Eliezer: Gentle and faithful

God’s People on Mission

Eliezer: Gentle and faithful

Last week for my devotion I suggested that we shouldn’t be surprised that a lot of my thinking has been about weddings right now.  And on Sunday, Ben reminded our church family of the beautiful story of Rebecca, a bride for Isaac, who is a picture of the Bride who is called and chosen for The Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and how when the servant came and witnessed before Rebecca’s family, Rebecca declared “I will go.”

We could easily focus on Rebecca, her faith and willingness to go, even though she had never seen Isaac for herself, all she had was the witness of the servant.  But if she is a picture of the Church, of all believers, and she clearly is, then that is the truth for most of us.  As Jesus said to Thomas:

“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  (John 20:29)

But it is the person of Eliezer, the Unnamed Servant in this story, although he is named for us in Genesis 15, that I want to focus our attention on.  Ben taught us that Eliezer means ‘God who helps,’ which is a clear connection to the words of Jesus again when He says:

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16 – 17)

With this understanding, we can now examine the actions of the servant in the story (Genesis 24), and see how clearly he is a type of the Holy Spirit, and we can learn how we should respond to His work in our lives.

At the beginning, the servant is completely faithful to Abraham (who is a picture here of God the Father).  He acts in response to his command and doesn’t deviate in the slightest. 

Throughout the story the Servant is such a gentleman.  He is never pushy or demanding.  He waits for the response of Rebecca, and her family, and respects and acts in accordance with how they act.

He brings gifts from Abraham and adorns Rebecca with them when she acts in the way that Abraham had described.  And he testifies and points Rebecca and her family to know the son Isaac, whom she is to marry even though she has never met him.

And of course, finally, he faithfully remains with Rebecca and guides and protects her until she has been brought to her groom in the home of Abraham.

It is such a beautiful story, and all the more because it really is our story.  To recognize the faithful gentleness of The Holy Spirit when he comes to us.  His demonstration of the love and blessing of God the Father who is seeking a bride for His Son.  His commitment and complete ability to accompany us throughout our journey as we await the day when we see the Lord face to face.

But this is just a short story, and it speaks of shadows, not of the real person.  The work of the Spirit in our life is so much more than what we read in Genesis 24.  He is our comforter, our teacher who leads us into all truth as we give ourselves diligently to study the Word and spend time in prayer.

He teaches us and helps us in our prayers, and it is He who is the source of fruitfulness in our lives as we give ourselves freely to Jesus, like Rebecca did to Isaac.

I want to close by reminding us of two things.  Firstly, how much of a gentleman the Spirit is, as pictured by this servant.  He doesn’t force Himself on us, and so we can easily suppress His work in our lives without realising.  So listen carefully for His leading, and follow faithfully, and we will experience fulness of life and the wonderful blessing of God that our Heavenly Father so dearly wants us to enjoy.

And secondly, take time to thank God for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives – most especially because His ministry to us is to give glory to God, and to lead us into our most loving and intimate relationship with Christ.