Human Response 66: Acknowledge the Lord’s Working

Genesis 24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

We don’t really know whether Laban (Abraham’s nephew and Rebekah’s brother) or Bethuel (Abraham’s brother and Rebekah’s father) actually believed in the God of Abraham or not. The suspicion is that they did not believe as Abraham believed. Either way, after they heard the servant recount the whole story of how the angel of the Lord was with him and how God guided the whole process, the two of them acknowledged that ”this thing has come from the Lord.”

It was quite evident for all to see that this was a ”God Thing,” a God sighting, as it were. They were not joyfully excited, praising and thanking God, because of the Lord showing up in their lives, but they did have to admit ”God is here.” They did not say bad or good about it, that is, they were not particularly moved either for or against God or His request. But they had to agree to the truth: God did something! Thus they were willing to let Rebekah go. (Note: they also saw the rich gifts the servant brought for them.)

The Lord God is alive, active, and present in our lives as well, very often leaving leaving tokens and giving evidence of His presence and guidance. Any God sighting leaves room for doubt, chalking it up to coincidence or happenstance or luck, but it also leaves room for faith, seeing God in the thing. With the eyes of faith and the attitude of thanksgiving, we respond by confessing: ”This thing has come from the Lord! Praise You, Jesus!”