FRAMEWORKS:
Genesis 24 :
Finding a Wife for Isaac
v.1-9
Abraham Instructs his Servant
v.10-14
The Servant travels to a well near Nahor and prays
v.15-20
Rebekah comes and serves him
v.21-27
The servant watches her and enquires of her background
v.28-33
Laban welcomes the Servant
v.34-41
The Servant recounts Abraham's Instructions
v.42-48
The Servant recounts what happened at the Well
v.49-52
The Family agree this is from the Lord
v.53-61
After presenting gifts, and discussion, the Servant leaves with
Rebekah
v.62-67
They arrive at home and the couple are married
v.1-9
Abraham Instructs his Servant
v.1
Abraham
was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.
v.2
He
said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge
of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh.
v.3,4
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, but will go to my country
and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”
v.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?”
v.6
“Make
sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said.
v.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.
v.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.”
v.9
So
the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham
and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
[Notes:
The
main point of import here is that Abraham knows he has a special
calling and that will continue with Isaac and so as Isaac needs
a wife, she must not come from Canaan. He's now an old man probably
unable to do much travelling and so he is sending his servant
to go looking for a wife for Isaac. Note the key points of his
instructions:
1.
He makes the servant promise he will not find a girl in Canaan.
2.
He must go back to the land they came from, possibly from his
own relatives.
3.
If there is a problem, Isaac must not go back there because this
is the promised land.
4.
The Lord will go before him to help find a wife.
5.
If the girl refuses to come, then he is excused from his oath.]
v.10-14
The Servant travels to a well near Nahor and prays
v.10
Then
the servant left, taking with him ten of his master's camels loaded
with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for
Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town
of Nahor.
v.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.
v.12
Then
he prayed, “ Lord , God of my master Abraham, make me successful
today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.
v.13
See,
I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople
are coming out to draw water.
v.14
May
it be that (i) when
I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have
a drink,' and (ii) she says,
‘Drink, and I'll water your camels too'— (iii) 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.”
[Notes:
The
servant aims for Aram Naharaim,
otherwise known as Paddan Aram or Haran,
where Abraham had
lived with his father Terah after
leaving Ur. The term ‘the town of Nahor' is either a town near
Haran or simply the town where Nahor, Abraham's brother [v.15]
lived, or had lived.
When
he arrives outside the town he stops at a well and prays for the
Lord's guidance. In his prayer he trusts in the Lord's providence,
His guiding hand to be on all that happens.]
v.15-20
Rebekah comes and serves him
v.15
Before
he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her
shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was
the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.
v.16
The
woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with
her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.
v.17
The
servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little
water from your jar.”
v.18
“Drink,
my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and
gave him a drink.
v.19
After
she had given him a drink, she said, “I'll draw water for your
camels too, until they have had enough to drink.”
v.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.
[Notes:
While
he is still praying Rebekah arrives, the granddaughter of Nahor,
Abraham's brother. The servant approaches her and, working on
the requests of his prayer, asks for a little water. Matching
the second request of his prayer, she graciously responds and
even offers to water his camels.]
v.21-27
The servant watches her and enquires of her background
v.21
Without
saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or
not the Lord had made his journey successful.
v.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.
v.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?”
v.24
She
answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel,
the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.” [Nahor
had a son, Bethuel, who had a daughter, Rebekah. i.e. she is Nahor's
granddaughter]
v.25
And
she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room
for you to spend the night.”
v.26,27
Then
the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, 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.”
[Notes:
The
servant now wants to check out the third part of his prayer and
see if she ‘fits' the requirements of a wife for Isaac. He asks
about her family and she confirms she is from the family of Nahor,
conforming to Abraham's instructions, “from my own relatives”.
When she offers hospitality for him, the servant knows God has
led him to the right family.]
v.28-33
Laban welcomes the Servant
v.28
The
young woman ran and told her mother's household about these things.
v.29
Now
Rebekah had a brother named Laban , and he hurried
out to the man at the spring. [For
future reference, Laban is Nahor's grandson]
v.30
As
soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister's
arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he
went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near
the spring.
v.31
“Come,
you who are blessed by the Lord ,” he said. “Why are you standing
out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”
v.32
So
the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw
and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and
his men to wash their feet.
v.33
Then
food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I
have told you what I have to say.” “Then tell us,” Laban said.
