Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is Connect with skip Heidzig and we're so glad
you've joined us for today's program Connect with skip Heidzig.
It's all about connecting you to the never changing truth
of God's Word through verse by verse teaching. That's why
we make messages like this one today available to you
and others. Before we get started with the program, we
want to invite you to check out connect with skip
(00:21):
dot com. There you'll find resources like full message series,
daily devotionals and more. And while you're at it, be
sure to sign up for Skip's weekly devotional emails and
receive teaching from God's Word write in your inbox each day.
Sign up today at connect with skip dot com. That's
connect with Skip dot com. Now let's get started with
(00:43):
today's message from pastor skip Heidzig.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I love that the servant is praying. I love that
Isaac will be out in the field praying. And it
could be as some commentators believe, that every single day,
this servon would get up in the morning and pray,
commit his journey to God, get up in the morning
and commit his journey to God. Next day, commit his
journey to God. Because he's praying all the way through
this encounter at the well, okay, so your first date
(01:09):
you open in prayer. Don't stop there and say, yeah,
well we prayed our first day. We're done. Now pray
through your relationship. I had an interesting meeting. This was
so many years ago, I think I'm safe to tell it.
It was a Friday afternoon and I was told that
I had a meeting with a couple whom I was
(01:30):
supposed to marry perform their wedding on the following day, Saturday.
Now there was a process then, as there is now.
They had seen an assistant pastor. They had been through
a counseling, I assumed, and now I was just you know,
they had been mentored and disciple. I'm just simply going
to tie the knot. So I asked the couple, tell
(01:50):
me about your relationship with each other. They told me
how they met, and they were looking at each other,
and then I said, tell me about your spiritual relationship.
Dead silence. Not only was there dead silence, but the man,
the soon to be husband, started shrinking in his chair
and was silent, while the gal just sort of kind
(02:11):
of stood up and got puffed up, and definitely mythed
you could see the body language. She was not pleased
that I asked that, so I decided to press a
little bit more. I said, now, does that make you uncomfortable?
Do you pray together? Do you read the Bible together?
What's your favorite scripture? I just started asking some questions
and she said, that's none of your business. I said, oh, really,
(02:36):
you're asking me to perform the wedding tomorrow and you're
telling me it's none of my business that I ask you,
as a pastor, as a servant of God about your
spiritual relationship. That's right, it's none of your business. Well,
I decided to press a little further and asked her
why it was none of my business and do they
read the Bible at all or pray together? Come to
(02:58):
find out, they didn't. But she was so incense that
I even asked about her walk with God. She got
up from the table and stormed out of the room.
While this guy is just sitting there saying nothing. He
was such a whimp, just a noodle, just melting in
the corner. So I said, okay, so you're the leader
(03:20):
of this relationship. Ah yeah, well yeah, you know she
is this way And I said, okay, well you got
It's like two o'clock in the afternoon. You've got about
three more hours to get her back into this room
and we'll finish the counseling sessions, or I'm not going
to do your wedding tomorrow. But it's sill in the invitation.
I don't care what invitation, I don't care who's coming
(03:40):
in from out of town. You're gonna have the president
and the Pope there. I'm not going to do the
wedding before God unless I know you have a spiritual relationship.
So you've got three hours to get her back in
here and finish this up. They never showed up. I
didn't do the wedding. I don't know where they got
me married, but I did hear that wasn't long before
(04:02):
they divorced, very very sad. So Abraham is holding his
servant to this, and his servant is taking it very seriously.
He's planning for success. Is gonna work. I'm gonna trust God.
I'm gonna pray all the way through and make sure
it's on a spiritual level. And the servant ran to
(04:23):
meet her and said, okay, So so here he is praying,
Oh God, I just prayed that as the chicks come out,
to draw water, and one and one is there, and
I'm gonna say, hey, can I have a drink? And
she's gonna say, not only can you have a drink,
but I'll also give water to your ten camels ten camels.
When camels take a long journey and they can, they
can go for days without water. Once they require water again,
(04:47):
ten camels would require four huge barrels worth of water.
It's not like she's going to take a little cup
and go here. She's gonna have to go back and
forth and back and forth. It's an undertake and would
show the kind of character he's looking for, industrious, submissive,
a servant. So his lord let her be the one.
(05:09):
So she's there, he sees a girl. He said, wow,
she's good looking. I wonder if this is the one.
So he tries it. Here he is Verse seventeen. Please
let me drink a little water from your picture? God, Please,
God please, he's thinking, and so she said, drink, my lord.
Then she quickly let her picture down to her hand
(05:32):
and gave him a drink. And all the while he's wondering.
