Category: Devotions

This woman’s name isn’t well-known as the wife of Abraham. Generally, people will say his wife was Sarah, and he had a concubine, Hagar. But Keturah is forgotten, probably because we don’t have any story about her life.

“Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. ² She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. ³ Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. ⁴ The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. ⁵ Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. ⁶ But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.” (Genesis 25 v 1-5)

After Sarah’s death, Abraham and Keturah came together. Interestingly, here it says she was his wife, but in 1 Chronicles 1:32 it records her as his concubine. There’s no confusion, really, because the concubine was seen as a wife, but one of a lower legal status, and the resulting children also had fewer inheritance rights. So in verse 6, the gifts given as leaving presents to his sons from the concubines were those of Hagar and Keturah.

They were not heirs to the covenant promise of God through Sarah and Isaac. This is the main point of these verses. The primary inheritance, the promised blood-line would run through Isaac. That was always the case, and Abraham protected it.

Abraham didn’t dismiss this part of his family; he sent them, he provided for them, and he directed them. His kindness also protected the other side of the family, Isaac’s. That was the reason. Keeping distinctions in your life so that your primary purpose is protected is wisdom. Let me illustrate this.

1. All your working life, you have had more than one job. Many of us do. You have had a paid role and at least one other voluntary role. At various seasons, like the present one, this has amounted to several voluntary roles. But you have had to work hard at protecting the primary role, which is the one others pay you for. Of course, if you understand what it is to ‘tent-make’, then your primary role could be the voluntary one, and the paid role is supporting that.

2. The focal point of your life is Jesus. He is the start, the race and the finishing line. You have other things in your life that are pleasurable and important. There’s nothing wrong with the social circles, the leisure pursuits and the investments of your time and energy. But these do not compare to the importance of your life as a disciple and as a member of His church. So you don’t let these attractions become distractions from the primary purpose of serving Jesus.

You are keeping distinctions in your life. Keep clarity around the true purpose of your life. You will then be able to protect it and separate it so that it can grow into fulfilment. Treat your commitments differently, and then you will find contentment with your true purpose for then you will be faithful to it.

Within all of us is the capacity to love.

Today could be that day when your words and actions of love can change the hearts of people who are hurting. This romantic story we have been reading over the last few days demonstrates this, but it doesn’t need to be a romantic one to bring healing to someone’s difficult season.

“Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. ⁶³ He went out to the field one evening to meditate,and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. ⁶⁴ Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel ⁶⁵ and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself. ⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. ⁶⁷ Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” (Genesis 24 v 62-67)

Isaac is still grieving his mother. He is 40 years of age (25:20), and Sarah had died 3 years before. She was 127 years old when she died (23:1), 90 years old when Isaac was born (17:17), and Isaac was therefore 37 years old when she died.

Even grown men at 40 years of age grieve their mothers.

Here we find him (and Rebekah too) in the desert one evening, meditating, his heart needing to find solace.

From that moment, this story became a love story.

But it was more than that. It became a healing story.

He opens his heart again after his loss. Love was there.

He permits his life to continue past his mother. Love was there.

He receives his needed comfort. Love was there.

When he went out to meditate that evening, we don’t know what he was thinking over, but we do know the state of his heart. The ordinariness of that evening became a moment that would change his world as he knew it. He moved from hurt to healing. This is the power of love.

You don’t need a married partner to do that. The principle also applies to the love of a friend. Let today be a day of love, for you may not know the people you will meet who are hurting.

We will all be speaking to people today. We do it every day. We can use those words carelessly or intentionally. Sometimes careless criticism can cause lasting damage. Similarly, if we were more careful and less fake, truly encouraging and blessing someone with words of hope and destiny, perhaps we could make someone’s world a better place.

Abraham’s servant has found Rebekah and, after a short stay with her family, is now ready to take her back to marry Isaac, his master’s son. Her family are basically waving her goodbye. But they do more than that.

“So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the cities of their enemies.” ⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her attendants got ready and mounted the camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.” (Genesis 24 v 59-61)

They didn’t just wave goodbye.

They didn’t express concern or anxiety. “Be careful, Rebekah, this is a long journey ahead. Be safe. Stay on that camel. Be careful in this new land you are travelling to. Don’t trust strangers easily. If it doesn’t work out, you can always come back.” 

No. They blessed Rebekah with words that she would carry in her heart forever.

The words from the family were not just well-wishing; they were blessing her into her destiny. Such is the power of words. They carry the same ability as seeds we sow in the ground. Our words can sow seeds of faith for increase and possession. These words of blessing look beyond the initial challenges to destinations and dreams fulfilled. We know the story; they didn’t when they blessed her. We know she became the mother of Jacob, whose twelve sons and their descendants would become the twelve tribes of Israel, and ‘thousands upon thousands’ were indeed her inheritance.

You may know someone today about to venture into something new. Your friend or family member hasn’t been down this road before. You have a choice. There’s nothing wrong with the words of wisdom and advice. However, perhaps words of blessing will do far more than the words of concern.

