Engagement of Babongile Dube & Mfanfikile Komo
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.
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?
6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. 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. 8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again. 9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.
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.
12 And he said O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: 14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.
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. 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.
There is so much we can learn through Abraham who is the father of the believers. He knew God and God knew him.
1) Abraham spoke to his chief-servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had.
In the Bible the household doesn’t just refer to a man’s wife and children but all those in the house, including the servants.
God said that “I know Abraham, that he will command his household to keep My commands and decrees”. It is amazing. Abraham had a large household numbering in the hundreds. Abraham had great authority. A parent that commands and instructs his children obeys the word of God.
Can you command your children, and even your servants, to serve the Lord?
Abraham was an amazing man, with authority, highly respected.
The Bible says that a person who is responsible for the church must command and instruct his household to keep the ways of the Lord. It goes very deep and can humble any man to his knees (see 1Tim 3:1-13).
There once came a girl to the mission whose parents served the Lord but she loved the world and was addicted to drugs. Her parents said to her, “in this household we serve the Lord, and if you do not want to serve the Lord you cannot stay here anymore”. She said afterwards that being separated from her family and home was much worse than all the hidings she ever received and it drove her to her knees to God.
Do we take after Abraham who is the father of those who believe?
2) Abraham said to his chief-servant to go to the country where he came from to find a wife for his son Isaac.
This is amazing that Abraham could entrust such a weighty matter to his chief-servant. It shows how much he could trust him and that he knew the life he led.
You as a believer cannot be married to an unbeliever. You need to be married to someone who holds the same standards as you have to serve the Lord.
So the servant asked, “but what if the woman is unwilling to come with me? Should I take your son back to that country?” Then Abraham answered that he should never take his son back there. If the woman is unwilling to come, leave her there but do not let Isaac go there. For God has promised to Abraham that his offspring would inherit the country in which he lived.
There is no turning back. Remember the prophet who turned back and was slain by the lion. God does not allow you to turn back.
Abraham knew that if his son should go back there he would stay there and be corrupted.
Do not say glibly that you will get married to an unbeliever and win that person over. No, that person will win you over to their side.
If you want to turn back, remember Lot’s wife. Don’t ever turn back, spiritually speaking, to the life you came from. God takes no pleasure in those who turn back.
So this servant swore to his master Abraham that he will never take his son to that country.
Then Abraham said to him, “God will send His angel before you to lead you in the way.”
The servant had no knowledge of that place or its people. However, he knew how to pray and prayed that God would lead him specifically, and before he was even finished praying there was Rebecca and did exactly as he prayed.
He prayed that if he asked her for water and she of herself offered to draw water for the camels also he would knew that she is the one. He asked for a big thing. The servant had 10 camels and one camel drinks many gallons of water.
While she drew the water for the camels he observed her closely whether she was going to fulfill what she had said to the end. (For talk is cheap. Many people promise big things but never fulfill it.)
It was only at the end when she had fulfilled what she had promised that he gave her the rings and raiment and explained to her why he came.
3) The Bible says Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are sitting at the tables in heaven – all three generations. Will you sit with them? Don’t listen to your feelings or your heart, but follow in the will of God. We might say we live in a modern era, but we want to meet with those men one day.
With some if you look at the outcome of their marriage you realise that it wasn’t God who brought them together but their own desires, even though they claimed that God brought them together.
This matter is very deep and many people fail here and so their marriage is a failure too.
We cannot see the heart. The future will reveal whether a marriage is from God or not.
With some when they want to enter marriage it’s the first and last time that they hear God’s voice. Never afterwards do they come and say that this is what God is speaking to me now and He leads me in this way.
Being lead by God through prayer doesn’t just pertain to marriage but everything you do in life.
May you be an example to everyone, great and small.