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2011. Genesis 24:1-66. What Ever Happened To Eliezer Of Damascus? – Message and Questions

What Ever Happened To Eliezer Of Damascus?

 eliezer

 

 Link to the Kevin’s Bible Material                   Link to “What ever happened to that person?” series

Genesis 24:1-66                                                                                                                            Kevin E. Jesmer

Key Verse 24: 12                                                                                                                           2011

 

Then he prayed, ‘O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.’

      Eliezer of Damascas, was a servant who, with great diligence and faith in God carried out the tasks assigned to him, to carefully and meticulously find a spouse for Abraham’s son. The meaning of his name is, “God is (of) help.”  Eliezer was Abram’s chief servant, and “son of his house,” that is, one of his large household.   Eliezer demonstrated a high priority on the desires of his master and not one iota on his own needs. As servants of our master Jesus Christ, we need to emulate both the selflessness and obedience of Eliezer as well as his deep dependency upon God. We can learn from him what it means to be a servant of God and an ambassador of Jesus. We can learn how to be a most trusted servant of our Lord Jesus in our mission field.

Part l: A Faithful And Trusted Servant (Gen 15:2, 24:1)

 

Eliezer of Damascus and Abraham go a log way back, at least to the time of Abraham’s original call from God. He was there when Lot left Abraham for good in Genesis 14. You may recall that Lot had abandoned Abraham in order to live in Sodom and Gomorrah. Even when Abraham and his 318 trained men and his allies went in pursuit of Lot and rescued him from Kedorlaomer’s armies and from certain slavery, Lot decided to go back to Sodom to live. It was a hard blow to Abraham. He had hoped that Lot would return and live as the “son he never had.” But he did not. He once again abandoned Abraham for he sake of his worldly desires. Abraham was in deep despair and was searching for someone else he could hope to pass on his inheritance and ultimately the blessings of God. He thought about one of his most faithful and trusted people in his life, Eliezer of Damascus.

 

Here is an interesting fact. Eliezer’s name, if you translate the name to Hebrew add up the sum of the letters, it comes out to 318. This may reveal that Eliezer fought next to Abraham’s side when they routed Kedorlaomer and his army.

 

Abraham was convinced that Eliezer would inherit his estate and a great and powerful nation would come from him. And so Abraham cried out to God in Genesis 15:2,3, “But Abram said, ‘O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit [c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” God made it clear in verse 4 that this servant would not be the heir. Rather a son from Abraham’s own body would be an heir. But it does illustrate the close relationship they had. Eliezer was loyal to Abraham. He was there when Abraham was called at 75 years old. He was there at Sarah’s death when she was 137. He was there when Abraham want to get a son for his son, Isaac, who was 40 years old. Abraham had known Eliezer for at least 65 years! Wow! Can you imagine having such a loyal friend in your life for at least 65 years!

 

It is not easy to make and keep friendships and co-working relationships. We all tend to drift apart. Those who keep their friends over a decade are truly blessed. There could be one person or two. Julie’s mother has a friend that she has kept from kindergarten, almost 6 decades! We may have many companions, but the Bible says that there is one who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24) A professor/shepherd friend once posted one thing his dad taught him. He said that if he could do it all over again, he would have more friends. One senior told me that when his father died, his father did not have one single friend. We need to have and keep friendships in our lives. To do so requires forgiveness, loyalty, faithfulness and commitment. Then you have a chance to have a co-working/friendship like that of Abraham and Eliezer that spans the decades. I thank God co-working friendships with Shp Teddy and Liz and Triton co-workers that have spanned 20 years now and the co-working friendships that I have had with Msn David and other DuPage UBF members for the last 10 years.  May God grant you such co-working friendships in your life and ministry.

Eliezer was Abraham’s most trusted servant. We can get a glimpse in the Bible what it means to be a most trusted servant. Let us think of Joseph. Genesis 39:2-6b reads, “… 2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.”  This was Joseph, but it is also anyone who becomes a trusted servant. One who is such a person has some personal stewardship over a household. They have a sense of ownership. Whatever they find to do, they do it with their whole hearts. (Ecc 9:10) In our ministry we pray to raise up such a person. We call such a person, “An Abraham of faith.” It is a person who says, “even if nobody stays, I will stay because this is where God wants me to be and this is the work that he wants me to build up.”

It is not easy to have such an attitude. It is hard to be faithful to even fulfill our own needs. We drift here and there like a ship without an anchor. But we can be like Eliezer when we have experienced Jesus’ faithfulness and commitment to us. Jesus is our good shepherd. He lays down his life for the sheep. (Jn 10:10) He is very faithful and true to his mission to live and die as the Lamb of God. If you think about it, Jesus has been faithfully loving and serving us for decades and he will never stop. When we taste Jesus’ faithful serving and his true friendship, we can become a little more like Eliezer of Damascus ourselves.

