Nameless

          There are a lot of famous and well-known names in the Bible. Each fulfilling a purpose of God and bringing his truth of salvation to the world for all to receive. There are also nameless people in the Bible who played an important biblical role and fulfilled very important purposes/lessons. We see the man on the cross that repented, Pharaoh’s daughter who adopts Moses, Jesus forgives the adulteress, Jesus heals the blind, demon possessed and lame, etc. The one I am going to focus on is the servant of Abraham in Genesis 24. It is also the longest chapter in Genesis.  

            Genesis 24, starts off with the mention of Abraham being very old and asking his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household to complete a very important task. “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives and find a wife there for my son Isaac.” Of course when given this task the servant was afraid that he may not find the right wife and that she may not travel back with him such a great distance. He asks Abraham if I can’t find a wife, do you want me then to take Isaac to live among your relatives in the land you came from? Abraham says no, and that God will send an angel ahead of you and that you will find a wife there. Abraham was completely against letting Isaac go back home as he had continued faith in God’s promise that he will give this land he lived in currently to his descendants. The servant agrees to the oath and heads on his way back to his master’s homeland.  

            The servant packs expensive gifts from his master and settled in the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor settled. He made the camels kneel beside a well outside the town and the woman were coming out to draw water as it was evening time. The servant then prays to God, “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham. Please give me success today and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham. See, I am standing here beside this spring and the young woman of the town are coming out to draw water. This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink and I will water your camels, too!’-let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.” No matter how difficult the task, the servant shows his faithfulness by praying to God who is his provider. He has that connection and relationship with the one true God.  

            Rebekah comes out with her water jug before he even finishes the prayer, is a virgin and was very beautiful. She went down to the well and filled up her jug. Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.” “Yes, my lord,” she answered, “have a drink.” And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulders and gave him a drink. After that she also said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink.” Rebekah was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. The servant gave her a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for her wrist. God gave him success on his mission and he bowed low and worshipped the Lord. The servant went and stayed at Laban’s house who was Rebekah’s brother. So the servant before he eats, wants to tell Laban and Bethuel his purpose for coming here to his master’s homeland. He tells them about the oath, if the family refuses for the bride to come back with him and about his prayer just prior to arriving to the homeland of his master and seeing Rebekah.  

            In Verse 50-52, Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The Lord has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say. Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.” When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the ground and worshipped the Lord. They gave their blessings and Rebekah and her childhood nurse went along with her, to meet her groom. Isaac was meditating in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming. Rebekah asks the servant, “who is this man walking through the fields to meet us?” He replies, “It is my master,” and she covered her face with a veil. The servant then told Isaac everything that he had done and fulfilled the oath to his father. Rebekah became his wife and Isaac loved her deeply and was a comfort to him after the death of his mother, Sarah. The last we hear about the servant is when he tells Isaac all that he had done.  

            Abraham was very old and probably weak physically during this time. This servant was in charge of Abraham’s entire household, which means Abraham trusted this man with everything that he had. He was not only obedient but we can see his faith many times in this chapter when he bowed down and prayed to God. He did not pray to Abraham or his wealth, but he knew the real God that he worshiped could answer his prayers. The servant’s purpose was to find a bride for Isaac and not from the ungodly people in the Canaanite area. God knew it was important that the servant went back and found a woman who was full of faith to continue the promised covenant he had made with Abraham, which was to multiply his descendants. This was not a small task because we know many people in the Bible who married ungodly partners, which brought sin and destruction into their lives. The servant helps continue the lineage of God’s people from Isaac to his son Jacob (Israel) and to the 12 tribes of Israel. This servant was not mentioned anywhere or given a name yet his purpose was of utmost significance and importance.  

            There are parallels to this story from the Trinity standpoint and who the bride will be in the end times. Abraham represents God in this story, Isaac represents Jesus and the servant is represented by the Holy Spirit. Jesus returns to heaven to prepare his kingdom and as it says in John 16:7-8, But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of sin and of God’s righteousness and of the coming judgement. The Holy Spirit is the servant in this story and God gave the servant a purpose to fulfill. He must go and find a wife for Isaac. There is no name given to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is of truth, guides all to the truth and speaks not on his own but from God and will tell you what he has heard. Just like the servant who speaks for Abraham. Verse 15, All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’ There will never be division between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and they are the one voice of truth. The Holy Spirit brings spiritual gifts to each one of us that glorifies God and to help each other (just as the servant brought gifts to Rebekah). I Corinthians 12:8-11, To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice, to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives on person the power to perform miracles and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.  

            The bride is the Church (Believers) and we need the Holy Spirit to guide us to Jesus. The Holy Spirit is not someone that comes once in a while but we need him every moment of our life. The servant travelled with Rebekah until she was given to Isaac her groom. That is the last we hear of the servant in the passage. The same way the Holy Spirit is here to comfort us, give us gifts and guide us into the loving hands of Christ, our groom. The Church must be pure just like the groom and spotless. Ephesians 5:25-27, For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for here to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to represent her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. This is what is expected of us as the Church to be Christ’s bride.  

We currently live in a world that is focused about fame, popularity, importance and titles. Society only caring about status and how to remain relevant day to day. We see it in the church also, many wanting to become a big time church pastor, live the celebrity life and use their fame for earthly gains/pleasures. You can pack all the large venues, have a billion followers but if the Holy Spirit is not guiding that event, it is all in vain. Our name only needs to be associated with Christ rather than putting importance on the vain things of the world. What many forget is that we are here to serve, I Peter 4:10, God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. He was the King of Kings, the Son of God, sinless yet he loved us enough to sacrifice his life for our sins and died on that cross. Our greatest purpose is to serve God’s will, whether anyone in this world knows our name or not. Whether behind the scenes, volunteering, donating, speaking to a friend about Jesus, or praying for a friend, every part of the Christian life only glorifies God’s name and not our own. Our God knows each of us before we were even born and we will be together in eternity. So do not focus your life to be a name in a sinful society rather than being a name known by God. Sometimes to be nameless in this world is a blessing as long as our name is in the most important book, The Book of Life!