Written by Genesis 24, our text for today, is a wonderful chapter because the chapter as a whole contains two large threads we can pull on. On one hand Genesis 24 is a kind of beautiful romantic tale, the kind custom made for a great movie. And on the other hand Genesis 24 is a masterful depiction of both human responsibility, or faith in action, as well as divine providence, or God’s sovereign orchestration of all things. You put these two threads together, the romantic tale and the depiction of responsibility and providence, and what we have is a thoroughly engaging chapter.[1]
But, as you can very easily see looking down at your Bibles, this chapter is very long. It’s actually the single longest chapter in the entire book of Genesis. And…we’ll work through all of it today. But to make it a bit easier for us to work through here’s the plan. I’m going to read a bit, pause, and explain, read a bit more, pause, and explain some more, and on and on until we’ve gone through the whole chapter. Then we’ll focus on some takeaways for us today.
Scene 1 (v1-9)
“Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.”
Here in the first scene Abraham is with his servant. We learn that Abraham is old, and God has blessed him in all things. He calls the chief servant of his household over and asks him to make an oath, before God, about finding a wife for his son Isaac. But not just any wife will do, no. It must be a wife from among his own people, not a wife from the Canaanites. This reminds us of the two seeds or lines of humanity present since chapter 3 onward. Recall there is the seed of the serpent, the ungodly line, descending from the serpent…and there is the seed of the woman, the godly line, descended from Eve. In asking his servant to ensure a wife for Isaac from among his own people he is seeking to ensure that Isaac’s wife will come from the seed of the woman. Now, this servant will be a main character throughout this entire chapter, but we never learn his name. His actions in this chapter are so obedient and so righteous and so filled with a humble submission to his master that some have called this servant the most attractive minor character in the Bible.[2] The servant is eager to go on this mission, and he asks some questions, all of which Abraham responds to in v6-8 saying that the God of heaven who took him from his home and brought him to this land promised that his offspring would be given this land. And that the servant should be encouraged because God will send an Angel before him and work it all out so that he will indeed find a wife for Isaac there.
These verses, v6-8, are monumentally important for two reasons. First, they are important because they’re the last words of Abraham we have in the Bible. And here in his last words this man that we have grown to know, that we have walked with for so many chapters now, truly has become the man of faith. He sees no issue, and tells his servant as much, that God will take care of this, so he too should go out and trust Him. Second, these verses are important because they show us Abraham is characterized by trust in the providence of God.[3] Just as Abraham had learned in chapter 22 with the almost sacrifice of Isaac that God will provide, that God will see to his needs, even though he can’t see how these things are going to be taken care of, so too Abraham has the same faith here years later at the end of his life.
This first scene then ends in v9 with the servant making this oath to Abraham.
Scene 2 (v10-28)
v10-14 first, “Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor. And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water. And he said, “O LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”
As the second scene begins we find the servant leaving, arriving, praying, and waiting. He left Abraham’s home with an impressive entourage, complete with ten camels. This detail shows us not just that Abraham is wealthy, and that this servant took loads of stuff on this journey…but that the journey would have covered a large distance and would have taken a large amount of time; it would have needed ten camels to carry all their stuff for such a journey. One wonders if this chapter inspired the proclaimers to write their 1988 hit song, about walking 500 miles. But that there are ten camels present also foreshadows what’s going to happen soon. So off he goes and he arrives at his destination in the evening, at the precise time when women go out to draw water. And then he prays. That God would give him success in finding a wife for Isaac, and by doing so would love his master Abraham. But he gets very specific in his prayer asking that there would come a woman who would give him a drink and all his camels a drink, and that by this he will know that God has answered his prayer and shown him the woman Isaac is to marry. This is a most severe test. The woman who would go to this length in giving him a drink and in watering all ten of his camels would have to be a woman with a great heart of service, hospitality, and humility. This was no small task. Each of the camels could drink about 25 gallons of water, so for ten camels that’s 250 gallons of water total that would need to be brought to these animals. And by current cultural standards a normal bucket would have carried around three gallons of water. Do you see the enormity of this task? The woman who does this would be going out of her way, not for just a few minutes, but a few hours, taking dozens and dozens and dozens of trips back and forth between the water and these animals. The woman who does this, if there is such a woman, would indeed make a great wife for Isaac.
Now we pick back up at v15, “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. 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 his camels. The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the LORD had prospered his journey or not. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.” The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD and 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 to the house of my master’s kinsmen.” Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.”
Don’t you love how v15 begins? After the servant lays out the very specific request to God in prayer about who this woman must be, v15 says, “Before he had finished speaking…” Rebekah came out. Not only had this servant arrived at the well at the precise time that women come out to draw water, but before he finishes his prayer God’s already answering it. How encouraging is that! Once again we see, Church, God’s providential timing is key, not only in this story but in all of history.[4] This verse shows us how quickly, how lovingly, how powerfully, and how well God leads, loves, and cares for His people.
And then, grace upon grace, in v16-20 we not only read that Rebekah is very attractive in appearance, but that she does all that he had prayed for. She gives him a drink and then draws water for all the camels as well. So naturally, in v20, the servant gazes at her in silence, stunned, wondering to himself, ‘Has God truly answered my prayer?’
Then in v21-28, he pulls out all the gold and gifts he had brought with him for her, finds out she is indeed of Abraham’s family, and that he will be staying at her home this very evening. So what does he do? He doesn’t immediately give her the gifts, he doesn’t immediately go with her to her house, he doesn’t immediately explain that she is the answer to his prayer, and that they must leave to go back to Isaac. No, he does none of this, at least not yet. Instead, in v26-27, he bows his head, worships God, and gives thanks to God. He prays, God answers, and he gives thanks, then goes out to act. May we be as quick to go to gratitude when God answers our prayers. He thanks God for not forsaking Abraham, for loving Abraham, for being faithful to Abraham, and for leading him in the way he should go, bringing him exactly to when and where he needed to be to meet this woman. Church, this is not chance, circumstance, or happenstance, it’s clearly providence.
