Have you ever witnessed the perfect answer to a prayer unfold before your eyes? That's exactly what we explore in our latest episode, as we trace the footsteps of Abraham's servant on his divine mission to find a wife for Isaac. In a narrative rich with themes of hospitality, service, and divine guidance, we uncover the poignant meeting between Abraham's servant and Rebekah at the well. This isn't just a story from Genesis; it's a moment where faith, beauty, and readiness to serve collide, revealing the intricate ways in which providence moves within our lives.
As we unpack the encounter and marvel at Rebekah's generosity, we're reminded of the profound cultural meanings behind her actions. Offering water to the servant and his camels was no small task, and yet, Rebekah's willingness shines as a beacon of virtue. Our conversation takes us deep into the heart of this biblical account, analyzing the servant's prayer, Rebekah's response, and the silence that follows—an awe-filled pause as the servant wonders if his journey has been blessed. Whether you're looking for spiritual insight or simply love the richness of Biblical stories, this episode promises to enrich your understanding of faith's role in everyday moments.
Have you ever witnessed the perfect answer to a prayer unfold before your eyes? That's exactly what we explore in our latest episode, as we trace the footsteps of Abraham's servant on his divine mission to find a wife for Isaac. In a narrative rich with themes of hospitality, service, and divine guidance, we uncover the poignant meeting between Abraham's servant and Rebekah at the well. This isn't just a story from Genesis; it's a moment where faith, beauty, and readiness to serve collide, revealing the intricate ways in which providence moves within our lives.
As we unpack the encounter and marvel at Rebekah's generosity, we're reminded of the profound cultural meanings behind her actions. Offering water to the servant and his camels was no small task, and yet, Rebekah's willingness shines as a beacon of virtue. Our conversation takes us deep into the heart of this biblical account, analyzing the servant's prayer, Rebekah's response, and the silence that follows—an awe-filled pause as the servant wonders if his journey has been blessed. Whether you're looking for spiritual insight or simply love the richness of Biblical stories, this episode promises to enrich your understanding of faith's role in everyday moments.
Welcome to another episode of the Mysteries of God's Word. If you were with us last week, you'll remember Abraham sent his oldest servant, the one in charge of his household, to find a wife for his son, isaac. And his servant had traveled to the land of Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor, abraham's brother, and he sat down by a well and prayed that the Lord would bring him a woman who would be the bride for Isaac. This week we see the answer to his prayer. This week we see the answer to his prayer. We start in Genesis 24, verse 15, which reads Before he had finished speaking, behold, rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. In these first two verses we're introduced to Rebekah. Rebekah was Nahor's granddaughter and Nahor was Abraham's brother, so Rebekah would have been Abraham's grand-niece. So she comes out with a water jar on her shoulder. Before Abraham's servant had even finished his prayer, rebekah comes out to draw water from this well. So we see the providence of the Lord in this timing, rebekah shows up just as he finishes his prayer and she's carrying a water jar on her shoulder.
Speaker 1:
We see that Rebecca is a young woman who's very attractive in appearance. The Hebrew word for young woman here implies that Rebecca's an adolescent. She's likely between the ages of 16 and 20. She's likely between the ages of 16 and 20. But we do know that she's a young woman, yet of marriageable age, and at this time in history that probably means somewhere between 16 and 20. It says she's very attractive in appearance. Rebecca was pleasing to look at and she was a maiden whom no man had known. The Hebrew word for maiden here describes a virgin of marriageable age, and the text whom no man had known simply is restating what the word maiden already implies. It says she went down to the spring. Rebecca is focused on her task and she completes it right away. She's not flaunting her beauty and nor does she seem to have a sense of entitlement because she's a rich man's daughter. Rather, she takes her water jar and goes down to the spring and fetches the water.
Speaker 1:
Verse 17 reads Then the servant ran to meet her and said Please give me a little water to drink from your jar. She said Drink my lord. And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. When she had finished giving him a drink she said I will draw water for your camels also until they have finished drinking. So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water. And she drew for all the camels. The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.
Speaker 1:
When the servant of Abraham saw Rebekah come up from the well with the water, he ran to meet her. Clearly he believed that this young woman could be the answer to his prayer. He gets up from his rest and he runs to meet her. Please give me a little water to drink. He says "'Please give me a little water to drink'. He says. He politely asks Rebecca for a drink of water, testing her to see if she is indeed the one God has sent for his servant Isaac. Rebecca replies in kind, recognizing this elderly man as someone who should be respected Even though he's a stranger. She calls him master. The word for Lord here means master, and it says she quickly lets down her jar. There was no hesitation on the part of Rebecca. She saw this man's need for hydration and she responds right away. And then she says I'll draw water for your camels also until they've finished drinking.
