Surprise Proposal
God uses circumstances in our lives for His glory.
Genesis(47) (Part of the Origins(46) series)
by Stuart Johns(50) on July 27, 2025 (Sunday Morning(64))
Glorifying God(3), Joy in Christ(1), Obedience(11), Prayer(4)
Origins
Surprise Proposal
(Genesis 24:34-67)
INTRODUCTION
“Twenty-eight-year-old Abby has been on dating apps for eight years, bouncing between OkCupid, Bumble, Tinder, eHarmony, Match, WooPlus, Coffee Meets Bagel, and Hinge. A committed user, she can easily spend two or more hours a day piling up matches, messaging back and forth, and planning dates with men who seem promising.
But really, she is just over it all: The swiping, the monotonous getting-to-know-you conversations, and the self-doubt that creeps in when one of her matches fizzles. Not a single long-term relationship has blossomed from her efforts.
Other aspects of the experience weigh on her as well. Abby said she has regularly felt pressured to have sex with others. She is not alone: A 2020 Pew Research Center survey found that 37 percent of online daters said someone continued to contact them after they said they weren’t interested, and 35 percent had received unwanted sexually explicit texts or images.
Yet despite all of it — the time, the tedium, and the safety concerns — Abby feels compelled to keep scrolling, driven by a mix of optimism and the fear that if she logs off, she’ll miss her shot at meeting someone amazing.
‘I just feel burned out,’ said Abby. ‘It really is almost like this part-time job.’”
Source: Catherine Pearson, “‘A Decade of Fruitless Searching’: The Toll of Dating App Burnout,” The New York Times (8-31-22).
[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2023/february/dating-app-users-feel-burnt-out.html].
There weren’t any dating apps when Judy and I met. In fact, there weren’t any apps at all. We had to meet in person, which seems to be coming back in style for Gen Z.
BODY
ME
Meeting Judy at college
I saw Judy across the room in our History of Civilization class at Huntington College
I remember being drawn in by her cute freckles and beautiful smile [#1 – Young people, what drew Pastor Stuart to Judy? (freckles & smile)]
Fortunately for me, a friend of mine from PA was sitting beside her that day
I caught up with Nancy after class and asked her a couple of questions about Judy
She found out the answers to my questions and got back with me
NOTE: Judy and I just saw Nancy at National Conference a week ago. It has been 33 years since we last saw her and she still remembers her role in bringing Judy and I together)
I eventually caught up with Judy and asked her out on a date – the rest is history
God’s divine circumstances
I believe that God brought us together
It wasn’t by chance that we were in the same History of Civilization class
It wasn’t by chance that she sat beside Nancy that day
God orchestrated those circumstances, so we could meet and eventually get married
WE
Most of us have probably experienced circumstances that were orchestrated by God
We may not have recognized them as such in the moment, but when we stopped to reflect on the situation, we could see God’s fingerprints all over it
Abraham’s servant wanted to share the reason why he had come from Canaan to Nahor and how the Lord had answered his prayer by the well. It was not by chance that he had met Rebekah at the well. It would not be by chance that Laban and Bethuel would give their blessing to the marriage proposal. It would also not be by chance that Rebekah would agree to leave her family, friends, and country, immediately, and return with Abraham’s servant. God orchestrated all of these circumstances, so that His plan would be accomplished and He would be glorified. That is what we will learn from these verses today, that . . .
BIG IDEA – God uses circumstances in our lives for His glory.
