Genesis 24:31














Wherefore standest thou without? The character of Laban has been well explained by Blunt in his ' Coincidences.' It is one of consistent greed. He was sincere in inviting Eliezer because he saw the bracelets on his sister's hand, and expected still further favors from a guest who can so lavishly bestow gifts. Christ asks us to enter his kingdom, but he expects nothing from us in return but love. We may adapt this inquiry of Laban to souls as yet outside the Church.

I. THE POSITION OCCUPIED. "Without." Probably they have no realized pardon, no enjoyment in religion, no future prospects of joy. Life is a dread mystery to them. They are saying, "Who will show us any good?" They may be just awakened spiritually, like the Philippian jailor. They may be under the condemnings of law and conscience, and in dread of the consequences of sin. Those within the true Church know in whom they have believed, and rejoice in forgiveness and the prospect of heaven. They are no longer outside the gates of mercy. We may be in a visible Church without being of Christ's fold. It is penitence, faith, and character that determine our position, and not birth, rank, or ceremonial observances.

II. THE REASONS WHEREFORE MANY RETAIN A POSITION OUTSIDE THE CHURCH.

1. Accustomed to the state, and unwilling to change. They are like the prisoner who, after many years' imprisonment in the Bastile, was liberated, and went forth only to find all his friends gone and himself a mere burden to society. He went back and entreated to be allowed to retain his cell until he should pass out of the world.

2. Many, because they are ignorant of the fullness of Divine mercy.

3. Others, because they think there is so much to be done ere they can be fitted to be received within, and are looking to their own efforts to prepare themselves.

4. Many, because they fear their opportunity of admittance is past.

5. Others, because undecided as to whether they shall give up the pleasures of the world for the privileges of Christian fellowship.

6. Others, because they lack faith in their faith and its power to justify.

7. Many stand outside because they think themselves as secure outside as within. They forget that Christ demands open confession, and that to be united openly, to his Church is one way of confessing his name before men. Let there be a personal and searching inquiry, "Wherefore standest thou without?" The invited guest passed within, and found his highest expectations more than realized, because God "had prospered his journey." - H.

Come in, thou blessed of the Lord.
As Laban said "I have prepared the house," so Christ has ordained the Church and provided it with all things necessary for the refreshment, repose, and invigoration of His people. As Abraham's servant was invited to enter, so the ministers and stewards of God's word, and all the members of His Church, should bless those whom the Lord has blessed, and affectionately invite them to participate in all the privileges of the Lord's house.

I. WHO ARE THE BLESSED OF THE LORD? The Lord Jesus answered our question in the very first sentences of His great sermon on the mount. "He opened His mouth and taught them, saying, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit.'" The Lord also said, "Blessed are they that mourn." The Lord also said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness." These are "blessed of the Lord."

II. Let us inquire WHY THOSE WHO ARE "BLESSED OF THE LORD" SHOULD ACCEPT THE INVITATION of the Church to "come in," by personal confession of Christ.

1. The Lord commands it (Matthew 10:32, 33; Mark 8:38).

2. The Church solicits it. A Christian who never confesses Christ and who holds aloof from fellowship with the Church, might as well not exist, so far as the interests of the Church are concerned.

3. The world needs it. The stronger the Church the more potent is the influence at work for the world's good.

4. Your own spiritual welfare requires it. The value of association is recognized in other things. And thus church fellowship is useful in strengthening the convictions of those who share in a common faith and love towards Christ. An additional safeguard is thus furnished in seasons of temptation.

III. Let us now examine SOME OF THE EXCUSES adduced by those who, though "blessed of the Lord," yet "stand without." Some are ashamed of Christ, and shrink from the ridicule or enmity which confession might bring upon them. But these are not "blessed of the Lord," for He says to them: "He that is ashamed of Me, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed." Some keep outside that they may be free from the restraints of membership, and have more liberty for sin, or at least for folly. Others keep outside because they resolve to postpone repentance. But why do any who really trust in Jesus and who desire to love and obey Him "stand without"? They are hindered by unscriptural obstacles, erroneous opinions, or misapplied humility.

(Newman Hall, LL. B.)

I. WHAT IT IS THAT CONSTITUTES REAL HAPPINESS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. It is being blessed of the Lord.

