Abraham’s servant, the steward of his house, having sworn to his master concerning the matter, departed for Mesopotamia, the city of Nahor. (Vers. 9, 10.) Isaac is maintained in the place of separation. and the servant goes forth from the father to seek a bride for the risen heir. He thinks only, speaks only, of the one thing; nothing turns him aside from his one object; his one work. His testimony bears directly on the father and the son. “ And he said, I am Abraham’s servant. 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 manservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. And Sarah, my master’s wife, bare a son to my master when he was old; and unto him hath he given all that he hath.” (Ver. 34-36.) In all this we have a beautiful figure of the mission of the Holy Spirit, who was sent down in fulfillment of the Father’s promise, after the Lord’s death, resurrection, and return to glory. “When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.” (John 15:26.) Eliezer—as we see through this long and exquisite chapter—sought to win the heart of Rebekah by telling her of Abraham’s dignity and wealth, of Isaac his son, the heir of all that he possessed, and by presenting the tokens of his grace. And so it is that the Holy Spirit, by the preacher, seeks to win souls to Christ.
He bears testimony to Him as Savior and Lord, Son and heir of all things. He unfolds the pledges of His love, assures our hearts of being fellow heirs with Him, and thus forms the bride for the heavenly Bridegroom, according to the counsels of God the Father.
But if thou wouldst be used of the Lord, O my soul, as a messenger of mercy, to draw the hearts of sinners to the Savior, thou wilt do well to study diligently, and to follow closely, the example of Eliezer. He is the expression to thee of one who is chosen, fitted, and used of the Spirit—a vessel sanctified and meet for the Master’s use. His mission is marked by the continued going up of his heart to the Lord in earnest prayer, mingled with thanksgiving. Thus he moves on, step by step, until he receives an answer in the goodness of God, according to the word of Abraham. It is perfectly beautiful to see his entire confidence in God; his entire consecration to the work he had in hand; and when the object of his mission is gained, and the blessing manifested—a heart surrendered to Isaac—he is filled with the spirit of praise and worship. Note also in thy meditations, what one has beautifully said, that “thanksgiving comes before joy.” The faithful servant of Abraham refused to eat or drink with the family of Rebekah until he knew their mind as to the one object of his mission. He thought not of rest or ease or pleasure until he received a decided answer. “Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s. wife, as the Lord hath spoken. And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard these words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. And the servant brought forth jewels 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. 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.” Verse 50-54.
THE HINDRANCES OF NATURE TO THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT.
Eliezer, like his master Abraham, rose up early in the morning and hastened to obey. His mind was set on the service he had to perform. Rebekah had shown a willing mind, through grace, to be the bride of Isaac; full decision and action were now expected. But the enemy was lying in wait. He saw how things were working, and he tries one of his most successful stratagems to disappoint the servant and to detain the bride in the country of nature. “And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten [or, as it is in the margin, a full year]. After that she shall go.” This might seem very natural, very proper, but it was not of the Spirit of God. The brother and the mother could appreciate the gifts, but not the report. The proposed delay was of Satan, as delays in such matters always are. A willing, ready mind to obey, is one of the Spirit’s goodly fruits. The immediate surrender of the heart to Christ when the report is believed, leaves no room for the enemy to work. “The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” Satan disappears and the soul is left alone with Jesus. The eye is up to Him, the heart overflows with His praise, and the lips are repeating, it may be with tears of joy, “I know He died for me, I know His precious blood has washed my sins away; I can trust all to Him now.” Thus to confess Christ is to triumph over every foe. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Both are necessary; both are of God. Zechariah 3:2; Romans 10:10.
There may be little intelligence, as people say, but the soul has found something far better than mere intelligence; it has found Jesus—the Savior Himself. Cold, reasoning unbelief, may object and say, “But is there not a fear that such an one may fall away when the excitement is over, and bring dishonor on the cause of Christianity?” While the eye is fixed on Christ, and the heart over-flowing with His praise, there is no fear of the soul falling away. The eye must have wandered from its heavenly object, and the heart must have cooled down, before a wrong step could be taken. With a single eye, the path must be straight.
