Chayei Sarah 5-4

Can the truth be a way?

When Avraham avinu’s servant saw that the Eternal had guided him exactly to the home of the woman that was destined to be the wife of his master’s son, he wasn’t ashamed of bowing down to the floor and worshipping the Eternal in front of everyone there. His boldness and courage came from the spiritual atmosphere in the house of Avraham where he had been raised.

This servant was very careful to tell only the truth about Avraham with no exaggeration and exactly what happened before his trip and his encounter with Rivkah (Rebecca). It is obvious that he was a man that loved truth and righteousness. It’s not surprising that Avraham trusted him completely. His honesty is clearly seen in this chapter. He was a man that not only knew the Eternal’s grace but also His truth (24:27) and he expected men to reflect these two very important aspects of the Eternal’s character (24:49).

Now, Eliezer said that the Eternal had led him in a way of truth – derech emet, דרך אמת – according to the Hebrew text. An angel was sent before him to prepare circumstances so that the divine encounter between Eliezer and Rivkah could take place beside the well.

We can learn two important things from the expression “way of truth”; first, that the truth is a way. A way in the Scriptures symbolizes the life style. There are those who walk the way of lies and others that walk the way of truth. There are those who think that white lies are not serious and don’t know that any lie belongs to the way of lies and are the product of the influence of the father of lies of this world (Juan 8:44). Anyone who resorts to lies and falsehood connects with the enemy of the Eternal, the satan. It is true that we don’t always have to say the whole truth, but it’s not the same to say part of the truth than a lie. A lie is a distortion of the truth and that comes from the evil one.

The God of Avraham is the God of truth as it is written in Psalm 31:5: “Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.” (KJV) and Jeremiah 10:10a: “But HaShem God is truth”. (Darby revised) If He is a God of truth, there is no room at all for lies in Him. So, too are His true children, as it is written in Psalm 51:6a: “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts” (MKJV) Eliezer loved the truth and walked the path of truth.

The second thing we can learn from this text is that the way of truth takes us to a destination prepared by the angel of the Eternal. If we walk around in lies thinking that it is the way to solve problems, we won’t reach the destination of the Eternal. We will only be successful in the way of truth.