1 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.
Abraham was what we would call a multi-millionaire, possibly a billionaire. He would have been 140 years old by now- 2148AH (1898BC).
2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, “Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
3 “And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
4 “But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.”
Who you marry can make a difference in whether you serve God or not. Many a Christian has lost their salvation by being drawn away by an unsaved spouse. Abraham wants to make sure Isaac’s wife comes from the same stock that produced his faith in one God. The local pagans would not provide such a wife.
Besides, the locals were all under the curse placed on Canaan by Noah and would be wiped out. Abraham knew it would defeat the purpose of his having a son in the first place if his descendants were wiped out with the rest of Canaan.
5 And the servant said unto him, “Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from where thou came?”
The servant wants to make sure he understands the totality of his mission. How important is it that Isaac’s wife comes from Abraham’s relatives?
6 And Abraham said unto him, “Beware thou that thou bring not my son there again.
7 “The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that swore unto me, saying, 'Unto thy seed will I give this land;' He shall send His angel before thee, and thou shall take a wife unto my son from there.
Abraham has complete faith that God has already prepared the woman He wants for his son. He likely has Rebeca in mind, since we were told earlier he had received news that his brother had a granddaughter.
8 “And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shall be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son there again.”
But under no circumstances is Isaac to go back to Abraham’s family. He was probably aware of the hold her family would have on Isaac. A man loves his wife and wants her to be happy. It would be hard for a woman to leave her mother, father and all her siblings. So if Isaac returned to the family root, he would be tempted to stay there to please his wife, especially since he had no family back in Canaan. Abraham is very clear that his descendants are to remain in Canaan.
9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning that matter.
This servant may have been the Eliezer mentioned in chapter 15 as being Abraham’s only heir before the birth of Ishmael and Isaac. If so, this man was once heir to Abraham’s entire fortune and has now been replaced by the son. It shows loyalty indeed for him to so willingly serve Abraham in this way.
10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.
Without running water in their houses, water had to be brought from the local well or river for washing, drinking and cooking. Understandably, cultures without running water only use about 2-3 gallons per person per day (if that much), while Americans use more than thirty gallons.
It was generally the woman’s chore to go get the water a couple of times every day, not because the men and children didn’t want to do it, but because it was a good time to visit with the other women and trade gossip. Generally, all the women of the village would go out at the same time.
12 And he said “O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham.
13 “Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:
He saw the women heading to the well.
14 “And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, ‘Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink;’ and she shall say, ‘Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also:’ let the same be she that thou have appointed for thy servant Isaac; and that's how I shall know that thou have shown kindness unto my master.”
Today we call this “putting a fleece before the Lord” after the act of Gideon in testing to make sure he was in God’s will. The servant here trusted God more than his own judgment.
15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
This well was a deep hole with stairs going around the edge leading down to the water level.
17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, “Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.”
18 And she said, “Drink, my lord:” and she hurried, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, “I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have finished drinking.”
20 And she hurried, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
This was no small feat! I wonder how many trips she made down that well?
21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to see whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
It isn’t unusual for us to have complete faith in God’s provision and still be stunned into silence when we see His miracles.
22 And it came to pass, as the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;
23 And said, “Whose daughter are thou? Tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?”
24 And she said unto him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.”
Exactly the family Abraham had sent him to; Abraham’s nephew.
25 She said moreover unto him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge in.”
“We have plenty of room for you to stay with us.” Inns were not very common if they existed yet at all. It was not unusual for a traveler to ask for housing from strangers, especially if he was rich enough to pay.
26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshiped the LORD.
27 And he said, “Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not left destitute my master of His mercy and His truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.”
He gave credit and glory right then and there for God’s answered prayers.
28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.
29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.
He saw the rich presents the servant gave her.
30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “Thus spake the man unto me;” that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.
31 And he said, “Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; why do thou stand without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.”
32 And the man came into the house: and he unsaddled his camels, and gave straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him.
Always care for your animals first. That is the first rule of good horsemanship, errr, camel-man-ship.
33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, “I will not eat, until I have told mine errand.” And he said, “Speak on.”
The servant wanted to get the whole matter settled right away. He didn’t want to take advantage of these people, nor sit in suspense a minute longer.
34 And he said, “I am Abraham's servant.
35 “And the LORD has blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and He has given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.
“Your uncle is a rich man.” He then recounts the entire story.
36 “And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him has he given all that he has.
37 “And my master made me swear, saying, ‘Thou shall not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:
38 “’But thou shall go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.’