But on the other hand, when the enemy sees the soul wavering, hesitating, though much impressed and really desiring to be decided for Christ, he assails it with his evil thoughts and suggestions, and fills it with doubts and fears. The soul is unguarded by the shield of faith and exposed to his fiery darts. Nothing is more injurious to souls or more disappointing to evangelists than the excuses and delays of unbelief. They may, sometimes, through the craft of the enemy, have an appearance of prudence or humility, but they should ever be treated as the most ruinous, though the most plausible of Satan’s devices. Hence we often hear it said, and said by those who know they are doing wrong, “I would like to be different, to be better, before fully deciding for Christ and making a profession, lest I should afterward be inconsistent and bring dishonor on the Lord, which would be far worse than if I never had professed at all.” So say thousands and tens of thousands, and remain where they are.
Not, alas, that they are concerned for the honor of the Lord, but they are unwilling to break with the world in the many ways it has a hold on them. They will own much as to the importance of eternal things—the thought of hell frightens them—and they will confess freely enough as to the wrongness of delay; but when affectionately entreated to receive the truth now, to be decided now, to open the mouth in confession now, another excuse is found, another reason is given, for continuing where they are for the present; still, they intend to be decided at some future time. This is the old story. “Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten, or a full year; after that she shall go.” The enemy, it will be observed, did not propose to keep her altogether from going to Isaac, but only for a time. But what mischief might he not have done during that year, and what changes might have taken place both in Mesopotamia and in Canaan before the end of a full year! This is the subtle snare which he sets for the feet of all gospel hearers. Thousands have been hopelessly ruined by falling into it. It is the terrible pitfall of Satan, out of which comparatively few escape. The heart grows harder and the ear heavier through the lingerings of unbelief. But time lingers not, death lingers not; both are hastening on to the end when opportunities will be past, and when the voice of mercy shall cease forever.
Great wisdom and zeal with spiritual discernment are required in the servant to detect the wiles of Satan and the different causes of delay in those with whom he comes in contact. Natural temperament has a great deal to do with the frankness or hesitancy of confession, even where the heart is right; but in most cases, and sometimes underneath the most hopeful appearances, there is a real love of the world at heart and a positive dislike to the Person of Christ, and to the path of separation. Nevertheless the question must be plainly put and pressed: “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?”.... “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”.... “Behold I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready; come unto the marriage.”.... “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in that my house may be filled.” (Matt. 22, Luke 14, John 9, Acts 16) It is perfectly clear from these and other passages, that the servant should endeavor by all ways and means to have the heart fixed for Christ on the same spot where the gospel has been preached; moral compulsion is the Master’s orders. But we must leave this subject for the present, and turn to the noble example before us in Eliezer.
“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.” He would consent to no delay;
no putting off; no trifling with a work so important; there must be decision of heart for Isaac; he must have a direct answer, yes or no. The Craft of the enemy now appears in Laban and Bethuel shifting the responsibility from themselves to Rebekah. Perhaps her natural timidity, her love of home, the dreary prospect of a desert to cross, will cause her to hesitate, and at least propose a short delay that she may take farewell of all her friends. This might have proved as dangerous as the other, but grace was working in the heart of Rebekah, and her thoughts were engaged with Isaac, so that she was ready with her emphatic, Yes, “I will go.” Every snare of the enemy was now broken. Faith triumphed. “And they said, We will call the damsel and inquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.” This settled every question: the heart was fixed, Isaac was before her, she must go to him, she is willing to be led across the desert, leaving her father’s house, to share the possessions of Abraham with his son Isaac.
Here pause a little, and learn a lesson, O my soul, of rarest, richest value. Wouldst thou be successful in winning souls to Christ? Is there anything thou so much desirest in the Way of service? Dost thou wonder at the immediate results of Eliezer’s mission? Thou needest not. Follow his example, and thou too wilt surely see the happy results of thy mission. But mark his spirit of prayer and thanksgiving. And mark, too, his motives. It was not merely seeking a bride for Isaac, but it was doing the will of his master. Nothing could make him swerve from the word of Abraham. This is the best of all service—meeting the master’s mind.
Let thy path then, I pray thee, be characterized by thanksgiving; and forget not the purpose of the Father,. the position of the Son, the mission of the Spirit, the salvation of sinners, and the calling of the church. Surely no service in this world is to be compared with serving the Father’s glory in the exaltation of His Son.