Genesis 24:1-27

Rebekah

God leads Abraham's servant to Rebekah

 

24:1 Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way.

 

2 He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh.

 

3 I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 4 but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac."

 

5 The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land?

 

Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?"

 

6 "Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said. 7 "The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land'-he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.

 

8 If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine.

 

Only do not take my son back there."

 

9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

 

10 Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master.

 

He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor.

 

11 He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.

 

12 Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

 

13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.

 

14 May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac.

 

By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."

 

15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.

 

16 The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

 

17 The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar."

 

18 "Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

 

19 After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking."

 

20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.

 

21 Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful.

 

22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels.

 

23 Then he asked, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"

 

24 She answered him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor."

 

25 And she added, "We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night."

 

26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, 27 saying, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master.

 

As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."

Servant of Abraham Finds Rebekah

The well was normally located outside of town and people came from a mile or more to draw water to carry home.

The significance of the well is that it is also a place to meet new people; a social gathering place if you will.

Rebekah most likely went to the well twice daily as she could only use the water she could carry in one trip.

Eliezer, the servant, had been watching Abraham and learned that Abraham depended on God to lead him and provide for him. The servant knew to ask God for guidance when he began his journey to find a wife for Isaac.

We need to ask ourselves; "Who's watching us?" Do we have someone who is watching to see whether we depend on God and ask for His guidance before making our life's decisions?

Our family members and friends can learn about the Christian lifestyle by watching us -- good or bad, so we need to make more of a habit of asking God to guide us so that the people watching will be more apt to follow suit.

Abraham's servant asked God to give him a sign to help him choose the right wife for Isaac. He asked that the girl offer water to him and his camels.

When Rebekah offered to give him water, this was just an act of hospitality and it was required of her to offer water to people who asked.

But, it wasn't required to draw water for animals. Rebekah went beyond the call of duty when she offered to draw water for Eliezer's camels.

The pots used were very heavy and a thirsty camel can drink up to 25 gallons of water so this was no easy task.

When Eliezer saw this willingness to serve he knew that God had led him to the right person.

As soon as Eliezer realized that God had answered his prayer he bowed down and worshiped God.

When God uses us to do a task we should be quick to thank Him for the opportunity to serve.

Love in Christ

- Bob

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