Scene 3 (v29-61)
Scene three begins in v29 and takes us to Laban’s home. In v29-33 we see that Laban recognizes the ring and the bracelets on Rebekah, he heard the story of Rebekah, and then invites the servant to come inside. After the servant had the camels attended to, he went inside where he was given water to wash his feet and food to eat. But he said he would not eat until he has said what he has to say. In v34-41 he begins describing the oath he made to Abraham, and then he retells the scene by the well. Follow along as I pick back up in v42. “I came today to the spring and said, ‘O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go, behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,” let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master’s son.’ “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also. Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son. Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
Though it might feel repetitive to us, or tedious to go through all these details once more, remember Laban is hearing all of this for the first time. And after he hears what has happened Laban responds saying in v50-51, “The thing has come from the LORD; we cannot speak to you bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has spoken.” Seems to be not quite the response we would want, but Laban doesn’t know God, so maybe it’s exactly the response we ought to expect. The servant thanks God once again, gives more gifts to Rebekah and the others in the home, and it seems the whole house rejoices the rest of the night together. But as v52-61 show, when they rose in the morning and stated their intentions to go back home with Rebekah, her family pushed back and asked for at least ten more days with her. The servant didn’t want to wait, tension increases on the scene as a kind stalemate occurs. But then in v57 the decision is made to ask Rebekah, so they do and she says in v58, “I will go.” These three words are stunning. They remind us of Abraham, hearing the call to go to a land he didn’t know and trust a God he had just met. As he went then, so Rebekah goes now, off into the unknown, to meet her soon to be husband who awaits her. In her words, “I will go” we need to be reminded that when God calls, we must go. Regardless of worry or fear, we must go. Much might be unknown, but we know God. He is the God who calls us out yes, but He is also the God who providentially guides, governs, leads, and loves us well through all of life.
This third scene ends with a blessing. The family blesses Rebekah in v60, “Our sister, may you become thousands of ten thousands, and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate him!” This is near exactly the same as the blessing Isaac received at the end of chapter 22. Lesson? The promises of God will continue with the new Patriarch Isaac and the new Matriarch Rebekah, as they receive the same blessing.[5]
Now we conclude with…
Scene 4 (v62-67)
“Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”
Conclusion:
What a story! Right? But what are we to make of this? Well, some of the themes we’ve seen before are once again before us. Three themes in particular stand out: promise, providence, and faith.
For promise, we see here how God’s promises are multi-generational. The torch has been passed from one generation to the next as we see the new patriarch and matriarch, Isaac and Rebekah, marry. This prompts us to reflect on God who outlasts us, about His promises that go beyond us, and on our own children, and how well we’re preparing them to take our place after we’re gone. Have we pled with them to embrace the God who’s saved us? Have we taught them the Scriptures? Have we lived with them faithfully?
For providence, we see here God’s providence at work, as He is very clearly the One who carves out each little detail of this narrative, guiding each step, to bring about his intended result. Seeing God do it here in this story, helps us remember and trust that God is doing the same in our story. Carving out each little detail of our lives, guiding each step, to bring about His intended result.
For faith, we see faith in action as Abraham sends out a servant in faith to find Isaac’s wife, as that servant works hard to find that wife, and as Rebekah, in the face of the unknown, says “I will go.” Their faith is astounding here and from seeing it, are we not encouraged to live out our faith more? To trust God when the way before us isn’t clear? To say “I will go” when He calls? Of course we are!
But there is more to see in this chapter. There is more to do here than merely see these biblical characters as models for our current behavior.[6]
For Israel, reading this story as the original audience, they would’ve been encouraged to trust the Lord’s providential care. God long ago had promised Abraham He would make a great nation of him, and He has! Israel as a people, exist, and they’re so numerous their very size struck fear in the hearts of Pharaoh as they were in Egypt. And regardless of how many roundabout ways He has led them, to Egypt, while in slavery, out of Egypt, in the wilderness, and to the promise land. They could look back and witness to God’s great care over them, and trust that He would continue to do this for them in their day and beyond their day. They would’ve been greatly encouraged in that as they read this themselves.
For us here today, we can gain similar encouragement. We too, as God’s Church, are encouraged to trust the Lord’s providential care. We might have great concerns about where the world is headed these days, about the rise of such an ungodly culture, how the world seems bent to destroy the Church, and wonder if our kids will even grow up to see a Church still in existence. Well, as God called a young virgin here to go into the unknown to meet her husband, so too in the fullness of time God would call another virgin to go into the unknown by carrying, giving birth, and raising the Messiah, who said Himself that He would build His Church and even if all the powers of death and hell oppose it, His Church will prevail! He would lay down His life for His Church, He would rise for His Church, He would send His Spirit to fill His Church, and He would use the Church to spread His fame from shore to shore, until the day He promised to come back for His Church!
So Church, no matter how deep the distress of the Church today, we can look back and witness to God’s great care over us, and trust that He will continue to care for us in our day and beyond our day.
[1] Bruce K. Waltke, Genesis (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Academic, 2001), 323.
[2] Derek Kidner, Genesis (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2008), 157.
[3] R. Kent Hughes, Genesis, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2004), 316.
[4] Waltke, Genesis, 329.
[5] John D. Currid, Genesis 1:1-25:18, EP Study Commentary (Holywell, UK: Evangelical Press, 2015), 430.
[6] Sidney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007) 228, 244-245.
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