The Story of God: God’s Unsung Hero

About ten years ago my favorite show on television was this show called Heroes. What made it great was that there were all these average people who discovered they had supernatural powers. There was the cheerleader whose body miraculously healed itself. The senator who could fly. A policeman who could read minds. Another guy who could teleport through time. One of my personal favorites was the kid who could manipulate technology to make an ATM spit out hundreds of dollars. It was a fun show. A bit unrealistic, but what made it so great, was that it really wasn’t their extraordinary powers that made them heroes. It was their courage and compassion that motivated them to use their powers for good that made them heroes. In fact, when you start to think about, it’s those kind of qualities: courage and compassion that are usually found in unsung heroes. Like the dad who continually sacrifices his time and energy to provide for his family. Or the mother who quietly and consistently prays for her children. Or the teacher, who genuinely cares for each of his students, year after year. Or the soldier who willing serves his country, knowing full well that in doing so, he may have to forfeit his life. In fact, when you think about it, our culture is full of unsung heroes who never get the accolades that often fall upon those who do extraordinary acts of courage.

I want to introduce you to one of the Unsung Heroes of God’s Story. The part he played was absolutely essential in us coming to experience the blessing of Jesus Christ. His story is recorded for us in Genesis 24. For as we return to the story of God, we come to a crossroads, where Abraham is now ready to hand over the role of Patriarch of the Promises to Isaac. However, there just one little problem: If God’s promise to Abraham is to be fulfilled – if blessing to the nations is to come through his offspring – then Isaac needed a wife – and not just any wife, but a wife who could embrace the promises of God with him. So as we return to the Story of God we see Abraham’s final act of faith: entrusting his servant with the task of finding a wife for Isaac.

This servant is God’s Unsung Hero. What made him a hero is what can make any of us a hero in God’s story. For it is in his mission where we get insight into the kind of qualities that can make any one us a hero in God’s eyes. There are four such qualities in this story and the first one is this: Unsung Heroes Willingly Accept God’s Mission

The narrator begins by telling us that Abraham is now very old, and the Lord has blessed him in every way. A great deal of time has passed since God provided the offering on Mount Moriah. Sarah is now deceased. Abraham has buried her in a tomb he purchased from Ephron. Abraham is ready to pass the baton to Isaac, but Isaac needs a wife if God’s blessing is to be fulfilled through him. So now we see Abraham’s final act of faith as he gives his servant this important mission.

I want to make a few observations for us here. First, we are never told the servant’s name. However, we can surmise that this man is Eliezar. He is after all Abraham’s chief of staff. He has proven himself faithful. So Abraham now entrusts this mission to him.

Second, Abraham is adamant that the servant is not to find Isaac a wife from the Canaanites. These are a pagan people who do not believe in Yahweh. It would be a disaster for Isaac to marry a woman who did not believe in the one true God. No, she is to come from his own country and his own relatives.

Thirdly, Abraham is also adamant that Isaac not leave the promised land. Abraham believes that the promised offspring will come through Isaac. To send him back to the land of his family would be to doubt God’s promise. He will not do that now after all he has grown in his faith.

Forth, she must be willing to come back to this land. In other words, she must have the same kind of faith Abraham exhibited when God called him. She must be willing to leave her father’s household, her people and her country behind.

Finally, Abraham promises that the angel of the Lord will be with him to help him be successful. Abraham’s faith is fully mature. He believes God will see to it to fulfill the promises He made to Abraham. So he trusts that God will give his servant success. So this is a mission birthed out of faith in the promises of God.

All now that’s left is for the servant to accept God’s mission. Is he willing to commit to finding a wife for Isaac and bringing her back? And we see that he is. He swears an oath to Abraham, that he will do precisely all that Abraham is asking of him.

Now, how this connects with us is quite simple. God has blessed us to be a blessing today. And the best way we get to be a blessing is to help others find and follow Jesus.

God’s mission for us is this: We are to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and to teach them everything Jesus commanded. This mission also comes with the same promise. When we willingly accept God’s mission, Jesus promises to be with us every step of the way. Our success in fulfilling God’s mission is the same as the servant’s. It is God who promises to help us be successful.

