Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20080907.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Genesis: Explaining The Foundations Of History
Part VII: Explaining God's Plan To Bless Men Regardless Of Apostasy
M. Trusting God's Control Of Others That We Might Fulfill His Will
(Genesis 24:1-67)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

To a certain degree, the welfare of every one of us depends on the decisions and actions of other people with whom we have either limited or no effective influence:

(1) Take for example the issue of the old Church furnace.

The main oil burner furnace we have had downstairs that has heated our sanctuary and the Youth Discipleship Center below it for decades apparently was once an old coal furnace. It had since been converted to a very inefficient oil burner.

This last February, we learned there was a big crack in the heat exchanger, explaining why oil exhaust fumes could be detected in the sanctuary! For this reason, and because of the escalating cost of fuel oil in the commodities market over which we had no control, the Board of Deacons obtained a bid from Carlson's Heating in February to remove the furnace with its dangerous asbestos, and install a new unit.

However, we lacked the funds for this. The July 2nd, 2008 Board Minutes read: " . . . the fact that the Church uses around 2,500 gallons of fuel oil per winter season makes the idea of replacing the furnace a sensible, although financially formidable one."

The term "financially formidable" was an understatement -- the Board had examined our Treasurer's report to find there was no money on hand to buy the furnace, and that is why we had not responded to the Carlson's bid regardless of our awareness of our great need for it!

I remember how vulnerable we as a Church then seemed to the threat of the coming winter cold, and knowing that there was little if anything we could do about it! Many in our body were already hard pressed for heating fuel money, let alone for money to gas up our cars!

(2) This vulnerability faces us on many other fronts, too! Our nation's political future now that the national elections are fast approaching, the world terrorism threat, growing apostasy in many religious circles, etc., all increasingly leave people I know expressing how vulnerable they feel to the decisions of other people around them!



Thus, we might ask, "To the degree one's welfare depends on the decisions and actions of other people, can he find 'rest' from the threat that others may not support his welfare? If so, how?!"



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "Can I find rest from my vulnerability to the potentially harmful choices and acts of people I cannot influence? If so, how?"
  1. Though Isaac needed a wife in God's plan, to heed God in how she was obtained, Abraham and Isaac had to delegate the acquisition process to others who could have ruined it, Genesis 24:1-4:
    1. God had revealed in Genesis 21:12b with 13:16 that He planned for Isaac to produce children, so He wanted Isaac to get married!
    2. Also, Abraham was culturally responsible to arrange for this marriage through an intermediary, H. C. Leupold, Genesis, vol. II, p. 656, 660.
    3. However, God also wanted both Abraham and Isaac to stay in Canaan, so they had to entrust the gaining of Isaac's bride to others, 24:1-6:
      1. God had before indicated He wanted Abraham and Isaac to stay in Canaan, the land of promise, Genesis 12:1-7; 12:20-13:1, 14-15.
      2. However, Isaac could not marry a Canaanite (Gen. 24:1-3) -- they were idolaters, Ryrie St. Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to Gen. 24:3.
      3. Abraham was thus left sending his intermediary 500 miles north to his relatives in Haran to obtain a bride for Isaac while he stayed in Canaan, Gen. 24:3-4, 10b; The Macmillan Bible Atlas , 1968, p. 16.
  2. However, Abraham and Isaac heeded God by staying in Canaan, letting Him rule the others involved in securing Isaac's wife, 24:5-8:
    1. Abraham obeyed the Lord by staying in Canaan while leaving the acquisition of Isaac's bride by others for God to oversee, Gen. 24:2-8:
      1. Choosing to stay in Canaan in God's will while sending his servant to Haran to obtain Isaac's wife, Abraham urged him to take an oath to that end; he had him take an oath in such a way that showed Abraham's offspring would "avenge any violation of the oath" on the servant's part, Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Gen. 24:2; Gen. 24:2-4, 9.
      2. The servant realized the bride might not want to return with him, so he asked that if this were so, was he to take Isaac to her, 24:5.
      3. Abraham thus made his servant free from the oath if the bride did not will to go to Canaan, but Isaac was not to go to Haran, 24:8, 6.
      4. Abraham added that the God of heaven who had led him to leave his father's house in Haran for Canaan (Gen. 11:31-12:7), and Who then promised Canaan to him and his seed, would send His Angel ahead to prepare the way for him to find a wife for Isaac, 24:7.
      5. This trust in the Angel of the Lord was based on His past help of Hagar and His supply of a ram for Isaac, Gen. 16:7-14; 22:11-13.
    2. Isaac also obeyed the Lord by staying in Canaan while leaving the acquisition of his bride by others for God to oversee, Gen. 24:62-63:
      1. While Abraham's servant was on his mission to obtain Isaac's wife, Isaac spent time at Hagar's well where God's Angel had helped her in her time of need, Gen. 24:62; Bib. Know. Com., O. T., p. 68.
      2. We also know from Genesis 24:63a that Isaac had been meditating.
      3. Thus, while Abraham's servant was on his mission, Isaac prayed for God to rule in it that he might acquire the appropriate bride!
  3. Thus, GOD SOVEREIGNLY RULED in the OTHERS, 24:9-67:
    1. Abraham's servant arrived at Haran, and, in accord with Abraham's claim that the Angel of the Lord would aid him, he prayed for God to identify Isaac's bride by having her show the needed bridal credentials in going beyond giving him a drink to water his camels, 24:7b, 10-14:
      1. These ten camels that had trekked 500 miles could together drink 300 gallons of water, so watering them via a well with steps going down to the water (Gen. 24:16) would take a maid several hours of hard labor. ("How the Camel Conquers Thirst," Time, 7/17/1964)
      2. Doing this task of her own will would mean the maid was an exceptional young woman -- very hospitable, highly responsible and fit to bear children. [Her later dismounting and veiling herself at first meeting Isaac showed she was also feminine, being properly respectful and modest, H. C. Leupold, Genesis, vol. II, p. 685.]
    2. Just then, Rebekkah, the virtuous daughter of Abraham's nephew, Bethuel (Gen. 22:20-23), arrived and fulfilled this sign, 24:13-25.
    3. Abraham's servant worshiped God in appreciation for His leading, and shared his testimony of it with Rebekkah and her family, 24:26-49.
    4. Rebekkah's family perceived from the fulfillment of the sign that God wanted Rebekkah to wed Isaac, so they gave their consent, 24:50-53.
    5. When Abraham's servant wanted to leave the next day with little time for Rebekkah's family to adjust to her absence, they asked for her will in the matter, and she agreed to go with Abraham's servant, 24:54-60.
    6. Rebekkah returned to become Isaac's beloved bride, Gen. 24:61-67.
Application: (1) May we trust in Abraham's God, Jesus Christ, for salvation from sin, John 3:16; 8:56-58. (2) Then, may we rely on the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16) (a) to heed God, (b) leaving the acts of others who affect our welfare for Him to handle in our behalf!

