Having been given many stories from the bible about the relationship between Abraham and Sarah,
by chapter 24 of Genesis, we begin to move on with the next generation and see the formation of a new
couple, that which is Abraham’s son Isaac and Rebekkah. But it would appear that Issaac and
Rebekka’s meeting was much less down to chance and instead somewhat orchestrated by Abraham, who some
might say might’ve been getting impatient that Issac hadn’t gone and found himself a woman yet.
The bible tells us in the beginning of this chapter that Abraham was now very old,
but that despite his old age, he had been blessed by God in every way - indicating
that despite losing Sarah, he had managed to find some peace and closure in her absence.
He turns to his senior servant in the household and tells him, “Put your hand under my thigh.
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.” (Genesis 24:2-4)
The bible tells us that this servant was the oldest servant of the household
and some have theorised that this was Eliezer, he who was mentioned in Chapter 15 as being the
one to inherit Abraham’s estate, where Abraham was worrying that he would die without children.
But for the duration of this chapter, the servant goes unnamed and so it is hard to
determine his actual identity. What we do know is that he asked to place his hand beneath the thigh
of Abraham before being made to swear that he will not find a wife for Issaac amongst the Canaanites,
but will instead go to Abraham’s original country in Chaldea to find one instead.
Going by some ancient customs, the placing of one’s hand under the thigh
of their master was thought to have been a pretty big deal - something along the lines
of a modern day pinky-promise. It indicated that an important oath was being made and thus,
reveals how serious Abraham was in securing a wife for Issaac that wasn’t a Canaanite.
He goes as far as to make his servant swear by God that this will not happen and that his
wife will have originated from Chaldea - and so, being one of their own tribe so to speak.
But the servant does question Abraham asking, ‘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?’ (Genesis 24:5)
To which Abraham replies, “Make sure that you do not take my son back there.
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.
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.” (Genesis 24:6-8)
These seem like pretty straight forward instructions, though it does raise the question
as to why Abraham did not want Isaac to return to Abraham’s homeland to find a wife himself.
We know why he didn’t want him taking a Canaanite bride because they not only worshipped a different
God, but they might have also corrupted Issaac - at least, in Abraham’s eyes. But the reason
for not wanting him to venture out himself in search of the one seems a bit odd. Some
have explained this by the idea that Isaac was a product of the Covenant between Abraham and God,
and thus was the result of a promise made by God to Abraham. This not only made him special,
but it also made him the inheritor of the promised land of Canaan. If Isaac was to
leave the land in search of a wife, Abraham seems to believe that the promise would be compromised
for the land of Canaan would be absent of its true ruler. Furthermore, there is also an idea that
due to the importance of Isaac, a woman should have come to him as opposed to him chasing one.
We see the servant agree to the task set before him and he is seen to leave Abraham’s house
with ten camels loaded with gifts.
He sets out to the region of Aram Naharaim and finds himself amongst the town of Nahor. There,
he stops at the well outside of the town and spots the women of the town emerging to draw the water.
Upon seeing these women, the servant prays to God, saying “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me
successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring,
and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to
a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink’, and she says,
‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’ - 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.”
We see the servant seek counsel from God, showing believers that anyone - not just
one such as Abraham - has the ability to commune with the Lord.
The servant is wise to do this, for other than Abraham’s instructions,
he did not have a real strategy on how to go about securing a wife for Isaac.
Furthermore, he also asks God to identify the woman by her generosity and kindness, for
whichever woman offers to feed the camels would surely be the one. The servant proves to be quite
shrewd here and certainly has Abraham and Isaac’s best interests at heart, for he doesn’t just want
to pick any woman in an effort to get this quest over with, but wants one who is humble
and caring enough to feed the camels - ten of them, to be precise. It can also be said that the
servant did not come to Nahor looking for a woman of beauty, but instead a woman of character - one
who he believed would be good for and to Isaac, and not just one who was easy on the eyes.
Yet, the bible tells us that before he’s even finished praying,
Rebekah emerges with a water jar. The bible tells us that she was the daughter of Betheul,
the son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. She was
described as being very beautiful and pure - in that, no man had ever slept with her.
It’s interesting that she catches his eye before he’s even finished his prayer, which
some might say was God speeding up the process and nudging the servant in the right direction. It can
also be said that if God knows ones’ heart and intentions to be pure, he does not require total
submission in the form of prayer and can reward someone simply for the virtue of their character.
So the servant rushed over to introduce himself and asked for some water from her jar.
‘Drink my lord,’ Rebekah told him and she gave him water for him to drink.
Once she had given him a drink, she told him ‘I’ll draw water for your camels too,
until they have had enough to drink.’ And so, she quickly emptied her jar into the trough,
ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all of the servant’s camels.
Now, without saying a word, the servant watched her closely as he tried to determine whether or
not this woman was indeed the one. She certainly fit the criteria in terms of being a generous
and humble person and certainly coincided with the idea of a righteous woman that the servant
had conveyed before God. She not only offered him water, but went back and forth to feed the
camels too. Now it might not seem like that big a deal, but given how much water camels drink
and given that there were ten of them, it’s quite remarkable that Rebekah offered to do this at all.
