In this sermon, the speaker recounts the story of Abraham's servant finding a wife for Isaac. The servant is portrayed as a faithful and obedient servant of God, willingly carrying out God's request without questioning or doubting. The servant prepares for the journey and encounters Rebecca at a well, where she shows kindness and generosity. The servant presents gifts to Rebecca and her family, and they agree to let her marry Isaac. The sermon emphasizes the servant's character and the importance of trusting and obeying God's will.

Stand with me please to the 22nd chapter of the book of Genesis. The first book in our Bibles and the 22nd chapter. It's a favourite passage or portion of the Word of God with much of the pictorial value of the Old Testament illustrating the New Testament. Things with which everyone I'm sure in the room are most familiar with respect to the Lord Jesus and His wonderful death and so on and the coming again and the prospects of the future for every believer. This 22nd of Genesis has been a uh, sweetheart of passages in the scripture for the preaching of the gospel and uh down through the ages much has been wrought in the hearts of men as we thought, as they thought of this wonderful picture of the Father and the Son. Shall we then read at the first verse of Genesis chapter 22 and it came to pass after these things that God did tempt or test Abraham and said unto him, Abraham and he said behold here I am and he said take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac whom thou lovest and get thee into the land of Moriah and offer him therefore a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his ass and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son and claimed the wood for the burnt offering and rose up and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off and Abraham said unto his young men abide ye here with the ass and I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son and he took the fire in his hand and a knife and they went both of them together and Isaac spake unto Abraham his father and said my father and he said here am I my son and he said behold the fire and the wood but where is the lamb for a burnt offering and Abraham said my son God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering so they went both of them together and they came to the place which God had told him of and Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood and Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son and the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said Abraham Abraham and he said here am I and he said lay not thine hand upon the lad neither do thou anything unto him for now I know that thou fearest God seeing thou hast not withheld thy son thine only son from me and Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horn and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son and Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh as it is said to this day in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen the affectionate relationship between this father Abraham and his beloved son is emphasized in a remarkable way you'll notice in verse 2 and in verse 12 in verse 2 and in verse 12 the word son in the second case in verse 2 is italicized I like to drop it I don't know what you think about it but of course the italicization of the print indicates that it was not in the original text so the translators thought well so as to make sense to put it in so but leaving it out helps to me in my judgment I don't know what you think and he said take now thy son thine only Isaac the word only thine only one is the same as our word darling thy darling Isaac the choice one of thy heart's affections and it comes again as I've said in verse 12 seeing thou have not withheld thy son thine only one from me could read it that way you see God has in his infinite wisdom seen fit to even give pictures of himself drawing word pictures of himself as he does here the Lord Jesus Christ was the only begotten son of the father he was the object of the father's delight and so we see the analogy and to every thoughtful intelligent person it must have an appeal even apart from being saved the question is that here is a human picture a man has an only son given to him and to his wife in their extreme old age when physically it would have been impossible but God gave them strength God gave them a special gift and he granted it to them to have this precious boy and Isaac the one in whom all his pride and delight and his plans for the future yes and God's own blessed promises that through this seed all nations of the earth should be blessed and then to to those who love to study scripture Isaac represents the person of Jesus Christ especially in this particular chapter and one or two followings so I'm going to ask you just to be patient with us as we go through a little bit of this picture that we might get something of it to our own hearts first of all as to those of us who are the Lord's people there's a passage of scripture in Romans the fourth chapter and eleventh verse which tells us that Abraham was the father the father of all them that believe that is to say he is the one who is the patriarch of the family of faith you exercise faith in God and in the word of God and are born again you become a spiritual child of this old testament patriarch who was such an outstanding example of believing God in the 12th chapter of Genesis in the opening verses