Let’s pray
GOD (Genesis 24:34-67)
Background (vv. 34-49)
Review
It’s been a couple of weeks since we last studied Genesis, so we need to remember what happened in the first half of chapter 24
Abraham had his chief servant put his hand under his thigh and swear an oath that he would get a wife for Isaac from his country and his own relatives
The servant agreed and left for Aram Naharaim and specifically stopped at the town of Nahor
He prayed to the Lord and then waited by the well for the young women to come out and draw water
Rebekah gave the servant a drink and offered to water his camels too
The servant place a ring in her nose and bracelets on her arms after hearing whose daughter she was
The servant and his companions were offered hospitality by Laban, but the servant refused to eat until he told them what he had to say
Laban encouraged him to share
That brings us to the second half of chapter 24
Who he was (v. 34)
He is Abraham’s servant
We know from two weeks ago that he was just not any old servant, but Abraham’s chief (oldest) servant
Some scholars believe it may have been Eliezer of Damascus (Gen. 15:2)
Who his master was (vv. 35-36)
It was Abraham, Nahor’s brother
God had blessed Abraham abundantly and he had become wealthy (the servant highlighted Abraham’s wealth
He had sheep and cattle
He had silver and gold
He had menservants and maidservants
He had camels and donkeys
Abraham’s wife, Sarah, had born him a son in her old age
As readers of the Bible we already know this information
Laban, Rebekah and their family did not know this
The importance of this information for the family was to reassure them that Isaac was not some old guy
This son was the sole heir of Abraham’s wealth
“It is wonderful to work for a cause which has been blessed by the Lord. No deficits, no failures are possible, when we are in His will. Where God guides, God provides. To know that church, home, and testimony are being blessed, causes exaltation beyond expression. And all because of His grace!” [Barnhouse cited by Gangel & Bramer, Holman Old Testament Commentary, Genesis, 203]
Why he was in Nahor (vv. 37-41)
To find a wife for Isaac
The servant was under an oath from his master to get a wife from his father’s family, from his own clan [#2 – Young people, why was the servant in Nahor? (to find a bride for Isaac)]
Abraham did not want Isaac to marry a woman from Canaan
What if the woman refuses to come back with me?
Remember, the trip was 400 miles and would take about a month
The servant would not be able to use a pay phone, cell phone, or email to contact Abraham if the woman or family refused
He needed to know Abraham’s wishes if this happened
Abraham’s faith on display
Abraham was confident in the Lord’s ability to give the servant success in his journey
How is our faith today?
Is it like Abraham’s faith in the Lord?
When our relationship with the Lord is like Abraham’s, we can be confident in the success of the journey’s He sends us on
Spending time in God’s Word and fellowshipping with Him in prayer enables us to know what His will is
Romans 12:1-2, Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 8:5, Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
We can have the same faith as Abraham
Released from the oath
Abraham reassured the servant that if the woman and her family refused, he would be released from the oath
The servant did not share the second question he asked Abraham
In Genesis 24:5b, the servant wanted to know if he was supposed to take Isaac back to the country Abraham came from, if the woman refused to return with him
Abraham’s response was “do not take my son back there.”
Sharing that question and answer would have put a damper on the marriage proposal to Rebekah’s family
We know why Abraham did not want Isaac to return to Mesopotamia, because God had given him the Promised Land as an inheritance
Abraham’s relatives were not aware of that promise, so they probably would have taken Abraham’s answer to the question in a negative way
After sharing why he was in Nahor, the servant shared what he did at the well in order to find Isaac a wife
What he did at the well (vv. 42-48)
He prayed and asked the Lord to grant him success [#3 – Young people, what did the servant do at the well? (prayed)]
He told Laban and Bethuel what he prayed for
Maiden would come out from the town, give him a drink of water, and offer to water his camels
Rebekah came to the spring before he finished praying in his heart
When he asked her for a drink of water, she gave him a drink and offered to water his camels too
PRINCIPLE #1 – God hears our sincere and simple prayers.
God certainly heard the servants prayer and answered, because it was a part of His plan and according to His will
The actual prayer that we saw last week and the retelling of the prayer this week showed that the servant was asking for a specific outcome, so he would know if the woman was the right one
This is similar to what Gideon did in Judges 6:36-40 when he asked the Lord for a sign (oracle) with a wool fleece on the threshing floor – he was looking for a specific outcome to determine God’s will
All of these happened during the premonarchy period [Walton, The NIV Application Commentary, Genesis, 536]
We are blessed today to have God’s written Word and the Holy Spirit that lives within us to guide our choices from within (these two things have replaced the mechanistic oracles/signs)
“Rather than forcing God’s hand, we need to learn to see his fingerprints on our lives.” [Walton, 540]
“The story is told of a man who had been forced to take refuge on his roof to escape the waters of a flashflood. There he fervently prayed for God to provide deliverance and accepted in faith that his prayer would be answered. A short time later a neighbor came by in a rowboat and invited to take him in. He refused, claiming that God was going to deliver him. The waters continued to rise. Soon the man was forced to the peak of his roof. When evening came a National Guard motorboat came by and offered to take the man to safety. But no, the man insisted that God was going to save him. And the waters continued to rise.
