The nameless faithful

An observation from Genesis 24

Mar 14, 2024

I was reading in Genesis a few weeks ago and came across a character who intrigued me so much that I had to make a note to return to this story.

He’s found in Genesis 24, at an important stage in Abraham’s life. The chapter opens with a simple update establishing where we are in the story: “Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.”

And, while Abraham is certainly a fascinating character, he’s not the one I noticed on my most recent read through. That individual pops up in verse 2: Abraham’s servant, “the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had.” Abraham tasks his trusted servant with finding a wife for his son, Isaac, giving him specific instructions regarding where to go and how to go about it.

The servant then follows Abraham’s instructions closely, traveling to Nahor to find a wife willing to come back to Canaan with him. After asking the Lord for many signs, the servant meets Rebekah, who agrees to leave Nahor and marry Isaac.

At 67 verses long, the story told in Genesis 24 is lengthy and quite detailed. Yet, one thing stood out to me: this servant—who is an essential part of the management of Abraham’s household; who Abraham trusts enough to send him on this important mission; who repeatedly prays to and praises the Lord as he attempts to obey his master’s command—is never identified by name.

He’s an agent of God’s ultimate plan to redeem the world, yet we never learn his name. That feels meaningful to me.

But first:

Why does Isaac’s marriage matter?

If you’re familiar with Abraham’s story, you’ll know that descendants are an essential part of the covenant God makes with him in Genesis 12:

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:1-3

The fulfillment of this promise isn’t necessarily straightforward—or, at least, it doesn’t appear that way at first. Abraham and his wife, Sarah, struggle with infertility, which prompts them to take matters into their own hands, Abraham fathering a child (Ishmael) by Sarah’s servant, Hagar. God makes it clear that he intends to make good on his original promise, though, in chapter 16:

And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.
Genesis 16:15-20

As Abraham and Sarah’s heir, Isaac stands in line to inherit not only the flocks and fields that Abraham owns, but the covenant as well—the path of redemption for all peoples, in all places, at all times.

So, it’s not just Abraham’s family name at stake here; the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. A good match—the right match—is imperative.

As always, God reveals himself to be perfectly faithful. But the legwork must be done by someone.

On “namelessness”

The unwavering faithfulness of Abraham’s nameless servant made me think of all the other nameless individuals who have done the work of God’s kingdom without recognition.

Scripture provides a few examples; I think of the Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well in John 4, whose testimony after their conversation causes countless others to believe in Jesus.

But, more than that, I think of the innumerable others who have brought glory to God’s name through their obedience to him during their lifetimes.

Humanity needs stories to tell, so it makes sense that we’d spend lots of time talking about the Lottie Moons and St. Augustines and Martin Luthers whose exemplary lives give us something to strive for. But for every hero of the faith chronicled for us in scripture or in the vast record of history, there are dozens—hundreds—thousands of believers whose names we’ll never know who are doing the hard, intentional work of being faithful in their normal lives.

Abraham’s servant was doing his job. Sure, he had a great deal of responsibility, and he was obviously trustworthy and competent enough to be trusted with this all-important task. But, at its simplest level, his is the story of a God-fearing individual who acted in faithfulness and obedience. That’s a story that is being retold around the world every single day.

Two quick takeaways:

1. Faithfulness won’t make a name for you, and that’s intentional.

The ultimate goal of faithfulness is to bring glory to God. As believers, he is our highest allegiance; not fame, not renown, not even recognition for the good we do. In fact, Jesus warns us to expect the exact opposite: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” (Matthew 5:11)

Our responsibility is always to point back to him, and his fame is our motivation.

2. Your acts of faithfulness may be a testament unto themselves.

In the book of Job (which, yes, I reference often), God responds to Job’s petitioning with a sweeping reminder of his power and his ultimate control over every aspect of creation. His answer to Job is essentially, “When you can understand how all of this works, maybe then you’ll be able to know why these things happened to you.”

It’s intense, but effective. Now, on a much smaller level: I think that this is one of the motivations for obedience as a believer. We rarely, if ever, know why God has called us to do a certain thing, live in a certain place, take a certain job, or be acquainted with a certain person—and we may never know. But, what we do know is that he asks us to be faithful to him, and he promises that he will be faithful to us.

Abraham’s servant obeyed his master and followed his instructions to find a wife for Isaac, enabling the continuation of the covenant. The Samaritan woman decided to draw water in the middle of the day, entertained a conversation with Jesus, and ultimately was the instrument that spread the gospel to those in her community. Their personal acts of faithfulness resulted in the redemption of the world and the reconciliation of unknown numbers of children with their loving Father. He will be glorified in your faithfulness, too.

Now, LMK:

What otherwise “nameless” believers have made a difference in your life? How did they assist in bringing the kingdom of God to earth through their lives? Share their stories below!