INTRODUCTION

It must be said however it is important to find the right woman.  But it must also be said that it's very important for one's well-being, not to quickly conclude that one is married to the wrong woman, if things aren't going right for a few years. The same principles hold good for trying to find the right man. 

The text for our study emphasizes the point that the primary motive for everything Christians are involved in should be to seek the will of God.  

Isaac and Rebekah is a great love story.  It involves real human beings and shows deep human emotions. Isaac had lost someone that he deeply loved and he needed a tremendous amount of human comfort; while in the other case Rebekah came into a brand new situation and also required tender care and comfort. How their lives turned out makes very interesting reading. 

We are not looking at papier-mâché characters but real people who experienced a deep sense of loss, one losing a beloved mother, the other losing contact with her family with which she grew up and now had to grow up in the new relationship of marriage in completely new surroundings.  

This is a delightful story of a father sending his servant to find a wife for his son and is also a remarkable ‘love at first sight’ story. It is also one that lends itself to much spiritualization by several Bible expositors.  Here's one example:

“It is a picture of Pentecost.  Here is Abraham, standing for God the Father, sending his unnamed servant into the far country to take a bride for his son -- to invite her to come, to call, to woo, and to win her -- to bring her back at last to the Father's house where the son is waiting to claim his bride for himself.

How beautifully that portrays how God, at the Day of Pentecost, sent his Spirit into the world!  It is the Spirit's job to call out a people for God's name, to win a bride for Christ; he has been at this task for almost 2000 years now, and the Son is waiting to receive that bride.

We read in the book of Revelation of the wedding supper of the Lamb, and of the Lord coming to claim his bride for himself, (see Revelation 19:7-9)…..

If you are a Christian, where are you in this story of Abraham sending his servant to get a bride for his son Isaac?

Well, you say, obviously we are the bride, we are the ones who are called by the Spirit of God.  This is true.  Every Christian remembers how he sensed at one time the calling of the Spirit of God.  We remember how he wooed and won us by the loveliness and beauties which are in Jesus Christ, and by a consciousness of our utter need for him.

We were called to love someone we had never seen, and we felt an answering response in our hearts as Christ was painted in vivid colors by the Spirit in our minds.

We felt the urge to leave friends and family behind, in the sense of shifting their central place in our affections, and to go after this one who called us.

Now we are journeying to meet him at last in that country in the Father's house.” 

Still everyone including this expositor agree that the individual literal application of the story is very important, for it teaches us important things about human nature. Actually, a carefully reading seems to show that the central character is not Rebekah but the servant of Abraham, who does his work faithfully, prays to God constantly for guidance and direction and when God answers his prayers and guides him he is very thankful. 

He is a responsible servant who did not take his very difficult duties lightly.  He listened to Abraham's directions not to take a wife for his son from the land of Canaan, but from Ur of the Chaldees, Abraham’s home town. He made every effort to do as Abraham had directed.  

The servant knew that it would be difficult to convince a girl from the bright lights of that city in Mesopotamia to agree to follow him, a stranger and to go and live in a land that she had never seen and marry a man that she had never met. To do this almost impossible task the servant recognized that he could not achieve Abraham's purpose without the leading of the Spirit.  

He did not take the approach that he was the one doing the job. He knew that he was not alone. He knew that God was alive, was all-powerful and was present. He expected God to answer his prayers and to prepare the way for him. He certainly seemed to know that to find a wife for Isaac would not simply be a matter of him persuading the girl, but it had to involve a divine call. So he prayed and expected help. Then he asked for confirmation from God that he was on the right track and that God intended to help him. 

Note that Rebecca gave him more than he bargained for or asked. She not only showed great hospitality and gave him water to drink, hence meeting his test, but amazingly offered to and drew water for all his camels.  Not too many girls would meet the requirements the servant requested. Rebekah’s offer to help the servant was an amazing offer and performance on the part of this teenage girl. We are told that a camel can drink twenty one to twenty five gallons of water at one time.  This was heavy work. 