[Notes:
Rebekah
runs home and tells her brother, Laban, who goes to the well,
greets the man and offers him hospitality. Back at the house,
before eating, the servant insists on telling Laban his mission.]
v.34-41
The Servant recounts Abraham's Instructions
v.34
So
he said, “I am Abraham's servant.
v.35
The
Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy.
He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female
servants, and camels and donkeys.
v.36
My
master's wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he
has given him everything he owns.
v.37,38
And
my master made me swear an oath, and said, ‘You must not get a
wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose
land I live, but go to my father's family and to my own
clan, and get a wife for my son.'
v.39
“Then
I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with
me?'
v.40
“He
replied, ‘The Lord , before whom I have walked faithfully, will
send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that
you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father's
family.
v.41
You
will be released from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they
refuse to give her to you—then you will be released from my oath.
[Notes:
He
carefully recounts Abraham's instructions. The fact that it is
recorded so carefully suggests just how important Abraham's understanding
of his calling was, and how strongly it had been conveyed to his
servant.]
v.42-48
The Servant recounts what happened at the Well
v.42
“When
I came to the spring today, I said, ‘ Lord , God of my master
Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which
I have come.
v.43,44
See,
I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to
draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water
from your jar,” and if she says to me, “Drink, and I'll draw water
for your camels too,” let her be the one the Lord has chosen for
my master's son.'
v.45
“Before
I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar
on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and
I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.'
v.46
“She
quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and
I'll water your camels too.' So I drank, and she watered the camels
also.
v.47“I
asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?' “She said, ‘The daughter
of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.' “Then I put
the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms,
v.48
and
I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God
of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get
the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son.
[Notes:
The
servant then repeats in great detail his praying and the events
that followed at the well. He goes to some length to indicate
his sureness that he had the Lord's leading. As we say, this was
a match made in heaven.]
v.49-52
The Family agree this is from the Lord
v.49
Now
if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell
me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.”
v.50
Laban
and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord ; we can say nothing
to you one way or the other.
v.51
Here
is Rebekah; take her and go and let her become the wife of your
master's son, as the Lord has directed.”
v.52
When
Abraham's servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground
before the Lord .
[Notes:
Having
poured out these two accounts in such detail, he wants to know
if his words have been accepted by his listeners. Rebekah's father
and brother agree that this must be God's leading.]
v.53-61
After presenting gifts, and discussion, the Servant leaves with
Rebekah
v.53
Then
the servant brought out gold and silver jewellery and articles
of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts
to her brother and to her mother.
v.54
Then
he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night
there.
When
they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my
master.”
v.55
But
her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman remain
with us ten days or so; then you may go.”
v.56
But
he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted
success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.”
v.57
Then
they said, “Let's call the young woman and ask her about it.”
v.58
So
they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”
“I
will go,” she said.
v.59
So
they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse
and Abraham's servant and his men.
v.60
And
they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you increase to
thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the
cities of their enemies.”
v.61
Then
Rebekah and her attendants got ready and mounted the camels and
went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
[Notes:
The
servant has brought gifts from Abraham, which he hands over. In
the morning when he goes to leave, they ask for Rebekah to stay
another ten days but he asks that he may complete his task so
they ask Rebekah what she feels and she consents to go with him
now. Note in v.59 the reference to the servant's men, indicating
that this senior servant has travelled with an entourage, no doubt
for protection. Now they all travel back with Rebekah.]
v.62-67
They arrive at home and the couple are married
v.62
Now
Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev.
v.63
He
went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked
up, he saw camels approaching.
v.64,65
Rebekah
also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel and
asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet
us?” “He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her
veil and covered herself.
v.66
Then
the servant told Isaac all he had done.
v.67
Isaac
brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married
Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was
comforted after his mother's death.
[Notes
:
Beer Lahai
Roi is in the far south of Canaan (the Negev) and so the camel
train brigning Rebekah has to travel right through the land. As
they come near it is evening and the couple first catch sight
of each other and she demurely veils herself. Everything in this
chapter speaks well of Rebekah. She and Isaac are then married.]
Continue to Chapter 25