Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, I lift up all the godly men who have been in our lives. The men in this room, whom you formed and have disciplined as your own son. Thank you for giving us a model of fatherhood that we can follow to love and be loved. We know that there is wonderful work that you created us for and we want to lean into it with our families, friends, and neighbors. Help us be like you.

Tomorrow as we begin FLIP Camp, be with all the families participating. Do a miraculous work in the 170 little kids that will be here. Engage their hearts and minds fully. Keep them safe and out of harm’s way. Let them sing of your truths, let them believe in you without reservation. Give them confidence in love and in their identities to proclaim your name. Lord, let them know the love of your son. Also, let the men and women who are sacrificing their week to serve you and love your children be filled up with energy, excitement, and boldness. Thank you for them, for moving their hearts to act with such boldness. Bless their lives with your goodness for their faithfulness.

Today, as we study your word, allow us to confront the topic of our legacy with openness and vulnerability so that we can discuss it and take steps toward living out your legacy for us through your generous provisions, mercy, and grace. Let your power fill us and your spirit guide us. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

We’re in Genesis 24, where we catch up with Abraham toward the end of his life. This is the longest chapter in Abraham’s story with 67 verses and that’s significant because the topic of passing down a family legacy deserves that much attention. Generally, when we talk about family legacy, inheritance, repercussions, consequences, people generally fall into one of three camps:

1. Cursed by a legacy bequeathed by our families.
2. Toiling to change the family legacy.
3. Or incredibly blessed by their family legacy.

And if we’re real honest with ourselves, most of us will fall into the first two camps. But really, regardless of which camp you’re in, know that God’s plan for your life is greater than you and your single lifetime. So we must take intentional steps to pass down a legacy full of God’s blessings and faithfulness. Because, here’s the truth:

Big Idea: God is providentially working in everyday life.

That’s to say that God is working for the good of those who love him, who have been called to his purpose (Romans 8:28). So whatever legacy, inheritance you imagine, that pales in comparison to what God is doing for you and for the next generation. When we believe that, it’s becomes our responsibility to:

Point 1: Trust the promises of God.

We must choose to trust God. When God pledges something, it happens. So we trust the promises God made to us, and we live faithfully awaiting and seeking. What are we seeking? We:

Point 2: Seek the provision of God.

Afterall, what good is believing in a promise, if we’re not looking for its fulfillment? God doesn’t promise without providing for those promises to be fulfilled. Lastly, our responsibility is to:

Point 3: Obey the plan of God.

This is where most of us have the hardest time. We start to obey the plan of God for the fulfillment of his promises in our lives, and we quit somewhere down the line. That’s usually where our legacy falls: the point at which we stop obeying the plan of God. This is pivotal: Don’t allow our disobedience or lack of endurance or confidence in God’s plan be the reason the next generation receives an unfulfilled legacy. It’s simply unacceptable. So we stay steadfast and obey the plan of God.

In the story, Abraham is 140 years old and the promises of God have come to fruition in Abraham’s life. And it’s time to pass down the legacy of his faithfulness to the next generation so God can continue to bless his family and the nations around him through his family. Genesis 24, verse 1.

Scene 1: Passing on the Blessings of Faith (vv. 1-9)

^{Genesis 24:1} Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. ² And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, ³ that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, ⁴ but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” ⁵ The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” ⁶ Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. ⁷ The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.  ⁸ But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.

You can read this allegorically or literally, but either way you read it, the conclusion is the same: your legacy cannot send the next generation backward. Here’s what I mean: God brought you on a journey of fulfilling his promises in your life, don’t place your kids or your grandkids at a disadvantage by making them start from scratch because they never knew you were blessed by God.

You need to take steps to advance their journey with God. This is one of the most important things we do as recipient of God’s promises. In this passage, we see that this assignment went to Abraham most important servant, the head of his household. His household couldn’t function without this guy. He’s the guy that has been assigned to the most important task.

In verses 6 through 8, Abraham professes that God is working providentially everyday. He trusts God’s promises will be passed to his son Isaac and that God will provide. Now the obedience piece is this: that Isaac must not go back to Abraham’s homeland no matter what.

Our responsibility, being recipients of the promises of God is to make sure we do what we can to ensure that the next generation inherits those promises. To clarify, it doesn’t mean we’re protecting the next generation from the reality of life or their own life choices. But it’s to dutifully do what we can, to set them up to receive the fulfillment of God’s promises in their lives. We are charged with that obligation.