God spoke to Abraham and called him out from his kindred and his father's house and his inheritance secular history tells us and the findings of the archaeological search in his home city prove that Abraham was a was highly wealthy and highly educated it was a wonderful civilization and also he was a prince among the princes of that era very very highly esteemed very wealthy having fabulous possessions and property and everything else and in the 12th of Genesis he turned his back upon it all and instead of a palace takes a tent and builds his altar and travels through the desert to a place unknown but God's command was enough for him now that of course is faith in exercise faith in demonstration and then that too that principle of trusting God looking to him unseeing though it may be unknowing as to any positive destiny I mean as far as Abraham is concerned as an example yet trusting God with implicit faith that as he has promised so it will be carried out to the last jot and tipple that simple faith is so different to the materialistic viewpoint of the natural man in every one of us we like to know for sure we like to have things cut and dry we like to have things down on paper we like to see before we all believe and that sort of thing and that's characteristic of the wise men of the world and it's thoroughly acceptable as a principle that is advisable in the world of course but when it comes to the things of God we find that when God speaks argument ceases and if God doesn't speak discussion is useless quoting Mr. C.H. Mackintosh's phrase which I love so dearly because it's so true if God speaks then argument ceases and if God doesn't speak then discussion is useless and so finding that as a guiding principle of this man's life we find it to be so helpful in understanding New Testament teaching and so he even Abraham to prove these things that we've been saying because we are telling the end of the story first to prove this to us God has instituted a test a supreme test a test above every other human being except God himself and he's not a human being but I mean in every other test there's not so much of a test as this one God himself is displaying his own heart he's giving you a little bit of a leaf out of his own biography God himself is displaying his own exercises his own thoughts and tries to get you and me to sit down quietly as we are this evening and really feel God's feelings as he is ready to give up his own his well-beloved son his only begotten son Jesus Christ and there was no ram caught in the thicket by the horns for him and so we see here a beautiful picture that is worthy of much more time than I can afford to give it however his faith stood the supreme test his faith in God why how could it well simply this had he not received it as by a miracle this son and if he if God wanted him because he had other plans well all right the same God that had given him in the first place super abounding over all the natural hindrances he could return him to him and thus you see he's demonstrating that he believed that God had control of life and death and resurrection now if that's the case well of course that's why Paul then could rejoice and say in the first of Romans first verse that he had separated himself unto the gospel of God concerning his son Jesus Christ well why because if Jesus Christ as he goes on to say proved to be the Son of God by the resurrection of the dead and if mother Abraham believes in the resurrection of the dead as he evidently did and if Paul believed in the resurrection of the dead and they both were ready to give up everything else and be separated unto the gospel of God concerning his son Jesus Christ why then you see the kernel of the thing the reason the basis for this decision is because if God can raise the dead if Jesus Christ can raise the dead all the New Testament then he can do anything and or rather undo anything that sin has done if sin has put a person to the point where they die which it has then if God could overcome the result of that man's sin by raising that dead person from the grave then the power of God over sin and its consequences is patent it's specific it's clear it's complete it's reliable it's trustworthy Paul could say if Jesus can raise the dead he raised the little girl Jairus's daughter one sample from the child from childhood the realm of childhood and then he could go to the city of Nain and meet a funeral procession coming out of the city to the burial ground and there a young man lies upon the bier and he touches the bier and asks the procession to stop and Jesus says young man I say unto thee arise and he did and so there's a choice example of the second realm of the human development now a youth has been raised from the dead and then he goes to Lazarus's tomb and he's been dead and he's a mature man and dead four days and his body already decomposing and he calls for the stone to be rolled aside and he picks one of the mature age and raises him Lazarus come forth and so we see that Jesus can raise the dead no matter whether it's in a child early in it's life or in a youth in the middle of it's life or in a mature man towards the end of it's life Jesus is in complete command of the situation and of the realm of the dead and therefore he can remedy sin he can remedy sin in it's ultimate condition even after sin has had it's terrible effect and brought the subject the victim to the consequences of sin which is death the wages of sin is death