The servant's prayer to God to guide him through providential circumstances had paid off.  He first laid before God what his servant Abraham wanted for his ‘son of promise’ before taking any action and then he asked God for a very remarkable response.  

He knew that if he prayed to God as recorded in verse twelve, for God to show loving kindness to his master Abraham, God would respond.  Loving kindness means God's covenantal loyalty.  He knew that God would always be faithful to His promises to Abraham and before the servant finished praying God answered. 

The Servant wanted a woman of character for Isaac.  He did not ask God to bring him a beautiful woman.  Remarkably the very pretty Rebekah volunteered to perform such a big and arduous task, doing at least an hour of hard work for a complete stranger; while he patiently waited for complete confirmation of his prayer.   

Rebecca's actions showed that she had the heart of a servant and this faithful servant knew that this was the right kind of woman for Isaac. She had the right kind of heart and would be perfect for comforting Isaac after death had brought an end to what was probably an unusually close relationship with his mother Sarah. 

Abraham had begun to make preparations for his death and he tackled the great concern that he had which was that Isaac, the ‘son of promise’, be married to a godly woman and that they would raise godly ‘seed’.  

He did not want Isaac to live among the Canaanites and move close to them and their pagan lifestyle.  He wanted to insulate Isaac from any close relationship with paganism, so he acted to ensure separation from the pagans while he lived among them. 

Genesis 24:7 shows that Abraham believed when God told him that He would give the land of Canaan to his descendents and that he should take a wife from the land of his birth for his son. So Abraham gave instructions to his servant, fully assured that God would give him divine guidance and that the angel of God would prepare the way for the servant. 

So it is in this context that the servant developed a wonderful plan, in which he sought to test the woman for the quality of godly character. Then he committed the plan to God and everything indicated she was the perfect candidate to fulfill the will of God. 

The text then moves into a tension filled drama, as the man who was devoted to Abraham and trusted the leading of God bows down and worshipped the Lord.  He had to go to Rebekah’s home to face her family and face the difficult task of seeking their approval to have her return with him to marry Isaac. We will now see what happens in the text.

THE TEXT

Verses 23-34.   The servant was amazed when he saw Rebekah doing the very difficult job of watering the camels, for this involved making several trips down a few stairs into the well and then returning with pitchers of water, to fill the trough from which the camels would drink.

This girl was so much better and so much more industrious than what would normally be expected, that the servant remained silent as Rebecca worked, wondering whether or not in fact God was really answering his prayers.  She seemed to be so much better than what he thought a prospective bride would be. 

When she completed the work he rewarded her handsomely, giving her expensive earrings and bracelets and then he inquired as to her family and whether or not they had room to put up his party for the night.   

When she told him her family details which indicated that she was related to Abraham’s clan, the servant regarded this as confirmation that he had found the perfect woman for Isaac, right in Abraham's family. He immediately bowed down and began worshiping God for having providentially brought him successfully to this point.  The servant worshiped at every new evidence of God's mercy and favor. 

Loaded down with the rich presents from Abraham's servant, the excited Rebecca ran off to tell her family of her experience.  She was so excited that she left Abraham’s servant and his party right at the well. 

Her brother Laban, seeing the expensive jewellery and hearing Rebecca recount what had happened, ran out to find the men and when he found them he played the perfect host, inviting them in.  He had no intention of slighting this rich and generous man. 

He saw that the man was rich and so he greeted him with the accolade that he was blessed of the Lord.  He immediately invited the servant of Abraham to the free use of his well furnished house and stable.   

Verse thirty makes it absolutely clear that Laban took particular notice of the earrings and bracelets that his sister had received from the servant of Abraham.  We later learn more about Laban’s rather mercenary character and so we know that he was calculating how rich Abraham was if the servant could be so generous and would factor this into subsequent discussions. 

For the servant the only important thing now was to have the family agree that Rebecca would return with him to the house of Abraham and so he would not eat until his mission was accomplished.  So he sat down with Rebekah, Laban and her family.

