SERIES A --- YHVH’S PIONEERS --- LESSON 20

REBEKAH

REBEKAH GOES TO ISAAC

From Genesis 24:34-67

[I am Abraham’s servant,] the man told Laban and his family. [Adonai Elohiym has greatly blessed my master and has made him rich with flocks, herds, silver, and gold, with servants and maids, camels and donkeys. Sarah and Abraham had a son when they were very old and Abraham has given him all that he has. But Abraham made me swear that his son would not marry a daughter of the Canaanites in whose land he lives, but that I should go to his family to search for a wife for him. I asked him, ‘What if the woman will not come with me?’ He said, ‘Adonai, before Whom I walk, will send His angel with you to make your journey successful. You will bring my son a wife from my family. If they will not give you one, you are freed from my oath.’ Today, when I came to the well, I prayed, ‘O Adonai, YHVH of my master Abraham, if You are to make my journey successful, show me in this manner. I will stand here by the well as the young women come to draw water. When I ask for a drink, let the one You have chosen also offer to water my camels.’ Before I had finished praying, Rebekah came out with the jar on her shoulder and went to draw water at the well. I asked her for a drink, and she quickly took the jar from her shoulder and offered to water my camels also. So, I drank and she watered my camels. When I asked her whose daughter she was, she answered, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor and Milcah.’ Then I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. I bowed down and worshiped Adonai and praised Him for leading me in the right way to the daughter of my master’s family. Now tell me if you will deal kindly and fairly with my master so that I may know which way to turn.] Laban and Bethuel answered, [How can we speak for it or against it since this matter has come from Adonai? Rebekah is here with us. You may take her with you to be the wife of Abraham’s son, as Adonai has spoken. When Abraham’s servant heard that, he bowed to the ground before Adonai. Then he gave Rebekah gifts of silver and gold and garments. He also gave beautiful gifts to Rebekah’s mother and to Laban. Then the servant and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night with Rebekah’s family. The next morning the servant was ready to leave. [Send me on my way,] he requested. But Rebekah’s mother and brother said, [Let her stay with us a while longer, perhaps ten days. Then she may go.] [Please don’t delay me, for Adonai has made my journey successful,] the servant told them. [Let me go back to my master immediately.] [Let us ask Rebekah,] they replied. [We will see what she wants to do.] When they asked her, Rebekah said, [I will go now.] Eliezer showered Rebekah with a generous dowry of silver and gold jewellery. The old servant also brought rich gifts for the family of the bride. Thus, they sent Rebekah and her nurse with the servant and his men. They blessed Rebekah with this blessing: [You are our sister. May you become the mother of thousands of ten thousand; may your descendants possess the gate of their enemies.] Then Rebekah and her servant girls mounted the camels and followed Abraham’s servant. Isaac, who was living in the Negeb at the time, had come for a visit to Beer-lahai-roi. One evening he was walking in a field to meditate. As he looked up, he saw camels coming. When Rebekah saw Isaac, she dismounted from her camel. [Who is that man walking in the field toward us?] she asked. [My master’s son!] the servant answered. So, Rebekah covered her face with her veil. Then the servant told Isaac the things that had happened. Isaac brought Rebekah to his mother Sarah’s tent and she became his wife. He loved Rebekah greatly, and she was a great comfort to him after his mother’s death.

COMMENTARY

MARRIAGE PLANS IN BIBLE TIMES

When Rebekah volunteered to water the camels of Abraham’s servant as well as to give the servant a drink, it was a clear sign of answer to prayer. Rebekah’s willingness to leave her home to marry a man she had never met is further evidence of the faith and courage of this woman YHVH chose to be Isaac’s bride. In most modern countries men and women choose their own marriage partners. But in Bible times parents selected whom the young people would marry. In Bible times young people relied on their parents’ judgment to arrange a suitable marriage for them. Sometimes the wedding plans were made when the bride and groom were still children. Marriage was more than a bond between husband and wife. When a man and woman married in Bible times, their families became allies. Ancient kings often sealed treaties with marriages between their households. In return for the loss of his daughter, the groom presented the father of the bride with a present called a -- mohar. It could be a gift of money, a piece of land or an offer of special services. Often a man did not see his wife’s face until after they were married, but from behind her veil the bride could observe her future husband. She would already know of his generosity through the gifts of clothing and jewellery he gave to her before their marriage. When all of the arrangements were made and the parents of the bride and groom had settled on the price of the mohar, the couple was officially betrothed. Once the bride and groom were betrothed, they were considered legally married even though the wedding feast might be delayed for almost a year. In ancient times this – engagement -- was a binding contract that could only be broken by a divorce. The wedding feast was a joyous celebration that often lasted as long as two weeks. Dressed in his best, escorted by singing and dancing friends, the groom went to the bride’s house to claim his new wife. The entire party then returned to the groom’s home, where everyone took part in the wedding banquet.