God is moving, don’t miss Him.

It’s a long passage to read today, and much is a repeat as the servant of Abraham recalls what has brought him to Nahor, which turned out to be the hometown of Abraham’s brother. I have emboldened the verses that I will be focusing on.

 ^“Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. ³⁰ As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. ³¹ “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord,” he said. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” ³² So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. ³³ Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.” “Then tell us,” Laban said. ³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. ³⁷ And my master made me swear an oath, and said, ‘You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, ³⁸ but go to my father’s family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ “Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’ ⁴⁰ “He replied, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked faithfully, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family. ⁴¹ You will be released from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they refuse to give her to you—then you will be released from my oath.’ ⁴² “When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. ⁴³ See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,” ⁴⁴ and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’ ⁴⁵ “Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ ⁴⁶ “She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also. ⁴⁷ “I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ “She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.’ “Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, ⁴⁸ and I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.⁵⁰ 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.” ⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. “ (Genesis 24 v 29-52)

We all love a testimony in church, don’t we? Here is Abraham’s servant doing just that. What does it teach us?

• The servant couldn’t wait to give his testimony. When you know God is moving and at work, it is more than excitement; there is a compulsion that means everything else comes second, even food (v. 33).
• The servant told the story as it was. There was no embellishment; it didn’t need any, i.e., just told the story, v34 onwards. Note that he was only the messenger. He doesn’t take any credit. This was all of God’s doing. Isn’t that a wonderful way to testify to what has happened in our lives? Simply faithfully retelling of what God has done.
• Initial response from people may seem selfish, but they could still serve the purposes of God. Laban, whose character deficiencies we will see later in this book, is clearly a man who may display wonderful hospitality and a language of faith, but who also seeks benefits. Notice how in v30 he sees the gold before he rushes to welcome. However, even selfish and greedy motives cannot derail what God is doing.
• The servant worshipped after the answered prayer. Twice in v48 and v52 his first response is to worship because of answered prayer. Do you need to worship today?
• The servant lived with a single focus of obedience. He had one task: find a wife, v49. He had such a clear focus. What would it be like to live with such clarity, knowing that God is orchestrating appointments in the ordinariness of life? In that focused living, the servant was paying attention to what might be happening around him and whether God was moving. God was indeed moving and working, and the servant didn’t miss it. Let’s hope we don’t either.