(Genesis 24:1-27) Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in every way. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, “Please place your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, 4 but you will go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?” 6 Then Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there! 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this my oath; only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and set out with a variety of good things of his master’s in his hand; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. 12 He said, “O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; 14 now may it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.”
15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. 16 The girl was very beautiful, a virgin, and no man had had relations with her; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar.” 18 She said, “Drink, my lord”; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 Now when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. 21 Meanwhile, the man was gazing at her in silence, to know whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not.
22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half-shekel and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels in gold, 23 and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room for us to lodge in your father’s house?” 24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 Again she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to lodge in.” 26 Then the man bowed low and worshiped the Lord. 27 He said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, the Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
We don't know if God told Abraham to find a wife for Isaac from his homeland or not. Although, people tend to look from within their own cultures, because they already understand it and know what to expect. Curious if the servant had not asked his question, would Abraham have still said that God would be with the servant? Also curious, if Abraham would not have said that, would the servant have still called upon the Lord? I'm sure, having worked for him so long, the servant would have witnessed how God helped Abraham over the years.
It's also interesting and impressive that the servant didn't ask God to just send over the most beautiful girl in the world - and then he would just "know". He essentially asked for a woman who was kind, compassionate, respectful and very gracious. These are all very good traits to have.
It is also pointed out that Rebekah was a virgin. BOTH should be virgins. Adultery is wrong and is defined as sex outside of marriage. Sex is an emotional marriage as the two bodies become one. So to save oneself for marriage is very admirable. Think of it this way... for your entire lives, before you even know your spouse, you remained faithful!
Also notice that after praying to the Lord, the servant was patient and didn't jump to conclusions. He waited to see if God had answered that prayer completely. He waited to see proof of her good traits.
If only finding a good spouse were this easy! We know from other scriptures that a (practicing) Christian should marry a (practicing) Christian. The scriptures never refer to color or culture. And prayer should always be involved.
Pray and wait on the Lord! Don't rush to figure it out for yourself. There will be an excellent reason why God isn't making it happen right away. Even if it takes a long time! Had I met my husband even a year earlier, it would have been a disaster. He had to sort through some things, and I had to sort through some things. Take the time to focus on God, so that you will become the spouse that the other person is looking for. If you are serious about finding "THAT" Christian spouse, then obviously "THAT" Christian is looking for the same thing in you!
Pray and trust the Lord! Never start to think "this is good enough" or "it won't get any better"! It is so much better to be happy and single than be in a marriage and be very unhappy! Can one find a good Christian spouse through an online dating app? That decision seems a little like taking matters into one's own hands... but do be careful to really, really get to know the person - and get to know them in person! It's way too easy to fall in love with the idea of love.
I love what one of our pastor's said. Do God's work and keep walking with Him, and then when you see someone walking beside you... introduce yourself!!! Feelings are fickle, so use your mind to get to know them and see that you love each other, and then - enjoy with your heart.
Keep God first in your lives. The Lord is the best foundation to build on. Being equipped with God's love as one's motive for everything is one's most valuable tool. And have the Lord as your pillar of strength. He is faithful and will never fail!
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