Genesis 24

Genesis 24

“As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me…” (Genesis 24:27).

Abraham starts to worry. His son, Isaac, was getting older and was still single. Abraham appoints his servant, probably Eliezer from chapter 15, to go back to his homeland and find a bride for Isaac. Eliezer takes off for his mission.

Eliezer does the right thing. He reaches his first destination. It is time to take a break. Rather than find a hotel for the night, or take care of the camels, he kneels down and prays. He asks the Lord for something truly “above and beyond.” He asks the Lord that a woman would come who would not only offer him a drink, but the camels as well.

Camels are incredible animals in that they can go a week without drinking water. When camels do stop and drink, they can drink a lot. A typical camel will drink 15-30 gallons in one sitting. The unfortunate thing about camels is that, they cannot draw water from wells. Think about how much work it would be to draw up 20 gallons for one camel. Remember, these wells were probably wells you walked down to not wells as we typically think of them. During summer months I would make sure the two trees in front of the church had enough water. I would go inside and take a 4 gallon trash can and fill it with water and pour it into the trees. I would take five trips for each tree. This would take me a long time! It was heavy. You never wanted to get yourself wet, or the inside of the church, so it was also tedious.

Eliezer sits and here comes this beautiful girl. Sure enough, this woman offers him a drink and the camels as well. Notice Eliezer does not get up and yell, “You’re the one!” No, instead he allows her to get all the water. He wanted to make sure that she was for real. When the last drop of water had been poured, he praised the Lord.

There are things in this world we are going to want. For some it will be sports skills, to be in a rock band, to be an amazing skateboarder, or to just have fun. For others it may be as simple as finding “the one.” This is natural. However, I suggest that whatever we want, we take on Eliezer’s motto, “Being on the way, the Lord led me.” Being on the way where? Eliezer was just a servant looking to obey his master. This should be the drive in our lives. Live for Jesus, and whatever desires that you may have, the Lord will lead you. Do not allow the cares of this world to drive you a different direction. Do not live for them. Just stay on the path that leads to Jesus, and let Him take care of the rest. In the end, you will be able to say, “I was on my way to serve the Lord, and this is what He gave me in the process.”