Talk about your un-sung hero . . . your guy in the background . . . the nobody who really was somebody . . . the guy whose name no one remembers, but whose work shaped the course of history. That’s Eliezer of Damascus. Who? Exactly!

I’m reading in Genesis 24. Sarah has passed. Abraham’s well advanced in years, probably in his 130’s (talk about too many candles on the cake!). And Isaac, the son of promise, is probably in his early 30’s, I think. And, the boy needs a wife. But not a bride from the daughters of the Canaanites, but a wife from Abraham’s people back in the old country. And who does Abraham tag for such an important mission? He’s not named in Genesis 24, just referred to as “the oldest servant” of Abraham’s house (24:2). A no name, a nobody, a servant, a hired hand . . . but as you read the interaction between Abraham and this servant you sense there is a bond there . . . that it’s more than just a boss / employee relationship. They’ve been together a long time . . . what Abraham’s been through . . . the servant has been through . . . they’ve both “got the t-shirts” to prove it.

And it’s kind of amazing really when you consider that this servant is probably the same guy mentioned in Genesis 15:2 when Abram says, “Lord God, what will You give me seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” There he is . . . the long serving steward of Abraham’s house. He was with the patriarch before Abram was Abraham. I’m guessing he was with Abram in Egypt . . . and at the rescue of Lot . . . and during the time when Abram acquired wealth and riches . . . and, as he saw his master get older and Sara remain barren, you wonder if he wondered, “If I out live this guy, this could be all mine.” But that wasn’t to be the case . . . God said it . . . Abraham believed . . . and you sense that Eliezer, the servant, believed it too . . . and so, was just happy to serve.

Eliezer’s name means “God is help”. Not a bad name for a servant. The God who had called Abram out of his homeland to a land he didn’t know, had promised to be Abram’s strength, and portion, and help. And a big part of that, it appears, was in the giving of a reliable servant to Abram, one Eliezer of Damascus. A trusted steward . . . a faithful helper . . . and you as you see the two of them interact in Genesis 24, you sense, a longtime friend. Abraham makes Eliezer promise that he will get a wife for Isaac from his family. Eliezer says, “But, what if she won’t come?” Abraham says, “You be faithful. Do your best. If she refuses to return with you, you are released from the promise.” And then to seal the pledge, “the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter” (24:9).

And this no name (who’s probably no spring chicken himself) sets out on what must have been a heart-pumping, adrenaline rushing mission. He arrives at the outskirts of the city of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. By the wells of water he prays that God would give him success and details a plan on how he’d identify “the one.” And “before he had finished speaking” to the Lord (24:24), there she comes. Eliezer knew the Lord. He spoke to Him. And the Lord honored Eliezer . . . answering the servant’s prayer in exact detail. And what does the old, no name servant of Abraham . . . and of God . . . do? “Then the man bowed down his head and worshipped the LORD” (24:6). He blessed God (24:48). No, he wouldn’t inherit Abraham’s riches . . . that was for Isaac . . . and Isaac’s bride-to-be which he would soon escort back to Canaan. But he had humbly, faithfully, served the LORD God of heaven and earth (24:3,7) . . . and God had given him success . . . and that would be prize enough. And again, after getting the family’s consent, “he worshiped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth” (24:52).

You expect servants to bow a lot . . . humbling themselves before their masters. But to envision this one who personified “God is help” on his face, on the ground, worshiping God, moves the heart to a similar posture. Oh, to release any claim to notoriety . . . to willingly allow others the spotlight . . . to be satisfied with faithfully serving the God of heaven and earth . . . that is heaven’s description of a great man or woman . . . just the sort of people that God will use . . . to do great things. And though no one may know their names, the Father does. And to be used of Him is reward in and of itself. To know answered prayer . . . to recognize that you are in the middle of the hand of God moving . . . what a rush . . . what a joy . . . it’s enough to make you go facedown and worship the God of the no names. For His glory alone . . . amen!