So what are you doing to intentionally pass off the blessings of your faith to your children, grandchildren, nephews, and nieces?

Simply inviting them to church is not enough. Giving thanks at an occasional family meal is not enough.

If we want our children to receive the blessing of God’s promises, especially when being a Christ follower makes them a minority, marginalized and alienated for their faith, then the steps we take to ensure the blessings and promises of God are yes and amen with them must be made with great care and diligence. This can’t be stuff we do hap hazardously or when we have time because then it’ll never get done. That means we regularly and frequently talk to them about faith, to pray, worship, read the Bible, and serve with them. Schedule it, put it on your calendar, make it a tradition or a routine.

Verse 10.

Scene 2: Praying for God’s Providence (vv. 10-14)

¹⁰ Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor. 

Abraham is in Beersheba. From there to Nahor, where the servant is supposed find Isaac a wife, is about 500 miles. Driving, it would take 8 or 9 hours. But when all you’ve got is a camel and it can only go 15-20 miles a day, you’d be lucky to arrive within a month’s time. God provides, but our obedience to his plan to receive his provisions is a long and hard. Obedience requires mental and physical preparation, but also endurance and confidence to actually go forward (Hebrews 10:35-36). Verse 11.

¹¹ And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water. ¹² And he said, [READ WITH DESPERATION] “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

Have we ever prayed with the same desperation as this servant? Maybe some of you have prayed that way for a spouse, a child, a job, or a situation to improve or change. But we need to make this our standard prayer. We must seek God’s provision, God’s hand, in every decision that we make. The servant is not just praying to find any woman willing to marry a complete stranger. He’s praying fervently that God provides the RIGHT woman. The servant sees there are many options, but recognizes that he must see past all the good options and choose the RIGHT option.

A lot of times when we’re seeking the provisions of God, and start obeying the plan of God, we actually end up settling for a good option, or even just a viable one. We settle because the journey to even get to this point, has been hard and long, and we’re tired. But that’s when we need to pray harder, more specifically, with more expectation. We need to be seeking God’s specific provisions, not settling for any provision. If we are not praying this way, then stretch your imaginations and your prayers because God’s plan is greater for you and more specific than you’ve ever dared dream.

Incidentally, this has been my prayer for all of us here. That we can pray longing for God’s fulfillment of his promises in our lives. I want our prayers to be soaked with the tears of hope, painted by the blood of sacrifice so we could witness the awe and power of God’s providence up close and personally.

We have people here at the end of each worship service that want to pray with you that way because your burdens are our burdens, and we lift them up to God together in prayer because he is the only one that can provide.

Scene 3: Swiftly Hospitable, a Sanctified Response (vv. 15-21)

Verse 15. Notice how God providentially works even before the servant finishes praying.

¹⁵ Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. ¹⁶ The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. ¹⁷ Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” ¹⁸ She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. ²¹ The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.

Rebekah did not have to cater to the servant, he has two hands, he could help himself. And she certainly didn’t have to give water to the ten camels belonging to a stranger. I don’t know how hard you work for your water, but drawing water from a well is hard, and camels drink a lot of water.

Rebekah didn’t need to hurry: she could’ve worked slowly, taking her time, providing the bare minimum. But, the Bible says she worked quickly, running to get enough water until a stranger and his animals were satisfied. What generous hospitality! That’s how God works when he provides for us. He never stops at the bare minimum, instead giving us over and beyond what we deserve. Verse 22.

Scene 4: Worship to Give Thanks to God (vv. 22-28)

²² 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, ²³ and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” ²⁴ She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.”

 ²⁶ The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord ²⁷ 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.” 

What would cause this servant to worship God, mid-conversation? I think the spirit of God awakened the servant’s senses to see God’s providential work unfolding. Realizing God’s hand in his everyday life brought forth rejoicing, and he spontaneously thanks God for His steadfast love and faithfulness. This is a prime example of when and how to worship God: in the moment, and joyfully recognizing who our God is.

Worshipping God in our everyday, tangibly establishes the source of our successes and legacy as GOD! It’s God who adopts us as children through his son Jesus. We inherit is the kingdom of heaven because Jesus laid down his life for us and God resurrects Jesus from the dead to give us assurances. When we trust in the promises of God, seeking his provisions and obeying His plan, our legacy is assured. We worship because of that.