There are moments when it is wise to wait and not act with impulsion. However, I wonder how much of our lives we spend in delay rather than taking the opportunities given to us? In this story, we see Rebekah act in faith by saying ‘I will go’ and actually going immediately.

“Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewellery and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. ⁵⁴ Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.” ⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you^[e] may go.” ⁵⁶ 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.” ⁵⁷ Then they said, “Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.” ⁵⁸ So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she said.” (Genesis 24 v 53-58)

Will you go?

The servant didn’t want more time. It wasn’t wrong to have ten more days to prepare, to work things through or to say goodbye. But ten more days would make obedience even harder. There are times when, if you have decided to go, you had better go. Even an understandable reason not to go now can be wrong for you.

Rebekah didn’t know all the details. She didn’t know Isaac. This was either stupidity or faith. That’s how ‘I will go’ looks. An act of faith doesn’t seem certain to some.

How about us?

We may be waiting for another confirmation, and the days and weeks have gone by. All along, God has been waiting for us. When will you go? Of course, waiting can be wise. But it can also be fear or a refusal to let go of comfort. It’s not naïve to think that if God has already orchestrated a meeting with this servant, Rebekah should now be willing to go immediately. The best thing she did was to move quickly.

There are times in our lives when the Holy Spirit moves quickly, and He wants you to keep up.

What is God waiting for you to stop delaying? Has God called you, but you are still analysing the details? Is it about time you said ‘I will go’ and that you went?

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.

We are continuing this incredible story of Abraham’s servant finding a wife for Isaac.  He was praying and waiting and watching, and Rebekah was in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing.

“Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. ¹⁶ The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. ¹⁷ The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.” ¹⁸ “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. ²¹ Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful. ²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a bekaand two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. ²³ Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” ²⁴ She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.” ²⁶ Then the man bowed down and worshipped the Lord, ²⁷ saying, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.” ²⁸ The young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.” (Genesis 24 v 15-28)

Rebekah’s destiny was shaped in the ordinariness of life.

• She didn’t know she was being watched. Whether we like it or not, we are constantly being watched. If we use social media even more so! Our character is continually on display in moments that may not appear very special. She didn’t know who this man with the camels was. She was just herself. She was being kind. At the centre of kindness is the well-being of another, and it reveals a person’s character.
• She offered to go the extra mile. She could have stopped after giving him a drink and then moved on from there, but she didn’t. She went the extra mile and volunteered to water all his camels. She was not there for herself. She would then offer the servant and his camels a place for the night. We never know the outcome of such hospitality.
• She was faithful in the ordinariness. Often, we think we must wait for an incredible God moment to serve His purposes. It seems God is waiting for us. He is looking for our faithfulness in the unglamorous moments, the boring parts of life.
• She had somewhere and someone to share the story with. For her, it was her mother and the family members. She told of the gold ring and bracelet gifts, the whole encounter with the servant and his prayer, and how she learns that there is a wider family connection. But she was not going to keep this to herself. In our world, we make so many decisions on our own, without drawing people into our lives to share the journey with us.

It is an incredible story, which, as we know, we still have the next part to read. But the main point so far is this: Be faithful in small, everyday acts of kindness and character-building, because you never know when an ordinary moment might become a divine appointment. And when those moments come, don’t face them alone; run to your family and friends.

Today may be a day when you need some help making a decision. You need guidance. You don’t know which way to turn. So your morning prayer includes. ‘Help!’ He will.

We are reading the story of the choosing of a wife for Isaac, and Abraham’s servant has been given the task to go back home to find the woman.

“Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaimand made his way to the town of Nahor. ¹¹ He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water. ¹² Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful 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 young woman, ‘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.” (Genesis 24 v 10-14)

We can purposely position ourselves in the right place at the right time. He took his camels to the well in the evening, when the women drew water. There are things that you can do that would seem obvious and necessary in order to be in a position of clarity.

We can pray before we decide. The servant didn’t choose a wife, then ask God to bless his choice. He prayed first. He prayed before any women turned up.

We can be honest. The servant was specific. He didn’t simply ask for a wife for Isaac. God isn’t offended by our concerns of getting it right. He was looking for generosity. If someone wouldn’t oblige in letting him have water for his camels, he thought this would reveal something about her that wasn’t right for Isaac. In his prayer, he is asking for character.

Maybe you are at a similar well today. You need to make a decision. You may not have camels to water, but you have responsibilities. God can meet you there, between responsibilities and your need to know what to do about certain matters. He can even intertwine the two. God cares about this moment as much as you do. He is ready to meet you. All you need to do is position yourself and pray.

Regarding the promises of God for our lives, I have a question. When do we leave things with God, and when do we take action ourselves? We are going to read the next part of Abraham’s life, where he is intentional about protecting the promise and making sure it has space to live, while also being content to leave the outcome with God.