and so therefore we find that the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has solid ground under his feet upon which to stand and look the future in the face knowing that though we are sinners confessed and undone and helpless to raise one finger in our own defense or change one hair black or white or alter one consequence of our life and our sin and our behavior yet we believe in one who can who has and his word is trustworthy therefore we have no fear to take up the subject and look at it in this way look at Abraham's personal attitude which gives character to his offering the attitude of Abraham is worthy of notice because it shows just what missionaries must be made of it shows what God's people should be made of in service the attitude of the man not now the type of the father God the father offering up his son but the personal character of the man himself and the genuineness of his voluntarily giving up his son to God because God asked for it he reasoned not he did not consult with anybody he doesn't consult with a human being in the carrying out of God's request he didn't question anything he humbly accepted the task we don't hear of one word of doubt or question or query in any sense of the word he didn't delay in carrying out the task he rose up early in the morning and then he was careful that he would do it properly without with preparation beforehand and he claimed the wood and then he foresaw what might prove to be hindrances to the carrying out of God's requirements and requests so he caused the young men to stop before they reached the journey's end lest as they beheld what was going to take place they might have interfered with Abraham's conduct and pursuance of obedience those two young men could scarcely have stood by and witnessed the sight of a man probably their own age maybe around 20 anywhere from 22 to 33 years of age to see this young man being bound and laid upon an altar where the wood had already been placed and the father's hand upraised with a knife to take his life two red-blooded young men could easily have overcome the old gentleman and frustrated the picture that was is so valuable in scripture and the obedience of which he is so well credited and so you see he was very wise in his causing the young men to stand by with the ask while I and the lad shall go yonder and worship and another point worship is something that only those who know the mind of God can go yonder and carry out the young men and the ask were natural helps accessories to the act of worship just like our automobiles are we get into our automobiles we may have a chauffeur even some of you wealthy people and you have your chauffeur drive you up to the chapel door I haven't seen any yet though by the way anyway you might you may have the colored maid come in and make the meals for the day or somebody come in and babysit for you so that you can come go yonder and worship you can't bring them into it but you can use their privileges and their abilities and pay them for it or else anyway any other accessory in order to go yonder and then you leave them at a certain point and then you enter into the place where you can as a believer stand quietly in his presence and worship oh I love that phrase and I and the lad shall go yonder go yonder and worship and so we come to the worship meeting to the remembrance feast our businesses are left the key has been turned upon them our various aids and helps and everything else that's been accessory to the fact have been left behind and then for a quiet hour we're alone so to speak in the presence of God yonder it's an undisclosed destination yonder unnamed spot yonder and there we go yonder and worship oh young Christian you haven't learned the real richness of your Christianity until you've gone yonder and worshipped until you've gone into the secret place with God and there become absorbed with him and out of the abundance of your heart's affection and reciprocal worship and gratitude you pour out your heart in spontaneous praise and gratitude it isn't a mere ritualistic service capable of being printed out on a page telling what hymns are to be sung and what prayers are to be said and where and when and how and by whom and then the portion of scripture to be read and the preacher's name titles and all his diplomas no my friend he and the lad went yonder and worshipped isn't that sweet it didn't say I Abraham the great patriarch and Isaac my only begotten son go yonder and worship no I am the lad simple as that unnamed personalities well anyway we can't tarry too long it says now in the first place in the second verse take now thy son thy son it doesn't say take now thy child these differences rather and details are interesting to anyone who loves the word of God thy son he's a person capable of shouldering responsibility a child is not he's past the age of being an infant and past the place of irresponsibility he's a capable man thy son and he's therefore the one in whom you have placed all your hopes you're proud of him all your pleasure and your affections are centred in him thy son he is to your heart a source of supreme delight and joy and pride take him and offer him on one of the altars on one of the mountains that I will tell thee of God emphasises every detail of greatness and of beauty and of perfection he brings them all together and surrounds the questions with everything that would be calculated to make Abraham resist and say no I can't ah why does he