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Betrothal: Accepting God's Offer

Words of Faith Final

Betrothal: Accepting God's Offer
Words of Faith 5-2-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL    
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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          The servant of Abraham, Eliezer, had traveled a long distance to find a bride for Isaac, Abraham's son. In Gen. 24:33-49, Eliezer recounts to the father and brother of Rebekah how God had guided him wonderfully to her. Now it was time for a decision.

Genesis 24
    [50] Laban and Bethuel answered, "This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. [51] Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has directed."
    [52] When Abraham's servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. [53] Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. [54] Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.
    When they got up the next morning, he said, "Send me on my way to my master."
    [55] But her brother and her mother replied, "Let the girl remain with us ten days or so; then you may go."
    [56] 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."
    [57] Then they said, "Let's call the girl and ask her about it." [58] So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?"
    "I will go," she said.
    [59] So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham's servant and his men.

           Eliezer would not eat until he had finished his mission. He recounted to Rebekah's family God's remarkable providence in guiding him to them. This was not a time to socialize. Eliezer would not be distracted from his mission. He needed to secure the permission and blessing of Laban and Bethuel to take Rebekah to Isaac. Eliezer was thrilled when Laban and Bethuel agreed to the marriage. Once again, he bowed in prayer before the Lord.
           Such transactions were also financial. There was still the custom of a "bride price" to be paid as well as a "dowry," the things that would accompany Rebekah. Both were generous. Rebekah's family received costly gifts. Rebekah was adorned with rich jewelry and clothing. Rebekah would also leave with her nurse and several maids to attend to her.  
           But then Laban, Rebekah's brother, tried to delay the departure. We don't know exactly why. Perhaps it was simply the difficulty of seeing his sister go. From later stories with Isaac's son Jacob, we know that Laban was a shrewd man. He may have wanted to sweeten the deal a bit for himself. But it was Rebekah who finally agreed that this was the time to leave. She had the final say.
           A tradition developed in the process of Jewish betrothal-- the engagement before marriage-- that is very important here.   In Jewish custom, the fathers would negotiate the financial terms of the marriage in a special contract called a "ketubah."  Once this agreement was made, the Bridegroom would drink from a special cup of wine called the Cup of Betrothal, saying, "I will not drink again from this cup until I come to you to be married."   The Bride would signify her willingness to accept him as her husband by drinking from this cup of betrothal after he set it down before her. This tradition is likely rooted in this text. No matter what we may think about arranged marriages, the Bride had to accept the offer of the Bridegroom.
            This is a powerful image for us as believers. We are presented with a similar decision. The Lord Jesus has offered to us a Cup of Betrothal at the Last Supper.   There was a high price to be paid, and the Father agreed to that price. The Son drank from the Cup, saying, "I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes" (Luke 24:18).   By accepting the Cup, we signify to the Lord our acceptance of His generous offer of grace, and we are betrothed, waiting for His return. By accepting, we recognize that we have been chosen to be the Bride of Christ and accept that offer.
            This is not to say that the Lord's Supper saves us. It is the generous offer of grace that saves us! The Bride price has been met. There is no dowry to offer, for we have nothing to offer. The only thing that can be done is to accept the generous offer of the Lord. We do this by faith. We remember and signify this when we take the Cup of the Lord.
             Rebecca said, "I will go."  We are called to the same response. We are called to a journey of faith that will lead to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb of God. We are invited to that journey. Have you accepted the offer of grace? We do so in prayer, but we symbolize our commitment when we take the Cup of the Lord.

           Father God, I give thanks for Your generous offer of grace. I have nothing to offer. You have offered everything needed by Your love. I receive this offer. I will go on the journey of faith. Forgive me of my sins. Come into me as never before. Thank You in Jesus' name.            

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.