Genesis 24:10: Four hundred miles back to the country the family left, and Abraham will not go
Read it →Commentary on Genesis 24:10
The servant sets out with ten camels and his master's wealth in his hands, bound for a city hundreds of miles away. What he carries, where he goes, and why he goes at all come from his master's orders — and commentators read the journey as a picture of how God works today.
Sent to find a bride
Nothing in the verse starts with the servant himself. He travels because his master sends him. One writer reads that sending as a picture of a greater one, and notes who does not travel:
In this chapter Abraham sends Eliezer to seek a wife for Isaac. This represents the Holy Spirit sent by the Father to seek the church, "the bride, the Lamb's wife." It is not Isaac who goes to look for a bride. In the same way, Christ does not return to this earth to choose a church for Himself. Rebekah must leave her country and come to the land of promise. In this chapter we see the features of the Holy Spirit's work, and how a soul is guided by Him.
All the goods in his hand
Commentators here quote an older translation: "all the goods of his master were in his hand." The ESV puts it as "taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master." Either way, the servant travelled with his master's wealth at his disposal. One writer links that to the Lord's promise to His disciples:
The servant comes to Mesopotamia well equipped for his service, for we read, "All the goods of his master were in his hand." This reminds us that the Holy Spirit has come to teach us "all things," to guide us into "all truth," and to show us "all things that the Father has" (John 14:26; John 16:13-15).
Holding what belongs to another
The servant handled the wealth, but he never owned it. One writer uses that difference to describe how the Spirit works:
In the way God works, the Spirit is said to operate or distribute rather than to give. He is something like Eliezer (Gen. 24), who had all the goods of his master in his hand. Eliezer distributed them and disposed of them, but they came from another. I say something like, because the word "master" does not fit here. The Holy Spirit is God, so His operations are the operations of God.
Mesopotamia and the city of Nahor
The verse names the destination twice. It is a real place, and Abraham's own family had lived there:
This was an ancient city in Mesopotamia. Terah and his family moved there from Ur of the Chaldees, and Abraham stayed there on his way to the land of Canaan, until his father's death. The descendants of Nahor, Abraham's brother, also settled here, so the city was called the "city of Nahor." Gen. 24:10. The name means "road," and it was probably called that because the caravan routes of Syria, Assyria, and Babylonia crossed there.
The errand behind the journey
The journey out is only half the errand. One writer traces the picture to its end, where the bride reaches the bridegroom:
Abraham sends Eliezer, the steward of his house, to seek a wife for the risen heir, his only son Isaac. She is to come from the country Isaac was not to return to — the world as it is. This is a beautiful figure of the mission of the Holy Spirit. After the Lord's death and resurrection He carries out His office with the elect of God, who are to form the Lamb's wife in the counsels of God, and He conducts her across the desert to her heavenly bridegroom.
One business in a foreign country
Notice what the servant does not do once he arrives. He is rich, trusted, and far from home, yet he takes on no second project:
In the story that follows, the servant does not interfere with the conditions in Mesopotamia. He did not try to change its religion, improve its social conditions, or interfere with its government. His one business was to secure the bride for Isaac. God's people would escape much disappointment if they once grasped God's great purpose at the present time, and the special mission of the Holy Spirit in this world.
Summary
- Sent — the servant does not go on his own errand. His master sends him to find a bride for the son, a picture of the Spirit sent by the Father to seek the church.
- Equipped — all his master's goods were in his hand. The Spirit likewise comes to teach us all things and show us all that the Father has.
- Entrusted — he distributed the wealth and disposed of it, but it came from another; he handled it, he did not own it.
- Directed — he crossed to Mesopotamia, to the city where Abraham's own family had settled, because his master sent him there.
- Undistracted — rich and far from home, he changed nothing in that country. His one business was to secure the bride. God's people escape much disappointment when they hold the same single purpose.