do all this because he wants you ladies and gentlemen and I to share something of what it meant to the father up in heaven to give his only begotten son he wants you to see some of these details of what it meant to him to empty heaven to empty his heart of all that he had he emptied the universe of its cheapest treasure to savour and this is not modesty to savour wretch like me I'll never be able to get over it throughout the countless ages of eternity when I see that only begotten son upon that central throne crowned with every diadem that heaven and earth and men and women of all ages can heap upon him specially God his father and see that marvellous picture of him who was on the centre cross now upon the centre throne that he would go to the cross for me that God the father would stare him from his side for a good for nothing person that gave nothing to him when he trusted him brought nothing added nothing to his store and has done nothing to please him ever since oh what a marvellous picture how our minds and hearts will become absorbed with it when we behold that God spared not his only begotten son but gave him up for us all my oh our hearts will thrill at the sight and so after he gave up everything of his son he knew that he'd have nothing left nothing but God is that enough that's the question Christian for you and I to answer I've got nothing left after I've lost this one or that one or this thing or that thing I'll have nothing left if they were to go but God during the depression under well who should we blame well you know I won't say anything I'm not a politician anyway during the depression there was a man in Philadelphia who was known to a friend of mine in he was in the real estate business and this man came into this friend of mine's office and said well Lucian I've lost everything last night I was worth two million dollars and all that goes with it now this morning I haven't a thing it's all gone oh he says Mr. so-and-so don't say that oh yes it's true no it isn't true said Lucian knowing the man it isn't true oh I say it is no no it isn't it isn't so it isn't true you haven't lost everything oh I tell you I have I tell you I was worth so much last night this morning I'm not worth a thing not worth a thing everything's gone oh no not everything I don't understand you have you forgotten he said have you forgotten your heritage as a Christian oh oh well I'm afraid I have that's too bad when he needed it most in human affairs he'd forgotten that he was a child of God he'd forgotten everything concerning that which is of most vital account and so after all said and done you may have your bank account you may have your good position your good name you may be insured in this way and everything else all taken care of but if you haven't got a clear-cut title to the blessings that come to us as a gift from God and no expense to you and me you haven't got that you're poor you haven't a thing but Abraham did have what a wonderful thing then to be able to say well I haven't much in this world some of us perhaps can say I haven't anything maybe but I do have God is that enough sometimes our faith is tested to the point where we are just about at the point where we say we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got everything we need and we've got no hope nothing in this world nothing in this world could corral but we had God. And so dear father Abraham had God and he was rejoicing in it. one beautiful picture this is then of God's gift to his own beloved son Jesus Christ. The measure of God gift for us is estimated by the measure of his love for his son. Can you measure God's love for his son? No, of course not. Then you'll never be able to measure the gift of God, the measure of his gifts, the power, the purpose, and the value of that gift. Another way of measuring the love of God is to measure it by the cross of Calvary. Can you ever understand what Jesus went through on that cross, before and on it and so on? No, you can't. Well then you'll never be able to understand the depths, the lengths and depths and heights of the love of God. Because that's the yardstick by which we can measure if we are able. How good then to rejoice in all this. Then to look at the submission of Isaac, a son of about thirty-three, they tell me, thirty-three years of age. A friend who's a principal of several Bible schools, or has been in his lifetime, just told me that the other day, in research that he has been able to, in various languages, he's gone through the world many a time, travelled around it, knows six or seven languages, and has been able to search very, very diligently. And he claims that he was the same age about as the Lord Jesus himself, when he was crucified. I wouldn't doubt it one bit. And yet look at the submission. They went both of them together. And then says Jesus to his father on the way to the cross, I delight to do thy will, O my God. Yea, thy law is within my heart. They went both of them. From the heavens above, down to Bethlehem's manger, father and son went both of them together. And then he took up a body, and then another journey he took, from the cradle to the cross. And the father and the son went both of them together. Perfect harmony, perfect accord. One in giving up his all, the other in laying down his all upon the cross. What a picture we have of this human, or rather lovely picture of this submission on the part of Isaac. And then notice the burden upon his back. It says