Go on. When she had finished giving him a drink,
she said, I will draw water for your camels also
until they have finished drinking. What was he doing at
this point? Yes? Yes, She quickly emptied her picture into
(05:54):
the trough, ran back to the well to draw water,
and drew for all his camels, and the man, wondering
at her, remained silent, so as to know whether the
lord had made his journey prosperous or not. It's exactly
as he was praying, and he didn't get to say amen,
and she shows up, and she said it like it
(06:14):
was scripted. He's wondering. So it was when the camels
had finished drinking that the man took a golden nose
ring weighing half a shekel. That was really cool in
those days. Gal, it's like a big diamond ring to you,
and two bracelets for her wrists, weighing ten shekels of gold,
(06:36):
and said, whose daughter are you? Tell me? Please? Is
the room in your father's house for us to lodge?
So she said to him, I am the daughter of
Bethawell Milka's son, whom she bought an ahorm. Moreover, she said,
we have both straw and feet enough and room to lotch.
She saw the loot coming out of this guy's pocket.
Feel the witness. Yes, I may have stretched it a
(07:04):
little bit now oc Verse twenty six. Then the man
bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. Not beautiful.
He's learned from Abraham to trust the Lord. He went
out on faith like Abraham lived by faith. And now
he's just seen God do something. Maybe he in his
(07:26):
heart really didn't expect. But he's blown away. He's wondering.
And he bowed his head and he worshiped, and he said,
blessed be Yahweh, the Lord, God of my master's servant,
who has not forsaken his mercy and his truth toward
my master. As for me being on the way, the
(07:46):
Lord led me to the house of my master's servant.
Verse twenty seven is one of the most important verses
on how God leads human beings in Scripture. As for
me being on the way, the Lord led me. Who
does God lead people who are on the way? People
(08:07):
who get in the way get in his way, And
when they're in the way on the way, God leads them.
It's not like the servant said, We'll tell you what, Abraham,
I'll just kick back in my tent and I'll pray God.
If you want to find a wife for Isaac, then
just bring her here. No, he got up and was
caravanning four hundred and fifty miles, making the long journey
(08:32):
on the way, and God led him on that way.
So here's the principle. God's providence is seen and revealed
in man's diligence and obedience. God's providence is seen in
man's diligence and obedience. Be diligent, be obedient, get in
(08:57):
the way. You got to take the first step before God.
I'll tell you what the second step is, the steps
verse Psalm thirty seven. The steps of a good man
are ordered by the Lord. But you got to take
the first step. How'd you learn to ride a bicycle?
Did you read a book on it? Watch videos about it?
Now you got on a bike and you tried it,
and you got your balance, and you go, I get it.
(09:18):
I get the hang of it. So when you want
to walk with the Lord and be led, get on
the way, take the first step, and God will show
you the second, and the third and the fourth, and
you'll have a journey. You'll have a path marked out
for you in life. In the New Testament, the Lord
told Philip go down to Gaza which is the desert.
(09:42):
He didn't tell him what he was going to find
down in Gaza, which is the desert. Right, He just said,
go down to Gaza, which is the desert. So he went.
Because he took the first step, God told him, now
it's time to take the second step. Join yourself to
that chariot. Because he saw a man sitting reading the
scroll of Isaiah Isaiah fifty three in a chariot, and
(10:03):
the Lord said, now go join yourself to that chariot.
He never could have joined himself to that chariot and
led that man to Christ unless he would have just
gone out down to Gaza, which is the desert. So
go take the first step, and God will show you
the second, and the third and the fourth. So the
young woman ran and told her mother's household these things. Now,
(10:26):
Rebecca had a brother whose name was lab And keep
your eye on Laban. He likes material things, and he's
getting involved in this transaction. It'll prove important later on
in Genesis. And Laban ran out to meet the man
by the well. So it came to pass when he
saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's writs,
and when he heard the words of his sister Rebecca, saying,
(10:49):
thus the man spoke to me that he went to
the man, and there he stood by the camels at
the well. See Liban's going, hmm, this is good. Whoever
this guy is represents a very wealthy patron. And he said,
come in, Oh, blessed of the Lord. I say, watch
out for Laban. Why do you stand outside? For I
(11:11):
have prepared the house and the place for the camels.
And the man came to the house, and he unloaded
the camels, provided straw for feed for the camels, water
to wash his feet, feet of the men who were
with him. Food was set up for him to eat,
and he said, I will not eat until I've told
you about my errand and that interesting. I got business first.
(11:34):
I'll eat later. I'm on an errand I'm on a
mission from God. So he said, speak on.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
You're listening to connect with Skip Heizeig. Before we get
back to Skip's teaching, it's more important than ever for
Christians to stand for truth in our broken culture and
in the God speaks biblical answers. For today's issues. Collection
of booklets from Skip Heitzig, You'll get equipped to speak
God's timeless truth into the big issues of our time.