Lesson: When Abraham and Isaac kept doing God's will, trusting Him to rule in those who independently affected the gaining of Isaac's bride, God ruled in the lives of the others so Isaac could marry Rebekkah in His will.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

God's control of others whose decisions affect our welfare was seen in His recent provision of a new furnace for our Church.

If you have read the minutes of our July 2nd, 2008 Church Board meeting, you may recall that, under section "IX," the Board had discussed the need to replace the Church's main furnace due to the high cost of oil, and the potential for the Church's having to pay $12,500 this winter for fuel oil. I recall our Chairman, Dave Slate, saying that, though we as a Church did not have the money to get a new furnace, we needed to revisit the matter soon, for the Church could not meet budget this winter with such fuel costs and the use of that furnace! You may recall the minutes then concluded: "The Board agreed to think and pray about the need, and to discuss it again shortly."

Well, in our closing prayer at that meeting, we asked the Lord's help with the matter! He answered -- the next day, July 3rd! A party in our body then contacted Dave Slate about contributing money toward the installation of the furnace for which the Board had obtained a February 27th quote from Carlson's Heating! The head of the company was contacted, and though he claimed the cost of the furnace July 3rd was $100 higher than it had been when his bid price was still in force, he would honor that bid providing we sent in a payment soon!

When the Board was notified as a whole on Sunday, July 6th, that a donor had offered to buy the furnace, one of our Board members replied, "No way!" in surprise at the coincidental working of the Lord.

Carlson's Heating was scheduling furnace installations 5-6 weeks ahead, so we were able to get the dates of August 25th-28th slated for the installation, and the purchase payments were begun.

It just so happened that during the installation week, the weather was dry, breezy, and cool with typical Fall weather for the installers to open the Church's doors to clear out fumes that occur in the installation! Consequently, we have our new furnace in place, and we owe nothing on it!

When we PRAYED about our needs of an oil furnace, the LORD moved in the heart a DONOR and in the INSTALLER so we could KEEP doing His will by meeting as we have always done!

May we then STAY in God's will and let God work in OTHERS whose decisions and actions affect our welfare so that we can FULFILL our assigned DESTINIES from Him!