And it came to pass before he had ended speaking, that behold, Rebecca came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother; and [she had] her pitcher upon her shoulder.
Abraham's servant is still praying when the young woman he prayed about walks into view. Genesis 24:15 is the hinge of the chapter: the answer arrives mid-sentence, and it arrives as a named woman with a traceable family line.
The servant had prayed boldly, spelling out in detail what he wanted. One writer sees in the speed of the answer a preview of a day still to come.
He did not have long to wait. "Before he had finished speaking," the young woman comes. He had asked freely; he had dared to be bold and detailed in what he prescribed. But this counting on God is most pleasing to Him, even if unbelief dares to call it presumption. It was a prayer of rare simplicity, of striking fitness, of complete confidence. The answer came at once, and it pointed ahead to the day when righteousness will reign, and the LORD will hear while His people are still speaking.
The sign he chose was not random. He asked for a drink and watched to see whether she would offer more than he asked.
His prayer shows how completely he is taken up with one object. He does not pray for himself. The servant is not there to select a bride from the daughters of the men of the city and then make her suited for Isaac. He is there to find the one who is appointed for Isaac. And the sign that she is the appointed one will be that she is marked by grace... He will ask her for a drink from her pitcher. If she not only gives it, but offers to do more than he asks, that is the sign: the grace of God marks her. God has worked in her, and so she belongs to Isaac's family. For grace goes beyond our requests.
The verse spends most of its words on Rebekah's ancestry — Bethuel, Milcah, Nahor, Abraham's brother. That list is part of the answer, not just background.
The answer came before he had finished speaking. Rebekah arrived and acted with all the grace he had specified. What is more, she was a "chaste virgin," the kind Paul wanted the church at Corinth to be for Christ... The answer was complete as well as immediate. She was of the right family line, and there was room in her father's house.
Commentators read Genesis 24 as more than a marriage story. Each figure stands for someone: the father, the servant he sends, and the risen son.
Isaac is the heir of everything, and Abraham sends down what represents the Holy Spirit — Eliezer — to get a wife for his risen son. Isaac is on no account to go back to the old land; he represents the risen Christ. So Abraham sends his chief servant down to get a wife for the heir of promise from among his own family. Eliezer gives her gifts and brings her out, since all things have been given to the son and heir.
The picture reaches forward. Rebekah's purity points to the church and to how she will finally appear.
She was a chaste virgin, and that brings to mind Paul's words: "I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:2)... But the true church will be presented to Christ, glorious (Ephesians 5:27). In eternity, she will be seen prepared "as a bride adorned for her husband" (Revelation 21:2).
(Older translations render Paul's phrase as "chaste virgin.")
One writer notices how much prayer fills this chapter, and asks why.
It is not too much to say that there is no other chapter in Genesis with so much about prayer in it as this one. And why? Because now, during the call of the bride, the One who lives and works in the Christian shows us how to walk by faith. God certainly looks for no less in the way of dependence from those who bear the name of Christ.
- Prayer — the servant asked for something specific and bold. The answer came before he stopped speaking. Counting on God like this pleases Him.
- Appointed — he did not pick a bride and then improve her. He went to find the one already appointed for Isaac.
- Grace — the sign was simple: she gave more than he asked. Grace goes beyond our requests, and her giving showed God at work in her.
- Kindred — the verse traces her family back to Abraham's brother. She was of the right family line, so the answer was complete as well as immediate.
- Bride — a father sends a servant to bring a bride back to a risen son. Commentators read this as a picture of the church, kept pure now and presented glorious then.
And the maiden was very fair in countenance; a virgin, and no man had known her. And she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
Abraham's servant has just asked God for a sign. While he is still praying, a young woman walks out to the spring with her jar on her shoulder. Every detail about her — her family, her beauty, her purity, her errand — is the answer, arriving before the prayer is finished. Commentators read the whole scene as a picture of how God finds a bride for His Son.
The servant had prayed in detail, spelling out the exact sign he wanted. Kelly says that kind of bold trust delights God.