In other words, you and I cannot make disciples on our own. We need God’s presence. We need God’s power. And He promises to give it. So like this unsung hero, the success of his mission was not dependent on him, but was dependent on God. And what made him a hero, is that he believed God would give him success. So he willing accepted God’s mission. That’s what makes anyone a hero in God’s eyes. Its trusting in God to go before us and help us do what He’s called us to do.

And so we read in verse 10, Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram- Naharaim and made his way for the town of Nahor. He had the camels kneel down near the well outside of town; it was toward evening, the time when women go out to draw water. Now just one more observation before we see the next quality of an unsung hero: Abraham gave his servant everything he needed from a human perspective to help him have success. His mission wasn’t just a blind leap of faith. Abraham gave him ten camels loaded with wealth. Today we associate camels with the Middle East, but domesticated camels were not common at this time. Since they were rare and made ideal pack animals for long journeys, each camel represented a small fortune. Ten camels in Abraham’s day would have looked like a ten-limousine entourage. Yes, this was God’s mission, but Abraham gave whatever he could to help make this mission a success.

The point is this: Even though God promises to be with us on His mission, we need to use whatever God has given us to partner with him. Whether that be our gifts or our wealth, whatever we can help bring to the table, we need to do our part to help make God’s mission a success.

But we should never make the mistake that we can do this all on our own. Which leads to the next quality seen in this servant and that is this: Unsung Heroes Seek God’s Help He prays: “LORD, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’ – let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. But this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.” Now this is a prayer of faith, seeking God’s help. I’ll you why: First, he intercedes on behalf of Abraham by using God’s covenant name. This shows us that he too enjoys a relationship with the One True God. He puts his trust in God as the one that “can make this happen.” He reveals that he is trusting in God to give him success.

Second, when he asks God to “show kindness to my master Abraham” he is appeals to the covenant nature of God. This Hebrew word for kindness describes God’s loyalty to the Covenant relationship. Last week, we learned that God’s Covenant name, Yahweh means “he exists to do good to those He loves.” Here, he is asking God to be faithful to the covenant – to do good to Abraham by revealing Isaac’s wife.

Third, he paints a specific picture for God to help him know which girl God has chosen by asking that “she be the who gives him a drink and provides water for the Camels.” Now, most people think that in doing this the servant is using a fleece to determine God’s choice. But they look at the details of this request rather than at the character quality the servant is looking for. He wants God to reveal a woman who is a servant: someone who is unselfish, thoughtful, courteous, diligent and industrious. And that’s precisely who now comes to the well.

Look at verse 15…Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.” “Drink, my lord, she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” So she quickly ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful.

What do you think? If anyone epitomizes what it means to be a servant it was Rebekah. She was thoughtful and courteous. She is the one who lowered the jar. She was the one who offered to draw water for his camels. She was diligent and industrious. She quickly ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Consider this: After traveling long distances Camels can drink anywhere from 30 to 50 gallons of water. Her water jug carried about five gallons of water. Even if his Camels drank a minimum of 30 gallons each, and it took her about two minutes to walk down, fill up, and walk back to the camels – she would have given herself to two straight hours of back-breaking labor for a stranger. And she may have done even more than this, for it was she who said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” Yes, I would say she was a servant: a strong and gracious servant. For a servant always goes beyond what is expected.

So what happens next: When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.” And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as a room for you to spend the night.”

Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.” Wow! This unsung hero asked for God’s help and God delivered in every way. Not only was Rebekah a servant who was thoughtful and industrious, she was hospitable and generous, and finally, she was one of Abraham’s own people. God had helped him find Isaac’s mate!

He sought God’s help and God delivered. Look at how he prayed. First, he appealed to God on the basis of his relationship with Him. Next, he appealed to God on the basis of his gracious nature. He asked him to do good for Abraham. Third, in his wisdom, he asked God to provide the perfect wife for Isaac. He asked for God’s best. That’s the kind of prayer God… wants… to answer. And that’s what makes him an unsung hero.

Maybe this is how we ought to start praying for our friends who do not yet know Jesus. That we would ask God to be merciful and do good for them. That we would ask that God to seek what’s best for them and bring them to faith. This is the kind of prayer God wants to answer. This is the kind of faith that makes anyone a hero in God’s eyes. Unsung Heroes Seek God’s Help. That’s the second quality, now the third:

Unsung Heroes Share God’s Story! So next we see that Rebekah runs home and tells her mother what’s just happened, but then Laban rushes out to check things out. And of course he finds our hero and his wealthy entourage and invites him to dinner – makes sure their camels are cared for, washes his men’s feet and sets a meal before him. But before he takes a bite, Abraham’s man puts all his chips on the table. He tells them God’s story: God’s story of blessing Abraham. God’s story of giving Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age, and God’s mission of sending him here to find a bride for Isaac. Then he shares the most critical part of the story beginning in verse 37, ‘You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, but go to my father’s family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.’   Then I asked my master, “What if the woman will not come back with me?”                    