This is perhaps why the servant watches her so intently as she performs this task, not just
because he is amazed by her but also because he wanted to make sure she was a woman of her word.
Once Rebekah had finished feeding the camels, the servant took out a nose ring and two golden
bracelets, for which we can presume he offered to her as payment for her service,
but also because it showed that he came from a master who was very wealthy. He enquires as to
who her family was and was probably rejoiced to learn that she was related to Abraham’s family
and thus, would make an ideal match for Isaac, given that Abraham wanted to… well,
keep it all in the family. The servant asks for succour at Rebekah’s house which is granted and
we also see the servant proceed to praise God for having led him to that which was sought after.
The bible tells us that Rebekkah ran home to tell her mother of the things that she had earned that
day, suggesting her excitement at having met the servant and the gifts he had bestowed her with.
We also learn that Rebekah’s had a brother named Laban and that when Laban saw the
trinkets his sister had earned and saw the servant standing beside her, he immediately knew that he
had been sent by the Lord, for he tells him ‘Come, you are who are blessed by the Lord,
why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” (Genesis 24:31)
The camels were unloaded and the servant was treated to having his feet washed
as well being served a meal. But he would not eat anything until he had spoken to Rebekah’s family
about his proposition. So with that, he proceeds to explain to them exactly why he has come,
who his master is, the oath he had sworn and why Rebekah fit the bill.
After having heard everything that the servant had to say, both Laban and Rebekah’s father Bethuel
say in tandem that there is nothing they can say or do to deny the servant of his request,
for he has come from God. With that, they very quick to offer up Rebekkah and tell the servant,
“Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son,
as the Lord has directed.” (Genesis 24:51) Yet again, the servant bows to the ground
before the Lord before producing more articles of gold, silver and clothing to give to Rebekkah.
He also distributed this wealth to Rebeka’s family as well, perhaps as compensation for, in effect,
stealing away their daughter and ferrying her off to a man none of them actually knew.
But relinquishing Rebekkah is harder than her family had anticipated,
for when it comes to handing her over, it is her mother and brother who request
“Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you may go.”
But the servant is adamant and tells 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.”
Evidently, the servant did not want to delay his mission
any more than he needed to and saw the fulfilment of his obligation to Abraham
as an absolute priority. This may have been because he knew Abraham’s time was near
and he wanted Abraham to see this quest fulfilled and to see his son married before he passed away.
It might also be said that the servant did not want to delay God’s will either, for God had
been prompt in giving him a sign that Rebekkah was the one. Therefore, he felt obligated to the
Lord to complete the quest as soon as possible. Yet, despite this, Rebekkah’s family still argue
for their extra ten days and call for Sarah to decide, asking “Will you go with this man?”
And to their disappointment, Rebekkah valiantly tells them “I will go.”
It can be said that this was pretty bold of Rebekkah and that her willingness to leave
behind her home and virtually everything she had ever known is pretty brave. She had no idea
that the servant was who he said he was, nor what type of man Isaac would be when she met him.
Yet, it is suggested that she put her faith in God and God saw her delivered safely because of it.
Whilst it was likely painful for Rebekkah to be so direct and decisive with her words “I will go”,
it shows us that she recognised her loyalty was to God first and not her family and that if this
was his will, she had to follow his commands. With this, her family has no choice but to send
her on her way with the servant, though they do give her their blessing, saying “Our sister, may
you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the cities of their enemies.”
Then Rebekah, along with her own attendants, ready themselves and start to make their journey
to their new home along with the servant. It is here we see Isaac again and we are
told that he had come out into the field one evening to meditate. When he looked up, he saw
camels approaching and realised that these were his father’s camels and probably recognised the
servant too. Interestingly, it’s unclear if Isaac was privy to the arrangement made by his father
and so he may not have been too moved by anything other than curiosity at the approaching camels.
On the other hand, if he was aware of his father’s arrangement, then he would likely
have been anxious, excited and probably dying of anticipation to see who his wife would be… or
whether the servant had even found anyone for him. It is here that Rebekah and Isaac make eye contact
and she enquiries to the servant as to who he is. “He is my master,” the servant answered.
With that, Rebekah realises that this is her husband to be and so,
she takes her veil and covers herself in an effort to maintain some modesty. It can be
said that this was a sign of her chastity, purity and also a form of respect - an effort by her to
impress Isaac and put her best foot forward in showing him that she was an honest woman.
The bible cuts out the awkward introductions and details of the love affair in general and
just tells us that Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married
Rebekkah - evidently, quite pleased with the work of the servant in finding him such a woman. She
became his wife and he loved her and in Rebekah, Isaac was comforted after the death of his mother.
Let me know what you thought about today’s episode in the comments below and as always,
if you’ve enjoyed today’s video then don’t forget to give it a thumbs up and don’t forget to
subscribe for more content just like this! Until next time