He did not have long to wait. "Before he had finished speaking," the maiden comes. He asked freely, and dared to set out in detail what he wanted. But this counting on God is most pleasing to Him, even if unbelief dares to call it presumption. It was truly a prayer of rare simplicity, of striking fitness, of complete confidence. The answer came at once, pointing forward to the day when righteousness will reign, and Jehovah will hear while His people are still speaking.
Abraham's one condition was that the wife come from his own relatives. Verse 15 names her family; this verse describes her face. Both count.
The servant did not have long to wait. He had barely finished his prayer when Rebekah came out. Verse 15 shows that she was a daughter of Bethuel who, in turn, was Abraham's nephew. Rebekah therefore met the requirement of being one of Abraham's relatives (v.4). She is also described as "very fair to look upon." That comment will remind the reader of the beauty the church has in the eyes of Christ.
The verse calls her a maiden whom no man had known. Paul later uses that same picture of the church, and it lands as a warning as much as a compliment.
She was a chaste virgin, and that brings to mind Paul's words: "For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:2). The professing church is far from this state of heart, where the heart keeps its affections for Christ and refuses forbidden associations… But the true church will be presented to Christ, glorious (Eph. 5:27). In eternity, she will be seen prepared "as a bride adorned for her husband" (Rev. 21:2).
She goes down, fills her jar, and comes up — an ordinary errand. What she did next at the well settled the servant's mind about her.
The servant goes out to find a bride suitable for Isaac. He does not find an unsuitable one and make her suitable. This unknown servant, a figure of the Holy Spirit, finds Rebekah by the well of water. The well is a constant figure of truth as a living reality for the soul. In keeping with this, and acting in the spirit of grace, she goes far beyond what the servant asked. She gives him and his camels the refreshment they needed with a lavish hand that held nothing back. This is what showed the servant that Rebekah was the one suited to be Isaac's bride, and worthy to wear the ring and bracelets. And so, as the fruit of God's own work, there are those found with the moral features that suit Christ so well.
At the well, Rebekah met a servant sent out for a father and a son. Writers see that same errand going on today.
In these days there is One who has come from heaven's far-off land on a similar errand — the Holy Spirit. He has come down to us. Angels were passed by, and the gospel message of peace came to man, fallen man. From the family of Adam the Holy Spirit is gathering out those who will form the Bride. He is leading this Bride across the trackless desert of the world to the Son, to whom the Father has given "all things."
The sign had been met, yet the servant said nothing. Darby explains why.
Why any doubt? Why does the servant hesitate, since his request has received such an answer? Here is the reason. God's hand may seem plainly at work. Even so, there is a definite rule in the word, and the Christian must pay attention to it. He must not neglect it, because he is weak at telling what is of God. Faith looks to the power of God, but judges everything by the word; for God must act according to His word.
- Prayer — the servant asked in detail, and the answer came "before he had finished speaking." That kind of trust pleases God.
- Family — Rebekah came from Abraham's own relatives. She met the one condition the servant had been given.
- Pure — "a maiden whom no man had known" is the picture Paul later uses of the church: affections kept for one Man, to be presented to Him glorious.
- Grace — what showed the servant she was the one was her giving, far beyond what he asked. Those suited to Christ carry that same likeness.
- Word — even a clear sign had to be checked against God's word; faith looks to God's power but judges everything by what He has said.
And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, sip a little water out of thy pitcher.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And she said, Drink, my lord! And she hasted and let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him to drink.
Abraham's servant has just asked a young woman at a well for a drink of water. Her reply is the exact sign he had asked God for in prayer. A small courtesy at a well marked her out as Isaac's bride — and, several writers add, pictures something far larger.
She calls him "my lord," and she acts at once.
She did not hesitate. She gladly did what he asked (v. 18). Then she told him she would draw water for his camels also. This was more than an offer. It was a decision that she would do it. She began the work so willingly that the servant was amazed (v. 21). He wondered whether his errand would turn out as well as these first signs suggested.