“He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. ³ I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, ⁴ but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” 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?” ⁶ “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. ⁷ “The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. ⁸ If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.” (Genesis 24 v 2-9)

The arrangement of marriage for his son is Abraham’s protection of the promise God gave him. If Isaac married a local Canaanite woman, it could ruin the promised future for the next generations. Abraham takes control of the promise, not to change it but to preserve it. However, he also knows God is ultimately in control, for in answering, ‘what if she won’t come?’ he bows to the presence and sovereignty of God, ‘He will send his angel …’

We need the wisdom he demonstrated. To know when to hold on to the conviction we have, and yet to know to surrender to Him when things are beyond our control.

Who you bring into your inner relational circle is crucial to your future. Are they causing the promises of God to thrive within you, or do they drain you into disbelief? What matters most to you? The environment we place ourselves in will help shape our destiny.

God’s promises don’t eliminate our responsibility to make wise, intentional decisions. Be intentional about who influences your life and family, for proximity shapes destiny. Who we surround ourselves with matters.

Who you allow to influence you and the compromises you choose to keep not only impact your life now but also your future. Be diligent, and God will be your God and do what only He can do.

Don’t let go, don’t give up. You are on a journey toward a beautiful experience of looking back on your life and seeing the Lord’s blessings. This is the truth of the opening verse of this chapter,

“Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.” (Genesis 24 v 1)

Not mostly. Not at every moment.

But in every way. What does this mean?

It isn’t a life without difficulty.

Without going into every detail of Abraham’s life, suffice it to say he had known barrenness, grief, separation, trauma, and his own sin and human weakness. Yet at approximately 140 years old, with another 35 years before he dies, he is ‘very old’ and ‘the Lord had blessed him in every way’.

What does it mean?

Was it his wealth? His blessings were tangible for sure. Possessions, land, the promised Isaac, God had been faithful. Yes. But there was more than that.

Was it who he had become? We have read of a man who, out of fear, lied about his wife. He became a man who could trust God even at the eleventh hour when raising a knife on the altar of his son. He had become aligned with God’s purpose for his life.

His story was definitely about delays, which must have felt like a denial. It was about diversions that actually turned out to be a wonderful destination. It was about losses and heartache that opened a new chapter of joy for him.

Sometimes understanding is only in looking back.

Being blessed in every way doesn’t always mean getting our needs met. It isn’t about being protected from every hurtful experience.

But it is about what we learn and who we become.

So that towards the end of our lives, after experiencing the good, the bad, and the ugly that life throws at us, everything is woven together in a beautiful tapestry, and it can be said, ‘the Lord has blessed us in every way.’

You may not feel blessed right now. Your life may be in the waiting season. You may have made mistakes and wonder how you can find your way through now. Hang on! Blessing isn’t always apparent in the present. This struggle will end. God is faithful. He will bring you through so that when you are very old, others can look at you and see the blessing of the Lord, in every way.

This may simply be the worst season of your life. The loss that you have suffered can weigh heavily. Perhaps you are in need, and it is becoming quite desperate now. It is possible that, in your vulnerable state, people are taking advantage of you. If you know anything of this, then it is your Machpelah place. However, you might also know that Machpelah is the place where God uses the enemy to open a door into a new season for your life. This is the story of Machpelah; it is an unusual approach to being blessed.

This name refers to a sacred site in Hebron, in the West Bank. It is a cave and the burial site of the patriarchs, and Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all share its central religious significance as the place where Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their wives were buried. It means ‘double’ or ‘two-layered’ and probably refers to the structure of the cave.

Here is how it was purchased.

^“ Ephron answered Abraham, ¹⁵ “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekelsof silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” ¹⁶ Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants. ¹⁷ So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded ¹⁸ to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. ¹⁹ Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.” (Genesis 23 v 14-20)

Let me bullet these points on what we have just read.

• Some believe that Ephron, a Hittite landowner, exaggerated the value of the land to Abraham, whilst at the same time saying, ‘don’t worry about it.’
• Abraham doesn’t try to talk Ephron down from the astronomical price; publicly, he just counts out the money and pays for the land.
• Abraham receives the deeds for the land and buries Sarah in one of the caves on the field – Machpelah.

Here’s what really happened. In one of Abraham’s worst moments of his life, he is knowingly taken for a ride with the value of the land, but he purchases it to bury his wife, and in doing so, he receives the first portion of the Promised Land that was promised to him by God.

There are times in our lives when the worst day becomes the doorway to the fulfilment of our promises.

Abraham wasn’t purchasing a piece of land with a cave for a burial site for his wife. He was going to own a portion of the Promised Land.

We need to think bigger and deeper.

Don’t take everything at face value. Abraham didn’t need a burial plot as much as he needed a stake in the ground, where he could anchor his story as a father to the nations. He purchased the Promised Land with grief.

At the end of the day, Abraham was 400 shekels poorer, and his heart was grieving for his loss, and yet on that day it was worth every shekel.

You may be paying a price today for something, and yet it could be God leading you to sacrifice yourself for something far bigger and in alignment with His promises for your life. That is the story of Machpelah.

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