Read with Me
Genesis 24:50-61 (HCSB)
Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD; we have no choice in the matter. Rebekah is here in front of you. Take her and go, and let her be a wife for your master’s son, just as the LORD has spoken.”
When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed to the ground before the LORD. Then he brought out objects of silver and gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and her mother. Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night.
When they got up in the morning, he said, “Send me to my master.”
But her brother and mother said, “Let the girl stay with us for about 10 days. Then she can go.”
But he responded to them, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has made my journey a success. Send me away so that I may go to my master.”
So they said, “Let’s call the girl and ask her opinion.”
They called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”
She replied, “I will go.” So they sent away their sister Rebekah with the one who had nursed and raised her, and Abraham’s servant and his men.
They blessed Rebekah, saying to her:
Our sister, may you become
thousands upon ten thousands.
May your offspring possess
the gates of their enemies.
Then Rebekah and her female servants got up, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
The evidence that Abraham’s servant presented indicating that Rebecca had been chosen by God to be the wife of Abraham’s son, Isaac, was overwhelming. Normally, there would have been a period of negotiation before the family agreed to a marriage, but Laban and Rebecca’s mother both saw God’s hand at work in these things, so they simply agreed.
Part of the normal negotiation was determining the bride price. But in this case, the servant didn’t need to try to keep the price low. He had come well-supplied with gold, silver, clothing, and other trade goods. He brought them out and gave lavishly to Rebecca’s family, effectively sealing the deal and leaving no room for further bargaining.
In the morning, the servant was anxious to start on his return trip to Beer-sheba. But Rebekah’s family wanted a delay so that they could call all the extended family together for a celebration. They wanted to not only celebrate the engagement of their sister and daughter, but also to boast about the fact that she had fetched such a high bride price, and that she was going to marry the heir to a fortune. It was quite a feather in their cap!
The servant understood their desire, but he was understandably anxious to begin the return journey. The trip would take several weeks as it was, and he was flush with his success and earnestly desire to tell his master, Abraham, all about what God had done.
In a startling move, Laban and Rebecca’s mother decided to leave the decision up to Rebekah. They likely figured that she would want to stay for a few more days and to have a lavish feast thrown just for her. But shockingly, she elected to start out immediately. God had filled her own heart with a longing to meet her new husband in far off Canaan.
Since the family had announced publicly that Rebekah would have the deciding vote, they had no choice but to accept her decision. In place of a party, they had to settle for a blessing, a prayer that she would become the ancestor of a vast number of descendants who would form a powerful nation. And with that blessing, Rebecca and her nurse mounted camels, and the caravan departed for her new home.
Pray with Me
Father, I myself have been in situations where Your hand was so powerfully seen, where Your guidance was so incontrovertible, that any further discussion was seen as unnecessary by all who were present. At those times, only two options are open: obedience or rebellion. And of course, the path of obedience is always the right path to pursue. Lord, help me to always seek Your will at every juncture, not casually, but intently. And once Your plan is revealed, help me to follow You diligently. Amen.