Bible Reading: Genesis 24:1-2, 4, 10-19, 26-27
Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. He said to the senior servant in his household, go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac. The servant left, and made his way to the town of Nahor. He had his camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water. Then he prayed, "Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a young woman, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac."
Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar." "Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink." Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying, "Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master."
A Reflection
Setting up a lasting power of attorney arrangement so that your financial affairs and your health needs are taken care of if you become unable to handle them yourself is a good idea. But who do you trust to delegate these responsibilities to? Who do you trust to make the decisions that you would want and who would be willing and able to do so when the time occurs?
Aware of his own mortality, Abraham was making this sort of decision to secure the future generations of his family so that God’s promise to make his offspring into a great nation could be fulfilled. This important task he delegated to the senior servant in his household, giving him instructions as to where to go to find Isaac’s future wife. You will find more detail in Genesis 24.
There are many matters in our day-to-day life where God has delegated to us decisions that we make on his behalf. We have guidelines and principles in the bible but not the writing on the wall that says, ‘Do this’ or ‘Don’t do that’. How do we make good decisions in these circumstances?
Abraham’s servant follows his instructions as far as they go and then he prays for guidance. His prayer is essentially that God will bless those he is serving through his decisions and actions. In this case he then sets down a test, ‘If this happens… I will know she is your choice’. There are many ways to pray for guidance, and we may go about it differently. The key point is that God responds to our heart-felt prayers, however we pray and is always willing to guide us.
Are there any decisions, small or large, that you need to make? The bible will give you some excellent principles. Coming to God in prayer for guidance over the detail will also help you to make decisions that will fulfil God’s purposes and be a blessing to others. Having received his answer the servant turned back to God in praise and worship. Let us not forget to do that!
A Prayer:
Lord God, in all the decisions that you have entrusted to me today, help me to choose the path that will fulfil your purposes and be a blessing to others.
Amen
Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer
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