In this world, we are taught from a secular ethos that we must kick, scratch, and claw our way to the top. If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to step over others on your way there. BUT in God’s Kingdom we are taught that SELFLESS SERVICE to God and others is the way.

Matthew 20:16 says, “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.“

I want to pose some heart questions to you: Do you seek to serve others or do you seek…to be served? Do you live your life looking for opportunities to serve God, your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, a lost and broken world, or do you get offended when people don’t pay enough attention to your wants and needs?

There are many verses that command us to serve one another but perhaps the most poignant is 1 Peter 4:10: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:“

When we become followers of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit invades our lives! He comes and takes up residence in our hearts. He brings to life what was once dead! And miraculously, He begins to give us spiritual gifts to serve the body of Christ and build one another up. 

Characteristics of Servants of the Lord

There are 67 verses in the incredible chapter of Genesis 24. We don’t have nearly enough time to unpack every single verse of this chapter but what I’d like for us to do is to focus in on what I believe is often an overlooked aspect of this text. I want us to look and this text from the servant’s perspective.

As I was reading and listening to this passage over and over again these past weeks several principles of servanthood just kept leaping out at me. So, what we’re going to do is just walk through this passage and glean these truths from the way Abraham’s servant carried out this directive. We know from chapter 15 that Abraham’s servant’s name is Eliezer. So, let’s learn tonight from Eliezer how we can better be servants of God.

SERVANTS OF THE LORD ARE TRUSTWORTHY

Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh.  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,  but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”

Genesis 24:1-4 NIV

This chapter begins with, “Now Abraham was old.” And he was. A quick cross reference from several verses and we can conclude that Abraham was nearly 140 years old at this moment in time. He had lived an incredible life up to this point, with still 35 years left.

Notice the back half of verse 1, “and the Lord had blessed Abraham in every way.” In the chapters leading up to this you see God personally and faithfully providing for and walking with Abraham. 

God says, you are going to have a great reputation, you are going to become a great nation (with many, many descendants) God will bless those who bless Abraham and Abraham himself will be a great blessing to others. 

But THE GREATEST part of Abraham’s blessing will be that at its ultimate fulfillment will be found the promise of our Messiah, Jesus Christ:

Galatians 3:16: “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as one would in referring to many, but rather as in referring to one, ‘And to your seed,’ that is, Christ.“

You see, this mission that Abraham is about to send Eliezer out on is quite literally spiritual life or death because ultimately the Savior of the world is going to come from the lineage of Rebekah, Isaac’s future wife! And for such an important assignment Abraham needed his most trustworthy servant. 

We know he was trustworthy because verse two tells us that Eliezer was the oldest of his household and was in charge of everything that Abraham owned. In other words, Eliezer had A LOT of responsibility. 

So, Abraham calls Eliezer over and says, “place your hand under my thigh.” Now, if you’re like me when you read this you’re probably thinking, “couldn’t he just like pinky swear” or something? I mean that’s a little bit… much. But the thigh was considered the “loins” or the testicles. The phrase “under the thigh” could be a euphemism for “on the loins.” Abraham had been promised a “seed” by God, and this covenantal blessing was passed on to his son and grandson. Abraham made his trusted servant swear “on the seed of Abraham” that he would find a wife for Isaac.

“Hey Eliezer no pressure! You just need to go and find the wife for my son that is going to eventually be in the lineage of the Savior of the world.” But he trusts his servant to carry out the task. 

Are you a trustworthy servant of God?It takes EVERYONE doing their part to build the Kingdom of God. Luke 16:10 says “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”

SERVANTS OF GOD TAKE ACTION

Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and went out with a variety of good things of his master’s in his hand; so he set out and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.  He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water when it was evening, the time when women go out to draw water.

Genesis 24:10-11 NIV

In Ecclesiastes chapter 3 we’re told there’s a time and a place for everything. In verse 7 it says, that there is “a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;” 

Eliezer has proven trustworthy. He has his marching orders. What does he do next? He takes his assignment from his master and he begins to put it into action! 

A friend of mine preached this very text last weekend and he said that we waste so much time trying to figure out God’s plan for our lives. Who am I supposed to marry? What career am I supposed to have? Where am I supposed to live? And we act like God’s will is this ambiguous, murky, moving target that is impossible to find. But 90% of God’s will is clearly available to every single follower of Christ. Where do we find God’s will for our lives? IN THE BIBLE! 

If we are going to be faithful servants to the Lord, we must obey the things he has already commanded us with. 

James 1:23-25 says, “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

I wonder, if there is an area of your life where God has clearly spoken in His Word to you and yet, you refuse to take action? Right now, you can draw a line in the sand and determine that you are going to OBEY the commands of Christ.

SERVANTS OF GOD PRAY

And he said, “LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.  Behold, I am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; now may it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

Genesis 24:12-14 NIV

Eliezer is given this momentous task! Go and travel several hundred miles and find my son a wife and make sure you make the right selection! So, what does he do when he’s faced with making the right choice? HE PRAYS!

And notice that, not only did he pray, but he prayed specifically—he asked God for a sign (24:13–14). And not just any sign, but a sign that accorded with biblical principles. He asked God, through the sign, to guide him to a woman of character—one who had a servant’s heart. And Eliezer is an example of how Christians should seek the Lord’s guidance in every endeavor. First, we must pray. Next, we must pray for specific guidance. And third, we must pray for guidance that clearly matches up with what we already know from Scripture.