Verse 28.

Scene 5: Choose God’s Promises Promptly (vv. 28-61)

²⁸ Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. ²⁹ Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring. 

Keep this guy Laban in mind for next week when we talk about Esau and Jacob. I’m pointing him out because while you’re obeying God’s plan and seeking his provisions in YOUR lifetime, God’s already working to set up the next generation to receive their fulfillment of his promises as well. Verse 30.

³⁰ 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. ³¹ 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.” ³² 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. ³³ Then food was set before him to eat. But [the servant] said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” [Laban] said, “Speak on.”

³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ 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. ³⁶ 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. ³⁷ 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, ³⁸ but you shall go to my father’s house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ ⁴⁰ 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. ⁴¹ 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.’

⁴² “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, ⁴³ 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,” ⁴⁴ 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.’

⁴⁵ “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.’ ⁴⁶ 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. ⁴⁷ 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. ⁴⁸ 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. ⁴⁹ 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.”

⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good. ⁵¹ 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.”

⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the Lord. ⁵³ 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. ⁵⁴ 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.” ⁵⁵ Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.” ⁵⁶ 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.” ⁵⁷ They said, “Let us call the young woman and ask her.” ⁵⁸ And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.” ⁵⁹ So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ 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!”

⁶¹ 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.

Rebekah is like Abraham here. She chooses to say “yes” to God’s call to leave her old life behind and go to the promise. When we accept God’s promises and purposes for our lives, then we are blessed, just like Rebekah. That’s the decision some of us need to make today… to choose God. To choose to trust his promises. To choose to seek his provisions. To choose obeying his plan for us. When we choose these things, we choose the legacy God wants to bestow in our lives and in the lives of the generations that follow after us. Verse 62.

Scene 6: Fulfillment of God’s Promises (vv. 62-67)

⁶² Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. 

This verse is unnecessary for the forward progression of the story. “Beer-lahai-roi” translates to the “well of the living one who sees me.” We don’t know what drove Isaac there, but the fact that he comes back home from there, shows that God sees those who are lost, and far away from the plan or promise of God. Verse 63.

⁶³ 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. ⁶⁴ And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel ⁶⁵ 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. ⁶⁶ And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷ 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.

Isaac, the benefactor of God’s promises, receives his heavenly inheritance, the legacy stemming from the faith of his father, his father’s servant, and his future wife all seeking God’s provision and obeying His plan.

But not all of us have it made like Isaac. Unlike him, some of us contend with a long legacy of sin and enmity with God, far from the place of God promises. Regardless, God sees us, and shows us that when we come home to him, his provisions arrive according to his plan.

Folks, God’s promises, plan and provisions come in the form of Jesus, God’s one and only son. Jesus came from heaven to earth, the promised deliverance for those who believe in God’s promises. In Jesus’ death, our sins died with him. The penalty of sin paid once and for all. And in Jesus’ resurrection, we are blessed by our heavenly father with an eternal inheritance as heirs of his kingdom.

As a result, our lives in this world are blessed and forever altered. Do not wait or delay in making a choice to trust in Jesus. Just like Rebekah, seize this moment to commit, or re-commit, your life. Now is the time to accept Jesus as the promise and provision we need because obedience to Jesus’ commands: that’s the source of the legacy we leave to our next generation—an eternity blessed by our God in heaven.

Let’s pray.

Father in heaven. Thank you for your son. His blood paid the price for our eternal security. By his resurrection, we have hope and confidence that your promises are unchanging and that we are blessed beyond life.

The journey to receiving the fulfillment of your promises, is hard and long. But we believe that you have already provided everything we need to receive your son, receive your blessings. We know that you work all things out for the good of those who place their trust in you. So let us be reminded that you are our good father who does not fail us, nor abandons us. You continue to providentially work in our lives so that your plans of prospering us and give us hope for the future do not go void and null, but can be found as we seek you with all our heart.

You give us a choice today. To choose a legacy full of your promises fulfilled and provisions that bless our lives and the lives of the generations after us. As we choose your son today and every day of our lives, give us boldness to faithfully follow after your plans. Allow us to pray fiercely and confidently to know that you are providentially working every single day so we can pass on the blessings of faith, so we can worship you as you fill us with awe, so that we can answer you swiftly, and share your love at every place and to every people you call us to.

We love you. In Jesus name. Amen.