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I think we will read more today than talk which is probably a good thing in the end anyway!
We left off last week with Abraham commanding his servant to go and find a wife for Isaac from his own people and swearing an oath of some-sort that he would get the job done.
Now we will read the results – starting at verse 10 of Genesis 24! 50 plus verses!
Genesis 24.10–61
February 5th 2023
Genesis 24:10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.
12 And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.
13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:
14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.
15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.
18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.
20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;
23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in?
24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.
25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.
26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.
27 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.
28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother’s house these things.
29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.
30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.
31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.
32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him.
33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.
34 And he said, I am Abraham’s servant.
35 And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.
36 And Sarah my master’s wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.
37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:
38 But thou shalt go unto my father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.
39 And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.
40 And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house:
41 Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.
42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:
43 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;
44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master’s son.
45 And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.
46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.
47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.
48 And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son.
49 And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.
51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the LORD hath spoken.
52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.
53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.
54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.
55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.
56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.
57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.
58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.
59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.
60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
Alright back to verse 10!
10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
It appears that Abraham had left the whole management of this business to the discretion of his unnamed servant.
It seems that as a means to influence the woman who will become known as Rebecca he took a substantial dowry because it says,
“All the goods of his master were in his hand,” and in those times it was customary to give a dowry for a wife, and not to receive one with her.
11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.
To get his camels to kneel means to have them take a rest, even to lie down, as the Septuagint describes it.
Anciently, and perhaps today, women were the water bearers and would go in groups of four, six, ten, or more to fetch it or they would take a pitcher with them when they bathed and would bring the water back with them on their return. (verse 12)
12 And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.
It seems that the servant sets for us a really good example on how to carry out assignments and fulfill our work in life – first, make sure all the directives are understood, second, prepare accordingly and third, invite God to participate in the matter.
I like that model as I personally believe that God can or should be invited into everything we do and hold this dear as I do not seem Him as imposing to much on the human creation anymore.
Invite him into the lives of your wayward or struggling children. Invite Him into issues of health or survival. Invite Him into areas of worry or misunderstanding. In my estimation we are inviting the most potent force anyone would ever want involved in their affairs.
So, the servant continues and says
13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:
14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.
15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
Okay. I do not know what to say in the face of this because I believe that God can and perhaps God still operates for people in this way – meaning the way of a person laying out the specifics of a matter, defining the terms and then God “performing” them.
So calls this name it and claim it, blab it and grab it or word of faith.
I was taught by Chuck Smith about the idea of laying out a fleece, which refers to a story in Judges chapter 6.
There the Nation of Israel were under attack by the Midianites and Amalakites who destroyed their crops and Gideon was called to save them.
After a few events we read at verse 36
Judges 6:36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
We have seen this sort of thing when Abraham sort of bargained with God in withholding judgment on Sodom, and now again in Abrahams servant kind of laying out the details and seeing if God would act accordingly.
Is this a thing for that day or should we, as believers pursue such negotiations with God and include signs as verifications?
Didn’t Jesus say that “it is a wicked and adulterous generation that seeks after a sign?” How do we balance that?
For starters, while Chuck failed to speak to this, Gideon was apparently lacking in faith and it was from this basis that he asked for these two signs from God.
Hebrews 11:6 says to the believers in that day that without faith it is impossible to please God, so Gideon was acting from a position of weakness in what pleases God.
Nevertheless, God is love and cares for His creations and responds WHEN our faith is weak – if He isn’t using the circumstance to increase the weakened faith through withholding any signs.
Gideon knew he was treading on dangerous ground and was trying God’s patience by asking for multiple signs.
We note that after the first fleece sign given, that he said, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make one more request” (Judges 6:39).
Sign-seeking Christians use this story to show how we can present God with challenges and through the results we can get answers or reassurances.
I would say that this was certainly true of that former Old Testament economy. But I am not so sure we have the right to borrow from this story and apply it to ourselves today. Why?