From Opening up Genesis, author, Kurt Strassner

Oh, the Lord has been doing so much in my life over the last several years when it comes to the subject of prayer. I am ashamed when I look back over portions of my life in regards to the lack of prayer. WE CAN DO NOTHING apart from prayer!

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people say, “Well all we can do is pray.” The Creator of the Universe has given us access to His throne thru the shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ. His hotline is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the Holy Spirit dwells within us to communicate on an intimate personal level with Jehovah God and yet…we don’t pray. 

Why not? I’ll tell you why. Because we think that we can get stuff done on our own apart from God. And you know what? You’re right. You can. You can raise your kids on your own. You can have a marriage on your own. You can even have church…on your own. But listen to me…without prayer…GOD AIN’T IN ANY OF IT! 

When we pray, we are saying, “God, I need You!” I need You to save my son. I need your strength to serve my spouse. I need you. You know why the world thinks prayer is so silly? Because prayer is a humble act of declaration to God saying that if HE DOESN’T MAKE A WAY then there will be no way. Pride keeps us from praying and it’s dangerous. The Bible says in James 4:6 that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 

Eliezer’s first inclination is to pray. Why? Because he doesn’t want to mess this thing up! He NEEDS God’s direction.

SERVANTS WAIT ON GOD

Meanwhile, the man was taking a close look at her in silence, to find out whether the LORD had made his journey successful or not.

Genesis 24:21 NIV

This verse is fascinating to me. Eliezer had travelled a great distance. He prayed specifically for God to provide a sign that Rebekah was the right wife for Isaac. She actually fulfills the sign. She does everything that he just prayed for. What has God done? HE HAS ANSWERED HIS PRAYER. And yet….HE WAITS. Why? I think for two reasons;

1. He’s in awe of God’s faithfulness. 
2. He wants to make sure that he is presuming on God.

So, he patiently waits. We live in a society that operates at such a breakneck speed. “Do this. Do that. Get this done. Get that done. Achieve. Accomplish. Etc. Etc.” But what does the Bible say about the pace of our lives?

• The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. Lamentations 3:25
• Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14
• But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

If we have acted in faith by obedience and truly prayed, then we must be patient and wait on the Lord. We have to believe that in His perfect time, Jesus is going to open doors.

Teaching Our Children to Serve

SERVANTS OF GOD WORSHIP

Then the man bowed low and worshiped the LORD.  And he said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned His kindness and His trustworthiness toward my master; as for me, the LORD has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”

Genesis 24:26-27 NIV

Do you ever notice how easy it is to turn to God when things are really difficult? I mean when you are in the thick of the fight and satan has on a full frontal attack you’re looking up worship songs and scripture verses and your’re praying and praying and praying.

BUT you know what is so wild? Often, when we pray to the Lord and He answers the prayers…we just kinda move on. Not this man. He bowed low and worshipped. Answered prayer deserves proper praise!

SERVANTS OF THE LORD ARE FOCUSED

Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.”

Genesis 24:33 NIV

  Rebekah runs and tells her family about everything that’s happened and she has this brother named Laban. He invites the Eliezer and his men to come in and eat and fellowship. But in verse 33 when the food comes out Abraham’s servant says listen, “I’m not eating until I tell you my business and how it’s gonna go down.”

He gets to the end of his explanation and in verse 49 he straight up says to them, “You are going to either deal with me truthfully or we’re going to head on back.” They say alright take Rebekah and return with her to your master. But then they sleep on it and in verse 55 they say, let her stay a few extra days, say 10? and then she can go. What’s Eliezer’s response? Again, in verse 56 he remains focused on his mission and says “Do not delay me it’s time to go.” 

You see, he knew what he had come there for. He didn’t come there to eat. He didn’t come there to play games. He didn’t come there for anything else EXCEPT ONE THING….to bring back a wife for Isaac. 

Friends, I fear today that we have lost our focus as God’s people. We have been called to make disciples. That MORE AND MORE would bow the knee to King Jesus and that His glory may increase across this world. 

SERVANTS IMITATE JESUS

Can I let you in on a little secret? As human beings…we are selfish people. Maybe you’re offended by that. “What?! You don’t even know me. How could you say that about me?! You know how I can say that? 

Philippians 2:3-4 NIV instructs: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” 

Why is Paul telling the church at Philippi not to be selfish, to walk in humility, to consider others first? Because we all have a tendency to NOT do those things. Just think on any given day how much of your thoughts are consumed about…you. 

• Oh man I have to deal with this situation at work.
• Oh man I have to get this done.
• Oh man I wish I didn’t have this physical ailment going on. 
• Oh man I, I, I, I.

So, what’s the answer? Look at the next verse. Philippians 2:5: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”

It is impossible to serve the Lord…apart from the Lord. Did you hear what I just said? It is impossible to serve the Lord…apart from the Lord.

Jesus was TRUSTWORTHY all the way to the cross.

Jesus took ACTION through signs and wonders.

Jesus saw the necessity to constantly get away and PRAY to His Father

Jesus WAITED on His Father’s timing for all matters.

Jesus regularly participated in WORSHIP at the Synagogue.

Jesus lived for 33 years with laser like FOCUS for the mission to redeem the world.

Jesus…was the suffering servant so that you and I could be set free from the bondage of our sin. I want to close with the words of Christ calling us to be servants: 

Matthew 20:28: “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. “

GUEST BLOGGER BIO

Matt Hess is a church planting catalyst with the North American Mission Board, Church planter at Waypoint Wentzville, MO, and a father of 4 amazing kiddos. Oh, and let’s not forget, he’s married to an amazing woman!! (You know he let me write the bio.)