(12:00):
God speaks biblical answers for today's issues. Is our thanks
for your gift of at least fifty dollars today to
help share biblical teaching with more people around the world
through connect with skip Heidzig. Go to connect with skip
dot com slash offer or call eight hundred and ninety
two to two eighteen eighty eight and request your resources
when you give fifty dollars or more today to help
(12:23):
reach people around the world with the good news of
Jesus through connect with skip Heidzig. Let's continue with today's
teaching with Pastor skip So.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
He said, I am Abraham's servant. Here's what you find.
The nameless servant now tells of the riches of the
Father's house. Helper Comforter is telling of the riches of
the Father's house to this family and then to Rebecca
(12:53):
type of the Holy Spirit. The Lord was the Lord
Verse thirty five has blessed my master and he has
become greats given him flocks, herds, silver, gold, male and
female servants, camels, 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. And
(13:13):
now my master made me swear, saying, you shall not
take a wife from 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 family, and
take a wife from my son. And I said to
my master, perhaps the woman will not follow me. But
he said to me, the Lord before whom I walk
will send his angel with you and will prosper your way,
(13:37):
and shall take a wife from my son, from my
family and from my father's house. You will be clear
from this oath when you arrive among my family, for
if they will not give her to you, then you
will be released from my oath. And this day I
came to the well and said, O, Lord, God of
my master Abraham, if you will now prosper the way
(14:00):
in which I go, behold, I stand by the well
of water, and it shall come to pass that when
the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say
to her, please give me a drink, a little water
from your picture to drink, and she says, drink, and
I will draw for your camels. Also, let her be
the woman whom the Lord has appointed from my master's son.
(14:21):
But before I had finished speaking in my heart, there
was Rebecca coming out with her picture on her shoulder,
and she went down to the well to draw water.
And I said to her, please let me drink. And
she made haste and let her picture down from her
shoulder and said, drink, and I will give your camels
(14:42):
a drink also. So I drank, and she gave the
camels a drink also, And I asked her and said,
whose daughter are you. She's just telling the whole thing
that we just read. I'm the daughter of bethew Well
and Neahor's son whom Milka bore to him. So I
put the nose ring on her nose, and the bracelets
on her wrists. And I bowed my head, and I
worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my
(15:04):
master Abraham, who has led me in the way of
truth to take the daughter of my master's brother for
his son. Now, if you will deal kindly truly with
my master, tell me, And if not, tell me, and
I will return to the right hand or the left.
And Laban and bethel Well answered and said, the thing
comes from the Lord. We cannot speak to you either
(15:27):
bad or good. Here Rebecca is before you take her
and go and let her be your master's son's wife.
For the Lord has spoken. Came to pass. When Abraham's
servant heard their words. Here it is again. He worshiped
the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. And the servant
(15:48):
brought out the jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and
clothing and gave them to Rebecca. He also gave precious
things to her brother and to her mother. And he
and the men who were with him ate and drank
and stayed all night. And they arose in the morning
and said, send me away to my master. But her
(16:08):
brother and her mother said, let the young woman stay
with us a few days, at least ten. After that
she may go. He said, do not hinder me, since
the Lord has prepared my way. Send me away so
that I may go to my master. So they said,
we will call the young woman and ask her personally. Interesting,
(16:31):
it's pre arranged, but it involves her choice. It's a
mixture of the arrangement of the fathers or the families.
But still they're letting her make a choice. She has
to answer the question. They called Rebecca and said to her,
will you go with this man, and she said, I
(16:52):
will go. And so they sent away Rebecca and their
sister and their nurse, and Abraham served and his men,
and they blessed Rebecca and said to her, our sister,
may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands,
and may your descendants possess the gait of the gates
of those who hate them. Now Here is a third
(17:15):
little key. I think in a relationship, as the servant
went out and was engaging in the conversation, and thus
afterwards making the plans for the marriage. All the while
he is planning for success, not failure. He's planning for success,
not failure. He wants to do the right thing, and
he wants God really to show him. At every step
(17:36):
he goes yes, and he worships the Lord, and then
again worships the Lord. He is planning not for failure,
but for success. When you enter into a relationship and
you're getting close to marriage, plan only for success. Don't
even let the vocabulary of failure enter the relationship. Don't
(17:58):
even entertain talking of divorce. When Lenny and I first
got married, that was just part of what we said
to each other. We're never in our future going to
entertain a possible divorce. It's out of the question. There
is no back door in this relationship. We're planning for success,
not failure. We won't entertain it, we won't negotiate it,
(18:20):
and will never threaten each other if you want a divorce,
you will never even say that in an argument. It's
out of the question. I found a letter that has
been precious to me. I've shared it with some of
you over the years, and I want to tell you
who it's from, Doctor James Dobson. You know of him
(18:41):
focus on the family. He so often talks about his
mother and father and the commitment that they had with
each other. And he found a letter that his father
wrote to his mother before his father and mother married,
when they were just in the engagement process. I want
you to hear it, Dobson's father writes, I want you
(19:06):
to know and be fully aware of concerning the marriage
covenant that we are about to enter. I've been taught
from my mother's knee and in harmony with the Word
of God, the marriage vows are viable, and that by
entering into them, I am binding myself absolutely and for life.