II. WHO ARE THEY THAT MAY BE SAID TO RE EMPHATICALLY BLESSED?

1. They who are justified in the sight of God.

2. Those who are sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

III. IN WHAT RESPECT AWE THEY BLESSED?

1. In their souls.

2. In their trials and sorrows.

3. In their mercies and prosperity.

4. In their labours.

5. In their relationship.

6. Throughout all eternity.

IV. And those, in the next place, who are thus blessed of the Lord, may TEST THE REALITY of their having that benediction by what they do for, or distribute amongst others, to whom the knowledge of that blessing has long been strange. He who is most blessed of God is always the greatest blessing to those that are about him. The greatest receiver of spiritual things is always the greatest giver; and the more he gives the more he gets, till he learns, by blessed and practical experience, "it is more blessed to give than to receive."

(J. Cumming, D. D.)

People
Abraham, Aram, Bethuel, Canaanites, Isaac, Laban, Milcah, Nahor, Rebekah, Sarah
Places
Beer-lahai-roi, Hebron, Mesopotamia, Nahor, Negeb
Topics
Blessed, Blessing, Camels, Cleared, O, Outside, Prepared, Ready, Room, Stand, Standest, Standing, Waiting, Wherefore
Outline
1. Abraham swears his servant.
10. The servant's journey.
12. His prayer.
14. His sign.
15. Rebekah meets him;
18. fulfils his sign;
22. receives jewels;
23. shows her kindred;
25. and invites him home.
26. The servant blesses God.
29. Laban entertains him.
34. The servant shows his message.
50. Laban and Bethuel approve it.
58. Rebekah consents to go, and departs.
62. Isaac meets and marries her.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Genesis 24:12-51

     5695   girls

Genesis 24:22-31

     5139   bracelet

Genesis 24:28-60

     5737   sisters

Genesis 24:31-33

     5355   invitations

Library
Guidance in the Way
'I being in the way, the Lord led me.'--GENESIS xxiv. 27. So said Abraham's anonymous servant when telling how he had found Rebekah at the well, and known her to be the destined bride of his master's servant. There is no more beautiful page, even amongst the many lovely ones in these ancient stories, than this domestic idyll of the mission of the faithful servant from far Canaan across the desert. The homely test by which he would determine that the maiden should be pointed out to him, the glimpse
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

No Compromise
The faithful servant of Abraham, before he started, communed with his master; and this is a lesson to us, who go on our Lord's errands. Let us, before we engage in actual service, see the Master's face, talk with him, and tell to him any difficulties which occur to our minds. Before we get to work, let us know what we are at, and on what footing we stand. Let us hear from our Lord's own mouth what he expects us to do, and how far he will help us in the doing of it. I charge you, my fellow-servants,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 34: 1888

If, Therefore, Even they who are United in Marriage Only for the Purpose Of...
22. If, therefore, even they who are united in marriage only for the purpose of begetting, for which purpose marriage was instituted, are not compared with the Fathers, seeking their very sons in a way far other than do these; forasmuch as Abraham, being bidden to slay his son, fearless and devoted, spared not his only son, whom from out of great despair he had received [1997] save that he laid down his hand, when He forbade him, at Whose command he had lifted it up; it remains that we consider,
St. Augustine—On the Good of Marriage

Jesus Sets Out from Judæa for Galilee.
Subdivision B. At Jacob's Well, and at Sychar. ^D John IV. 5-42. ^d 5 So he cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 and Jacob's well was there. [Commentators long made the mistake of supposing that Shechem, now called Nablous, was the town here called Sychar. Sheckem lies a mile and a half west of Jacob's well, while the real Sychar, now called 'Askar, lies scarcely half a mile north of the well. It was a small town, loosely called
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark,
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Genesis
The Old Testament opens very impressively. In measured and dignified language it introduces the story of Israel's origin and settlement upon the land of Canaan (Gen.--Josh.) by the story of creation, i.-ii. 4a, and thus suggests, at the very beginning, the far-reaching purpose and the world-wide significance of the people and religion of Israel. The narrative has not travelled far till it becomes apparent that its dominant interests are to be religious and moral; for, after a pictorial sketch of
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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