Genesis 24:62-67
Genesis 23 tells us that Sarah died at that age of 127. Abraham is now getting old and he is concerned about a wife for Isaac. After all, the son of the promise needs a wife to become a great nation. Abraham did not see any of the local women to be suitable, so he sends his trusted servant back to the old country.
Once there, the servant waits by the spring of water and prays to God to let the woman who not only gives water when asked, but also offers to water the camels be the woman who is to be the wife of Isaac. As he is praying, Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel and sister of Laban comes to the spring and offers water to the servant and also offers to water the camels. The servant gives Rebekah a golden nose-ring and two golden bracelets.
Rebekah runs back to her home and tells her family what happened, and Laban seeks out the servant and invites him to their home. The servant explains the situation to the family, and they agree to let Rebekah go and let her become Isaac’s wife but wanted to wait at least 10 days. However, when asked, Rebekah agrees to go immediately with the servant.
This section is a transition from the story of Abraham to Jacob. It does not linger on Isaac for very long. This seems like a nice love story that is developing, but Genesis does not dwell on it. The next time we encounter the couple, the narrative will be moving onto the story of Jacob, who will eventually receive the name, “Israel”, and then onto Joseph and the story of how the descendants ended up in Egypt to setup the Exodus narrative.
It could have just told us that Isaac married Rebekah and then moved onto the birth of the twins, Esau and Jacob. This leaves us to ponder for what reason this section is included with all the details. If we were to give a synopsis from Abram to Joseph, most of us would not bother to give the details of how Rebekah came into Isaac’s life.
What we notice in this chapter is that God does not give any commands, nor sends a messenger to guide and direct Abraham nor his servant. There is no vision or dream to guide in finding a wife for Isaac. We see the servant praying to God, as well as Abraham being confident that God will lead and help the servant, but it seems that God is passive in this chapter. A person on the street might conclude that it was good luck or fortune that things worked out this well, that a good and proper bride was found for Isaac.
This is in stark contrast to the narrative we looked at last week, where God issues a command to Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Although Abraham must have been alarmed and heart broken, he faithfully intends to carry out God’s command. It must have been confusing, but he decided to hang onto God’s promise of a great nation coming from Isaac and proceeded. Abraham passed the test that God had put in front of him.
In this morning’s passage, we see that all the characters – Abraham, the servant, Bethuel, Laban, and Rebekah – All acknowledge the existence of God and that when they review what has happened, they accept that God was behind it, working and guiding.
We know that sometimes God acts in a visible and audible way. Appearing and speaking to people, sending a messenger, or using dreams and visions. We read of such occurrences in the Bible. However, that is probably not our experience. Of course, most of us are not part of nation building, or about to go into battle for God, or about to give birth to a special person who is going to change the course of history.
Most likely our experience mirrors what we read in this chapter, rather than what Abraham (or Moses or Paul) encountered. We know God is working in our lives and we prayerfully go and do what we hope is the Lord’s will. Things happen, and when we get to the appropriate place, we look back on all the things that have happened and realize that God had been with us all along, guiding, directing, helping, and empowering us.
Abraham knew that Isaac needed the right wife, and she was not going to be found in Canaan, so he asks his trusted servant to go find the right woman, confident that the LORD will help the servant. The servant does not quite know how this woman is to be found, but in faith, prays that the LORD will reveal the woman in a specific way. The woman and her family have not been aware of the guidance that the LORD has been giving to the servant, but upon hearing the story, agrees that Rebekah is the one to marry Isaac. This morning’s verses confirm that Rebekah was the woman God had in mind for Isaac.
So, I believe that one of the reasons this story of how Isaac and Rebekah marry is included, is to remind us that even though our life experiences do not include miraculous encounters with an angel, a burning bush, or even God Himself in a physical sense, God is still working in our lives. Even though we may not audibly hear God’s voice, nor see Him in a dream or a vision, God is still working in our lives and speaking to us through scripture as well as through the Holy Spirit.
We should be encouraged to continue to trust in God, continue to pray to Him, and then look back and wonder at all the ways God had worked in our lives.
At any point along the way, we may not know why God has us in certain situations, but at some point, we will look back and know that God was with us and gain some understanding about our experiences.
The important thing to keep in mind is that God is there, guiding and directing, and we continue to live our lives in faith and in prayer. Then at certain points in our lives, we can look back on all the events that led up to that moment and give thanks to God.
If we look back at all the events and people that God sent to us so that we could come to believe in Jesus and accept His forgiveness and salvation, we see how God used people and events in our lives to get us where we should be.
We should also be aware that as we encounter situations and people, we may also be playing a role in that person’s life. So, we should be able to look back and thank God. We should also be able to look at the encounters in our lives and have faith that even though we do not understand it yet, it is part of God’s plans for us and the people around us.
(The above is a summary of the message shared by Shun Takano during our worship on July 2, 2023.)
Japanese Congregational Church 