With more than a year to go until the next general election, the politicians are lining themselves up. Grand promises. If we put them in power, here’s what they will do. But will they?
We’re right to be sceptical. They may be in government, but they’re not in power. So much is outside of their control. It’s hard to guarantee anything. A coup in a foreign land 4000 miles away could impact a key export market and send the pound into a dive. They can promise. But can they deliver?
We should ask the same question of God. We have a God who makes big promises. But can he deliver?
God had made some big promises to Abraham. He would give him a huge extended family, who would live in the land of Canaan and be blessed by God. By doing this, God would bless the world.
But can God deliver?
God’s made some even bigger promises to us. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God will rebuild the world. He offers to give forgiveness and new life to everyone who trusts and follows Jesus. And he will bring about a certain future when the world itself will be renewed, and we will live with God forever free of all pain and suffering.
But can God deliver? Or are these promises empty? Wishful thinking at best?
The story we’re looking at today is designed to bolster our confidence that God is able to do what he’s promised.
Background
Let’s start with some of the background for the story.
As I said, God had made some promises to Abraham. He would have more descendants than there are stars in the sky. Abraham was originally from Mesopotamia, but God had called him out of there to live in the land of Canaan, a land that would one day be his.
Things had got off to a slow start with keeping those promises. Abraham and his wife weren’t able to have children. But finally, when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. It was nothing less than a miracle. His name means laughter, and there was lots of that.
But Isaac was only the first stage in the promise. To have lots of descendants, Isaac had to find a wife as well. He had to have children. Abraham knew this, but there was a problem. God had made clear that he was not pleased with the people who lived in Canaan. They were an immoral bunch. God had already wiped out two cities. He was giving the rest four hundred years to change their ways. God certainly wouldn’t want Isaac to marry into one of their families.
But neither could Isaac go back to his roots. God had uprooted Abraham, and asked him to move to the land that would one day be his own. It would show a lack of trust in that promise for Isaac to move back to where he came from.
So the only way for God’s promise to come true was for Isaac to marry someone from Abraham’s wider family. But his bride would have to up sticks and move to Canaan, to marry someone she hadn’t even met.
It might just work. So Abraham sends a servant he trusts greatly, but who remains nameless, to go and find such a bride for Isaac.
And so the scene is set.
The Story
The servant has a big problem. How will he know who Isaac should marry? Who does God want as the bride? And how would he track her down?
So he invents a little test. He’ll go to where the young women of the town come out to draw water from a well. And he’ll ask one of them to give him a drink. If the woman also offers to water his camels, she’s the one.
It’s a clever little test. It’s a wonderful test of character. It would identify a woman who is kind enough to think of his needs and of his animals. It would identify a woman who is hard-working and strong enough to draw water for 10 camels. I’m told that each camel could comfortably drink 25 gallons when they refresh, so that’s a lot of water!
But it’s more than just a great job interview question. The servant wants to know God’s leading. He prays to God and asks that the woman who responds would be the one that God’s chosen.
Well what do you know? The first woman to come out to the well is Rebekah. She’s Abraham’s great niece. You’d think that made her too young for Isaac, but remember how old Abraham was when he had Isaac. She’s not just a relative. She’s exceptionally beautiful. She stood out a mile for her beauty.
And then verse 19: When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, ‘I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.’ She fits the test. More than – she’ll not just draw some water for the camels but as much as they need. Then he finds out which family she’s from, and it’s too good to be true.
Off goes Rebekah to fetch her brother. He’s not as kind and selfless as Rebekah. What gets his attention is the jewellery she’s been given. The dollar signs light up in his eyes, and he brings the servant back for dinner.
But the servant does not forget his mission. He’s not distracted by the offer of a hearty meal. He remains focussed, and tells them his story and why he’s here. If they’ll let Rebekah come with him to marry Isaac, he’ll happily accept their hospitality. But if not he needs to know; he’s got work to do.
Wonderfully, they agree. He hands over his costly dowry, and they all go to bed for the night. The next morning it’s time to hit the road, but even now things might go wrong. Rebekah’s mum and brother want to say goodbye for 10 days. Suddenly everything is in the balance. If this goes wrong, the servant might lose both the dowry and the bride. The family try to get out of it another way: Let’s ask Rebekah. They should have thought of that earlier.
But happily Rebekah says yes. Off they all go. And we can breathe again.
And the story ends as Isaac gets his beautiful bride, from the right family. They marry in Canaan. And we’re told that Isaac was comforted after the death of Sarah, his mother.
God the hero
It’s a beautifully told love story.
The hero of the story is undoubtedly God.
