Genesis Segment 6

Abraham: the Promises Fulfilled

Genesis 20:7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet... 

Abraham is called a prophet by God, but he never foretold anything. He spoke for God, which is the main function of a prophet.

Genesis 21:1  And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 

2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 

Despite what one might view as the virtually impossible circumstance of Sarah having passed menopause, what God had promised did come to pass, for Sarah gave birth to a son. What God had promised He was able to perform. 

3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. 

4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. 

5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. 

6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. 

7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. 

Next comes the record of Ishmael mocking Isaac and gets exiled from the patriarchs presence for doing it.  

Genesis 23:1 And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.   

That would make Abraham somewhere between 135 to 137 years old. Sarah is the only woman whose age is mentioned in the Bible. So ladies if you don’t want to give your age, you have Biblical precedence, God doesn’t usually tell woman’s ages either. 

2 And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.   

Then he secures the cave of Machpelah for a burial plot for Sarah. Later himself, his son Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and his grandson Jacob and his wife Leah are buried there also. 

19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.   

Sarah, having died at the age of 127, was buried in the sepulchre which Abraham had bought specifically for her burial. This is the only actual part of the Promised Land Abraham owned. 

Genesis 24:1 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.   

2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh.   

3 And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:   

4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.   

Abraham specifically instructed the servant that he did not want a daughter of the Canaanites to be selected to be Isaac's wife. He wanted believer bloodline. 

5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?   

This was a logical question. This servant of Abraham wanted to know what he was required to do and what constraints he was under in fulfilling the mission with which Abraham was entrusting him with.

6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.   

Don’t take Isaac along, he needs to stay in this land. He is too important to God. 

7 The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.   

Abraham told his trusted servant before he left on his mission that God would make it profitable. God was going to send His angel before the servant of Abraham when he went to search out a wife for Isaac.   

10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.   

11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.   

Villages are built near wells or springs for convenience, but not near enough to be bothered by the noise and dust and crowds which they draw. 

In the culture of the Bible times, men were not to socially have free conversation with women. Likewise women were not free to converse with men openly. Even husbands and wives would not converse in the public thoroughfares.   

A man could not simply stop a woman and speak with her, except for certain matters which were culturally acceptable. A man could ask for water and for directions.  

That is why the record of Jesus talking to the woman at the well in John 4 was so amazing to his disciples. 

The servant of Abraham made the camels kneel down outside the city, and he did it in the evening, at the time when the women would have been coming out to draw water. He could enter into a conversation over water, so he had come to an appropriate place, at an appropriate time.   

15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.   

Rebekah means captivating.  

16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.   

17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.   

18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.   

19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.   

After giving him a drink she offered to draw water for his camels. This had been specifically what the servant of Abraham had prayed for when he asked for a sign.   

20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.   

21 And the man wondering at her, [eagerly watching her]  held his peace, to wit whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. 

22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring, [may have been a nose ring] of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; 

23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?   

24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.   

25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.   

26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord.   

27 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren.   

28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.   

29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.   

30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.   

Laban showed kindness when he realized that this servant came from a master who had money. Rebekah showed kindness before she knew. 

31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.   

Laban, the brother of Rebekah, came out and invited the servant of Abraham into their home.   

32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him.   

33 And there was set meat before him to eat...   

The servant of Abraham was graciously received into the home of Rebekah and Laban.  

33b ...but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on. 

34 And he said, I am Abraham's servant.   

35 And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. 

The servant then relays what his purpose was. 

50 Then Laban [Rebekah's brother] and Bethuel [Rebekah's father] answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.    

51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken.    

52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth.  

53 And the servant brought forth jewels [articles] of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.    

These were given to bind the contract. 

54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.    

55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. 

56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.    

57 And they said, We will call the damsel and inquire at her mouth.     

58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.    

She immediately responded, let me get on with my life. Allow me to leave immediately to go to a land I’ve has never seen, to marry  a man I’ve never met. I’m sure she perceived that he was quite wealthy though. 

Still she was going away to a far away land to be a nomad where perhaps she never was going to  see her family again.  

This was a lot like going WOW except that it was a life time commitment without phones or the

internet. 

59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse [Deborah], and Abraham's servant, and his men.    

Nurses were esteemed almost like a parent. She was an advisor, an assistant, and most of all a friend to the bride. To her nurse, and her mother, the bride would confide her greatest secrets.  

60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.    

61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.    

62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; [the well of life and vision] for he dwelt in the south country.    

63 And Isaac went out to meditate [to mourn his mother’s death - EWB] in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.    

64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.    

She shows proper respect. 

65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.    

The vail to cover one’s face that we may think was so commonly utilized in ancient times, really wasn’t. It was actually due to Muhammadan influence much later. The Koran, forbids woman to appear unveiled, except in the presence only of their nearest relatives. 

When she saw Isaac, Rebekah slipped the upper part of her loose flowing robe over her head, thereby concealing her face from her expectant lover.

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There have been no representations of veils found on either the Assyrian or Egyptian monuments. The Egyptians and the Hebrews did use the vail on special occasions. 

The veiling of the bride before coming into the presence of the bridegroom indicates modesty, and subjection to the husband. 

66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.    

67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.    

25:1 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.    

2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan... 

5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.    

6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.    

It was Isaac to whom Abraham gave an inheritance, but to all his other sons he gave them gifts.    

7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.    

8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.    

Abraham was 175 at the time of his death.  The Scriptures give us an enlightening insight into the life of Abraham for more than 100 years of his life.   

Finally they record that Abraham, this incredible man, who had believed God, walked with God, been a prophet of God, negotiated with God, made a covenant with God, died.    

9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah... 

10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.    

Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham in the sepulchre where Abraham had previously buried his wife, Sarah.