- Abraham's instructions are clear and also very firm on some points -- What are they?
- Do not take my son back to the land of his kindred
- Do not get a wife from among the Caananites
- God will go before you
- You are free of the oath if the woman does not agree
- Why does Abraham send a servant?
- Answered in vs 6-7
- Abraham is afraid that Isaac won't come back
- Is that a legitimate fear?
- Yes, but the promise is unconditional
- No, but … How does Isaac / Rebekah handle the same issue with Jacob
- Jacob leaves to avoid being killed by Esau (with Mom's prodding)
- God brings Jacob back, but with a lot of pain (in Jacob's life), a number of lessons, and after many years
- Ultimately, God would have brought Isaac back, one way or the other, but the prudent thing to do is to guard against that possibility
- What problem does Abraham have with the people of the land?
- Only the Amorites, Gen 15:16 (possibly) were not already wicked
- Same problem God has with the people intermarrying (in OT times) and marrying an unbeliever today, bringing in the worship of foreign gods
- Primary issue is the introduction of false gods.
- APPL:
- We don't need to help God to keep his promises. He is able to keep his promises, but prudence is not a bad thing
- Importance of marrying a believer in the Judeo/Christian God
- Where does the servant head to?
- Haran, the town of Nahor. It is possible the name is changed or more likely that Abraham just referred to it as the town of his brother
- Is the prayer specific, a little vague, too general, too easy, …, what do you think?
- How many camels does the servant have? 10 (which is a lot even then, and probably a sign of wealth)
- How much do they drink? (can drink up to 25 gallons each)
- Who is Nahor?
- Nahor is Abraham's brother
- Lot was Abraham's nephew
- Laban is another nephew
- Family Tree: Abraham >> https://ref.ly/logosres/db:biblical-people-diagrams?art=Abraham.xml
- APPL: God works through the common and ordinary. We need to keep our eyes open to the "coincidental"
- Remember, who is the author (story-teller) here? God
- What is the first thing that is unusual or seems highly coincidental?
- Rebekah is the first girl to arrive
- Is the prayer answered?
- Yes, although not exactly the way the servant prayed.
- Why does the servant wait?
- The scripture does not say, but maybe to see if she will really water all ten camels
- APPL: What if God doesn't answer the prayer? A "no" is an answer. The real question is why can we not accept "no"
- The author introduces a new character in the story. Without saying anything specific, what does the author hint at?
- Laban. He sees the riches and immediately starts to schmooze
- If he was only hospitable, why mention seeing all the riches?
- Also, Laban is deceptive, why?
- He didn't prepare anything, yet he takes credit
- APPL: What are we living for, Christ or things of this world?
- Laban is reintroduced in the story in the next passage, and his name immediately follows this discussion of wealth
- Laban, like Lot, represents the carnal believer
- APPL: How would someone characterize your life and what most interests you?
- They have already said that Rebekah could leave and yet, on the next day, there is a protest. Who doesn't protest?
- Bethuel, who really is the patriarch (head) of the family
- In fact, Laban should not have answered in verse 50, he was not the head of the household
- It could be that the mother ruled through Laban, we will see Rebekah take control in her husband's family
- It is customary in Hurrian for the prospective bride to have a final say
- In the protest, why does the mother not want Rebekah to leave?
- Scripture doesn't say, but that would be natural for the mother
- Why does Laban?
- Scripture doesn't say, but Laban pulls a similar trick with Jacob. What is Laban's reason?
- He may be trying to see how he can profit more from the situation
- Maybe another a gift or two to speed up the exit ???
- APPL:
- We need to pray Ps 139:23,24 often to make sure our own motivations are true.
- There is a time to wait and a time to move on. Some of us take too much time waiting and God wants us to get started. Rebekkah had a choice, even though it was clearly God's will, she could have said no. What are we saying "no" to that we need to get off our butt and move on.
- This is the capstone of the story. It is very beautiful
- The location, Beer Lahai Roi, is a place where God had answered prayer in the past (Gen 16:14) for Hagar
- Possibly, Isaac was praying about a wife at the very moment that Rebekkah arrives
- But the couple is not without their problems
- It is easy to blame the parents, overcontrolling (Rebekkah), and only child (Isaac), but ultimately children CHOOSE how they live. They can change as well
- APPL: Prayer should be an important of every major decision of our life, and even the little ones.
Review: Use timeline to show approximate timeframe
of events
2236
|
Birth of Terah
|
Gen 11:24
|
2166
|
Birth of Abram
|
Gen 11:27
|
2091
|
Abram departs
from Haran
|
Gen 12:4
|
2066
|
Birth of lsaac
|
Gen 21:2; cf.21:5
|
2029
|
Death of Sarah
(approx 127)
|
Gen 23:2
|
2026
|
Marriage of Isaac
|
Gen 25:20
|
1944
|
Death of lsaac
|
Gen 35:28
|
1877
|
Jacob arrive in
Egypt
|
|
1447
|
Exodus begins
|
|
1400
|
Conquest of
Canaan complete
|
|
1043
|
Saul becomes King
|
|
931
|
Split - Rehoboam:
Judah / Jeroboam: Israel
|
|
722
|
Assyria takes the
ten tribes in captivity
|
|
586
|
Babylon destroys
Temple and Jerusalem
|
|
516
|
Temple complete
|
|
478
|
Esther becomes
Queen
|
|
458
|
Ezra takes a
small contingent back
|
|
445
|
Nehemiah takes a
small contingent back
|
|
22 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, 23 and said, "Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" 24 She said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor." 25 She added, "We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night." 26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord 27 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." 28 Then the young woman ran and told her mother's household about these things.
33 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.”
34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. 36 And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has. 37 My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell, 38 but you shall go to my father’s house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.’ 39 I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ 40 But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father’s house. 41 Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my clan. And if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’
42 “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, 43 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,” 44 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.’
45 “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.’ 46 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. 47 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. 48 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.
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, "The thing has come from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51 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."
52 When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the Lord. 53 And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. 54 And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, "Send me away to my master." 55 Her brother and her mother said, "Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go."
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