“Mr. Dependability” - Eliezer

The servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions.

Genesis 24:9

Let’s face it—you just can’t depend on some guys.

“I’ll be at your house around nine Wednesday morning,” Roscoe the computer geek promises. Great, you tell yourself, I’ll be back online by noon.

But Roscoe doesn’t show up at the appointed time. By Thursday afternoon, you have left ten unanswered messages on his answering machine, your blood pressure has risen to 180/90, and your patience has grown thinner than a ninety-nine-cent hamburger at Burger Bits.

Eliezer, Abraham’s household manager, didn’t repair computers, but if he had, he would have kept his boss’s machines up and running. His track record of utter dependability impressed Abraham so much that he trusted Eliezer to travel to a distant land to bring home a suitable wife for his son Isaac.

How would you have liked that kind of responsibility? Most of us find it hard enough to locate the right gal for ourselves. Imagine the enormous difficulty of such a task in an age before eHarmony or church singles’ groups came on the scene.

Eliezer accepted his assigned task. He “he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled.” (Genesis 24:10). Eliezer wisely enlisted the Lord’s help. “O LORD, God of my master, Abraham” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham.” (Genesis 24:12).

He had scarcely finished his prayer when along came Rebekah, the future Mrs. Isaac. Mission accomplished!

Do people know they can rely on you when you accept a task? Or do they hesitate to ask because they doubt that you will come through? Do you see a little of Eliezer when you look in the mirror?

What has God given you to do? Are you doing it faithfully? Think of the people who know you the best, on the job or at home. Can they honestly call you “Mr. Dependability”? Can others count on you?