Verse 34.   The servant knew that this was the right girl for Isaac.  He had asked God to confirm that she was the right girl and God had answered his prayers. 

We had been told in Verse five that the servant had raised the issue as to what he should do if the woman he found would not be willing to follow him to Abraham's house and in that event he had wanted Abraham's permission to take Isaac back to Ur but Abram was insistent that he not take Isaac out of Canaan. Abraham had made it clear to the servant that if the woman he found for Isaac did not want to return with him, he would be clear of his oath and his responsibility to find a wife for Isaac in Mesopotamia. 

So the servant knew that Abraham would not hold him responsible if Rebecca did not want to return.  But this faithful servant at every stage, had looked to God for leading and now convinced that God was in control, he proceeded to behave with all the wisdom he had been given, showing prudence and integrity. 

The way or the techniques the servant used to present his case in this very difficult situation is a masterpiece.  The steps actually provide a model for evangelism.  He first identifies himself as a servant of Abraham and then proceeded to make it clear that Abraham was a man blessed by God and who operated totally under the loving kindness of God. 

Note that these people would have known that Abraham had been called by God to leave Ur and go into the land of Canaan.  They would doubtless have respected Abraham and noted that everything he had done had been done under the direction of God and  undoubtedly they were impressed.  In addition, by identifying himself with Abraham, who was the uncle of Bethuel, the family would be comfortable having their daughter being with someone connected to Abraham.  By associating with Abraham's family, any descendents of Rebekah would remain in a pure bloodline. 

Laban and his family would understand that even though Abraham had left them and gone away to a far country, he still remembered them, respected them and wanted to maintain the highest degree of relationship with them.  So it was very important for him to send his servant to them on this most important mission. This of course would have pleased them greatly. 

We can learn the lesson from this that it is good to have a good reputation, to be known as a man of God and one led by God. 

Even the people of the world who do not particularly care for God will often show respect and will many time want to associate with believers and often do them favours, because they think that this earn them ‘brownie’ points with God. 

Sad to say, people in the world often treat people who they think are Christian better than the treatment Christians get in the church. 

Abraham's reputation brought dividends.  So believers are encouraged by the Apostle not to do things that make them suffer for unrighteousness.

Verse 35.   The servant explained that his master Abraham, who had been led by God to Canaan, had been greatly blessed by God for his loyalty and integrity.  Abraham had not been foolish in leaving Ur of the Chaldees and later Haran, for his God had prospered him greatly. Abraham had become a very rich man with many flocks, herds, silver, gold, men servants, maidservants, camels and asses. 

Note that the servant had come to Ur with ten camels.  The possession of camels in those early days was a sign of extreme wealth for they were rare and so this listing which included the fact that Abraham had many beasts of burden would have impressed Laban and his family.  A man who could pull ten camels out of his herd of camels and send them on a mission like this was obviously an impressive chieftain. 

In being this candid the servant was telling Rebecca’s family that Isaac the son would inherit all of this wealth in due course and so Rebecca would be a fabulously wealthy woman.  He was providing the foundation for arguing explicitly that Isaac would be well able to meet any and all of Rebekah’s needs. Even though she was not poor, she would have access to even greater wealth.

Verse 36.  Abraham's wife Sarah had given him a son when she was old. God had blessed Abraham and supernaturally provided an heir for him. So this was a special son and a special gift from God.

In this compelling presentation the servant was pointing out that God had his hand in everything concerning Abraham and they would not need to fear.

Verse 37.   The servant now comes to the crux of the matter.  Abraham had made it absolutely clear to him that he would not allow Isaac to marry any of the Canaanite women.  He would live among them but he would not have him associate with them closely.

Verse 38.   Clearly, as far as Abraham was concerned the only appropriate wife for his special son, was a wife from his father's house, one of his kindred.  A wife from that household was the best wife available, vastly better than the Canaanite women.

