Daily Scripture Reading Genesis 24:22-41

Humans have a natural tendency to be self-reliant. We are reluctant to strike out on a journey unless we have everything planned ahead of time. Wandering into the unknown, trusting that God will lead us, does not come naturally.

However, that is the essence of faith. Faith is the assurance of things not seen. Faith means believing that God is with us and will guide us. The 24th chapter of Genesis contains an example of faith, an occasion when Abraham was confident that Yahweh would guide his servant.

Abraham sent a servant to find a wife for Isaac from among Abraham’s relatives. When the servant arrived at the city where Nahor lived, he asked Yahweh to cause a young woman to offer to water his camels as a sign revealing who Yahweh had chosen to be Isaac’s wife. When Rebekah came to the well to draw water, the servant asked her for a drink, and she gave him a drink and watered his camels as well.

Gen. 24:22 ¶ Now it happened that when the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half-shekel and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels in gold,

Gen. 24:23 and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there a place for us to lodge in your father’s house?”

Gen. 24:24 And she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.”

Nahor was the brother of Abraham (see Genesis 11:27-29), so Rebekah was Isaac’s cousin once removed.

Gen. 24:25 And she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and a place to lodge in.”

Gen. 24:26 Then the man bowed low and worshiped Yahweh.

The servant’s first instinct was to acknowledge Yahweh for providing food and shelter.

Gen. 24:27 And he said, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, Yahweh has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”

Abraham had instructed his servant to find a wife from among his relatives. The servant thanked Yahweh for guiding him to the house of Abraham’s brother.

Gen. 24:28 ¶ Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.

Gen. 24:29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran outside to the man at the spring.

Gen. 24:30 Now it happened, when he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “This is what the man said to me,” he came out to the man; and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.

Gen. 24:31 And he said, “Come in, blessed of Yahweh! Why do you stand outside since I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?”

Gen. 24:32 So the man came into the house. Then Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

Laban demonstrated great hospitality. The New Testament commands us to be hospitable (see Heb 13:2 and 1Pet 4:9) and Laban provides an example for us to emulate.

Gen. 24:33 Then food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have spoken my words.” And he said, “Speak!”

The servant did not lose sight of his mission. He had a task to perform, and he placed that ahead of indulging himself.

Gen. 24:34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.

Gen. 24:35 And Yahweh has greatly blessed my master, so he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and male slaves and female slaves, and camels and donkeys.

In their culture, wealth was measured by number of animals and servants.

Gen. 24:36 Now Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master in her old age, and he has given him all that he has.

Gen. 24:37 And 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 live;

Gen. 24:38 but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’

Gen. 24:39 Then I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman does not follow me.’

Gen. 24:40 And he said to me, ‘Yahweh, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you and will make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house.

Take note that Abraham said, “Yahweh will send His angel with you.” Abraham was living in Canaan because Yahweh had sent him there, but he did not want Isaac to marry a Canaanite. Therefore, the solution was to send a servant back to Abraham’s relatives to find a wife (see Genesis 24:3-4). Abraham was confident that Yahweh would guide the servant and make his journey successful.

In other words, Abraham had faith in Yahweh. That faith was well-placed because Yahweh did indeed guide the servant and lead him to Isaac’s wife.

Humans have a natural tendency to be self-reliant. We are reluctant to strike out on a journey unless we have everything planned ahead of time. Wandering into the unknown, trusting that God will lead us, does not come naturally.

However, that is the essence of faith. Faith is the assurance of things not seen. We often have occasions in life when our lives are changing, and we have no idea what life will look like next year, next month, or perhaps next week. When that happens, we need to have the faith of Abraham and believe that Yahweh will guide us.

Gen. 24:41 Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives. Now if they do not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’

Fatih in God does not come naturally because humans want to see the future. We want to know what will happen before it happens.

What is an occasion when you had to strike out into the unknown and trust that God would guide your steps and provide for you?

What is an example of a time in your life when you failed to have faith in God?

What were the consequences of not having faith?

What is an example of a time when you demonstrated a lot of faith in God?

What were the benefits of trusting God and having faith in Him?

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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”