that Abraham took the wood, and laid it upon Isaac his son. Now I can talk to you folks, because you've heard some of these talks on the tabernacle. And we've seen that the wood in the subject of the tabernacle, demonstrates and illustrates the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we find that the wood was laid upon Isaac, whereas the fire and the night, Abraham carried. The fire, wherever found in the wood of God, suggests, or is actually speaking of, the holiness of God, the judgment of God. And the night, the sword of judgment. Awake, O sword, against the shepherd, against the man that is my fellow. Smite him, and the sheep shall be scattered abroad. Here we see the sword in the Father's hand, and the fire, his holiness, his just judgment. He carries these. He puts that which represents the humanity of Christ, to the wood upon Isaac his son. You couldn't have it more beautifully perfect than that. And then to think of Abraham binding his son. Binding him. All the cords of love, that bound Jesus to the sacrifice. What were the nails that bound him there? I dare to even suggest titles. The name of one nail was love, no doubt. The name of another, obedience. Another, devotion. Another, service. These are the nails that bound him to the cross. Not mere stakes driven in by Roman hands. They could have been overcome, but he who was the willing sacrifice. Out of love for God, and love for you and me. Service to God. Devotion to the will of God. And service and love and devotion to you and me. And to our eternal emancipation from the chains and shackles of sin in our human lives. To deliver us from them. And from the power of sin and the penalty of sin. And the domination of Satan. And to deliver us from the penalty, death itself. And the eternal death, second death hereafter. To deliver us from that. He must needs go to the cross and bear our sins in his own body on the tree. Then notice please, for we must hurry. Will you kindly look at verse 19, and if anybody can tell me of some mysterious thing that seems to be missing. Please be free to speak out loud. What do you see missing in verse 19's account? It says, So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up, and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. You see anything missing? Isaac's missing. Isaac is missing. Oh, how these things declare the accuracies of the word of God. God isn't through with Isaac yet. He's got more to tell us concerning the truths of the New Testament. So Isaac is missing. Why? Can you imagine? Because in the picture, Jesus, or rather in the picture, Isaac didn't die. But in the type, he must disappear from view. He must pass off the scene as Jesus his great antitype did. When he was dead, he barely ascended to God's right hand, and was not seen. But when will we see our Saviour again? When the next time we will see our Saviour? When he returns for us. Thank you. That's when we'll see Isaac. Look, the very next mention of Isaac's name is found in chapter 24, 24 verse 4. This is the next account. The next time we find his name mentioned. But thou shalt go unto my country, Abraham speaking to his eldest servant, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. Now the very next time we see Isaac acting or doing anything, we must go on to the end of the chapter, 66, no 62nd verse. And here we'll find his name six times, all in a group. If that isn't remarkable. The 62nd verse of chapter 24, And Isaac came from the way of the whale, Lahairoi, which, therefore, he dwelt in the south country. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide, and lifted up his eyes, and saw, and behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lifted up, lighted off the camel. For she said unto the servant, the unnamed servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master. Therefore she took a veil, and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. There's Isaac, missing, returning to the young man. But not missing in the realm of Scripture's inspiration. There he is, waiting for his bride. It illustrates the ascension of Jesus Christ from public view. And the next time he will be seen, will be when he comes to meet his bride, and he'll see the camels coming. Ah, surely he's out in the field, so to speak. Meditating now, watching, and waiting, till he sees us coming. And what are the camels? Well the camel is a shepherdship of the desert. Self-sustaining animal that can go across a wild, howling wilderness with very little or nothing to drink. Surely that is the word of God. For the camels were sent by the Master, Abraham. They belong to him. He has sent this book down here for us to ride upon it, across the desert, on our way home. And it's the servant, the unnamed servant. Who is that? Who is it? The Holy Spirit. Who takes of the things of the Father's house, and ministers them to us. Puts the rings upon our ears, and bracelets on our wrists, and necklaces around our neck. Giving us the jewels of gold and of silver from the Father's house, as we journey on the camel's back. The word of God. Sustaining all across a weary, moral desert. All around us, in the world, there's nothing to satisfy the spiritual natures of God's Christ bride. And so we're on our way. All how these things rejoice our hearts, as we see their accuracy. How we'd love to go into more and more detail in this remarkable story. But let's just ponder it just a little before we close. Notice please, in chapter 23. Now we looked at 22. 