Genesis 24
1-9 Abraham sends his eldest servant to get a wife for Isaac. He charges him, thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. And Abraham assures him that God will help him in this.
10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.
How long did it take for the servant to travel from Beersheba to Nahor? The pastor said 6 weeks. Josephus said, "it requires much time to pass through Meopotamia, in which it is tedious traveling, both in the winter for the depth of the clay, and in summer for want of water." This was serious business!
the time that women go out to draw water - He just happened to arrive at the time the women went to the well to draw water. God is in this venture! “When the steward came to seek a wife for his master, he did not go to places of amusement and sinful pleasure, and pray that he might meet one there, but to the well of water, expecting to find one there employed aright.” (Matthew Henry)
12 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.
13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:
14 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.
This is so cool – at his first stop he prays for guidance and a quick answer to his quest. I admit, this is definitely not the way we go about finding a spouse! But, as strange as this sounds to us, such arranged marriages was the way they did it.
“Abraham's servant devoutly acknowledged God. He proposes a sign, a prayer that God would provide a good wife for his young master: She should be simple, industrious, humble, cheerful, serviceable, and hospitable. Common sense, as well as piety, tells us, these are the proper qualifications for a wife and mother; for one who is to be a companion to her husband, the manager of domestic concerns, and trusted to form the minds of children. He prayed that God would be pleased to make his way in this matter plain and clear before him.” (Matthew Henry)
15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
Rebekah just happens to come to the well at this time. God is in this!
And the damsel was very fair to look upon – a neat little touch.
she went down into the well...and came up – this is our image of a well
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| you go down into one of these wells! |
18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.
20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.
This is a lot of work! I’m told that camels can drink a lot of water, and there are ten of them!
21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;
23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?
24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.
25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.
Hey! This is the woman he came looking for!
“Rebekah, in all respects, answered the characters he sought for in the woman that was to be his master's wife. When she came to the well, she went down and filled her pitcher, and came up to go home with it. She did not stand to gaze upon the strange man or his camels, but minded her business, and would not have been diverted from it but by an opportunity of doing good. She did not curiously or confidently enter into discourse with him, but answered him modestly.” (Matthew Henry)
26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.
27 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.
The servant is a spiritual man. He asked God to lead him to the right woman and when He did, he gave thanks. But he didn’t sit at home, he was in the way, that is, he went out searching and trusted God to direct his steps.
28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.
29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.
30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.
31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.
And the damsel ran – she was excited! You don’t get engaged every day!
and Laban ran – he didn’t want the servant to find another girl. I suspect his concern was as much about the dowry as it was for his sister.
he stood by the camels at the well – this is interesting: everybody around him is literally running around and he’s just hanging out at the well.
Verses 32-67 contain the rest of this exciting story, which I encourage you to read. I’m not going to comment on that section because my purpose is this encounter at the well.
What a beautiful example of faith
God had called Abraham out of Ur and promised him this land. Abraham believed God, so he’s not leaving the area, and his search for a wife for Isaac reflects this – no Canaanite woman, no moving back for Isaac. And in that faith he sent his servant to fetch a wife for Isaac, confident that God would guide him. Such is the faith of our father, Abraham.
The servant went forth and when he got to the well he prayed for guidance, he being in the way. They believed God would provide, so they stepped out in faith. This is how faith works, we act on what we believe.
This also reminds us where faith comes from: faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. It is always a response. Abraham had a Word from God and the servant had the word from Abraham, and they believed the promise.
This story is about finding a wife.
How do you find a wife? Have your father send someone to fetch one for you!
Where should you look for a wife? Or for that matter, for a husband? At the well: “he did not go to places of amusement and sinful pleasure, and pray that he might meet one there, but to the well of water, expecting to find one there employed aright.”
What do you look for in a wife? “simple, industrious, humble, cheerful, serviceable, and hospitable.” And the added blessing - she was fair to look upon!
And as a woman, when you receive a proposal from a godly, wealthy man at a well, take it!
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