He replied, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked faithfully, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family. Then, when you go to my clan, you will be released from my oath even if they refuse to give her to you – you will be released from my oath.” Then the servant goes onto to tell of his encounter with Rebekah at the well, and how God revealed to him that Rebekah was the one God had chosen for Isaac. And he concludes his story by saying: “Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.

Then Laban and Bethuel answered. “This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or another. Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.” Genesis 24:49-50

What really makes this man a hero is that he told God’s story. He told of God blessing and kindness to Abraham. He told of God’s helping him every step of the way. And when he asked them to respond – they believed, and gave Rebekah to be Isaac’s bride.

We have the much the same story: God has blessed us. God has been kind to us. God has been with us every step of the way. And when we tell His story… this good news of God’s kindness to us in Jesus – people will believe. People will believe. We must not be ashamed to tell God’s story. People are hungry for good news. And we have the good news. And when we can’t help but share God’s story with others, this is what makes us heroes in God’s eyes!

So this unsung hero told God’s story and all went well – that is until Rebekah’s family had a night to sleep on it. Then things got a bit interesting. After celebrating all night, the text says: When they got up the next morning he said, “Send me on my way so I may go to my master.” But her brother and mother replied, “Let the girl remain with us ten days or so; then you may go.”

But he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.”

Then they said, “Let’s call the girl and ask her about it.” So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”

“I will go,” she said.

Here now is the final quality of an unsung hero: Unsung Heroes Stay the Course When Laban and her mother tried to renege on the deal saying, “Let the girl remain ten days or so.” What they were really saying is that they didn’t really want her to go – for to use the phrase “ten days or so” could mean as much as a few weeks or even a few years.   But Abraham’s servant wouldn’t fall for their ploy and appealed once again to God’s hand in making this all happen.  But obviously Rebekah’s family had little if no faith in the God of Abraham, so they played what they thought was their trump card – they appealed to Rebekah. “Surely, she will not want to up and leave her people, her father’s household and go to a land far away to marry a man she never met. Let’s let her decide. Surely, she will want to stay.” But they were in for a surprise. What they hadn’t figured on was Rebekah’s faith. Just like her soon to be father-in-law, Rebekah was willing to leave her country, her people and her father’s household to go – to go and marry Isaac – thus putting an exclamation mark on God’s leading for Isaac’s bride.

Rebekah was not just an industrious servant and a hospitable and generous woman, she was a woman of faith: Precisely the kind of woman to marry the heir of the promise.  And now Rebekah’s faith settles the matter once and for all. So the servant takes Rebekah and returns to the promised-land where God orchestrates a romantic evening encounter for this fated pair. And when she sees Isaac approaching she asks “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?”

“He is my master,” the servant answered. Genesis 24:65

The unsung hero has stayed the course. He has finished his mission. For now, with the uniting of Rebekah and Isaac, the transition of God’s blessing to the nations has passed from Abraham to Isaac. Abraham is no longer his master. “He is my master,” the servant answered. Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Now the blessing to the nations through the seed of Abraham would continue. And to this day, because this unsung and unnamed servant was faithful to complete his calling, we now get to enjoy the blessing of Jesus. Its no wonder that the greatest complement God gives his servants is this: Well done, my good and faithful servant! Because what we see here is that this hero was faithful to the end.

Don’t you just love his story? Here was an ordinary man who took on an extraordinary task so we could be part of the blessing of God. History doesn’t record his name. He is God’s Unsung Hero, simply because: He was willing to accept God’s mission

He was willing to seek God’s help

He was willing to tell God’s story

And he was willing to stay the course.

These are the kind of qualities that can make anyone a hero in God’s eyes.

So let me ask you: Are you willing accept God’s mission?

Are you willing to seek God’s help?

Are you willing to tell God’s story?

Are you willing to stay the course?

If so you may just well be the unsung hero God is looking for.