First, the writer of Hebrews says that we cannot please God without faith and if we need signs, it may very well be we are not pleasing to God in asking for them.
Perhaps He gives them, perhaps not, but the point is be wary of choosing to operate in this way as a standard in your walk.
Secondly, Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith did in fact say in twice in Matthew (12:39 and 16:1-4) that “a wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.”
The reason He was able to say that to them/then was that nation were given signs in abundance – fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, the miracles His forefathers saw, his own healings, and miracles—which were not enough for them to believe so when they continued to seek for more, they proved their wicked hard hearts.
This is the trouble with signs and asking for signs in the first place – because they are based in faithlessness, they often will not produce or be responded with the faith that was missing, and are frequently tossed away when ultimately given.
I do believe that God does reveal himself in mysterious ways and validates things for us in mysteries but do not tie them to this act of us humans laying out challenges and seeking for God to prove Himself.
Gideon had received more than enough information from God in the previous verses without needing the sign of the fleeces.
I mean God had told him in verse 14 that he would have victory and God even responded to a previous request for a sign with a miraculous display of His power through fire (verse 16).
This shows that signs are often not enough – and so people ask for more, then live their lives by them – which I have seen in the lives of some souls.
The Gideon story is not really a good apple to apple story for believers today – on a number of accounts.
We will learn the importance of two or three witnesses in ancient Israel. We notice that Gideon sought for two fleece witnesses in his search to know the will of God.
Well, in this dispensation, the age of fulfillment, we also have access to two different witnesses to establish all things – and they are the witnesses we seek!
First, we have the written word of God which goes to great lengths of showing us the principles from His inspired Word on how who He is, how He acts and operates.
The second witness is the Holy Spirit, who teaches us all things, brings all things to our remembrance and comforts us in our walk through this world.
For us, further signs are in my estimation antithetical to faith and are an indulgence we heap upon God.
Neither Gideon nor the believers in the Apostolic Record had both of these witnesses available to them at the same time excepting those living post Pentecost and then most only had the Old Testament.
Paul wrote to Timothy and said that all that can be considered scripture (he was speaking primarily of the Old Testament) is “God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
If we can be “thoroughly equipped” for anything and everything in life by understanding its precepts through the Spirit, there is little need for signs, voices, and miracles from above.
Prior to Pentecost, believers had the Old Testament only and were directed externally by God’s providential hand. But now, both post Pentecost and in harmony with the written Apostolic Word, we have two powerful tools to bring us to a knowledge of His will, ways and wisdom.
Rather than seeking signs via fleeces or tests that we lay before the Living God, I suggest being content to know God’s will for us through an adept understanding of His Word through the Spirit and leave it at that.
This is why we read things like: Colossians 3:16
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
And then verse 17 which reads
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Bottom line – if someone today is seeking to know how to do the will of God in any and every circumstance (that matters) they will appeal the scriptures summary of the written commandments and the fruit of the Spirit.
With the summary of the written word being love and the fruit of the Spirit being love – and with love being defined as selfless, sacrificial and insufferable, there is our fleece or answer – do what is selfless, sacrificial and insufferable to your flesh.
Anyway, back to our story of the servant. Let me reread verses 14-15 as the servant asks God
14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.
15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
And to verse 16
16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
Why the redundancy? That she was a “virgin,” and “neither had any man known her?”
It appears to be a matter of punctuation. In other words, “she was a virgin (hyphen) she had known no man” OR “she was a virgin and neither had any man known her in “any way” sexually,” emphasizing her purity.
17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.
18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.
Perhaps if Rebekah done only and exactly everything that the servant had prayed for we might believe she was being compelled by God controlling her actions.
But she “exceeds” all that the servant requested and what I take from this is she more than fit the general request of being benevolent and hospitable in her personal conduct – which is the sign he sought and not her robotically checking all the boxes the servant sought. Verse 20
20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
I mean, wake up, servant man. He she is!