22, we'll say, is a picture of the death of Christ. Right? 23, what happens in 23rd chapter? Sarah dies. Sarah was Isaac's mother. According to the flesh, who was the mother of Jesus? According to the flesh. What? Not Mary of... but who was she a member of? The nation of Israel. The nation of Israel, after they rejected the Lord Jesus. After the death of Jesus. Just as Sarah, after the death of Isaac, so Jesus, the nation of Israel was put out of sight. Put out of existence, so to speak. I mean in the sense of publicity. They went into captivity. They were scattered abroad to every country and corner of the earth. They still are. There's only a few of them, comparatively speaking, in the land of Palestine. And so there's a day coming when they're going to be regathered, but it's got to be in time, at a later date. And before that, the marriage supper of the Lamb is going to take place, when the bride and our Isaac is going to meet in a coming day. That's how the scripture is so beautiful when it says that he was comforted over the death of his mother Sarah. Our blessed Saviour is comforted by the church being caught up to be with him. He's comforted with relating, with regard to the rejection of the nation of Israel, of him. By the nation of Israel, of him. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. And today, in many instances, if you mention the name of Jesus to a Jew, he'll spit in your face. Or at least he'll spit upon the ground. He's a little bit more of a gentleman than to spit in your face, but that's what he means by it. He'll spit on the ground. And so what an attitude to assume towards the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Lord Jesus, the Man of Sorrows. But they rejected him. It must have hurt his feelings deeply when he came unto his own, and his own received him not. His own people. But they said, away with this man. We'll not have this man to reign over us. It's bad enough for a Jew, but it's worse when a Gentile acts the same way as a renegade Jew, and rejects the Son of God, rejects supreme love, despises the opportunity of enjoying the blessings that God's heart can give and bestow upon you. Or if there's an unsaved friend in the hall, we'd love you to really embrace this opportunity tonight, and accept this Saviour as your own, and rejoice in this marvellous place of salvation which we don't deserve, but we have been granted and given by God in his infinite mercy. And so Abraham is the one who is anxious about his son getting a bride. Notice in the 24th chapter and the 4th verse, And thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son. And so God is interested in bringing a bride to his son Jesus Christ, as we saw the other day in the first and last wedding that we took up. The great glorious prospect of being part of the bride of Christ for every person saved in this dispensation. Only in this dispensation, but in this dispensation, the bride is being formed from the side of the Lord Jesus as he was formed from the side of Adam while he was in a deep sleep. So the death of Christ answers to the deep sleep, and the plunging of the Roman spear into his side answers to the rib that was taken from Adam's side. And then out of that rib was formed a woman, a Eve, which became flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone in literal reality. And so Jesus says in the fifth Ephesians that we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone, for we were taken out of his side. What a wonderful thing God has given us in this book. And when we compare our Old Testament and our New Testament side by side, we see picture and type and anti-type in a beautiful manner. So it's the father that's anxious to send this man out. In the second verse he says, Abraham said unto his eldest servant, he takes care not to name him, the eldest servant of his house that ruled over all he had, put I pray thee thy hand under my thigh, and 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, but thou shalt go unto my country, to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son. And then the servant goes down to the country that Abraham came from and he starts praying when he gets to a certain well at verse 12. And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee send me good speed this day. day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water, and 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 father. And that's what exactly what happened. In the 18th verse, rather 17th verse, the servant ran to meet her, this woman that was coming, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord. And she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. And the man wandering at her held his peace, to be quick, whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hand of ten shekels weight of gold, and so on. And so this girl went home, and told the father about this wonderful man who had come, and then they called for the man to come home too. And the story is too much to read, you can see there are 67 verses, so I've got to reduce it. He recounts to the father and to the brother and uncle of this girl just what had happened from the very beginning, so rehearses the whole affair. Very interesting reading. And then it says in verse 50, Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceeded from the Lord. We cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee. Take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken. And