Last 5 Days
God sees to it
29 Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring. 30 As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. 31 He said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” 32 So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and there was water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” He said, “Speak on.”
34 So he said, “I am Abraham's servant. 35 The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. 36 And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has. 37 My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell, 38 but you shall go to my father's house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.’ 39 I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ 40 But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father's house. 41 Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my clan. And if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’
42 “I came today to the spring and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go, 43 behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” 44 and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,” let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master's son.’
45 “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also. 47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. 48 Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son. 49 Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51 Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has spoken.”
52 When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the Lord. 53 And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. 54 And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my master.” 55 Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.” 56 But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.” 57 They said, “Let us call the young woman and ask her.” 58 And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.” 59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“Our sister, may you become thousands of ten thousands, and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate him!”
61 Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way.
62 Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. 63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming. 64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel 65 and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
In the search for a wife for Isaac, we now come to the part of the narrative where the servant waits while Rebekah went and told her mother’s household of what had happened (verse 28). Meanwhile, her brother, Laban, eagerly takes the servant in, and the bulk of the chapter contains the repetition of the narrative of the servant meeting Rebekah. The retelling of the story is significant because of the evidence that it offers that this marriage is divinely sanctioned.
More than so, the response following the retelling of the story, continues to show God’s grace and mercy.
First, after the servant had told his story, Laban and Bethuel in verses 50-51 said, “The thing has come from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has spoken.” The servant’s testimony of God’s intervention in the whole process continued to open the way for Rebekah’s hand to be given to Isaac. It is such a powerful testimony of God’s grace and mercy.
Second, after the servant had stayed for a night, Rebekah’s brother, Leban, and her mother asked for Rebekah to stay for another ten days. When Rebekah’s opinion was sought, in verse 58, she said “I will go”. Now Rebekah had never seen Isaac, but had only witnessed the servant’s testimony and actions. Therefore, Rebekah’s ready obedience was again significant of God’s grace and mercy, and showed God’s hand in the whole process.
With Rebekah leaving home, the family recites a blessing that reiterates some of the elements that have by now been identified firmly within the covenant benefits (v. 60). The blessing of offspring, the blessing of the increase of descendants brings the reader back to Genesis 1, God’s command to multiply, and to Genesis 15, where God promised Abraham that his offspring will be like the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:5). Therefore in the progress of this narrative, with the servant obtaining the hand of Rebekah, and Rebekah receiving the blessing of her family, the promise of the offspring appears to be sealed. Isaac, the son through whom Abraham’s offspring shall be named (Genesis 21:12) will have a wife through Rebekah, and the lineage can now be continued.
When the group arrives in where Isaac was, Abraham’s servant identifies Isaac in the fields, and Rebekah dons her veil. Verse 67 tells us that “Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death”. It was symbolic that Rebekah entered the tent of Sarah, as she will now take over the role of matriarch in the generation of Isaac.
God had promised Abraham that his offspring will be like the stars in the sky, and through this whole narrative of the servant seeking a wife for Isaac, we see how God saw to the fulfilment of the promise Himself. God Himself answered every of the servant’s prayer, blessed his every step, and showed His grace and mercy through the responses given by the different people the servant encountered in the whole process. Rebekah’s faith and obedience symbolically carried on Abraham’s faith. The union of Isaac and Rebekah is a sign of the faithfulness of God’s promise. And in this whole process, God sovereignly preserved the “seed”, the offspring through whom he has promised nations, the seed through whom will come the Saviour. God Himself has the power to provide and to save, and He is faithful to His promise and covenant. Are you willing to trust and rely on our faithful and Sovereign God and to follow Him from one generation to the next?