I am not naive concerning this On the contrary, I
(19:27):
am fully aware that mutual incompatibility or other unforeseen circumstances
could result in extreme mental suffering. If such becomes the case,
I'm resolved for my part to accept it as a
consequence of the commitment that we are now making, and
to bear it if need be, to the end of
(19:47):
our lives together. I have loved you dearly as my sweetheart,
and I will love you as my wife. But above
everything else, I love you with a Christian love that
demands we will never act in such a way as
to hint our prospects from entering Heaven, which is the
supreme desire of both of our lives. Now that's a
(20:08):
classy way to say I love you. I know what
I'm getting into. I might get into this, and a
couple of months ago, I'm willing to accept it for
the rest of my life. He was planning for success,
not failure. Then Rebecca verse sixty one, and her maids
(20:29):
arose and they rode on the camels, four hundred and
fifty miles on a camel. Just think of that. Romantic,
isn't it. And they followed the man, and so the
servant took Rebecca and departed. Now, I suppose it. On
the way back, she had a lot of questions. What's
(20:52):
he like? Tell me describe his looks? Is he handsome?
Is he kind? Tell me again about his family and
about this miraculous birth that he had, and all the
conversations that would describe him. So as the servant is
revealing about the sun to the bride, the closer and
(21:12):
closer they got, I know she was going, I can't
wait to see this guy. I can't wait to lay
my eyes on him. As the servant told about Ishmael
and the rivalry, and then told about Mount Moriah and
the almost sacrifice, she couldn't wait to see him. Isn't
that the way it is? As the Holy Spirit reveals
more and more of the Father's love and the future kingdom,
(21:33):
the closer we get to Heaven, it's like I can't
wait to see him face to face. Verse sixty three,
Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening,
and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and there
the camels were coming. I love that phrase, the camels
are coming meditating in the field. The ancient rabbis and
(21:58):
the Jewish targums translated this as he was in the
field praying. He's meditating in solitude before the Lord. He's
out praying. What's he like, Well, there he is. It's
a man of prayer. He saw the camels are a coming.
Rebecca lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac
she dismounted from her camel. I'm glad for that translation.
(22:22):
The original King James says she lighted off for camel.
And so as a young man, when I read that,
I pictured her taking a cigarette out and lighting it up,
and it just killed the whole story for me. Really,
she lighted off for camel, So I'm glad for the change.
(22:43):
She dismounted from her camel, for she said to her servant,
who is this man walking in the field to meet us?
And the servant said, it is my master. So she
took a veil and covered himself. Now they're entering into
the period of betrothal. They become legally bound to each other.
They cannot separate unless there's a formal and legal divorce,
(23:05):
but they can have no physical contact, no physical sensual
sexual relations until the marriage itself. And the servant told
Isaac all the things that he had done and Isaac
brought her into his mother, Sarah's tent, and he took
Rebecca and she became his wife, and he loved her.
(23:25):
Notice that commitment came first. Love followed it. Mark Twain said,
it's a good thing to keep your eyes wide open
before marriage and half shut afterwards. Go in fully knowing
(23:45):
what's going on, fully prepared, and then once you make
the commitment, it's a commitment. Let the engine be the
will and let the feelings be the caboose. When you commit,
even if you commit to go through difficult times with
your partner and go I don't know if we're going
to make it through this one, commit to it. Let
(24:07):
the will drive the engine, Let the feelings and the
emotions be the caboose. Keep working through willing, doing what
is right, and you will find the feelings can and
will follow. It was an act of the will, and
they loved each other, so Isaac was comforted after his
(24:30):
mother's death.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Thanks for listening to connect with skip, heisig. We hope
you've been strengthening your walk with Jesus by today's program.
Before we let you go, we want to remind you
about this month's resources that will help you confidently speak
God's timeless truth into our culture. Pastor skips God speaks
biblical answers for today's issues. Collection of booklets is our
(24:54):
thanks for your support of Connect with Skip Heitzig today.
Request your copy when you give fifty dollars a or more.
Call eight hundred ninety two two eighteen eighty eight. That's
eight hundred nine two two eighteen eighty eight, or visit
connect Theiskip dot com slash donate and did you know
that you can get a weekly devotional and other resources
from pastor Skip sent right to your email inbox. Simply
(25:17):
visit connect with Skip dot com and sign up for
emails from Skip. Come back next time for more verse
by verse teaching of God's Word. Here Unconnect The skip
Heidzig make connects, make a connect, the cross.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Chats songs, Make next Connect.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
The skift Heidzig is a presentation of connection communications connecting
you to God's never changing truth in ever changing times.