Speaker 1:
As Rebecca speaks these words, you can only imagine what's going through Abraham's servant's head. Rebecca not only offers to water his camels, as he had asked God in his prayer, but she says she's going to water them until they've finished drinking. I'm really not sure if Rebecca knows what she's getting into here. A thirsty camel can drink up to 30 gallons of water in just 10 minutes and Abraham's servant has 10 of them. It says that Rebecca emptied her jar, she ran again and she drew for all of his camels. This would have taken Rebecca quite some time and a great deal of physical effort. As she's taking all of this time, we can only imagine what her family must be wondering. Even if she had a large five-gallon pitcher and each camel needed 30 gallons, it would take 60 trips down to that well and back. Now it's likely that the jar wasn't five gallons big, but it's also likely that every camel didn't need 30 gallons of water. It's not unreasonable to assume that Rebecca would have had to make somewhere around 60 trips to that well to water those camels and it says the man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.
Speaker 1:
Abraham's servant is probably in awe at what the Lord is doing, but he's sitting quietly watching Rebecca. He wants to see what kind of woman she is. Would this beautiful young woman in fact do this hard labor and serve him and his animals as she said she would? In verse 22, we read when the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring wearing half a shekel and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekel, and said she said to him. She added we have plenty of both straw and fodder and room to spend the night. So we read when the camels had finished drinking. So Rebekah finishes the task of watering these camels completely, which must have taken her some time, and then Abraham's servant gives to Rebekah a gold ring and two gold bracelets. Now these items given to Rebekah after she finishes this laborious chore are described as having their weight in gold shekels. This shows that all of these items are made of gold. For those of you who like math, like me, a shekel is about 11.5 grams, so 20.5 shekels would make this just over 10.4 ounces of gold for Rebecca's labor.
Speaker 1:
And Abraham's servant says Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father's house? Abraham's servant continues to test Rebecca to see if she's of Abraham's family and if she's hospitable to further validate that this is in fact God's plan for his servant, abraham and Isaac. She replies that she's the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor. Now, in ancient times, when you were asked who your father was, it was common to give a short genealogy, and as she does so, rebekah is revealing that she's the granddaughter of Abraham's brother. This makes her Isaac's first cousin once removed, and it also reveals to the servant that she's Abraham's kin, which is exactly what he wants to know. She also says we have plenty of straw, fodder and room. From this description, rebecca's family is hardworking and they're doing well. Rebecca shows her desire to show Abraham's servant hospitality. While she doesn't have permission from her parents, it's very likely she knows how her parents would treat this stranger from her past experience.
Speaker 1:
Verse 26,. The man bowed his head and he worshipped the Lord. He said Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way. My master's kinsman, then the young woman, ran and told her mother's household about these things. We see, after Abraham's servant had confirmation that Rebekah was of Abraham's lineage and he saw that she responded even more generously than he had asked the Lord in his prayer, the servant is humbled before the Lord and how the Lord is working in his midst. His only response is to now worship God and he begins to praise God. Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master, abraham. As he continues to worship, rebekah is struck by his worship and his statement that he is of the household of Abraham, and she quickly runs and tells her mother and the women about these things.
Speaker 1:
From the Hebrew phrase mother's household, it appeared that this estate was large enough that the women had separate quarters. In verse 29, we read Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. In verse 29 we read spoke to me. He went out to the man and, behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. Here we're first introduced to Laban. It would appear that Laban is speaking for the household of Bethuel. His actions here and in the following verses seem to indicate that Bethuel who is still alive, we learn has placed the responsibility for much of the daily activity over the estate on his son, laban. Perhaps Bethuel had become ill or perhaps this is simply old age, as we learn later about Laban's character in Genesis, chapter 29,.
Speaker 1:
It's likely that Laban's quick response here to run to the servant and welcome him is because he now sees this gold ring and bracelet on his sister and he perceives there's many riches from this man with ten camels Verse 31,. He says Come in, o, blessed of the Lord, why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels. 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. 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.
Speaker 1:
We see in verse 31 and 32, laban showing great hospitality, generosity and what we might say is even flattery to Abraham's servant. While Laban's motives may be selfish, his show of hospitality to Abraham's servant and those coming in the name of the Lord are consistent with what we've seen from the home, from the family of Abraham. While Abraham's family is practicing idolatry and worshiping other gods, there's still an understanding, even if it is impure, that they should welcome men who come in the name of the Lord. So food is set before Abraham's servant to eat, and Abraham's servant says I'm not going to eat, not until I've said what I have to say. Not until I've said what I have to say.
Speaker 1:
Now Abraham's servant here is stopping this polite tempo of hospitality that Laban is showing, and his refusal to eat until he states his order of business is for good reason. It has long been tradition and customary amongst men that when they eat together they're symbolizing a bond of friendship, and particularly in the Middle East and in ancient times this was even more the case that when you ate together it formed a bond of peace and fellowship a bond of peace and fellowship. This servant refusing to eat before he presents his business shows that he sees this business of vital importance prior to coming into fellowship and into friendship with this family. Perhaps Abraham's servant even detected some alternative motives from Laban and perhaps he wanted to declare his intentions up front. So Laban says speak on. Laban doesn't flinch, he doesn't hesitate even for a moment. He's ready to hear what Abraham's servant has to say. We're going to end here this week. Join me next week as Abraham's servant puts forth his proposal for Rebekah. God bless you this week.