Finally the man had to take up a perch on the top of his chimney. In the middle of the night a helicopter hovered into sight and dropped a ladder down to lift the man to dry ground. Again the man was resolute that God was going to save him. Sometime shortly before dawn the man was overcome by the floodwaters and died. Standing before God in heaven, he lamented his great disappointment that God had let him down despite his firm faith. Why had God not delivered him? God gently replied that he had sent two boats and a helicopter, what more did he expect?” [Walton, 540]The man was so focused on some supernatural deliverance from God that he missed the fingerprints of God three times
God hears our sincere and simple prayers, but we have to make sure we don’t miss His answer through common circumstances
#1 – My Next Step Today Is To: Look for God’s fingerprints in my everyday circumstances, so I do not miss His answer to my prayers.
Another principle that we see in this section is…
PRINCIPLE #2 – God works through circumstances to accomplish His purpose for His glory.
Even before the servant finished praying in his heart, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder
This means that God had already prompted Rebekah to leave the house and begin walking to the spring to draw water before the servant began to pray
God used the circumstance of human and camel thirst in order to accomplish His purpose for His glory
How has God used circumstances in your life to accomplish His purpose for His glory?
He has done that multiple times in my life
The birth of our first son brought us back from FL to OH, where I began to serve with CEF of Ohio
A layoff from CEF in MO caused me to work multiple jobs and eventually prepare us to move to CA where I heard the call into pastoral ministry
The need to downsize staff at EGM caused me to resign, so that another staff person would not lose their job, because I knew that God was calling me into pastoral ministry
All of those transitions were for His glory!
God uses circumstances in our lives for His glory.
What has that looked like for you? (take a moment to reflect on that in your life)
The servant asked her whose daughter she was
She told him her father’s name (Bethuel)
She also told him her grandparent’s names (Nahor & Milcah)
The servant gave Rebekah the nose ring and bracelets
The servant worshiped the Lord for guiding him to Abraham’s brother’s granddaughter
What he asked her family (v. 49)
“What do you think about the oath I took and the prayer I prayed?”
“Has the Lord allowed me to be successful or do I need to return to the spring and keep looking?”
The servant did not need to wait for their answer
Betrothed (vv. 50-54a)
Laban and Bethuel recognized the sovereignty of God
They willingly gave their blessing for Rebekah to marry Isaac
God uses circumstances in our lives for His glory.
The servant once again bowed down and worshiped the Lord
He experienced the joy of the Lord when he saw the Lord fulfill His promises – the only thing he could do was bow down in worship
PRINCIPLE #3 – We can experience the joy of the Lord when He fulfills His promises.
How has the Lord fulfilled His promises to you?
Have you experienced the joy of the Lord through His fulfilled promises?
Joy goes far deeper and beyond happiness
It is an internal contentment, knowing that God cares deeply about you and your circumstances
#2 – My Next Step Today Is To: Relish and reflect on the joy of the Lord, because of _____________.
After worshiping the Lord…
The servant presented the bride price
For Rebekah, the servant added gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing
For Laban and Rebekah’s mother he provided costly gifts (we do not know what those costly gifts were)
The contingent from Canaan finally ate the meal that had been provided and spent the night with Rebekah’s family
Beckoned (vv. 54b-59, 61)
The servant had an urgency to return to his master
I would be eager to do the same thing, so I could share how the Lord’s angel had gone before me, honored my master’s faith, and answered my prayers
“When the Lord is at work, that is the time to keep going!” [Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Pentateuch, 109]
It would take him about a month to return home
That would make the trip enjoyable instead of monotonous – he had great news for his master
In our culture, news travels fast, because of modern technologies – sometimes news travels so fast that we don’t get to share our news for ourselves
Judy and I are very careful about what we share on social media, so that the actual person or family has the opportunity to share it for themselves
There have been times when I have waited to find out if the news I know about is “Facebook official” (even that term is antiquated)
Rebekah’s brother and mother were not quite as eager to let her go that quickly
Counter offer
They wanted Rebekah to remain with them for about ten days before she left – I don’t blame them [#4 – Young people, how many days did Rebekah’s family want her to stay with them? (10)]
Imagine for a moment that a stranger arrived in Churchville, chose your daughter at the local watering hole, spent the evening with you, and then asked to take her 400 miles away to Buffalo, NY or Lexington, KY (using roads that do not require tolls) – my guess is that you would probably want at least ten days with her before she left
The servant countered and asked them not to detain him, since the Lord had given him success
They called Rebekah and had her join them to see if she would be willing to leave that day
Rebekah agreed
God uses circumstances in our lives for His glory.
PRINCIPLE #4 – God is pleased when we obey Him.