39 “And I said unto my master, ‘Peradventure the woman will not follow me.’
40 “And he said unto me, ‘The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shall take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house:
41 “’Then shall thou be clear from this my oath, when thou come to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shall be clear from my oath.’
42 “And I came this day unto the well, and said, ‘O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now Thou do prosper my way which I go:
43 “’Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin comes forth to draw water, and I say to her, “Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;”
44 “’And she say to me, “Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels:” let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed for my master's son.’
45 “And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, ‘Let me drink, I pray thee.’
46 And she hurried, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also:’ so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.
47 “And I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are thou?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him:’ and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.
48 “And I bowed down my head, and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.
49 “And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.”
“Now that you know the whole story, let me know what you are going to do so I can make my plans.”
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing comes from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.
51 “Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD has spoken.”
How can you argue with God’s obvious hand?
52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshiped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.
53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.
54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, “Send me away unto my master.”
55 And her brother and her mother said, “Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.”
There is a difference of opinion whether they actually said ten days or ten months. Either way, the delay was unacceptable.
56 And he said unto them, “Hinder me not, seeing the LORD has prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.”
It sounds to me like he was afraid they would change their minds. Later stories about Laban support that idea. He will change Jacob’s salary ten times and then only let him go because of a threat from God.
57 And they said, “We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth.”
58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, “Will thou go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”
They left it up to her, probably assuming she would choose to stay with her family instead of go with this total stranger and marry another total stranger. She, however, appears as anxious to leave as the servant.
59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.
This nurse is mention again a couple of times in the Bible.
60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, “Thou are our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.”
Babies are blessings. They leave a name for their parents written in the Book of Life, depending on the job the parents do of raising them to serve God.
61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he lived in the south country.
He evidently wasn’t living with Abraham at this point, but in his own house which was evidently Sarah’s before she died. The servant took his wife to him.
63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the evening: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.
64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she got off the camel.
65 For she had said unto the servant, “What man is this that walks in the field to meet us?” And the servant had said, “It is my master:” So she took a veil, and covered herself.”
“Who’s that?”
“That is your new husband.” At this point she put on the veil of a married woman. Only her husband would see her face from now on, making it very special.
66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.
67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
Love at first sight. He could quit mourning for his mother now.
Abraham was what we would call a multi-millionaire, possibly a billionaire. He would have been 140 years old by now- 2148AH (1898BC).
2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, “Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
3 “And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
4 “But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.”
Who you marry can make a difference in whether you serve God or not. Many a Christian has lost their salvation by being drawn away by an unsaved spouse. Abraham wants to make sure Isaac’s wife comes from the same stock that produced his faith in one God. The local pagans would not provide such a wife.
Besides, the locals were all under the curse placed on Canaan by Noah and would be wiped out. Abraham knew it would defeat the purpose of his having a son in the first place if his descendants were wiped out with the rest of Canaan.
5 And the servant said unto him, “Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from where thou came?”
The servant wants to make sure he understands the totality of his mission. How important is it that Isaac’s wife comes from Abraham’s relatives?
6 And Abraham said unto him, “Beware thou that thou bring not my son there again.
7 “The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that swore unto me, saying, 'Unto thy seed will I give this land;' He shall send His angel before thee, and thou shall take a wife unto my son from there.
Abraham has complete faith that God has already prepared the woman He wants for his son. He likely has Rebeca in mind, since we were told earlier he had received news that his brother had a granddaughter.
8 “And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shall be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son there again.”
But under no circumstances is Isaac to go back to Abraham’s family. He was probably aware of the hold her family would have on Isaac. A man loves his wife and wants her to be happy. It would be hard for a woman to leave her mother, father and all her siblings. So if Isaac returned to the family root, he would be tempted to stay there to please his wife, especially since he had no family back in Canaan. Abraham is very clear that his descendants are to remain in Canaan.
9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning that matter.
This servant may have been the Eliezer mentioned in chapter 15 as being Abraham’s only heir before the birth of Ishmael and Isaac. If so, this man was once heir to Abraham’s entire fortune and has now been replaced by the son. It shows loyalty indeed for him to so willingly serve Abraham in this way.
10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.
Without running water in their houses, water had to be brought from the local well or river for washing, drinking and cooking. Understandably, cultures without running water only use about 2-3 gallons per person per day (if that much), while Americans use more than thirty gallons.
It was generally the woman’s chore to go get the water a couple of times every day, not because the men and children didn’t want to do it, but because it was a good time to visit with the other women and trade gossip. Generally, all the women of the village would go out at the same time.