The servant had spoken one request aloud to her, and another — about the camels — only to God. Her reply covered both.
Accepting the answer, "the servant ran to meet" Rebekah. There was no hesitation, only eagerness. He knew whom he had believed. So he laid before her what he had already asked of Abraham's God, Jehovah. Rebekah answered with the same eagerness and the same grace. She met the request he had spoken to her, and also what he had said only to God about caring for "all his camels."
The servant had asked God for a sign before he ever met Rebekah. That sign would show the one quality that marked out the right bride.
Moreover, we see that the unmistakable sign of the appointed bride will be that she is marked by grace. The servant prays, "Let the young woman to whom I shall say, 'Please let down your jar that I may drink,' and who shall say, 'Drink, and I will water your camels' — let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac." From these words it is clear that the servant was not sent to pick out a bride for Isaac from the daughters of men. He was sent to find the bride already appointed (v. 14), and grace would be the mark that identified her.
Writers read the whole journey as a picture. The unnamed servant, sent by a father to find a bride for his son, stands for the Holy Spirit at work.
It is he who becomes the most prominent throughout the chapter till the bride joins the bridegroom. As a picture, this is unmistakable. We see the Father seeking a bride for Christ His Son — the church of God — and He seeks her all the while in the heavenly places, and nowhere else. Just as surely, we recognise the sending and the work of the Holy Spirit in this highly honoured and trusted servant. His complete and unwavering submission is no problem or objection here. It is exactly what the picture required.
Her open hand at the well was the evidence the servant needed. It settled his next move: the ring and the bracelets.
This unknown servant, a figure of the Holy Spirit, finds Rebekah by the well of water. Water is a constant figure of truth as a living reality for the soul. In keeping with this, and acting in the spirit of grace, she goes far beyond what the servant asked. She gives him and his camels the refreshment they need with a lavish hand, and there is no holding back in it. This is what showed the servant that Rebekah was the right bride for Isaac, and worthy of the ring and bracelets. And so, as the fruit of divine working, there are people found with the moral features that suit Christ so well.
Later, the Lord sat by Jacob's well and asked a woman there for a drink. One writer sets her reply beside Rebekah's.
He needed the cool water from Jacob's well, He who had created the mighty Amazon and every river on earth! But this woman did not have the grace of Rebekah. When Abraham's servant asked her the same thing, she said, "Drink, my lord," and quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink (Gen. 24). Her sinful life had destroyed her womanly sympathy. Her racial prejudice had hardened her heart. She preferred an argument to a kind act. Only the patience of the Lord and the grace — wonderful grace! — that was in Him could deal with a case like hers.
- Asked — the servant had spelled out to God the exact reply he wanted to hear; her words matched it.
- Answered — she did not hesitate. She gladly did what he asked, and moved so fast that the servant was amazed.
- Beyond — she covered the part of the request he had voiced only to God, giving with a lavish hand and no holding back.
- Sign — grace was the unmistakable mark of the bride God had appointed.
- Mirror — the servant sent to find a bride for the son pictures the Spirit at work, producing the features that suit Christ. Asked the same thing at Jacob's well, another woman preferred an argument to a kind act.
And when she had given him enough to drink, she said, I will draw [water] for thy camels also, until they have drunk enough.
Abraham's servant had asked God for one specific sign at the well: the woman who offered water for his camels too would be the one chosen for Isaac. Verse 19 is the moment that sign arrives. Why would God mark out a bride by her offer to do heavy, unpaid work for a stranger?
This was too precise to be coincidence.
Verses 17-20 show how the servant's prayer appears to have been answered to the letter. Rebekah showed the unusual willingness that could hardly happen by chance. She even hurried, and after giving him a drink she says, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking..."
The test the servant chose was aimed at one quality.
We also see that the unmistakable sign of the appointed bride will be that she is marked by grace. From the servant's prayer at the well it is clear that the servant was not sent to select a bride from the daughters of men for Isaac, but to find the appointed bride, and that grace would be her characteristic mark.