Rebekah was obedient to God’s plan for her
She obviously recognized God’s providence in her life through the example of Abraham’s servant
She showed incredible faith by being willing to leave the next day after meeting this complete stranger
How is God asking you to be obedient to Him?
Have you been dragging your feet?
Are others asking you to stay when God is telling you to step out in faith?
#3 – My Next Step Today Is To: Obey what God is asking me to do, so He will be pleased and glorified.
Her family sent her nurse, Deborah (Gen. 35:8), along as a helper (v. 59)
Rebekah’s maids also went with her (v. 61)
The family had already agreed to the surprise proposal and now they blessed her as she was leaving
Blessed (v. 60)
The families blessing included many descendants for her and the expansion of her new family’s territory
About a month passed between verses 61 and 62
The narrative switched from Nahor in Mesopotamia to the Negev in Canaan
Bound (vv. 62-67)
Isaac’s location
We know from Genesis 21 and 22 that Abraham and Isaac had been living in Beersheba [show map]
At some point Isaac moved to Beer Lahai Roi (be-ayr’ lakh-ah’ee ro-ee’/beh-air lock-high row-ee’), which is still in the region of the Negev
If you remember, this area was named by Hagar (Gen. 16:14)
It means “The well of the Living One who sees me”
He went out to the field one evening to meditate
The actual meaning of the Hebrew word for meditate is uncertain
Scholars believe it could mean to meditate, muse, commune, speak, or complain
Most modern translations have chosen the word meditate
First glance
Isaac saw the camel caravan approaching and probably knew it was his father’s servant returning from his mission
Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac
She got off the camel she was riding
She asked Abraham’s servant who the man was that was coming to meet them
When she learned that it was her future husband, she covered herself with her veil [#5 – Young people, what did Rebekah do before meeting Isaac? (covered herself with her veil)]
She was not covered during the journey
Israelite women were not required to be veiled all the time
Rebekah veiling herself would have indicated to Isaac that she was the bride-to-be, since she was traveling with her nurse and other maids
“The proper decorum apparently for a betrothed woman of upper class was a veiled face. This custom helps explain why beauty was defined by the eyes and form of a woman (e.g., 29:17; Prov 6:25; Song 1:15) as well as why Jacob failed to recognize Leah on their wedding night.” [Mathews, The New American Commentary, Volume 1B, Genesis 11:27-50:26, 347-48]
Perhaps it was love at first sight, but probably their love grew over time as they realized that God had brought them together
Servant’s report
The servant shared everything he had done while in Mesopotamia (the land of his father’s relatives)
While it is not mentioned in the text, it goes without saying that the servant introduced Rebekah to Isaac
Marriage
The marriage narrative is short and sweet
Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother’s tent
Isaac married Rebekah
Isaac loved her
Rebekah comforted Isaac after his mother’s death
It had been three years since Sarah’s death
Isaac was probably struggling with his grief
He was Sarah’s only child, so they probably had a strong relationship and deep connection to each other
PRINCIPLE #3 – We can experience the joy of the Lord when He fulfills His promises.
Judy and I attended the wedding ceremony of a teacher friend of hers and were shocked when the ceremony only lasted 5 minutes (the time when the bride walked down the aisle until the bride and groom walked back down the aisle)
God uses circumstances in our lives for His glory.
YOU
Are you ready to look for God’s fingerprints in your everyday circumstances, so you do not miss His answer to your prayers?
What do you need to relish and reflect on that brought the joy of the Lord?
Do you need to obey what God is asking you to do, so He will be pleased and glorified?
WE
Where can we see God’s fingerprints here at Jerusalem Chapel?
What has God done in the life of the church that we need to relish and reflect on, with joy?
What is God asking us to do as a church that we need to obey?
CONCLUSION
“Our daughter, Julie, met a young man, Mark, while they were working on a ranch in Colorado. After Julie came home, Mark decided to pursue the relationship and came to visit her.
Our pastor, while greeting visitors from the pulpit, welcomed the young man who was ‘Julie's future husband.’ Embarrassed, Julie leaned over and whispered, ‘I'm sorry, Mark.’
Mark whispered back, ‘Why?’
She replied, ‘Because, you've never asked me to marry you.’
He said, ‘Will you?’
She said, ‘Yes,’ and suddenly they were engaged.
They were married in that same church.”
Source: Jean Johnson, Fremont, Mich. Christian Reader, "Rolling Down the Aisle."
[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1997/may/3171.html]