Will You Go With This Man? (Gen 24)

(vs57-58) “So they said, We will call the young woman and ask her personally. Then they called Rebekah and said to her, Will you go with this man? And she said, I will go”

The gospel is willingly received by those the Holy Spirit calls by us.

First, God's commissioned us to get a bride for Isaac, our Lord Jesus Christ. He said, as He is pictured by Abraham, “but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac” (vs2-4). We are to do this commission as commanded, because we've been bidden (Mark 16:15). His command is not optional; it is the only way to go. It is the path of peace, blessing, and safety. It is making our election sure, glorifying God, and doing good to our neighbor, living that His elect might be saved. We have been commissioned and equipped. We read, “The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, To your descendants I give this land, He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there” (vs7).

Secondly, those called of God will have room for you, an open door, and they'll receive you and me as we are, preaching Christ. “Moreover she said to him, We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge” (vs22-25). We will have willing ears because God does not work through compromise. Not only is the woman willing to come of her own accord, but she is made willing to hear the truth. We never change the truth or hold back anything profitable for men; we tell them God's truth and He changes them. The elect are not saved by human craft and trickery but by God's word faithfully and lovingly preached. We honor God, and some are made to honor us, to say, “Let me hear more”, and, “I'll be back”, and “Tell me the truth, again”.

Be fearless. God will send His Angel the Holy Spirit to make them willing, and if you are faithful and they are unwilling, then you are off the hook (vs8). The only thing required of us is faithfulness. God will care for results.

Third, my responsibility is to preach the gospel to others for their good; it is not to store up riches on earth or live for myself. I have been commissioned, and like Joseph's brethren, I'm not to “become troubled” or moved along the way (Gen 45:24). I'm not to stop my mission for any reason. Abraham's servant said, “I will not eat until I have told about my errand, and [Laban] said, Speak on” (vs33).

Many start the ministry but get caught up in personal ease, compromising the gospel, and loving the world.

Let us be zealous to do His will, knowing the command of God is the best and only thing for us. He will reward the zeal and be with us; He will chasten the sloth.

We cannot stop and say, “I tried, but people weren't interested, so I quit”. That is like the man who buries the Lord's money, rather than making an increase on it,and he is damned (Matt 25:24-30; Luke 19:20-27). We press on to know and honor God in spite of the world. If the wife, the parents, and the world is against this ambition - if they lollygag and lag behind - then we are still pressing on in our business. We serve the Lord.

Fourthly, God breaks Satan's power and enables sinners to turn. We read that Rebekah's superiors said, “This thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good. Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as the Lord has spoken” (vs50-51). Thus, He gives repentance, and He has power over all flesh, so that He makes us and people like us do His will.

Those who could have stopped Rebekah, now see that it is of God, and they cannot stop it. Even so, Satan, the flesh, the fears, and everyone that keeps us from salvation becomes POWERLESS in the day of mercy. We will come to Christ.

Finally, the question is obvious and plain: will you go with the Lord Jesus? “So they said, We will call the young woman and ask her personally. Then they called Rebekah and said to her, Will you go with this man? And she said, I will go” (Gen 24:57-58). You will become His slave, if you do. You will have the benefits and responsibilities of marriage, “as also Christ is the Head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body” (Eph 5:23). He will care for you, and you will love, honor, and be in subjection to Him. Are the terms feasible to you? Is this right?

People come to Christ willingly and with eyes wide open. We don't trick them or force them,. They serve Christ in personal desire and not from some other motive. God makes us willing on His terms.

Here response is plain. She said, “I will go”, which is, “Yes, I will obey you. I will love the Lord Jesus. I will trust Him alone”, and this is wisdom justified by her children. People see glory in friends, family, money, sex, and everything in the world, but they see no glory in Jesus, except they be born of God, elect, and able to see beyond themselves to Christ and the life of faith.

God opens the eyes so that the same Christ you love is now loved by somebody else, who did not love Him previously.