Commentators read the unnamed servant as a picture of the Holy Spirit, and Rebekah's overflowing response as the sign that she was the right one.
This unknown servant, a figure of the Holy Spirit, finds Rebekah by the well of water. The well is a constant figure of truth as a living reality for the soul. In keeping with this, and acting in the spirit of grace, she goes far beyond what the servant asked. She gives him and his camels the refreshment they needed with a generous hand that held nothing back. It was this that showed the servant that Rebekah was the one suited to be the bride of Isaac, and worthy to be adorned with the ring and bracelets. And so, as the fruit of divine working, there are people found whose moral features truly suit Christ.
Her offer ran to the last animal.
Watering ten camels would be no small task, for camels consume a great amount of water. No ordinary young lady would be willing to take on a job like this without any promise of payment. But no ordinary young lady would do for Isaac. In the same way today, a Christian man should be sure that the woman he plans to marry is a willing hearted believer.
The sign came true word for word. Even so, the servant did not settle the matter on it.
Why any doubt? Why does the servant hesitate, when his prayer got such an answer? Here is the reason. God's hand may seem plain enough. Even so, there is a definite rule in the word that the Christian must pay attention to and must not neglect, because he is weak at discerning what is of God. Faith looks to the power of God, but judges everything by the word. God must act according to His word. The servant was in communion with God, so he ought to act with this in mind. Even when there may be signs, he should decide nothing until the will of God is clear according to His word. He must be able to say, This is indeed according to God.
Rebekah did not know at the well what her answer meant. Her certainty came later.
How did Rebekah know she was the one Eliezer wanted for Isaac? She could have no doubt about it. She stood by as the servant told Laban how he had prayed to the Lord that he might meet the "appointed" one at the well. He would know her by this sign: when he asked water for himself alone, she would not only grant this request but offer water for the camels as well. Now Rebekah knew that she had matched this description word for word. She had said and done just that. So she must be the one the servant was looking for.
- The sign — the servant asked for one mark in the appointed bride, and it was grace, not looks or status.
- The grace — Rebekah gave far more than the servant asked for, holding nothing back.
- The cost — watering ten camels was heavy, unpaid work that no ordinary young woman would take on.
- The caution — the sign came true to the letter, yet the servant still weighed it by God's word before deciding.
- The certainty — Rebekah was sure only later, when she heard the prayer her own words had answered.
And she hasted and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw [water]; and she drew for all his camels.
Abraham's servant had asked God for one exact sign. The woman who waters his camels too, not just him, is the bride appointed for Isaac. This verse is that prayer coming true in front of him: the emptied jar, the run back to the well, the whole herd watered. So what does such willingness reveal, and can a sign this exact settle the matter on its own?
Rebekah acts out, step by step, what the servant had asked God for in advance.
Verses 17-20 show how God appears to have answered the servant's prayer to the letter. Rebekah showed that unusual willingness in full. Chance could hardly explain it. She even acted "quickly" and, after giving him a drink, says, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking..."
The servant did not go out to choose a bride by his own judgment. He went to identify one already appointed, and one quality would mark her.
We also see that the certain sign of the appointed bride will be that she is marked by grace. From the servant's prayer it is clear that he was not sent to select a bride from the daughters of men for Isaac. He was sent to find the appointed bride (v. 14), and grace would be her characteristic mark. The prayer is granted. When Rebekah comes on the scene and meets the test, she answers the servant's request and says, "I will draw water for your camels also." In all this we are reminded of the Spirit working in grace in those who are "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit" (1 Peter 1:2).
Her words in the previous verse could have been a polite gesture. This verse shows they were not: she emptied the jar and went straight back down for more.
She did not hesitate, but gladly agreed (v. 18). Then she told him she would draw water for his camels also. This was more than an offer. It was a decision that she would do it. She began this work at once, and with such willingness that it amazed the servant (v. 21). He wondered if his mission would prove as successful as these first impressions suggested.
Ten camels after a long desert journey is a great deal of water, drawn by hand, jar by jar. She never asked what she would get for it.