it came to pass that when Abram's servant heard their words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah. He gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. You see, there's the illustration of some of the things that you can get when you're sitting around the Word of God. When you're feasting from the Word, whether in private or public, or rather with others, that you can enjoy the jewels of silver and the jewels of gold. Silver speaks of redemption, particularly in the Scripture, and gold speaks of God's holiness, God's righteousness, God himself. And as these two great themes, the theme concerning God and concerning heaven and concerning the person of Jesus Christ and redemptive work, as these two great themes are brought before our minds, we are rich. We become wealthy. And so that's what the spiritual meaning, at least, of Deuteronomy 8 is, when it says in the 8th chapter of Deuteronomy verse 18, Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth. Spiritual wealth. He doesn't make us wealthy physically so much in this dispensation. That's to do with the Israelites. If God has given you wealth, then he's given it to you to be a steward for him and use it for his honor and glory. But for most of us he doesn't trust us with great wealth. But we find that the wealth, our wealth, is in the spiritual things, the things of heaven, the things of the scriptures, that throw and satisfy the heart and comfort us. Yesterday morning I received a sudden notice that a friend of mine, who lives behind our house, in the trailer I used to, well, used to pull in behind your building here. I sold it to him and he was living in it. And he was an aviator and a dear, fine Christian lad of 28 years of age. And I heard that he was dusting crops for a little bit of a pinch-hitting job, flying a plane that he and another man owned. And then the plane had an accident and now he's with the Lord. He's gone. That young man, brilliant, happy, eager to go into the mission field, just coming into our assembly fellowship in Fort Lauderdale. Oh, bright with hope, radiant with joy, but swept along on the winds like a morning cloud. He's in the presence of God this night. Oh, what a wonderful thing then. Bob didn't have any money. Bob was paying little bit by little bit to buy the trailer. He was so eager to get a trailer he wanted to go to Moody's school to learn how to do things and get prepared to go into evangelistic work as a pioneer. And he wanted to have this trailer to have a home to live in, wherever he might go. The Lord saw otherwise. But to think that if he hadn't secured the wealth of heaven, his mother and father will have to bury him. He had nothing of this world's good. But he was struggling to gain a goal. But God has given him another goal. But how rich that boy is tonight. His body is being carried to Connecticut. His spirit is already in heaven. He had wealth, but God is the only one that can give it. And that was the only wealth worth having right now, don't you think? He couldn't carry his monetary wealth with him if he had any. He could have been John Rockefeller's first son, and it wouldn't have done him a bit of good right now. But what he did have, though he didn't have a dime hardly, he did have eternal life. He had a saved soul. He had everything to look forward to. And he couldn't lose it by death. Oh how important this spiritual wealth is. And so I want to conclude this little talk tonight by referring to two passages, no, one passage of scripture. And that's down in our 58th verse, or rather the 56th verse for context. And this servant said unto them, the father and brother, hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way. Send me away, that I may go to my master. We are being hurried on by the Spirit of God, home too. We'll soon be there. And they said, we will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. And they called Rebecca, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? She had to make the final decision. And so was you, friend. She said, I will go. Friend tonight, will you go with us to glory? You must make the decision, nobody can do it for you. The preacher can't, your relatives can't. You must, as an individual, open the door of your heart. And say yes or no, I will or will not go. You have the choice, you either have that responsibility of saying no, I won't. You have that privilege. No animal can have that privilege. He goes where his master tells him to go. But you, you can say to God, I care nothing for thy way. I'm not interested in thee, as we heard last night, from those who live before the flood. But you can also say, I will go. But you've got to say one or the other. If you don't say anything, it's taken for granted that you'll not go. You must choose, and say, I will go, with this man. And so we've seen where they, where she went. She rode upon the camels out into the desert. And the servant knew the way. She didn't. And our God's servant today, he knows the way, we don't. But the destination is sure. Some blessed day, it may be tonight, we'll awake up in his likeness, and be with him. We'll go into his tent, and he'll be comforted over the death of his mother. Israel's rejection will be compensated by the love of the bride, the church of this dispensation. May your heart be refreshed, as we draw this little season to the close. May our hearts rejoice. Tomorrow night, we'll go on another portion of this wonderful book of Genesis, if the Lord will.