Part ll: A Servant Of God On A Mission (24:2-67)

In Chapter 24 we get a glimpse of what kind of servant Eliezer was. He set a perfect example of a person who carries out his mission from God. In 24:2-3, we find 139 year old Abraham wanting to find a wife for his son Isaac. This was a very serious mission. The proper wife would help Isaac live by faith and grow as a man of God who could live by faith his entire life. When Eliezer put his hand under Abraham’s thigh he was committing himself to Abraham’s mission, but also to the mission of God. It really had nothing to do with him and his personal benefit. It was all about Abraham’s mission and God’s will. Do we only do things that give us personal benefit? Or do we ask God in prayer what he wants us to do and do it? Let’s try to be a little more like Eliezer?

 

Eliezer had faith in God. Look at verse 5. “The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?” He foresaw a problem. What if the girl would not come back with him to marry Isaac? Abraham taught him faith. He promised that the angel of the Lord would go on ahead of him. He accepted this word of counsel. We want to go places where the road is clear and well marked. But Jesus calls us to places where there are no charted roads at all. He calls us to embrace tasks that are much greater than ourselves and impossible for us to accomplish on our own. How can we do such things? We can not. We can only do so when we have faith that God is with us and he is going on ahead of us to help us fulfill our mission in the Lord. That is the basis of Jesus’ world mission command. Let’s read it, Matthew 28:18-20, Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Jesus is with you to obey Jesus’ world mission command. This was Eliezer’s faith.

Eliezer was man who was totally prepared for his mission. Look at verse 10. “Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim [h] and made his way to the town of Nahor.” He prepared ten camels and all the essentials for his journey. He did not just do things off the cuff. He was prepared, not only in prayer, but also in practical matters. Paul urges us to be prepared servants of God in 2 Timothy 2:21, “If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. We need to be prepared servants of God and then we can be ready when God calls us to a mission. I thank God for Hope. The opportunity came up for her to teach the Bible to one of her friends. She was prepared. She took good notes during group Bible study and kept them in a binder. She was ready to share what she knew from Revelation even though she is eleven years old. We may fly by the seat of our pants on many issues of life, but we can not do it with Jesus and the mission of God. Let’s be prepared servants of God, like Eliezer!

Eliezer was a man of prayer. Look at verse12-14. “ 12 Then he prayed, ‘O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a girl, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.’” He prayed at the beginning. He prayed during. And he prayed at the end of his mission. He depended on God in prayer. He prayed specifically for God to guide him to right woman. He did not jump to conclusions and become presumptuous. He was very careful that God was answering his prayer in detail.

 

We need to learn pray from Eliezer. We must pray before we do anything for Jesus. The truth is that more things are wrought from our prayers than from our actions. Do you pray before you practice music or have a Bible study? We are so overconfident in ourselves and in our own abilities, which are ineffective compared to God’s abilities. But Eliezer was not proud. He prayed. He depended on God. He knew he was weak and helpless, and that God is almighty. Let’s learn to depend on God in prayer as we serve Jesus’ mission.

Eliezer was also a generous man. When he discovered that God answered his prayer he unloaded treasures on Rebekah and her family. Look at verses 22 and 53, “When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka [i] and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels.” and “Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother.”   He gave away bracelets and a nose ring of 4 oz of gold. That is worth $2,000 today. He gave the best things of Canaan to the family. He did not hold back. Some may say, “Well that was not his, it was Abraham’s”. But it still required generosity on his part. He could have kept some for himself and checked a few bars and shopping malls on his way back to the Promised Land. All that we have is given to us by God. God gives us wealth to serve others with. None of it is our own. And yet we become misers and want to hoard our wealth for ourselves. How selfish! Eliezer battled with the same feelings. Yet he never kept things for himself.  He overcome and was very generous. Jesus became poor so that we can be made rich spiritually. 2 Corinthians 2:9:11, reads, “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”  We need to be generous Christians and dole out the blessings of God, like Eliezer did. Cast your bread upon the waters and it will come back on every wave. (Ecc 11:1)

He was a bold and confident servant of God. Once he knew that his prayers were answered he boldly put a nose ring in a girl’s nose. Can you do that? He also invited himself to her house and he confidently told the facts about how God was leading in this whole situation. He was totally committed to the work of God. He was focused on God’s mission. And God’s spirit was at work in his heart to make him bold. Eliezer’s boldness reminds me of Jesus who boldly called out to Zacchaeus and invited himself and his disciples to Zacchaeus’ house for supper. (Luke 19:5) It is not easy to open our mouths and be bold when it comes to the work of God. We are bold in voicing our opinions, but not in regards to the Gospel. But Paul, in 2 Corinthians 3:12 says, “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.” Paul also urged young Timothy to be bold. He wrote, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline.” (2 Tim 1:7) It is not easy to be bold when we are surrounded by 95% unbelieving people. But when the hope of God is alive in your heart you can be a bold servant of God like Eliezer.

