Unnamed: All About Him

“Abraham was old,.. [and] said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had,.. ‘ I make you swear by the Lord… that you will… go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.’..  The Lord… will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there...’  

“Then the servant… went to Mesopotamia… And he said, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham… I am standing by the spring…  Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.’

“Before he had finished speaking, Rebekah,.. came out with her water jar,.. went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. The servant ran to meet her and said, ‘Please give me a little water.’  She said, ‘Drink, my lord… I will draw water for your camels also…’  The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.

“‘Please tell me whose daughter you are…’  She said, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor…’  The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord.., ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. The Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen…’ The man came to the house and… said, ‘I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.'” Genesis 24:1-4,7,10,12-19,21,23-24,26-27,32-33

Intrigue, adventure, and the prospect of romance color each step of the servant’s assignment, expectation, and unfolding answer. On tiptoe to see what will come next, we cannot help but smile at the loving resolution God orchestrates. From the start, this was His gig. Abraham’s servant, serious with confident faith, credited the Lord over and over (to Rebekah, Laban and Bethuel, and Isaac), keeping Him at center stage. God is the named, exalted, and worshiped protagonist, the unnamed servant (likely Eliezer) merely a supporting character. So passionate and clear was his telling that all the others recognized God’s superintendence of events and embraced His providential plan. (Genesis 15:1-4; 24:29-67)

It is almost as though the servant said, ‘please don’t include my name, this story is all about the Lord.’ Do we even consider how God’s hand traces and His purposes unfold in our life events? When we recount our accomplishments, of whom do we make much? It takes deliberation and devotion to yield ourselves to proving His will, not enforcing our own, and to exalt His name, not ours. (Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 10:17; Galatians 6:14)

What humility, what confession, what heart reorientation or changed mindset will it take for us to hide behind Jesus? What steps can we take to move from ‘all about me’ to ‘all about Him’?

My LORD, may You who are worthy be You who are noticed and applauded in my life. May all see You as my source, goal, and glory.