She is not only willing to give Abraham's servant a drink. She also provides for his camels, without negotiating conditions or asking a price. That must have been hard work, given how much these animals drink, especially after a long journey. This is another indication that the church is marked by grace.
One writer sees the whole scene as a picture of something greater.
This unknown servant, a picture of the Holy Spirit, finds Rebekah by the well of water. Acting in the spirit of grace, she goes far beyond what he asks. She gives him and his camels the refreshment they needed with a generous hand that held nothing back. This showed the servant that Rebekah was the one suitable to be the bride of Isaac, and worthy to wear the ring and bracelets. And so, as the fruit of God's working, there are people found with the moral features that suit Christ well.
The servant does not treat the sign as settled. He hesitates, and one writer explains why.
Why any doubt? Why does the servant hesitate, since his request has received such an answer? Here is the reason. However plainly God's hand seems to show itself, there is a definite rule in the word. The Christian must pay attention to that rule and must not neglect it, because he is weak at telling what comes from God. Faith looks to the power of God, but judges everything by the word... even when there may be signs, he should decide nothing until the will of God is clear according to His word.
No one had promised her anything for that work.
She was far more than repaid for her kindness. The servant gave her a ring (apparently for her nose) and two bracelets for her wrists, all of gold. The Lord Himself loves to reward faithful diligence, and we see this most clearly now, in the present age of His grace.
- Prayer — the servant asked for one exact sign. It came true in front of him, down to the detail, and chance could hardly explain it.
- Grace — he was not picking a bride by his own taste. Grace was the mark of the one already appointed, and it points to the Spirit working in those God has chosen.
- Decision — her words were not a polite offer; she decided, hurried, and began the work at once.
- Cost — watering ten thirsty camels by hand was heavy work. She gave it freely, named no price, and held nothing back.
- Restraint and reward — the servant still tested the sign by God's word before he decided, and gold repaid the work she never bargained for.
And the man was astonished at her, remaining silent, to know whether Jehovah had made his journey prosperous or not.
The servant has just asked God for a precise sign, and Rebekah has matched it step for step — offering to water ten thirsty camels herself. Yet he says nothing. He stands and stares, still waiting to be sure the LORD is behind it.
Some read his silence as hesitation. Commentators see instead a man stunned by how fast God answered. One writer sets his reaction beside the Lord's own wonder at the faith He met in others:
The servant was astonished at the immediate and exact answer to his prayer. To call it unbelief is unwarranted. Even our Lord, perfect man as He alone was, "wondered" at the Gentile centurion's faith. If that expressed His delight, where not a particle of unbelief could be, we need not think less of the servant's wondering at her. He had received so clear and ready a token of favour on his mission. What he does next is the best proof of his faith. "Whoever believes will not be in haste"; and this absence of the haste that flesh rushes into comes out in one content to take a single step at a time.
Where the ESV says he waited "to learn," older versions read "to wit" — old English for knowing:
"To know." Gen. 24:21; Ex. 16:15; Acts 3:17; Acts 23:5; etc. From the Anglo-Saxon witan, "to know."
Why wait at all when the sign had landed so precisely? Because a sign, however striking, is not the final court of appeal:
Why any doubt? Why does the servant hesitate, since his request has obtained such an answer? Here is the reason. However clearly the hand of God seems to show itself, the word holds a definite rule. The Christian must attend to it, and must not neglect it, because he is weak at discerning what is of God. Faith looks to the power of God, but judges everything by the word; for God must act according to His word. Even when there are signs, he should decide nothing until the will of God is clear according to His word. He must be able to say, "This is indeed according to God."
The same caution meets anyone quick to call a handy circumstance an open door:
No doubt our Lord may and does at times show His mind and mark out our path by His providence. But we must be near enough to Him to read that providence right. Otherwise what people call "an opening of providence" may prove an opening by which we slip off the holy path of obedience. We must weigh our circumstances, just like our inward impressions, in the presence of God. We must judge them by the light of His word, or they may lead us into the most terrible mistakes.