This is Connect with skip Heidzig and we're so glad
you've joined us for today's program Connect with skip Heidzig.
It's all about connecting you to the never changing truth
of God's Word through verse by verse teaching. That's why
we make messages like this one today available to you
and others. Before we get started with the program, we
want to invite you to check out connect with skip
(00:21):
dot com. There you'll find resources like full message series,
daily devotionals and more. And while you're at it, be
sure to sign up for Skip's weekly devotional emails and
receive teaching from God's Word write in your inbox each day.
Sign up today at connect with skip dot com. That's
connect with Skip dot com. Now let's get started with
(00:43):
today's message from pastor skip Heidzig.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I love that the servant is praying. I love that
Isaac will be out in the field praying. And it
could be as some commentators believe, that every single day,
this servon would get up in the morning and pray,
commit his journey to God, get up in the morning
and commit his journey to God. Next day, commit his
journey to God. Because he's praying all the way through
this encounter at the well, okay, so your first date
(01:09):
you open in prayer. Don't stop there and say, yeah,
well we prayed our first day. We're done. Now pray
through your relationship. I had an interesting meeting. This was
so many years ago, I think I'm safe to tell it.
It was a Friday afternoon and I was told that
I had a meeting with a couple whom I was
(01:30):
supposed to marry perform their wedding on the following day, Saturday.
Now there was a process then, as there is now.
They had seen an assistant pastor. They had been through
a counseling, I assumed, and now I was just you know,
they had been mentored and disciple. I'm just simply going
to tie the knot. So I asked the couple, tell
(01:50):
me about your relationship with each other. They told me
how they met, and they were looking at each other,
and then I said, tell me about your spiritual relationship.
Dead silence. Not only was there dead silence, but the man,
the soon to be husband, started shrinking in his chair
and was silent, while the gal just sort of kind
(02:11):
of stood up and got puffed up, and definitely mythed
you could see the body language. She was not pleased
that I asked that, so I decided to press a
little bit more. I said, now, does that make you uncomfortable?
Do you pray together? Do you read the Bible together?
What's your favorite scripture? I just started asking some questions
and she said, that's none of your business. I said, oh, really,
(02:36):
you're asking me to perform the wedding tomorrow and you're
telling me it's none of my business that I ask you,
as a pastor, as a servant of God about your
spiritual relationship. That's right, it's none of your business. Well,
I decided to press a little further and asked her
why it was none of my business and do they
read the Bible at all or pray together? Come to
(02:58):
find out, they didn't. But she was so incense that
I even asked about her walk with God. She got
up from the table and stormed out of the room.
While this guy is just sitting there saying nothing. He
was such a whimp, just a noodle, just melting in
the corner. So I said, okay, so you're the leader
(03:20):
of this relationship. Ah yeah, well yeah, you know she
is this way And I said, okay, well you got
It's like two o'clock in the afternoon. You've got about
three more hours to get her back into this room
and we'll finish the counseling sessions, or I'm not going
to do your wedding tomorrow. But it's sill in the invitation.
I don't care what invitation, I don't care who's coming
(03:40):
in from out of town. You're gonna have the president
and the Pope there. I'm not going to do the
wedding before God unless I know you have a spiritual relationship.
So you've got three hours to get her back in
here and finish this up. They never showed up. I
didn't do the wedding. I don't know where they got
me married, but I did hear that wasn't long before
(04:02):
they divorced, very very sad. So Abraham is holding his
servant to this, and his servant is taking it very seriously.
He's planning for success. Is gonna work. I'm gonna trust God.
I'm gonna pray all the way through and make sure
it's on a spiritual level. And the servant ran to
(04:23):
meet her and said, okay, So so here he is praying,
Oh God, I just prayed that as the chicks come out,
to draw water, and one and one is there, and
I'm gonna say, hey, can I have a drink? And
she's gonna say, not only can you have a drink,
but I'll also give water to your ten camels ten camels.
When camels take a long journey and they can, they
can go for days without water. Once they require water again,
(04:47):
ten camels would require four huge barrels worth of water.
It's not like she's going to take a little cup
and go here. She's gonna have to go back and
forth and back and forth. It's an undertake and would
show the kind of character he's looking for, industrious, submissive,
a servant. So his lord let her be the one.
(05:09):
So she's there, he sees a girl. He said, wow,
she's good looking. I wonder if this is the one.
So he tries it. Here he is Verse seventeen. Please
let me drink a little water from your picture? God, Please,
God please, he's thinking, and so she said, drink, my lord.
Then she quickly let her picture down to her hand
(05:32):
and gave him a drink. And all the while he's wondering.
