Genesis 24:1And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 2And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: 3And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: 4But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. 5And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? 6And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. ------Verse 9And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter. 10And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. 11And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. 12And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham. 13Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: 14And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master. 15And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. 16And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. 17And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. 18And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. 19And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. 20And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
Abraham had obeyed the Lord God by leaving his home Ur of the Chaldees and traveling to the land of Caanan. It was here that God had promised him that his seed would be blessed and multiply as the sand of the sea. He and Sari became parents even in their old age. She was 90 and he was 100 when Isaac was born to them. Remember they got ahead of God and could not wait and caused Ishmael to be born, who is the father of the Arab nations today. It doesn’t pay to try to get ahead of God or rush him. He has it all worked out and if we rush into the areas of our lives where he says wait we will always get in trouble with God. But now Abraham is really old. Isaac is now a fine young man who is beginning to notice the opposite sex and Abraham knows it’s time for him to find and secure a mate and life of his own. So Abraham calls his servant, Eliazar to the task of finding the right girl for Isaac. He instructs him to go back to the land they had came out of and find a wife of his kinsmen. Abraham did not want his son to marry one of the women of Caanan. Neither did he want him to return to the land of idolatry and sensual sin he had been called out of. So Eliazar sets out to do the job. When he arrives at the place of destination he prays to God and says, Lord if you will make my work easier today by allowing the right young lady to come by and when I ask for a drink of water for myself her reply will be “I will draw water for your camels also.” The Bible does not say if he had some who failed the test or not, but we are sure that when Rebeccah came to draw water and was asked the question, “Will you give me a drink of water?” Her answer was, “I will draw water for your camels also.” It would have been so easy for her to have just gone on about her busy day but instead she went back to the well not once, not twice, but until all 10 camels were well watered. Haven’t you always heard the camels have extra storage in their humps? Well she filled em right up to the brim without a moment’s hesitation. No doubt she was the one who would make Isaac the proper and Godly wife he needed. She had a spirit that said, “I’m not satisfied with just getting by or following the status quo. I want to do more. Be more than the others.
I believe there is a call going out from the throne of God now for a bride of Jesus Christ. The Father wants the best for his Son. The bride had to have the right spirit. So he tests us even today to see if we are willing to go beyond the norm and status quo of the day. Are we concerned with what others are doing or what we feel to do for Christ? Some would say, “well they do things and get by with it. Why can’t I?” We’ve missed the point. It’s not what we can get by with, but what more can we do than what we are already doing. We surly don’t want to just get by. So many want to know the minimum requirements to still be right with God. They want to bargain with God and say, “Here is what I have to offer. Take it or leave it.” The Old Testament prophet spoke to this issue In:
Micah 6:6 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? :7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? ( can I just do the minimum required) :8 He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; (if it is good just do it) and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? TLB to be fair, just, merciful, and to walk humbly with your God. For too long we have worried about the face of man and not the face of God. What does God want of us? To have the ALSO spirit. Not just sacrifices of lambs, barrels of oil or giving of my children for an offering, but I’ll go the extended route God has chosen for me. A lot of things we have refrained from in the past may not have been altogether wrong, but God sees those who are willing to go beyond and dedicate, consecrate, and set themselves apart from the rest of the world. We refrain from worldly dress, appearances and lifestyles because we want to go beyond what God requires to fulfill the ALSO spirit in our lives. Some have already stepped up to the plate to help fulfill the destiny of the church by witnessing, inviting, bringing, and giving of their time and substance for the Kingdom’s sake. It can’t be measured or metered out but Jesus said, Luke 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: :38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
During the message Jesus Preached we call the SERMON on THE MOUNT, he delivered solid, never changing truths to us. Here is one such principal:
Matthew 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. :40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. :41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
If I stand facing you to slap your right side I must use the back-hand slap. This was the most insulting and degrading slap one could issue. Jesus says we are to go beyond what the world would do and offer the other cheek as well, showing a spirit of humility as well as the ALSO spirit. If any man takes you to the judges to take a way your coat let him have your outer coat as well or ALSO.
NOTICE: Whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile—The word translated “shall compel” is of Persian origin. Post-offices were then unknown. In order that the royal commands of the King might be delivered with safety and dispatch in different parts of the empire, King Cyrus stationed horsemen at proper intervals on all the great public highways. One of those delivered the message to another, and intelligence was swiftly and safely communicated. These heralds were permitted to compel any person, or to press any horse, boat, ship, or other vehicle that they might need for the quick transmission of the king’s commandments. It was to this custom that our Saviour refers. Or as some have taught the hated Roman government of their day was in occupation and could compel the citizens to carry their heavy packs, but only for one mile. Jesus says go twice as far. A Roman mile was 1,000 paces or about 3,000 English feet. Jesus said go two miles if asked to go one. If the Lord has spoke to you about your lifestyles, dress, manners, or hairstyles. Don’t settle for just the minimum, but go the extra mile. How blessed we will be by going not just the required distance but beyond into the extra mile.
Jesus washed his disciples feet to teach them humility and servanthood. When he got to Peter notice what Peter said, John 13:8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. :9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
God searches among his people for those who are willing to go beyond and exhibit the ALSO spirit. The world may offer lots of distractions but God intends for us to be in his service and doing all we can for the Kingdom’s sake.
1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? :18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
