Devotional
Short Note to Genesis 24
What
readers may not know yet is that Isaac was 40 years old when he married and
although it is not mentioned in this chapter, it is said in Genesis 25:20.
Thus, the year of this chapter is 2100 BCE for Abraham was 140 years old from
his birthdate in 2240 BCE. The
year 2100 BCE is the start of the neo-Sumerian dynasty at Ur III which was 12
years by now on its way with Urnammu as ruler. He reigned until 2095 BCE.
Urnammu compiled a law-code (no. 3191 in the Istanbul Museum) very similar to
that of the later Hammurabi in 1792 BCE.
This
is like a photo of Urnammu dating to the very year Rebekkah became Jacob’s
wife. He sits on the throne and it reads that he is bestowing governorship on Ḫašḫamer, ensi of Iškun-Sin (see online https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Ur-Nammu). God
gave Abraham the strong conviction that he must not find a wife among the
Canaanites that dwell in the land but that from his brother Nahor’s family, he
would get someone (Genesis 24:3). If she does not want to come, should the
servant come back and take Isaac there to meet her? That was the question of
the worker of Abraham (Genesis 24:5). The
exact formulation of God’s promise to Abraham is cited by Abraham and he was
interpreting it literally and kept very close to that Bible-Fundamentalist
Literal Interpretation: (citation of the Lord’s Word) “Unto your seed will I
give this land; He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife
for my son from there” = לְזַרְעֲךָ אֶתֵּן אֶת-הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת-הוּא יִשְׁלַח מַלְאָכוֹ לְפָנֶיךָ וְלָקַחְתָּ
אִשָּׁה לִבְנִי מִשָּׁם (Genesis 24:7). This is Abraham’s canon. The direct Word of God, the
Revelation to this Prophet from God Himself. Those words have to be weighed and
followed exactly. They did not say Isaac will find a wife there but that
Abraham must bring a wife or his DBA. That is the literal reading. Period. And
Abraham is not going to let the “spirit of the Words between the lines” going
to adjust the direction of God into a humanistic freer reading. So the worker
of Abraham on his behalf just have to succeed or God Himself will make another
plan. And this is the lesson: when the Bible says it, follow it, for God can
work things out if we get stuck. The worker of Abraham was very faithful. He was eager to
carry out the direct Word of God similar to Abraham’s request. He realized his
helplessness. One can lead a horse to the water but one cannot make it drink,
says the idiom. Quite difficult. For this reason, the worker prayed to God for
help in Genesis 24:12-14. God heard his prayer immediately and Rebecca came
(Genesis 24:15). The answer to prayer is a surprise element to be a faithful
Christian. One sometimes are amazed how quickly God answers prayers. One needs
to provide God with one’s yoke and He is eager to arrange a better way. When he delivered the golden ring to her he asked her
whether there is room in her father’s house for them to overnight. She affirmed
and out of thankfulness for an answered prayer, the worker bowed his head and
prostrated his heart before God (Genesis 24:26). That is how we ought to be
also then with the answered prayer. In Genesis 24:27 is his short prayer. There is again a feetwashing action in Genesis 24:32.
Special workers were used to do the washing. Jesus did it for his disciples and
asked us to do the same before every Lord’s Supper event in John 13. Jesus was
not just playing the culture thing. It is like Woman Ordination, it is not just
a culture-thing. Jezebel was an ordained Baal highpriestess and the sexual perverse
activities from Asherah were her favorites in the days of Ahab and Elijah. The last
chapter of Proverbs speaks of a trading woman who is a business salesperson
(Proverbs 31:24). They were not suppressed and backstage as some try to make
them out, even in Israel. Woman ordination was only in the pagan cults, not in
God’s administration and it all goes back to Eve’s error and a symbolic remembrance
of that wrong deed. In Genesis 24:34-48 follows a repetition of what happened
since the worker was sent by Abraham and which was recorded already in the
earlier part of the chapter. It is almost a doublet. This is how contracts
worked in the Ancient Near East. On the outside of a clay sealed cuneiform text
was repeated exactly what is inside and for a contract to be honest, completed
and thorough, the controller read outside first before he broke the envelope and
look inside whether it was written the same. If they match, then the contract
is done with honesty and no corruption. Therefore the repetition of material
already covered by Moses. For us modernists it seems superfluous but for them
it was absolutely essential. This style of Moses is regular throughout his
workers in the narratives. When Laban gave the positive sign the faithful worker of
Abraham were on his knees before God (Genesis 24:52). He thanked God instead of
Laban first. In Genesis 24:62 Moses introduced the perspective of
Isaac when he first saw her coming. The love drama is romantically portrayed by
Moses. Until the end of the chapter is happiness in the Lord for working in
their lives.
Dear God Take our lives and let it be, consecrated Lord to thee.
In Jesus Name. Amen.