Go on. When she had finished giving him a drink,
she said, I will draw water for your camels also
until they have finished drinking. What was he doing at
this point? Yes? Yes, She quickly emptied her picture into
(05:54):
the trough, ran back to the well to draw water,
and drew for all his camels, and the man, wondering
at her, remained silent, so as to know whether the
lord had made his journey prosperous or not. It's exactly
as he was praying, and he didn't get to say amen,
and she shows up, and she said it like it
(06:14):
was scripted. He's wondering. So it was when the camels
had finished drinking that the man took a golden nose
ring weighing half a shekel. That was really cool in
those days. Gal, it's like a big diamond ring to you,
and two bracelets for her wrists, weighing ten shekels of gold,
(06:36):
and said, whose daughter are you? Tell me? Please? Is
the room in your father's house for us to lodge?
So she said to him, I am the daughter of
Bethawell Milka's son, whom she bought an ahorm. Moreover, she said,
we have both straw and feet enough and room to lotch.
She saw the loot coming out of this guy's pocket.
Feel the witness. Yes, I may have stretched it a
(07:04):
little bit now oc Verse twenty six. Then the man
bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. Not beautiful.
He's learned from Abraham to trust the Lord. He went
out on faith like Abraham lived by faith. And now
he's just seen God do something. Maybe he in his
(07:26):
heart really didn't expect. But he's blown away. He's wondering.
And he bowed his head and he worshiped, and he said,
blessed be Yahweh, the Lord, God of my master's servant,
who has not forsaken his mercy and his truth toward
my master. As for me being on the way, the
(07:46):
Lord led me to the house of my master's servant.
Verse twenty seven is one of the most important verses
on how God leads human beings in Scripture. As for
me being on the way, the Lord led me. Who
does God lead people who are on the way? People
(08:07):
who get in the way get in his way, And
when they're in the way on the way, God leads them.
It's not like the servant said, We'll tell you what, Abraham,
I'll just kick back in my tent and I'll pray God.
If you want to find a wife for Isaac, then
just bring her here. No, he got up and was
caravanning four hundred and fifty miles, making the long journey
(08:32):
on the way, and God led him on that way.
So here's the principle. God's providence is seen and revealed
in man's diligence and obedience. God's providence is seen in
man's diligence and obedience. Be diligent, be obedient, get in
(08:57):
the way. You got to take the first step before God.
I'll tell you what the second step is, the steps
verse Psalm thirty seven. The steps of a good man
are ordered by the Lord. But you got to take
the first step. How'd you learn to ride a bicycle?
Did you read a book on it? Watch videos about it?
Now you got on a bike and you tried it,
and you got your balance, and you go, I get it.
(09:18):
I get the hang of it. So when you want
to walk with the Lord and be led, get on
the way, take the first step, and God will show
you the second, and the third and the fourth, and
you'll have a journey. You'll have a path marked out
for you in life. In the New Testament, the Lord
told Philip go down to Gaza which is the desert.
(09:42):
He didn't tell him what he was going to find
down in Gaza, which is the desert. Right, He just said,
go down to Gaza, which is the desert. So he went.
Because he took the first step, God told him, now
it's time to take the second step. Join yourself to
that chariot. Because he saw a man sitting reading the
scroll of Isaiah Isaiah fifty three in a chariot, and
(10:03):
the Lord said, now go join yourself to that chariot.
He never could have joined himself to that chariot and
led that man to Christ unless he would have just
gone out down to Gaza, which is the desert. So
go take the first step, and God will show you
the second, and the third and the fourth. So the
young woman ran and told her mother's household these things. Now,
(10:26):
Rebecca had a brother whose name was lab And keep
your eye on Laban. He likes material things, and he's
getting involved in this transaction. It'll prove important later on
in Genesis. And Laban ran out to meet the man
by the well. So it came to pass when he
saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's writs,
and when he heard the words of his sister Rebecca, saying,
(10:49):
thus the man spoke to me that he went to
the man, and there he stood by the camels at
the well. See Liban's going, hmm, this is good. Whoever
this guy is represents a very wealthy patron. And he said,
come in, Oh, blessed of the Lord. I say, watch
out for Laban. Why do you stand outside? For I
(11:11):
have prepared the house and the place for the camels.
And the man came to the house, and he unloaded
the camels, provided straw for feed for the camels, water
to wash his feet, feet of the men who were
with him. Food was set up for him to eat,
and he said, I will not eat until I've told
you about my errand and that interesting. I got business first.
(11:34):
I'll eat later. I'm on an errand I'm on a
mission from God. So he said, speak on.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
You're listening to connect with Skip Heizeig. Before we get
back to Skip's teaching, it's more important than ever for
Christians to stand for truth in our broken culture and
in the God speaks biblical answers. For today's issues. Collection
of booklets from Skip Heitzig, You'll get equipped to speak
God's timeless truth into the big issues of our time.
