Sermon Central
-
How About Them Camels
Contributed by Bo Dunford on Jan 1, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: An interesting study about camels and how they are in comparison to us and the grace of God.
GEN 24:62-67 “HOW ABOUT THEM CAMELS”
A) This scripture passage is given in the context of Abraham sending his servant out to find a
bride for Isaac!
* This is one of the most beautiful Old Testament pictures of God sending the Holy Ghost out to
bring in a bride for His Son, the Lord Jesus.
* As Rebekah near where Isaac was, she saw him, and “lighted off her camel.”
* Someone once said this is the first place in the Bible that mentions smoking.
* No, it is speaking of a literal, walking, breathing, living camel, not a camel cigarette.
B) The camel is mentioned some 62 times in the King James Version of the Bible!
* They were mainly a beast of burden, (the pick up trucks, or ships of the desert, and were a sign
of wealth! * If you remember, Job owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, and other animals as well!
* Two times the camel is mentioned in the Bible as forbidden meat - Lev.11:4 and Deut.14:7.
* They could be worked but were not to be eaten.
* Jesus said in Matt.19:24 that, “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
C) Some think the eye of the needle was a narrow gate that went into Jerusalem, through which
the camel could barely squeeze if it would shed its harness and ornamental trappings!
* It supposedly was a narrow, small gate that could be used by people after the main gates to the
city were closed.
* I believe the figure of the camel and the eye of the needle means exactly what it says ... it does
not refer to a small gate of Jerusalem!
* Matt.19:26 “With men this is impossible; but with God ...”
* If you recall, in the Bible it speaks of John the Baptist wearing a garment of camel’s hair in
* The camel’s hair is woolly and can easily be pulled away in clumps from the skin of the animal.
D) In the NT, the camel is mentioned only six times, and those mentions are only in the
gospels!
* The camel is a desert animal ... It can survive longer than any other creature of its kind in the
desert ... It doesn’t require nearly as much moisture as does other animals of its kind.
* They can survive in a wilderness when other animals would be perishing!
* No other animal can live, and at the same time carry such burdens in such a dry and hot climate
on such small supplies of food and water.
* God created the camel with what it needs to adapt to desert life! * Note:
* Whether you realize it or not we are living in a wilderness area, this world system, but God has
put adequate spiritual resources in us that we might survive, hold up, and maintain our spiritual
health. * There are lessons for us to learn about when we think of the camel.
(1) THE CAMEL IS A BURDEN BEARER!
* As the OT Bible characters would go from place to place, they often had camels to carry the
heavy loads and the supplies that would be involved in taking on a long journey.
A) We carry our heavy loads in pickup trucks, but the patriarchs used camels.
* I read somewhere that a normal sized camel can carry a person on board and an additional some
800 pounds above that. * The camel itself can weigh up to 1500 pounds.
* That would mean if a human being were not on its back, the adult camel could carry as much as
1,000 pounds on its back. * Rebekah did not lead the camel, but she rode it!
* Her load was to rest upon the camel and it would get her where she needed to go.
* She was going to meet her new bridegroom.
B) Life has its burdens to bear ... It is not all shouting and laughing!
* There are sobering and serious times that we must face as we walk along in this journey of life.
* There are things that are difficult for us to carry along.
* It was tough on the desert traveler when there was no camel.
* They had to try to carry the load on their own backs.
C) What a relief it must have been to turn the weight over to a camel!
* The camel is designed to be able to handle it! * In 1Pet.5:7, “Casting all your care upon ...”
* That word “cast,” is an interesting word ... It means “to throw upon” or to “roll over on.”