Eliezer was very earnest and focused in completing his mission. Look at verses 33a and 56. “Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say…” and “But he said to them, ‘Do not detain me, now that the LORD has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.’” He could have kicked back and enjoyed the hospitality of Rebekah’s family, and rested for ten days. But he knew he was on a mission and the time for rest would come after his mission was complete. He was like a soldier on a mission. 2 Tim 2:4 reads, 4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer.” What would it be like if our soldiers, when they went to Iraq, suddenly decided they wanted to take a short vacation? They need to be true to their mission right to the end. Jesus also said that a person who puts his had to plow and looks back is not fit for service in the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62) Where would we be if Jesus decided to take a break from being our Savior? Taking a break and a vacation is not bad. But Eliezer knew that when he need to do something for God, he needed do it to completion.

When he had this attitude other people recognized him as a servant of God. Look at verses 34 and 50. “So he said, ‘I am Abraham’s servant’” and “Laban and Bethuel answered, ‘This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other.’” Eliezer was very clear about his identity as Abraham’s servant doing a very important mission for God. And he served that mission with his whole heart without any duplicity. He was trustworthy and true. When he had this core quality about him, people saw him as a servant of God. People responded to him. People should not be surprised one day, to hear that we are Christians, “Oh I didn’t know you believed in Jesus.” People around you must know you are a servant of Christ Jesus, like Eliezer was known.

Eliezer had spiritual authority to help other people make decisions of faith. Look at verses 50-51 and 58. “Laban and Bethuel answered, ‘This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has directed.’” and “So they called Rebekah and asked her, ‘Will you go with this man?’ ‘I will go,’ she said.”  He did not procrastinate. He presented the clear facts about what God was doing and he challenged them to make a decision that required a whole lot of faith. As servants of God we can be friends with people. We can encourage them and we need to do these things. But do we have enough spiritual clout and authority to help people decide to do things that don’t come natural to them? How about convincing them to do something that requires faith, like being faithful to Sunday worship service? What about offering? What about actually deciding to teach what they know about Jesus to another person? Eliezer had this kind of authority and we need it too. Where can we get it? It does not come from having a theology degree. Such spiritual authority is found in Jesus alone. Look at the world mission command again in Matthew 28:18-20, “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”. “all authority..” Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth and he is willing to give it to us when we decide to strand as servants of God who want to serve Jesus’ mission in this world.

Eliezer shared all good things with his master. Look at verse 66. “Then the servant told Isaac all he had done.” Galatians 6:6 reads, “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.” This means to share about the great and glorious work of God going on, in and through our lives. How easy it is to become mute and stumble over our words when it comes to telling what the Lord has done in our lives and ministry. It is almost like we don’t know who to talk. In our ministry we are tending to drift away from writing testimonies. But we need to learn how to share what God is doing in our lives with others. Otherwise we don’t have anything to say or share. Testimonies are not just repenting of our sins. It is also telling the world about all God has done. Let’s be like Eliezer who can share the good things of God.

In this passage we see the importance of making and keeping friendships and co-working relationships with other people of faith. We learned what it means to be a most trusted servant who carries out a mission from God. This may not sound so appealing in our freedom obsessed culture, but it is essential for a servant of Christ. We also learned that Eliezer had faith in God. He was man who was totally prepared for his mission. He was a man of prayer and also a generous man. He was a bold and confident and very earnest and focused in completing his mission. When he had this attitude other people recognized him as a servant of God and God gave him spiritual authority to help other people make decisions of faith. May God help you be a faithful and true friend and servant of God. May God raise up a whole new generation of Eliezer’s among us.

Part l: A Faithful And Trusted Servant (Gen 15:2, 24:1)

 

  1. Who was the Abraham’s most trusted servant? What hope did Abraham have in him? (15:2) How many years did he serve in Abraham’s tent village? (Gen 24:1) What does the fact that he put him in charge of all he had mean? Who else was like this? (Gen 29 ;20-23; 41:41) What attitude is necessary in order to be such a servant? (Eph 6:7) Summarize what it means to be a most trusted servant?

 

Part ll: A Servant Of God On A Mission (24:2-67)

 

2.    What was the mission that Abraham gave his servant? (24:2-4) What shows the

seriousness of this mission? (2b) How important was it? What difficulty did the

servant foresee? (5) How did Abraham plant faith in Eliezer’s heart? (7) Why is

this the faith that God wants his servants to have? (Matt 28:18-20)

 

  1.  How did Eliezer prepare for his mission? (10; 2Tim 2:21, 4:12) Where did he start his search for a wife? How did he begin his search? (12) What can we learn from his prayer? (12-14) How was he careful to find out if God answered his prayer? (17,21)  What can we learn about prayer from Eliezer?

 

 

  1. When he was confident that God had answered his prayer, what did he do?

What shows his generosity? (22, 53) What did he do when he discovered God answered his prayer? (26) What identity did he have? (34) On what did he base his decisions? (35-49)What qualities does a servant of God have? (2 Cor 3:12; Luke 19:5; 2 Cor 9:11)

 

  1. What earnestness did the servant have in regards to his mission? (33, 56; 2 Tim 2:4) How did other people see him? (31; 50)

 

  1. How did he help the family to make a decision of faith? (50-51, 58) How can you have enough spiritual authority to help other make decisions that require faith? (Matt 28:18) What did Eliezer do when he brought Rebekah to Issac? What does this mean practically? (Gal 6:6)

 




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