God often orchestrates His plan through “chance” meetings. Genesis 24 contains the heart-warming story of two relatively obscure people who played an important role in fulfilling God’s plan to bless mankind. The backdrop of the story is that Isaac had reached the stage in life when he was ready to marry and start a family. As part of the culture of the day, parents were intricately involved in the process of finding the prospective spouse for their children, but because of his advanced age and declining health, Abraham had to assign that task to another. Take heart those of you age 65 and older who have been advised by our government officials to stay home during the COVID pandemic. As we see in this story, we may be restricted in our ability to move around the community, but God is able to accomplish his plan and purpose regardless of our circumstances.
This story illustrates the truth of Psalm 37:23, “the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.” Abraham gave his servant the assignment of finding a wife for Isaac. I suspect Isaac may have had a private conversation with the servant to give him a few things to consider. As the story goes, the servant left with ten camels loaded with treasure that would serve as the dowry for the new wife. Now consider the significance of Abraham entrusting that great amount of wealth and the importance of this mission to the servant.
Reach chapter 24 again and take note how Abraham’s servant met Isaac’s future wife through a “chance meeting.” I am convinced the timing and location of that meeting were orchestrated by God. In the proper course of time, Rebekah became Isaac’s wife and consequently the mother of Jacob / Israel through whom the Messianic line would come. This should encourage each of us that Almighty God is directing our steps to have the conversation with the person who needs the words of encouragement we are prepared to share.
Let’s consider a couple of other important factors. The mission was successful because an obscure servant had already built the trust in Abraham to the point he could be trusted with the resources and assignment. The mission was also successful because of Rebekah. She is described as a virgin which means she had never had sexual relations with any man and had committed herself to a standard of purity. Also, when she met the servant she was busy fulfilling her daily and ordinary routine as a shepherdess. This tells us she was faithful to her responsibilities.
Proving yourself trustworthy, committing to a high moral standard, and faithfully fulfilling the basic responsibilities of every-day life are the keys that open the door of opportunity.