His pause is one of several marks of a true servant. One list places our verse among the points where he owns the Lord's guidance:
First, his master commissions him; he does not run before his master sends him. Then his master equips him for the service: all his master's goods were in his hand (v. 10). Next, only his master's instructions guide him; his own thoughts have no place or influence (vv. 2-9). Further, he depends entirely on the Lord; he looks to Him to act for him (vv. 12-14). Further, he acknowledges the Lord's guidance and stepping in at every point (vv. 21, 26, 27).
Prayer runs through this whole chapter, and one writer asks why:
It is not too much to say that there is no other chapter in Genesis with so much about prayer as this one; and why? Is it not because now, during the call of the bride, He who dwells and works in the Christian shows us what walking by faith is?
Many read the whole errand as a picture of the Holy Spirit sent to find a bride for the risen Son. Notice that the servant is never named:
Here the next section pictures the mission of the Spirit. He comes to find a bride for the risen Christ, the Father's heir, among the family of faith (Abraham's kindred). The story runs at a length that shows how much God's heart is taken up with it: first, the mission of Him who comes as a servant. Here is a striking lesson for those through whom the Spirit of God acts: the servant's name is never told us. He is content to speak only of his master.
- Prayer first. The chapter is full of prayer. The servant never runs ahead of his master's orders.
- Sign received. Rebekah's kindness matched his prayer. The speed of the answer left him astonished, not doubting.
- Silence next. His quiet is the restraint of faith, not suspicion. One who believes takes a single step at a time.
- Word decides. Faith looks to God's power, but it judges everything by God's word. Weigh circumstances and impressions in His presence before you act.
- Credit given. Once sure, he gives God the credit. That is the mark of a servant who speaks only of his master, as the Spirit speaks of Christ.
And it came to pass when the camels had drunk enough, that the man took a gold ring, of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands, ten [shekels] weight of gold,
Rebekah has just watered ten thirsty camels, and Abraham's servant answers her not with thanks but with gold. Why give so much to a stranger whose name he has not yet asked?
Commentators read this chapter as a portrait. Isaac, Abraham and the servant each stand for someone.
Isaac was the beloved son of his father, and in chapter 22 he had passed through death in figure. He pointed forward to Christ, the risen heavenly Man. Abraham's purpose was to secure a suitable wife for his son. That told out the Father's purpose that Christ also should have a wife, made fully suitable to Himself. The nameless servant travelled far to carry out his master's will and bring Rebekah to his master's son. He sets out the mission of the Holy Spirit, who is now in the world, gathering out of it the bride of the Lamb.
The servant has asked her nothing and agreed nothing with her. The gold is already on her.
He comes in pure grace, giving freely his gifts, but giving first to the bride. Like Jesus at the well, he wants a drink of water from this stranger... But He brings everything to her: the jewel for the forehead, and the bracelets for the hands. And unlike the world, He gives it all first... It is the righteousness of God to all, and the jewel on the forehead of everyone who believes. Where the righteousness of God is on the forehead, everlasting love clasps the hands.
Another writer reads the gold as an answer to what she had just done. He also sets it beside a later deal in Genesis.
She was far more than repaid for her kindness. The servant gave her a ring (evidently for her nose) and two bracelets for her wrists, all of gold. The Lord Himself loves to reward faithful diligence... There is no sign of a bargain here. It was different later, when Jacob wanted Rachel as a wife and offered to pay Laban for her.
Commentators differ on the placing of that first ornament. A reference work lists this as an ear-ring, and notes it was not a woman's item only:
The well-known ornament worn by women and men in the East.
The gifts land on two particular parts of her body.
These were the bridegroom's love gifts. It is good to think of our blessings that way. But the ear-ring and the bracelets carry a further meaning. They remind us that our Bridegroom has secured our ears and our hands for Himself: our ears, so that He may pour into them the story of His love; our hands, so that we may prove our grateful love to Him by being diligent in His interests.
The servant could have described Isaac's wealth and left it at that. Instead he handed over a piece of it.
