Read with Me
Genesis 24:34-49 (HCSB)
“I am Abraham’s servant,” he said. “The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. Sarah, my master’s wife, bore a son to my master in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. My master put me under this oath: ‘You will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live but will go to my father’s household and to my family to take a wife for my son.’ But I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman will not come back with me?’ He said to me, ‘The LORD before whom I have walked will send His angel with you and make your journey a success, and you will take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s household. Then you will be free from my oath if you go to my family and they do not give her to you—you will be free from my oath.’
“Today when I came to the spring, I prayed: LORD, God of my master Abraham, if only You will make my journey successful! I am standing here at a spring. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, and I say to her: Please let me drink a little water from your jug, and who responds to me, ‘Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels also’—let her be the woman the LORD has appointed for my master’s son.
“Before I had finished praying silently, there was Rebekah coming with her jug on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her: Please let me have a drink. She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels also.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. Then I asked her: Whose daughter are you? She responded, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. Then I bowed down, worshiped the LORD, and praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who guided me on the right way to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. Now, if you are going to show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; if not, tell me, and I will go elsewhere.”
Listen with Me
Abraham had chosen this servant well. He was 100% faithful in pursuing his master’s business, without injecting his own interests into the situation. He was not even willing to take time to eat before he had explained his mission and received an answer.
This recounting of events is in two parts. Part one is about Abraham and how the Lord had blessed him, including making him wealthy. It includes a reference to Isaac and the fact that he had been made Abraham’s sole heir. And it concludes with Abraham’s commissioning of the servant to find a wife for Isaac among Abraham’s extended family in Haran as well as the assurance that God’s presence (called the Lord’s “angel”) would be with him to grant him success.
The second part describes the servant’s thoughts and actions when he arrived at the well. He includes his prayer, the sign he requested from the Lord, and how Rebekah had fulfilled the sign down to the last detail.
At this point, the servant was sure that he had received an answer from God. Now the issue lay in the hands of Rebeka’s brother, Laban. As the head of the family, he could say yes or no, and that answer would decide the issue once and for all.
The servant makes two points as he closes his argument and leaves space for Laban’s decision. The first point is that saying yes would be an act of faithful love to Abraham. The second is that the servant was willing to accept Laban’s decision, no matter what it might be. If it was no, he would simply return home empty handed.
Laban and his family knew of the Lord, but in practice, they were polytheists who worshiped other gods as well and kept household idols (Genesis 31:19). They poured out offerings to these “gods” to prompt them to give good harvests and the growth of flocks and herds. But the servant made a compelling case that the Lord, the God whom Abraham served, was deeply involved in this whole situation, that He had guided the servant to the city of Laban, and that He had even pointed his finger toward Rebekah as the one He had chosen as a wife for Isaac. All these elements turned in Laban’s mind as he considered his own decision.
Pray with Me
Father, it is amazing when Your hand is so evident in the circumstances of our lives, when we can see so clearly what You are doing and hear Your voice so well. I have had this experience myself many times, and it always gives me great boldness in pursuing Your agenda every time it happens, the same boldness I see in this servant. Lord, help me to always seek Your will before I move forward to, to hear Your voice clearly, and then to follow Your guidance to the letter, so that Your agenda can keep moving forward through me. Amen.