The Earnest Prayer of a Righteous Person Has Great Power and Produces Wonderful Results.
Obedience, prayer, worship and praise all combined together.
Genesis 24:10-27 (NLT)
10 Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled. 11 He made the camels kneel beside a well just outside the town. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water.
12 “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham. 13 See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water. 14 This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.”
15 Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. 16 Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again. 17 Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.”
18 “Yes, my lord,” she answered, “have a drink.” And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink. 19 When she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw water for all his camels.
21 The servant watched her in silence, wondering whether or not the Lord had given him success in his mission. 22 Then at last, when the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for her wrists.
23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “And please tell me, would your father have any room to put us up for the night?”
24 “I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she replied. “My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah. 25 Yes, we have plenty of straw and feed for the camels, and we have room for guests.”
26 The man bowed low and worshiped the Lord. 27 “Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.”
Examine the Scriptures
Genesis 24:10-27 (NLT)
10 Then he
Abraham’s oldest servant, the man in charge of his household,
Genesis 15:2 (NLT)
But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.
Abraham’s oldest servant may have been Eliezer. Scripture does not name the servant in chapter 24.
loaded ten of Abraham’s camels
Obedience
9 So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions.
Ephesians 6:5 (NLT)
Slaves and Masters
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ.
Colossians 3:22 (NLT)
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord.
- Abraham’s servant obeyed his earthly master with deep respect.
with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master,
Transport the gifts as well as transport the bride and her companions.
Gifts for the bride and her family.
and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. (Aram of the two rivers)
Between Euphrates and Tigris Rivers (or between Euphrates and Habur rivers.)
There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled.
The city of Nahor (Nakhur)
4 Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”
Near Haran – 500 miles away (450-550)
- Abraham’s servant traveled a long distance in service to his earthly master.
11 He made the camels kneel beside a well just outside the town. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water.
Camels rest kneeling.
The servant’s prayer.
12 “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed.
“Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham.
He prayed for himself as well as for Abraham.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
- Abraham’s servant prayed for his earthly master.
13 See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water. 14 This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’
- Abraham’s servant’s prayer included very specific requests.
—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.”
Asked for a sign
Judges 6:36-40 (NLT)
36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, 37 prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” 38 And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water.
39 Then Gideon said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.” 40 So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew.
- Abraham’s servant prayed a prayer asking God for a sign.
15 Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. (Isaac’s father’s grandniece)
James 5:16 (NLT)
16 …. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
- Abraham’s servant prayed a prayer that had great power and produced wonderful results.
16 Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again. 17 Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.”
18 “Yes, my lord,” she answered, “have a drink.” And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink. 19 When she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink.”
10 camels would drink a lot of water.
25 gallons per camel.
8.5 X 25 = 212.5 lbs. x 10 = 2,125 lbs. (Plus the weight of the water jug.)
This was beyond the call of duty.
20 So she quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw water for all his camels.
21 The servant watched her in silence, wondering whether or not the Lord had given him success in his mission. 22 Then at last, when the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for her wrists.
- Abraham’s servant was patient. (It would have taken a long time to water the ten camels.)
23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “And please tell me, would your father have any room to put us up for the night?”
24 “I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she replied. “My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah. 25 Yes, we have plenty of straw and feed for the camels, and we have room for guests.”
4 Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives,
26 The man bowed low and worshiped the Lord.
27 “Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.”
“he has led me”
Psalm 145:18 (NLT)
18 The Lord is close to all who call on him,
yes, to all who call on him in truth.
- Abraham’s servant witnessed God’s unfailing love and faithfulness.
- Abraham’s servant responded with worship and praise.
“Praise the Lord.”
- We can learn a great deal from Abraham’s servant.
