And isn't that how it always tends to be?
We go through life doing stuff, working, resting, playing, raising kids and every once in awhile, we don't realize it but we see how God has been at work the entire time.
And this is what is emphasized in this third scene, the blessing of God. Yet, this blessing isn't what we tend to think when we think of blessing. Let's take a look at the story as a whole and then look at two chunks of the story at a time, to see what God's blessing really consists of:
28 The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. 30 As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. 31 “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord,” he said. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”
32 So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. 33 Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.”
“Then tell us,” Laban said.
34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, and camels and donkeys. 36 My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her[a] old age, and he has given him everything he owns. 37 And my master made me swear an oath, and said, ‘You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live,38 but go to my father’s family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.’
39 “Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’
40 “He replied, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family. 41 Then, when you go to my clan, you will be released from my oath even if they refuse to give her to you—you will be released from my oath.’
42 “When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. 43 See, I am standing beside this spring; if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,” 44 and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’
45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’
46 “She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also.
47 “I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’
“She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’
“Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, 48 and I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.”
50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed. ”
52 When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 53 Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.
When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.”
55 But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl remain with us ten days or so; then you[b] may go.”
56 But he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.”
57 Then they said, “Let’s call the girl and ask her about it.” 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”
“I will go,” she said.
59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“Our sister, may you increase
to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.”
61 Then Rebekah and her maids got ready and mounted their camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
As you might have thought, this is a long passage. The focus of it is the interaction between the unnamed servant and Laban, Rebekah's brother Laban.
The reason it is such a long passage is mostly because of the servant's speech from 24.34-49. This speech takes up fifteen verses, and all it does is summarize what we have already seen in the first 33 verses of the chapter.
The speech may seem boring at first, but part of the key to the entire chapter is seen in the first and last statement of the unnamed servant. Look at what he says when referencing Yahweh, God.
Vs. 35:
35 The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy.
Vs. 48:
I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham
The two bold words, blessed and praised, are both the same word in the original Hebrew text, barach, which means "to bless".
This speech is bounded by blessing. The reason the servant is even looking for a suitable mate for Isaac is because Yahweh (YHWH), God, has blessed Abraham. So what does the servant do in response to this story? He blesses YHWH, God.
And even more, the next step to understanding this blessing of God is to see how Laban describes the situation by two statements that come before and after this speech.
Verse 31
31 “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord,” he said. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”
Same word, barach, "to be blessed". From the start, Laban is recognizing that this servant is blessed by God. And after hearing the story, look at how Laban summarizes it:
Verse 50
50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other.
This is from the Lord. So the statements that define this entire scene are as follows:
v. 31: Laban: Come in, O blessed of the LORD
v. 35 servant: The Lord has greatly blessed my master
v. 48 servant: I bow my head and praise (bless) the Lord
v. 50 Laban: This thing comes from the Lord.
This whole love story between Rebekkah and Isaac is a blessing from God. For we see in verses 52-60, that just as Abraham of the old generation ended richly blessed, so Rebekah, the mother of the new generation, begins in blessing. Look at how this scene ends:
52 When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 53 Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.
When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.”
55 But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl remain with us ten days or so; then you[b] may go.”
56 But he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.”
57 Then they said, “Let’s call the girl and ask her about it.” 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”
“I will go,” she said.
59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“Our sister, may you increase
to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.”
61 Then Rebekah and her maids got ready and mounted their camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
The point of this passage is that the blessing that God promised Abraham in Genesis 12 is coming to fruition.
Now at this point, we have to be very careful when we talk about the nature of God's blessing on our lives. Yes, God blesses us. But for what purpose?
In the fourfold blessing that God promised Abraham, look at the progression:
- I will make you into a great nation
- I will bless your name
- I will give you this land to inherit
- All nations on earth will be blessed through you
The first three blessings all focus on benefiting Abraham. Abraham will become a great nation, his name will be blessed, and he will receive the promised land. This looks as if Abraham is going to become very wealthy and prosperous. And isn't that what has happened in this passage?
At this point Abraham has a child, is getting a wife for that child to start producing the great nation. His name has been blessed numerous times, and he is beginning to acquire pieces of property in the promised land.
Yet, the whole point to God blessing, not just Abraham, but anyone, is found in the fourth blessing. The only reason God blesses anyone is so that that person will bless the nations.
The descendants of Abraham, the great nation that is promised, is created to bless the nations. Abraham's name is great in order to bless the nations. The purpose of the promised land is to bless the nations.
And this truth is also true for us. When we lose sight of the fact that any blessing we receive, whether that be material wealth or talents or even gifts that God has given us, is used for our own benefit or self promotion, those blessings become curses.
Only when God's blessings are used in order to bless the nations, to promote his kingdom, will those blessings remain blessings.
So whatever blessings we have, are only blessing when they are used to bless others.
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