But remember, signs are an inferior source of confirmation to those who ask for them and so we read: (verse 21)
21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
Maybe he was stunned by what he saw and couldn’t believe it or was somehow astonished at her strength to draw water for ten camels on her own.
Whatever it was, he wondered if she was the one.
22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;
Because the term for earring is definitely singular it is believed that this better speaks to a nose ring which were and still are popular in that region for women and were typically worn in the left nostil.
He also gave her two bracelets for her hands or wrists. (verse 23)
23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in?
24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.
25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.
26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.
It appears that the servant performed two acts of customary adoration – the first, bowing the head, was to Rebecca for her extended hospitality and the second was one of prostration on the ground before God in gratitude for his providence.
27 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.
28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother’s house these things.
Some have conjectured from this that her father, Bethuel, was dead; and the person called Bethuel in verse 50 is a younger brother of the same name.
It is possible, but the mother’s house might still be mentioned even if the father was alive because in some Asiatic countries anciently the women had separate apartments from those of the men and in them their little children and grown-up daughters would reside.
29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.
This is another indicator that her dad was dead.
30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.
31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.
This appears to be a greeting of someone of respect. And since the servant had a lot of Abraham’s property with him, and prosperity was an indication of Gods blessings upon people it is thought that this was how the servant was seen.
32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him.
This appears to be the actions of both the servant who was caring for his animals and then of Laban the host who made sure that all the feet were washed – those of Abrahams servant and the men who were in his charge.
33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, “I will not eat, until I have told mine errand.” And he said, “Speak on.”
It was and still apparently is a common act for some cultures to refuse eating and relaxation until the purpose of gathering is settled.
In the case of Abraham’s servant this appears to be the case – he wanted nothing but to first take care of the reason for his visit.
We have a fulfilment of this little part of the story in Jesus mortal life. He was sitting with a Samaritan woman at the well while his apostles went to get food and this woman was obviously there to obtain water and we read
John 4:27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
When we are on an errand of the Lord the cares and things of this life tend to take a back seat to His requests. So, the servant speaks and says
34 And he said, I am Abraham’s servant.
35 And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.
36 And Sarah my master’s wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.
This appears to be the pitch the servant is making for Isaac as a means to show that Isaac is a catch.
37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:
38 But thou shalt go unto my father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.
39 And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.
40 And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house:
41 Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.
42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:
43 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;
44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master’s son.
45 And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.
Here we discover that the servants prayer was in his heart, heard only by God so we can put to rest that Rebekah heard it and then acted accordingly. The servant continues and we read
46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.
47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.
48 And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son.
49 And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.
In other words, tell me what you think and I will know how to proceed.
50 Then Laban and Bethuel (this is the Bethuel believed to be a son of the Father also named Bethuel – which is the opinion of Josephus BTW) answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.
We don’t know if this is right or not, but . . .
51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the LORD hath spoken.
52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.
53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.
(again, nothing about the father)
What the servant had given her earlier was a token of respect; what he gave now appears to have been in the way of dowry. And now he was willing to eat.
54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.
55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.
It seems like they ask for a few days, at the least ten, but the original language is obscure and some think that the ten means ten months or we are talking about a week and ten days or a month.
The time looking at the Syriac or the Septuagint, seems to mean a full month – for whatever that is worth.
56 And he (the servant) said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.
57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.
58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, “I will go.”
Apparently, the decision was left ultimately to the choice of Rebekah whether she would accept the proposals now made to her, unless we suppose that the question meant, “Wilt thou go immediately, or stay with us a month longer?”
59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.
We will learn from Genesis 35:8, that this nurse was named Deborah, and according to verse 61 there were other female servants who went along too.
60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
Having large families in that day was seen as being blessed and favored of God.
61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
I think we cannot finish this tale in full and so we will stop there and continue on next week.
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Prayer
RECORDED TEACHING NEXT WEEK FOLKS AS MY SON IN LAW HAS A FILM PREMIERE ON SATURDAY I AM ATTENDING.
Genesis
David
Laura
Eric
Family