That line was the purest available, and had been established by the God of Abraham.

Verse 39.  The servant candidly told the family that he had pointed out to his master Abraham, that there was a possibility that the chosen woman would not necessarily follow him back to his house in Canaan.  He had a raised a reasonable fear. 

He was pointing out that despite the great wealth and life of luxury that Abraham and Isaac had to offer and the certain knowledge that she would be under the special protection of God, a potential bride or her family might simply turn their backs on the offer.

Verse 40.  Abraham had assured him that it was God that was in charge and it was He who would change the heart of any potential bride, so that she would agree to come to his son Isaac. 

Abraham was certain that God whom he served would send his angel with the servant and ensure that his way would be prosperous.  He would succeed in taking a wife for his son from his kindred, from his father's house.  They had no need to fear for the matter came from God.  God's way was always the right way and it would succeed.

Verse 41.  Abraham was so confident in the working of God in this matter that he told his servant that if when he came to his kindred they would not give him a wife for Isaac, he would be clear of his oath.  He would not be responsible for any failure.

Verses 42-48.   The servant now gave his personal testimony to show the family that God was working providentially behind the scenes. 

His testimony would show that it was the will of God for Rebekah to become the wife of Isaac and so he recounted everything that happened from Abraham called him and gave him instructions and made him swear his oath up to the time of his arrival at the family home. 

The servant spoke candidly to the family and told them that he came to the well and prayed to the Lord God of Abraham to give him success in finding a wife for Isaac. He told the Lord God that he would stand at the well and that when a virgin came to draw water and he asked her to give him a little water to drink from her pitcher, she would not only give him the water to drink, but she would volunteer to draw water for the camels also. He prayed that this would be the woman that the Lord had picked out for his master's son Isaac. 

He had spoken this prayer in his heart, and nobody but God could hear his prayer. But even before he had finished praying, Rebekah came to the well and went to fill her pitcher.  When he asked her for a drink she hurried to giving him the water he requested and then immediately volunteered to also give the camels water to drink. God had answered his requests even before he had finished his prayers. God had brought to Rebekah to him. 

He then asked her whose daughter she was and when she told them that she was the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, he knew that he was with Abraham's family and as an appreciation for what she had done, he gave her the earrings and bracelets as a sample of what was in store for her. 

Immediately he acknowledged God's goodness to him in leading him and showing him exactly what He wanted for Isaac.  It had been an almost impossible task, for it was difficult enough to find Abraham's kindred, but in addition to find the right girl, at the right place, at the right time was something that came from the hand of God.

So he immediately bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord God of his master Abraham.  God had proven to be the true God who had worked His will. In the eyes of the servant, Abraham's will and desire and the will and desire of God were  perfectly synchronized.  His master Abraham had trusted God and had sent his servant to do what was humanly impossible. God had come through once again for Abraham.

Verses 49-53.   The servant told his testimony and now issued the invitation.  Tell me now what is your decision.  I need to know so that I can decide what to do, says the servant. 

This was a very powerful appeal on Rebekah.  This teenage girl was called on to make a very difficult choice.  She had lived under the protection of her family for years and had been carefully guarded and now she was being asked to go to a foreign land with a strange man that she just met a few days before.  This was no easy choice. But this stranger had a such a powerful appeal, had come from her own family and had such a wealthy master, that had the right God and so her heart was won. She was ready to go for God had put it in her heart that this was what she should do and she had recognized that the invitation was the one that was right for her.   

Laban and Bethuel could only admit now that this was the doing of God and they could say nothing against it.  They had no objection. They invited the servant to take Rebekah, so that she would be married to Abraham’s son, since this was what God wanted. 

On hearing this Abraham's servant again bowed himself to the ground before the Lord and worshiped.  God had once more shown His power.  Rebekah’s family would see that she was heading to join a pious family. 

The servant not only thanks God for success but he paid his respects to the family and gave articles of silver, gold and expensive garments to Rebekah and her family.

