PCPrays

These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life, 175 years.  Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.  Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre,  the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife.  After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.

If I live to be 90 I’m already 1/3 of the way through my life.  Abraham lived to be 175 years old.  But I’m sure that even Abraham would tell you that life went by way to fast.  How then should we live?  I think two things, we should live in such a way that God will call us his friend (James 2:23).  And #2, you can almost miss this, I want to live in such a way that it could be said “After the death of Roger, God blessed Marci his daughter” and/or “Nyssa his wife” (if I should die before Nyssa).  We should live in such a way that our children will see our faith and that they will also come to be called a friend of God.

That is my goal anyways.

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Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.  She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.  Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.  The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. Abraham gave all he had to Isaac.  But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.

What?  Abraham took another wife?  And had like 6 kids?  He is like over 100 years old…

…

They say that God never uses the word ‘retirement’ he never stops using his people.  Abraham could have fallen into depression, after the death of his wife, but he refused to live in the past.  I think that as Christians we must never reach the point where we do not allow our selves to be used by God.  We can never say “I’m to old” or “I’m not smart enough” or “I’m not good enough” or any excuse.

Let us be like Abraham.  Full of life, never looking towards ‘retirement’ as a way to run away from work, but seeing it as a way to more fully serve the Lord with all our life.

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Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb.  And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming.  And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself.  And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.  Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

I do love the story found in Genesis 24.  The ending is the best part “and he loved her”.  Isaac loved Rebekah.

I guess I have several things that come to mind about this passage.

• I hope that that is what people will say about me.  ”And Roger loved Nyssa” it’s true..  I need to live in such a way that when I die (if the Lord should terry) that the preacher man will say “He loved his wife, Nyssa”
• Just as Issac loved Rebekah, Jesus loves His church.  This is just a picture.  Marriage is just a picture.  It points to something bigger.  I guess marriage is not a end in and of it self.
• Also notice that they did not get a piece of paper from the government they did not have a priest pronounce them “man and wife”.  Not even a wedding, and yet we are told that “she became his wife”.  The piece of paper that Nyssa and my self have saying that we are married has as much power to make us husband as wife as the paper saying I was born at such and such a time and place makes me born.  And the preacher who says “I now pronounce you man and wife” has as much effect as the doctor who will declare a person to be dead.  No, I am not married to Nyssa because of some paper or because of some ceremony/celebration.  I am married to Nyssa because God has united us in a one flesh relation ship that can never be broken until one of us dies.

I guess for me Genesis 24 points towards so much more.  We have The Father, The Son and Holy Spirit all working together for the church.  We can see love and marriage.  It’s a great story of some of our first fathers in the faith and how in the everyday workings God can do great things.

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Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way.

Is the Holy Spirit calling you?  Do not wait.  The Spirit is calling us to “Come, come to Jesus” and how often do we just sit and wait.  We may say “yes Lord!” and then do not follow Him?  We are like the second son in Matthew 21:28-32.  Saying “yes” with our lips but saying “no” with our lives.  But we must not be that way.  We must follow God’s Spirit for only He can lead us to Jesus.

Rebekah needed this servant to find her way to Isaac.  I was just reading Luke 22 and in verse 40 Jesus says “Pray that you may not enter into temptation”  Do you see that just as Rebekah would have been lost and most likely mugged with out the servant to lead her – we are lost and the enemy of our souls will attack us if we are every with out God’s Spirit.  How prideful are we when we think that we can make it on our own and do not look towards Him for our directions.

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When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”  She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.”  She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.”  The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”  Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.

Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring.  As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.  He said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”  So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and there was water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.  Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” He said, “Speak on.”

So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.  The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys.  And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has.  My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell, but you shall go to my father’s house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.’  I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’  But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father’s house.  Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my clan. And if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’

“I came today to the spring and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go, behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,” let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

“Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’  She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also.  Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms.  Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son.  Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”

Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good.  Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”

When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the Lord.  And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments.  And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my master.”  Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.”  But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.”  They said, “Let us call the young woman and ask her.”  And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.”  So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men.  And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

“Our sister, may you become
thousands of ten thousands,
and may your offspring possess
the gate of those who hate him!”

This is one dedicated servant.  He could have stayed for 10 days or so just chilled out.  I could learn a lot from this man.  To be as dedicated to doing my job (at work, home or church) as he is.  His faithfulness to his task did not waiver and you can tell that he did it out of love.  He was not afraid of Abraham finding him “goofing off”, no rather out of love for his master he did not delay.

Pray for me, that I will become a man who is faithful in everything that I do.  Pray that I will become a man that people can trust that when I say ‘yes’ it will be done.  I know that I have a long way to go, but with God’s grace even a sinner like me could make it 

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