand of gospel.  And, yet, they fail to feed, quench the thirst, clothe or house because they have a wrong gospel; they have a false gospel.   When we read, “I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink,” we have to understand that a very specific truth is in view when we read that statement.  And that is exactly what is in view in the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:5-6:

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

There it is, that verse that you find commonly in the Bible.  It is a defining verse that helps to define a Biblical principle.  It helps us to understand the true idea of “hungering” and “thirsting.”  If people are God’s elect, they will hunger and thirst after righteousness.  But if they are one of the billions that are not one of God’s elect and their sins were never laid on Christ at the foundation of the world, they may have some hunger and thirst after spiritual things they get in their minds.  Who knows?  People have a thousand different reasons for why they might go to church, or why they might start reading or studying the Bible and, yet, it is not based upon a deep-seated hunger and thirst for righteousness, as Christ is the essence of righteousness.  It says in 1Corinthians 1:30:

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

He is made unto us “righteousness.”  He Himself is righteousness, so to hunger and thirst after righteousness means to hunger and thirst after Christ.  And He is the truth, and (to seek truth) is not the natural response and desire of unsaved man in his unsaved condition.  He will not seek JEHOVAH, and that is really what this speaks to, a true seeking of JEHOVAH, and God has to put that desire within a person before salvation in the drawing process.  God gives them a hunger and thirst after righteousness, so they will keep moving toward the Word of God, and the Word of God is Christ.  They cannot go away from it because of that hunger and thirst. 

So during the church age in the day of salvation, God’s elect would go to churches and they would sit in the pews.  You know, it has been true that throughout the entire church age there have been many that have “watered down” the Gospel, misunderstood the Gospel and these pastors, elders and teachers have taught the people everything but Christ, the truth of the Word of God.  Maybe they gave a little “here and there,” but they did not satisfy that deep-down desire of God’s elect.  Of course, God has done so, if they are one of God’s elect, and maybe God led them out of that church and into another congregation.  Maybe He would have led them to quit the Catholic Church, let us say, or He would cause a break or division like the Reformation to come to pass in order to satisfy the hunger and thirst of His people that were in that apostate denomination.  They would come out and form these other churches, and then they would begin to receive the “drink” and the “meat” and the spiritual covering for their spiritual nakedness, and that covering is also Christ.

And, by the way, when we talk about covering the naked, the garment that covers is the “righteousness of Christ,” so it goes right back to Him, and they would find a place and a home as they were translated into the kingdom of God and became part of the house of God.  So the “stranger” would be a citizen.  He would be a family member of the family of God and part of God’s kingdom when the truth was ministered to him.  Of course, it was only “in part” over the course of the church age, because they did not have all the truth at that time, but they ministered faithfully.  There were truly God’s people that ministered the truth faithfully regarding what they were responsible to understand during the church age.

So we see a glimpse of that with what is going on with the servant who was waiting at the well.  He was waiting for someone to satisfy and quench his thirst, and she (Rebekah) did so.  You see, that would be an “indicator,” as God was looking down from above, and He saw a blessed servant that would be on the right hand of the Lord Jesus Christ because she was seated in Christ in heavenly places, and He is at the right hand of the Father.  So this whole account is a beautiful picture of God’s careful watching over His people during the course of the church age.  Yes – she is a faithful servant that is quenching the thirst for righteousness.  She is ministering, faithfully, the Gospel she had been entrusted with, and that is in view here.

Then it goes on to say in Genesis 24:45-47:

And before I had done speaking in mine 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 thee. And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.

We spent a good deal of time talking about the golden earring of half a shekel, which identified with the atonement money.  The bracelets upon her hands were ten shekels weight of gold, and this related to her being like “gold and silver” because the Lord Jesus Christ did perform the atonement on her behalf, paying for her sins and making her an elect child of God. 

Then it says in Genesis 24:48:

And I bowed down my head, and worshipped JEHOVAH, and blessed JEHOVAH God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.

We have run out of time in this study, but, Lord willing, when we get together in our next study, we are going to talk about that “right way,” which was something that was not mentioned earlier when this statement was made.  It did not say “the right way,” but it is very needful for the people of God to know that God leads “the right way,” always.  He leads His people the right way, and that is why we are His people.  If they are not going “the right way,” they are not His people.  The broad way that leads to destruction is the wrong way to go, and that is where you will find all the unsaved people of the earth, including unsaved people that fill the churches today.  God’s people do not go that way.  One hundred percent of the time, without fail, God’s people go “the right way.”