Verses 51-61.   The tense situation was not completely resolved.  Everything was not in perfect shape, for though the family had agreed to the marriage, the servant wanted to leave right away, the next morning, to return home to Abraham, while the family wanted Rebekah to stay with them for at least ten days before she left. 

The issue was settled by Rebekah herself. She demonstrated her faith in the God of Abraham by choosing to leave immediately with the servant to go to meet her new husband.  It was not an easy choice, but Rebekah made the choice of associating with the people of God and with the plan of God.  She was ready to go where God wanted. 

So she went with her maidens, met Isaac and was married.

CONCLUSION

We can learn several lessons but we must first remember that these were real human beings with the same tears, sufferings, loves and the desire for comfort and security that we have.  Their story is our story. 

Ultimately the story is about God's faithfulness, for He protected and guided the servant to the right spot at the right time and gave Rebekah the right ‘servant spirit’ at the precise time necessary. 

It is also clear that God was faithful to His promise of providing descendents for Abraham.  These descendents would be from the precise line established by God. 

We should note that Abraham knew how to live in that culture that did not know the Lord but nevertheless he understood their ways.  He was wise not to tread on their toes.  This wisdom was amply demonstrated in the events in Genesis 23. 

He knew that Canaanite culture had their own rules and standards for success and that these rules were based on the appeal of the ‘flesh’. So even though he lived in Canaan among the Canaanites he did not want his son Isaac to be married to someone that followed the rules of the ‘flesh’.

He wanted his son to marry someone who would take the same road of faith that he had taken.  He wanted someone who would cut herself from the old ties and believe only in God for life and success.   

He would not allow his son to marry someone who was not on the same road of faith as himself.  Along with that he would not allow Isaac to go back to the family that he had left behind, for he wanted him to live in total reliance on God, in the land that God had promised. 

The blessing that the family gave to Rebekah when she was leaving Mesopotamia demonstrates why Abram had insisted that Isaac's wife would have to come from his close relatives. Bethuel, Laban, and the household must have shared to some extent faith in the God of Abraham, for they responded immediately when they were shown evidence that God had guided the servant. 

Their blessing was very close to the covenant promises of God to Abraham and could hardly be   coincidental.  They might very well have known the promises that God had made to Abraham that prompted him to leave Mesopotamia for Canaan.  (Compare Genesis 17: 16, Genesis 22: 17, and Genesis 24: 60) 

So we know now that God guides people who are seeking His will.  He will ensure that if you seek Him you will discover Him and His will. 

Abraham’s servant provides a great model for us.  He was faithful, prudent and selfless.  He prayed before he acted and he prayed and praised when God answered his prayers. He teaches us that God controls all the affairs of life. 

So what else do we learn from Abraham?

Abraham knew how to handle the ordinary affairs of life.  He knew that his son should have a wife  but he also knew that it should not be just any wife.  All parents who profess to call on the name of the Lord should take special note of this. 

All his thinking and his choices reflected the wisdom of God. All the ordinary affairs of life had to be looked at through the lens of God and godly values had to be the rule. He would not sell out to the world.  Abraham saw that God was involved everywhere, and he trusted God. 

When we encounter all the experiences of life, the good and bad, the ordinary and extraordinary, do we think that God has the resources to make us face all of them successfully? Should we not have godly thinking and deep trust in God whenever there are births, marriages, or death, or anything in between? 

We must be mindful that God has the answer to all our needs and all the longings of our hearts.  He has promised to meet all the needs of his children.  So we can face all that life presents us, if we learn more about God and learn to trust the Lord. 

Just think about the servant and his reaction when Rebekah met Isaac.  I'm sure he was grinning all over, for his heart was joyful at the completion of his mission in bringing a bride for Isaac. 

You also can have a heart overflowing with joy when you bring someone to join with the bridegroom Jesus Christ in a new life. So let the story of Abraham’s servant be your story as well.  Let your joy be full when you bring many to Christ and you can say, “ Here comes the Bride of Christ”.