(12:00):
God speaks biblical answers for today's issues. Is our thanks
for your gift of at least fifty dollars today to
help share biblical teaching with more people around the world
through connect with skip Heidzig. Go to connect with skip
dot com slash offer or call eight hundred and ninety
two to two eighteen eighty eight and request your resources
when you give fifty dollars or more today to help
(12:23):
reach people around the world with the good news of
Jesus through connect with skip Heidzig. Let's continue with today's
teaching with Pastor skip So.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
He said, I am Abraham's servant. Here's what you find.
The nameless servant now tells of the riches of the
Father's house. Helper Comforter is telling of the riches of
the Father's house to this family and then to Rebecca
(12:53):
type of the Holy Spirit. The Lord was the Lord
Verse thirty five has blessed my master and he has
become greats given him flocks, herds, silver, gold, male and
female servants, camels, 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. And
(13:13):
now my master made me swear, saying, you shall not
take a wife from 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 family, and
take a wife from my son. And I said to
my master, perhaps the woman will not follow me. But
he said to me, the Lord before whom I walk
will send his angel with you and will prosper your way,
(13:37):
and shall take a wife from my son, from my
family and from my father's house. You will be clear
from this oath when you arrive among my family, for
if they will not give her to you, then you
will be released from my oath. And this day I
came to the well and said, O, Lord, God of
my master Abraham, if you will now prosper the way
(14:00):
in which I go, behold, I stand by the well
of water, and it shall come to pass that when
the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say
to her, please give me a drink, a little water
from your picture to drink, and she says, drink, and
I will draw for your camels. Also, let her be
the woman whom the Lord has appointed from my master's son.
(14:21):
But before I had finished speaking in my heart, there
was Rebecca coming out with her picture on her shoulder,
and she went down to the well to draw water.
And I said to her, please let me drink. And
she made haste and let her picture down from her
shoulder and said, drink, and I will give your camels
(14:42):
a drink also. So I drank, and she gave the
camels a drink also, And I asked her and said,
whose daughter are you. She's just telling the whole thing
that we just read. I'm the daughter of bethew Well
and Neahor's son whom Milka bore to him. So I
put the nose ring on her nose, and the bracelets
on her wrists. And I bowed my head, and I
worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my
(15:04):
master Abraham, who has led me in the way of
truth to take the daughter of my master's brother for
his son. Now, if you will deal kindly truly with
my master, tell me, And if not, tell me, and
I will return to the right hand or the left.
And Laban and bethel Well answered and said, the thing
comes from the Lord. We cannot speak to you either
(15:27):
bad or good. Here Rebecca is before you take her
and go and let her be your master's son's wife.
For the Lord has spoken. Came to pass. When Abraham's
servant heard their words. Here it is again. He worshiped
the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. And the servant
(15:48):
brought out the jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and
clothing and gave them to Rebecca. He also gave precious
things to her brother and to her mother. And he
and the men who were with him ate and drank
and stayed all night. And they arose in the morning
and said, send me away to my master. But her
(16:08):
brother and her mother said, let the young woman stay
with us a few days, at least ten. After that
she may go. He said, do not hinder me, since
the Lord has prepared my way. Send me away so
that I may go to my master. So they said,
we will call the young woman and ask her personally. Interesting,
(16:31):
it's pre arranged, but it involves her choice. It's a
mixture of the arrangement of the fathers or the families.
But still they're letting her make a choice. She has
to answer the question. They called Rebecca and said to her,
will you go with this man, and she said, I
(16:52):
will go. And so they sent away Rebecca and their
sister and their nurse, and Abraham served and his men,
and they blessed Rebecca and said to her, our sister,
may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands,
and may your descendants possess the gait of the gates
of those who hate them. Now Here is a third
(17:15):
little key. I think in a relationship, as the servant
went out and was engaging in the conversation, and thus
afterwards making the plans for the marriage. All the while
he is planning for success, not failure. He's planning for success,
not failure. He wants to do the right thing, and
he wants God really to show him. At every step
(17:36):
he goes yes, and he worships the Lord, and then
again worships the Lord. He is planning not for failure,
but for success. When you enter into a relationship and
you're getting close to marriage, plan only for success. Don't
even let the vocabulary of failure enter the relationship. Don't
(17:58):
even entertain talking of divorce. When Lenny and I first
got married, that was just part of what we said
to each other. We're never in our future going to
entertain a possible divorce. It's out of the question. There
is no back door in this relationship. We're planning for success,
not failure. We won't entertain it, we won't negotiate it,
(18:20):
and will never threaten each other if you want a divorce,
you will never even say that in an argument. It's
out of the question. I found a letter that has
been precious to me. I've shared it with some of
you over the years, and I want to tell you
who it's from, Doctor James Dobson. You know of him
(18:41):
focus on the family. He so often talks about his
mother and father and the commitment that they had with
each other. And he found a letter that his father
wrote to his mother before his father and mother married,
when they were just in the engagement process. I want
you to hear it, Dobson's father writes, I want you
(19:06):
to know and be fully aware of concerning the marriage
covenant that we are about to enter. I've been taught
from my mother's knee and in harmony with the Word
of God, the marriage vows are viable, and that by
entering into them, I am binding myself absolutely and for life.
