DOW wishes to thank Ray for his 4 part series where, today, we see the final outcome, and the fulfilment, of a most extraordinary mission. Ed.

In Part 3, I said that Abraham’s servant has found an extraordinary person in Rebekah. But there’s one more step he has to take to see if he is on track to successfully complete his mission.

He has to find out if Rebekah is a relative of Abraham.

Gen 24:21-27 (NKJ): “ ²¹ And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. ²² So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, ²³ and said, ‘Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?’ ²⁴ So she said to him, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.’ ²⁵ Moreover she said to him, ‘We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.’ ²⁶ Then the man bowed down his head and worshipped the Lord. ²⁷ And he said, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.’”

The servant establishes that Rebekah is a relative. And, later, she agrees to return with him to become Isaac’s wife.

Abraham’s servant has successfully completed his mission. And Rebekah will become the ‘mother of Israel’. Both qualified to encounter, and fulfil, this extraordinary opportunity.

I think this is one of the most remarkable stories in the Bible, from every perspective. Even the way the servant concludes this account is significant (v27): ‘As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me…’

This reminds me of another Bible story where there was a divine intersection, on the way, that also led to a strategic outcome—Acts 8:26-29 (TNIV – emphasis added):  “²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’  ²⁷ So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official… This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹ The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’”

I think we can ensure that we are in the right place at the right time in life—while we are on our way in life—if we train ourselves to be the right person in the normal, everyday circumstances of life. At least, like Rebekah, we could train ourselves to:
—be exceptional in the way we do everything,
—respond to, and even anticipate, the needs of others, including strangers, and
—endeavour, whenever possible, to go beyond what is expected.

Then, with God guiding our steps, we won’t need to look for extraordinary opportunities in life, because:

Extraordinary opportunities…will come to ordinary people
who do ordinary things…in an extraordinary way!

Ray Graetz
September 27, 2024