Read with Me
Genesis 24:62-67 (HCSB)
Now Isaac was returning from Beer-lahai-roi, for he was living in the Negev region. In the early evening Isaac went out to walk in the field, and looking up he saw camels coming. Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she got down from her camel and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?”
The servant answered, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.
And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah to be his wife. Isaac loved her, and he was comforted after his mother’s death.
Listen with Me
As the caravan approached, the cloud of dust it raised caught the eye of Isaac, who was relaxing and meditating near his tent as evening fell. He counted ten camels (Genesis 24:10) and realized that it must be the servant returning from his journey to Haran. So, he began to walk toward the party, curious as to how things had turned out. At the same time, Rebecca saw Isaac coming toward them and wondered aloud who it could be. When the servant declared that it was Isaac, her soon-to-be husband, Rebekah drew her veil over her head and face, as modesty dictated when in the presence of a man she did not know.
When Isaac arrived at the caravan, the servant shared with him all that had happened at Haran, how the Lord had intervened to lead him to the specific woman that he had chosen for Isaac. At that point, Rebekah came forward, and introductions were made.
Even though it might seem from a cursory reading of the text that Isaac simply took Rebekah as his wife on the spot, Moses wrote very clearly that he took her not to his own tent, but to his mother’s tent, where she could set up her things and get settled for a few days while the announcement of the upcoming marriage was sent to the camps in the area. In just a few days, the people gathered, the vows were recited, and the feast began.
Isaac was 40 years old when he married the teenage Rebecca (Genesis 25:20), but that was actually the norm in the culture. It had been three years since his mother’s death, and Isaac was still grieving for her. But with a new wife, his focus was able to shift from the past to the future.
Pray with Me
Father, there was a lot that went into making this match happen. It required a trek of hundreds of miles, as well as Your direct intervention. Instead of two parents haggling over details of a prospective match, You simply pointed your finger at Rebekah, and said, “This is the one!” And it was so. I wonder how often we complicate things by insisting on getting into the middle of making our plans instead of simply seeking Your perfect will. Personally, every time I have sought Your face instead of making my own plans, everything turns out so much better. Thank You! Amen.
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