I am not naive concerning this On the contrary, I
(19:27):
am fully aware that mutual incompatibility or other unforeseen circumstances
could result in extreme mental suffering. If such becomes the case,
I'm resolved for my part to accept it as a
consequence of the commitment that we are now making, and
to bear it if need be, to the end of
(19:47):
our lives together. I have loved you dearly as my sweetheart,
and I will love you as my wife. But above
everything else, I love you with a Christian love that
demands we will never act in such a way as
to hint our prospects from entering Heaven, which is the
supreme desire of both of our lives. Now that's a
(20:08):
classy way to say I love you. I know what
I'm getting into. I might get into this, and a
couple of months ago, I'm willing to accept it for
the rest of my life. He was planning for success,
not failure. Then Rebecca verse sixty one, and her maids
(20:29):
arose and they rode on the camels, four hundred and
fifty miles on a camel. Just think of that. Romantic,
isn't it. And they followed the man, and so the
servant took Rebecca and departed. Now, I suppose it. On
the way back, she had a lot of questions. What's
(20:52):
he like? Tell me describe his looks? Is he handsome?
Is he kind? Tell me again about his family and
about this miraculous birth that he had, and all the
conversations that would describe him. So as the servant is
revealing about the sun to the bride, the closer and
(21:12):
closer they got, I know she was going, I can't
wait to see this guy. I can't wait to lay
my eyes on him. As the servant told about Ishmael
and the rivalry, and then told about Mount Moriah and
the almost sacrifice, she couldn't wait to see him. Isn't
that the way it is? As the Holy Spirit reveals
more and more of the Father's love and the future kingdom,
(21:33):
the closer we get to Heaven, it's like I can't
wait to see him face to face. Verse sixty three,
Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening,
and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and there
the camels were coming. I love that phrase, the camels
are coming meditating in the field. The ancient rabbis and
(21:58):
the Jewish targums translated this as he was in the
field praying. He's meditating in solitude before the Lord. He's
out praying. What's he like, Well, there he is. It's
a man of prayer. He saw the camels are a coming.
Rebecca lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac
she dismounted from her camel. I'm glad for that translation.
(22:22):
The original King James says she lighted off for camel.
And so as a young man, when I read that,
I pictured her taking a cigarette out and lighting it up,
and it just killed the whole story for me. Really,
she lighted off for camel, So I'm glad for the change.
(22:43):
She dismounted from her camel, for she said to her servant,
who is this man walking in the field to meet us?
And the servant said, it is my master. So she
took a veil and covered himself. Now they're entering into
the period of betrothal. They become legally bound to each other.
They cannot separate unless there's a formal and legal divorce,
(23:05):
but they can have no physical contact, no physical sensual
sexual relations until the marriage itself. And the servant told
Isaac all the things that he had done and Isaac
brought her into his mother, Sarah's tent, and he took
Rebecca and she became his wife, and he loved her.
(23:25):
Notice that commitment came first. Love followed it. Mark Twain said,
it's a good thing to keep your eyes wide open
before marriage and half shut afterwards. Go in fully knowing
(23:45):
what's going on, fully prepared, and then once you make
the commitment, it's a commitment. Let the engine be the
will and let the feelings be the caboose. When you commit,
even if you commit to go through difficult times with
your partner and go I don't know if we're going
to make it through this one, commit to it. Let
(24:07):
the will drive the engine, Let the feelings and the
emotions be the caboose. Keep working through willing, doing what
is right, and you will find the feelings can and
will follow. It was an act of the will, and
they loved each other, so Isaac was comforted after his
(24:30):
mother's death.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Thanks for listening to connect with skip, heisig. We hope
you've been strengthening your walk with Jesus by today's program.
Before we let you go, we want to remind you
about this month's resources that will help you confidently speak
God's timeless truth into our culture. Pastor skips God speaks
biblical answers for today's issues. Collection of booklets is our
(24:54):
thanks for your support of Connect with Skip Heitzig today.
Request your copy when you give fifty dollars a or more.
Call eight hundred ninety two two eighteen eighty eight. That's
eight hundred nine two two eighteen eighty eight, or visit
connect Theiskip dot com slash donate and did you know
that you can get a weekly devotional and other resources
from pastor Skip sent right to your email inbox. Simply
(25:17):
visit connect with Skip dot com and sign up for
emails from Skip. Come back next time for more verse
by verse teaching of God's Word. Here Unconnect The skip
Heidzig make connects, make a connect, the cross.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Chats songs, Make next Connect.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
The skift Heidzig is a presentation of connection communications connecting
you to God's never changing truth in ever changing times.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.