This chapter is the account of Abraham’s head servant seeking a bride for Isaac among Abraham’s family – when commissioned for this task, the servant was given specific instructions not to find a bride among the Canaanites, where they lived, but among the Hebrews. God then blesses the servant with great success on this mission.
“Then [the servant] prayed, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring… when I say to a young woman, “Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,” and she says, “Drink, and I’ll water your camels too” – let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac…’ Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. The servant hurried to meet her and said, ‘Please give me a little water from your jar.’ ‘Drink, my lord,’ she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, ‘I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.’ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.” (v12-20 abr)
This was a huge sign from God that Rebekah would be Isaac’s wife – she met Abraham’s requirement of being from the same family (Abraham’s great niece, or Isaac’s first cousin once removed), and her generosity answered the servant’s prayer.
According to my study notes, her offer to water the camels was extremely generous. If a camel goes several days without water (which this journey would have been) it can drink up to 25 gallons (100 liters) of water. Based on the standard size of water vessel, that would be 8-10 jars per camel, for 10 camels, potentially drawing 80-100 jars from the well (this would have taken a few hours). Though it’s quite possible the camels had been watered part-way on the trip, Rebekah would not have known that, so this was an extraordinary offer for Rebekah to make. That would be like me offering to buy lunch for a homeless person and saying “Invite all of your friends too”, not knowing how many friends they had. Answering this somewhat audacious prayer request was a significant sign from God.
Though this is a lengthy chapter (67 verses) with many topics we could discuss I’ll limit this to one more topic: contracts/oaths – Abraham makes the servant take an oath, and then the servant makes a marriage contract with Rebekah and her family, both of which are described in detail in the chapter. Long story short, every Biblical contract I’ve come across so far (whether it’s for marriage, water rights, land purchase, or simply a promise) seems to carry a lot of weight and seriousness – these are not disposable agreements that people cancel on a whim, they are binding agreements that have serious consequences if they are broken. Personally I wish promises and commitments were still that difficult to break in present times.
Father, thank you for being a God of signs and wonders. Even though we may not always take note of the signs, You are still at work today as You were with your servant Abraham. Father please open our eyes to Your miraculous works, and help us to see the fulfillment of Your promises. May You please help us, who are made in Your image, to also fulfill our commitments. As Your representatives, the commitments we make reflect upon who You are as our God. Please help us to make and keep wise promises, and only break those that are made against Your will.
~ Conqueror in Training