12 And he said “O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham.
13 “Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:
He saw the women heading to the well.
14 “And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, ‘Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink;’ and she shall say, ‘Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also:’ let the same be she that thou have appointed for thy servant Isaac; and that's how I shall know that thou have shown kindness unto my master.”
Today we call this “putting a fleece before the Lord” after the act of Gideon in testing to make sure he was in God’s will. The servant here trusted God more than his own judgment.
15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
This well was a deep hole with stairs going around the edge leading down to the water level.
17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, “Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.”
18 And she said, “Drink, my lord:” and she hurried, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, “I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have finished drinking.”
20 And she hurried, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
This was no small feat! I wonder how many trips she made down that well?
21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to see whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
It isn’t unusual for us to have complete faith in God’s provision and still be stunned into silence when we see His miracles.
22 And it came to pass, as the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;
23 And said, “Whose daughter are thou? Tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?”
24 And she said unto him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.”
Exactly the family Abraham had sent him to; Abraham’s nephew.
25 She said moreover unto him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge in.”
“We have plenty of room for you to stay with us.” Inns were not very common if they existed yet at all. It was not unusual for a traveler to ask for housing from strangers, especially if he was rich enough to pay.
26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshiped the LORD.
27 And he said, “Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not left destitute my master of His mercy and His truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.”
He gave credit and glory right then and there for God’s answered prayers.
28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.
29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.
He saw the rich presents the servant gave her.
30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “Thus spake the man unto me;” that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.
31 And he said, “Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; why do thou stand without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.”
32 And the man came into the house: and he unsaddled his camels, and gave straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him.
Always care for your animals first. That is the first rule of good horsemanship, errr, camel-man-ship.
33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, “I will not eat, until I have told mine errand.” And he said, “Speak on.”
The servant wanted to get the whole matter settled right away. He didn’t want to take advantage of these people, nor sit in suspense a minute longer.
34 And he said, “I am Abraham's servant.
35 “And the LORD has blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and He has given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.
“Your uncle is a rich man.” He then recounts the entire story.
36 “And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him has he given all that he has.
37 “And my master made me swear, saying, ‘Thou shall not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:
38 “’But thou shall go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.’
39 “And I said unto my master, ‘Peradventure the woman will not follow me.’
40 “And he said unto me, ‘The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shall take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house:
41 “’Then shall thou be clear from this my oath, when thou come to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shall be clear from my oath.’
42 “And I came this day unto the well, and said, ‘O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now Thou do prosper my way which I go:
43 “’Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin comes forth to draw water, and I say to her, “Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;”
44 “’And she say to me, “Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels:” let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed for my master's son.’
45 “And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, ‘Let me drink, I pray thee.’
46 And she hurried, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also:’ so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.
47 “And I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are thou?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him:’ and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.
48 “And I bowed down my head, and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.
49 “And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.”
“Now that you know the whole story, let me know what you are going to do so I can make my plans.”
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing comes from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.
51 “Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD has spoken.”
How can you argue with God’s obvious hand?
52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshiped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.
53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.
54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, “Send me away unto my master.”
55 And her brother and her mother said, “Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.”
There is a difference of opinion whether they actually said ten days or ten months. Either way, the delay was unacceptable.
56 And he said unto them, “Hinder me not, seeing the LORD has prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.”
It sounds to me like he was afraid they would change their minds. Later stories about Laban support that idea. He will change Jacob’s salary ten times and then only let him go because of a threat from God.
57 And they said, “We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth.”
58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, “Will thou go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”
They left it up to her, probably assuming she would choose to stay with her family instead of go with this total stranger and marry another total stranger. She, however, appears as anxious to leave as the servant.
59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.
This nurse is mention again a couple of times in the Bible.
60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, “Thou are our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.”
Babies are blessings. They leave a name for their parents written in the Book of Life, depending on the job the parents do of raising them to serve God.
61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he lived in the south country.
He evidently wasn’t living with Abraham at this point, but in his own house which was evidently Sarah’s before she died. The servant took his wife to him.
63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the evening: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.
64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she got off the camel.
65 For she had said unto the servant, “What man is this that walks in the field to meet us?” And the servant had said, “It is my master:” So she took a veil, and covered herself.”
“Who’s that?”
“That is your new husband.” At this point she put on the veil of a married woman. Only her husband would see her face from now on, making it very special.
66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.
67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
Love at first sight. He could quit mourning for his mother now.