Eliezer

22Jan12

Genesis 15:2 “And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?”

In Genesis Chapter 15, Abram (who would eventually come to be known as Abraham) drops an interesting detail. He mentions that his chief servant was a man named Eliezer. In and of itself, that’s not too significant. But then we get to Genesis Chapter 24, where Eliezer takes center stage.

In that chapter, Abraham sends his trusted servant to a far-off land to find and woo a bride for his son Isaac. Eliezer fulfills Abraham’s wishes and comes across Rebekah. He tells her about Abraham and his son, and reveals some of their wealth and riches to her. She listens to the words of Eliezer, and decides to join her life to Isaac’s even though she has never personally seen or met him. Eliezer leads Rebekah all the way to Isaac, and she becomes his bride.

When you look at Eliezer’s role in Genesis 24, there are some incredible similarities to the Holy Spirit’s role in the New Testament. The Father, God, sends forth His Spirit into the world to draw out a bride for His Son. The Spirit testifies of the Father and the Son and reveals the riches and glories of their Kingdom. Once a person decides to be joined with the Son in faith, the Spirit abides with them and remains with them until he or she is in the actual presence of the Father and Son (John 16:15, Ephesians 1:13-14). Sound familiar?

As if those similarities weren’t striking enough, the name Eliezer literally means “helper” in Hebrew, which is the exact same title Jesus applies to the Holy Spirit as He helps us (John 14:26).

Eliezer is one of those Old Testament characters that God uses to foretell what He did and is doing in these New Testament times. Quite literally, Eliezer is our “helper” who helps us see the Spirit’s work in our lives and our world.