7 The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, and made an oath to me, saying, To your seed I will give this land: he will send his angel before you and give you a wife for my son in that land.
Are they not all helping spirits, who are sent out as servants to those whose heritage will be salvation?
The angel of the Lord is ever watching over those who have fear of him, to keep them safe.
For all the land which you see I will give to you and to your seed for ever.
Have in mind Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you gave your oath, saying, I will make your seed like the stars of heaven in number, and all this land will I give to your seed, as I said, to be their heritage for ever.
I will give you knowledge, teaching you the way to go; my eye will be your guide.
And in that hour there was a great earth-shock and a tenth part of the town came to destruction; and in the earth-shock seven thousand persons came to their end: and the rest were in fear, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
And God gave him no heritage in it, not even enough to put his foot on: but he gave him an undertaking that he would give it to him and to his children after him, though he had no child at that time.
And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, a worshipper of the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.
And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will put up a kingdom which will never come to destruction, and its power will never be given into the hands of another people, and all these kingdoms will be broken and overcome by it, but it will keep its place for ever.
It was no sent one or angel, but he himself who was their saviour: in his love and in his pity he took up their cause, and he took them in his arms, caring for them all through the years.
Put all your hope in God, not looking to your reason for support. In all your ways give ear to him, and he will make straight your footsteps.
Your wisdom will be my guide, and later you will put me in a place of honour.
Now the Lord said to Abram, Go out from your country and from your family and from your father's house, into the land to which I will be your guide: And I will make of you a great nation, blessing you and making your name great; and you will be a blessing: To them who are good to you will I give blessing, and on him who does you wrong will I put my curse: and you will become a name of blessing to all the families of the earth. So Abram went as the Lord had said to him, and Lot went with him: Abram was seventy-five years old when he went away from Haran. And Abram took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his brother's son, and all their goods and the servants which they had got in Haran, and they went out to go to the land of Canaan. And Abram went through the land till he came to Shechem, to the holy tree of Moreh. At that time, the Canaanites were still living in the land. And the Lord came to Abram, and said, I will give all this land to your seed; then Abram made an altar there to the Lord who had let himself be seen by him.
Now the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, *** I took you out of Egypt, guiding you into the land which I gave by an oath to your fathers; and I said, My agreement with you will never be broken by me:
Take heart and be strong; for you will give to this people for their heritage the land which I gave by an oath to their fathers.
See, all the land is before you: go in and take for yourselves the land which the Lord gave by an oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their seed after them.
Truly, not one of the men of twenty years old and over who came out of Egypt will see the land which I gave by oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; because they have not been true to me with all their heart;
Because the Lord was not able to take this people into the land which he made an oath to give them, he sent destruction on them in the waste land.
See, I am sending an angel before you, to keep you on your way and to be your guide into the place which I have made ready for you. Give attention to him and give ear to his voice; do not go against him; for your wrongdoing will not be overlooked by him, because my name is in him. But if you truly give ear to his voice, and do whatever I say, then I will be against those who are against you, fighting those who are fighting you. And my angel will go before you, guiding you into the land of the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, and they will be cut off by my hand.
And it will be that, when the Lord takes you into the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, the land which he made an oath to your fathers that he would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you will do this act of worship in this month.
That night the Lord came to him in a vision, and said, I am the God of your father Abraham: have no fear for I am with you, blessing you, and your seed will be increased because of my servant Abraham.
Keep in this land, and I will be with you and give you my blessing; for to you and to your seed will I give all these lands, giving effect to the oath which I made to your father Abraham; I will make your seed like the stars of heaven in number, and will give them all these lands, and your seed will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth;
Saying, I have taken an oath by my name, says the Lord, because you have done this and have not kept back from me your dearly loved only son, That I will certainly give you my blessing, and your seed will be increased like the stars of heaven and the sand by the seaside; your seed will take the land of those who are against them; And your seed will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth, because you have done what I gave you orders to do.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 24
Commentary on Genesis 24 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 24
Marriages and funerals are the changes of families, and the common news among the inhabitants of the villages. In the foregoing chapter we had Abraham burying his wife, here we have him marrying his son. These stories concerning his family, with their minute circumstances, are largely related, while the histories of the kingdoms of the world then in being, with their revolutions, are buried in silence; for the Lord knows those that are his. The subjoining of Isaac's marriage to Sarah's funeral (with a particular reference to it, v. 67) shows us that as "one generation passes away another generation comes;' and thus the entail both of the human nature, and of the covenant, is preserved. Here is,
Gen 24:1-9
Three things we may observe here concerning Abraham:-
Gen 24:10-28
Abraham's servant now begins to make a figure in this story; and, though he is not named, yet much is here recorded to his honour, and for an example to all servants, who shall be honoured if, by faithfully serving God and their masters, they adorn the doctrine of Christ (compare Prov. 27:18 with Titus 2:10); for there is no respect of persons with God, Col. 3:24, 25. A good servant that makes conscience of the duty of his place, and does it in the fear of God, though he make not a figure in the world nor have praise of men, yet shall be owned and accepted of God and have praise of him. Observe here,
Gen 24:29-53
We have here the making up of the marriage between Isaac and Rebekah. It is related very largely and particularly, even to the minute circumstances, which, we should think, might have been spared, while other things of great moment and mystery (as the story of Melchizedek) are related in few words. Thus God conceals that which is curious from the wise and prudent, reveals to babes that which is common and level to their capacity (Mt. 11:25), and rules and saves the world by the foolishness of preaching, 1 Co. 1:21. Thus also we are directed to take notice of God's providence in the little common occurrences of human life, and in them also to exercise our own prudence and other graces; for the scripture was not intended for the use of philosophers and statesmen only, but to make us all wise and virtuous in the conduct of ourselves and families. Here is,
Gen 24:54-61
Rebekah is here taking leave of her father's house; and
Gen 24:62-67
Isaac and Rebekah are, at length, happily brought together. Observe,