Things worked out just too well. The servant had prayed that the right girl would come out and would water his camels. And that’s exactly what happens. So he praised God for answering his prayer. Of course he did – God had done it. Even the rascal, Laban, recognises God’s hand in all this. We’re in no doubt as we read the story. God was so in control of things that the servant’s mission was an overwhelming success.
But the striking thing about this story is that the narrator focusses on the details. This is the longest single story in the book of Genesis. It is told with a touching attention to detail. What if another girl had come out first that day? What if Rebekah had been having a bad day, and she only gave the servant a drink? So much could have gone wrong. God was in control. God was in control of the details.
You see, a God who is in control of the details of the story is able to achieve the end he wants. Equally, if God had not been in control of the finer details, all kinds of things could have gone wrong and frustrated his big plan.
The God we see in this chapter is not a God who wound up the universe like an old watch. He’s not a God who just leaves the world to run, apart from a few dramatic miracles. The God we have here is a God who is in control. A God who is in control of the everyday and the mundane. A God whose control extends to the tiniest details.
We rightly ask: Can God deliver? God’s made some massively big promises in the Lord Jesus. Is he capable of keeping them? Or might some unforeseen event in a little-known corner of the world scupper the whole plan?
And the answer this chapter gives us is a resounding yes. God can achieve the big purposes he’s promised us in Jesus. Because there is no corner of God’s world that is outside of his control.
Characters
A large part of the Old Testament is story. Narrative. We’re not just told a few things to believe about God. (God is in control of his world, down to the finest details.) We’re told a true story in which we see what God is like. Abraham’s servant finds a wife for Isaac because God very carefully leads him to Rebekah.
And the beauty of stories is that we see people respond. The characters in the story respond to God. Sometimes well. Sometimes badly. So as we look to respond to God, we can see what it looks like.
Here’s a passage designed to give us confidence. Confidence that God’s control reaches to the finest details. And therefore he’s able to achieve his grand plans.
What would our lives look like if we had that kind of confidence?
Let’s take an example: God promises a wonderful future for everyone who knows and trust in Jesus. If we believe he’ll deliver on that, then what?
Well let’s look at a couple of the characters in the story to see.
Abraham
First, there’s Abraham.
He knew God could keep his promises. He knew that Isaac needed a wife from his own people who would come back to Canaan. So what did he do? He sent his servant to find one.
Humanly speaking, that must have seemed an impossible quest. He’d lose the use of his most trusted servant for a couple of years. How would he ever find such a woman? But if God had promised this, then God was able to do it. But Isaac’s wife wouldn’t find herself. If God was going to do his bit, then Abraham had to do his part.
That’s what Abraham’s faith looked like. Here’s what God had promised. He’ll do as he’s promised. So what do I have to do?
We’ve just had Christmas. Carol services, crib services and Christmas services give many people the chance to hear about Jesus and to follow him for themselves.
Let’s say we believe God is able to keep his promise: He will bring everyone who follows Jesus to a guaranteed wonderful future. What’s our part? We need to make sure people get to hear about Jesus. We might tell them about him ourselves. Or we might bring them to hear someone else. Thinking about Christmas, we’d bring our friends, family and neighbours along. We’d invite them to come with us.
That’s Abraham.
Servant
The other character to look at is the servant. He also knew that God could keep his own promise.
But he needed God’s help in the details. He needed God to show him who Isaac’s wife was to be. He needed God to lead him to the right woman. So he prayed.
And because God’s control is over the details and specifics of life, he prayed about details and specifics. Verse 14: Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink’, and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’ – let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.
If Abraham asked what he had to do, the servant asked what he needed God to do. And he thought about the details.
As I’ve thought about this, I’ve realised that over the years my prayers have become more and more general, and less specific. But if God’s control is over the details, then so can our prayers be.
Ever since I’ve arrived here, one way I’ve prayed God would grow this church is by sending us some Christians who move to live here. But as I was thinking about this chapter, I walked past two houses that were up for sale. So I prayed that those two houses would be bought by committed Christians. It’s specific.
We’re thinking about God keeping his promises. Go back to Christmas services again. Suppose you’ve invited a friend to the carol service, and they plan to come provided they get back from shopping in London in time. Why not pray that they would get to Victoria in time to make their train, that the trains would run to time, and that they wouldn’t have any extra hold-ups to mean they’re too tired to come? Whether a train is early or late is the kind of detail God holds in his hand. So let’s pray specifically.
Conclusion
Politicians promise us lots of things. But there is too much outside of their control for them ever to be sure they can deliver.
Not so with God. Nothing is outside of his control. Not even the smallest details.
So we can be absolutely sure that all his wonderful promises are for real.
God means what he says. So we can ask how we should live. And we can ask God to do what he needs to do in order to bring about what he’s promised.