I love reading the story about Isaac, and how Abraham’s servant (who was in charge of all the Abraham had) was sent to go find him a wife for his precious son Isaac. I love how careful Abraham is in instructing his servant, telling him exactly where to go and also who to go to, and how he told him to never bring Isaac with him to find his wife. His servant also amazes me in how he prays to God, asking for guidance in selecting Isaac’s wife and for a sign. Rebekah to me is also incredible, how kind and helpful she is and what a hard worker! She waters his camels and scripture says that she “runs” to go get the water for the camels. I always find that God selects just small comments to make about different people in the Bible, and we can easily look over them, but that is why it is so cool to read the Bible, you always learn something new or see something in a different light each time you read. The fact that she ran to water the camels tells me that she was serious about her service and wanted to do it to the best of her ability. Rebekah then left her family the very next day to go back with Abraham’s servant. That takes some faith! As I was reading, this next section was just so neat to me that I wanted to share it with you.
Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. [63] 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. [64] And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel [65] 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. [66] And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. [67] 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. – Genesis 24:62-67
I love how aware Rebekah is, how she notices Isaac coming towards them and immediately takes precautions to keep herself modest. From the reading it seems that the same day Isaac takes her and marries her. But I love how in such a short time it says that Isaac loved her. It is these kinds of stories that I wish God would have filled in the blanks and included conversations between them. What was it about Rebekah that captivated Isaac so quickly? It is amazing to me how Rebekah could go through so many life changing events in such a short time. To trust a stranger to bring her back to a different land, only to become the wife of someone she had never met. I can only imagine that she must have been scared and nervous, I think anyone would be in that situation. But God never says that she rebelled or distrusted His plan for her, which is amazing to me. I am such a planner, and like to be able to think things out before I make decisions, and I don’t know that I would have been so collected as she was in this situation. She is definitely a woman that we can all learn from, as to how to trust God in difficult situations, and trust that He will make things all turn out for His good and His plan. God has so many stories in His word that should assure us that He is looking out for us and causing things to come to pass so that we can have a wonderful life of service to Him. Just a few things to think about. :0)