It came time for Isaac to take a wife, but Abraham did not
want him to marry a Canaanite, idol worshipping wife. He sent his servant back to the land of his
family to find a wife, who worshipped the one true God. The servant arrived at a well in the land of
Abraham’s family. Finding a wife for
Isaac was a big job, so He said a prayer.
"And he said O Lord
God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew
kindness unto my master Abraham.
Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters
of the men of the city come out to draw water:
And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall
say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say,
Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou
hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast
shewed kindness unto my master."
Genesis 24:12-14
Well,
no sooner had he finished praying, then Rebekah came to draw water from the well. She was pretty, unmarried, and had remained
pure the Bible says. She filled her
pitcher at the well.
" And the servant ran to meet her, and
said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.
And she said, Drink, my lord: and she
hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
And when she had done giving him drink,
she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking."
Genesis 24:17-19
Wow,
not only did she answer as the servant had asked of God, but she unknowingly
went above and beyond. She not only gave
those camels water, but she gave them their fill of water. That meant refilling that pitcher by hand
over and over again and carrying it back and forth both full and empty. The Bible says that even the servant
wondered. God is providing Isaac with an
amazing wife! Better than what was asked for because what God has for us is
best if we are only willing to wait for Him and His timing.
So
the servant gave her a golden earring and two bracelets, and asked about her
family and a place to stay. Come to find
out, she’s related to Abraham, and they had room and food for him and his
camels. The servant bowed down and
worshipped God for bringing him to Abraham’s family, and Rebekah ran to the
house to tell her family of the guest.
Rebekah’s
brother seeing the earring and bracelets and hearing her story went to the
servant at the well and invited him to the house. At the house, they unsaddled his camels and gave
them straw. They provided water to wash
the servant’s feet after the long trip.
They tried to feed him, but he said that his trip was too
important. They told him to tell them of
it.
He
told them how he was Abraham’s servant, and that God had blessed Abraham with
much wealth and a son. He had come to
find a Godly wife among Abraham’s family for Isaac instead of an idol
worshiping one from among the Canaanites.
He told of his prayer to God that day and what that special woman must
do. He told them that God had answered
his prayer with Rebekah. She was to be
Isaac’s wife.
"Then Laban and Bethuel answered and
said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot
speak unto thee bad or good.
Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take
her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken."
Genesis 24:50-51
Then
the servant worshiped God and brought forth jewels and finery for them all, and
then they did eat and drink. The next
day her brother and mother wanted to keep her there with them a little longer,
but the servant wanted to leave right away, so they decided to ask Rebekah.
"And they called Rebekah, and said
unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.
And they blessed Rebekah, and said
unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and
let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them."
Genesis 24:58, 60
Remember, Abraham’s decedents are
going to be like the sands or the stars, and Rebekah as Isaac’s wife is going
to get to be part of that.
The Bible says at the end of chapter
24 of Genesis that Isaac and Rebekah married, and that Isaac loved
Rebekah.
So we never know what God has in
store for us if we just wait on Him and His timing. I’m sure Rebekah never imagined being the
grandmother of the nation of Israel and an ancestor of Jesus.