Eliezer, for instance, gave Rebekah more than a report — jewels and gold, pledges of Isaac's love and samples of Abraham's wealth. And this is the office of the Holy Spirit in the great plan of redemption. He enters the scene not so much with a report of the distant glory, as with pledges and first-fruits of it — He is the earnest of the inheritance.
Because the gold arrives before her decision is made, it carries a double weight.
Rebekah had not yet made her final decision, but it was certain she would. So the servant gave her gifts. They were a first instalment of the wealth she was going to inherit as the wife of Isaac... All this was also a seal upon her betrothal to Isaac. So we may see here a type of the Holy Spirit as both Seal and Earnest. The Seal secures us for the divine calling and purpose. The Earnest is the pledge of the inheritance yet to be ours in its fulness in the coming age.
Rebekah could not hide these gifts. Gold on the face and wrists is public.
The servant has found the appointed bride. He is not content with a work of grace that he can see. He marks the bride out from all others in public, adorning her with the golden ear-rings and the bracelets of gold, which others can see. The Spirit is not only here to produce a work of grace in the believer. The believer should also show the fruit of being sealed by the Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. These precious jewels become a witness to others, and mark the believer out from the world around.
One writer, who calls the servant Eliezer, measures this errand against the smallest thing people hope for from God.
General human thought about the gospel reaches no further than a poor starving hope of a bare and uncertain salvation. The mission of Eliezer to Rebekah goes far beyond that! He invites her to share the home, wealth and love of Isaac, and to be taken into the affection and adoption of his father. Of course this includes the promise of real sustenance — salvation; but how much more it includes!... A ring is a symbol of eternity — with no beginning and no ending.
- Found. The servant's whole journey has the son in view; he meets Rebekah, and gold is her first gift.
- Free. The gifts come before any bargain, any consent, any name — grace gives first, and gives everything.
- Fitted. He claims ear and hand together: ears to take in the story of His love, hands to be busy in His interests.
- Foretaste. The gold is a first instalment of Isaac's wealth — a seal on the betrothal, a pledge of the inheritance.
- Flagged. Worn where all can see, the ornaments mark her out from everyone else, as the fruit of the Spirit marks out a believer.
and said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee. Is there room [in] thy father's house for us to lodge?
The servant has just put gold on Rebekah's hands, and now he asks two things: whose daughter she is, and whether her father's house has room for him and his men. One question tests whether she is the right woman; the other opens the door to everything he came to say.
The plain sense of the scene is simple, and her reply answers more than he asked.
The servant then asked Rebekah whose daughter she was, and if there was room in her father's house for him to lodge. When Rebekah told him her parentage, the servant of course would recognize their relationship to Abraham (v. 24). She also assured him that they had provision for his camels as well as room for lodging.
Rebekah had already shown kindness and courtesy. That was not enough. Abraham had sent his servant for a wife from his own family, and the servant weighs what he sees against that instruction.
Truly dependent on God, he tests even the brightest agreement of circumstances by the word which guided his way and defined his aim. This does not suit the self-confidence of man; but is it not the one path, the duty a saint cannot give up? For we walk by faith, not by sight. … No doubt her character even in this brief meeting shone out in love and lowliness, in unaffected respect and the readiest service. She was a fitting daughter-in-law for Abraham, a pure and gentle wife for Isaac. Yet this was not everything the servant sought. He was true to the interests of the son and to the words laid down by the father. "Whose daughter are you?" Was she of Abraham's kindred? Her answer was just what he sought.
He has given gifts, but he has not once named the son he came for. Commentators read the servant's errand as a picture of the Holy Spirit's work.
This, however, is only the beginning of the servant's work. No word has yet been said about Isaac. These further communications depend on the welcome the servant receives. If they welcome him, he will speak to them of Isaac, but he will not force his company on Rebekah: "Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"
He could have presumed on the gold he had just given. Instead he asks.
The servant asks Rebecca two questions: who she was and whether there would be room in her father's house for him to stay. The Spirit of God is not intrusive and does not force Himself on anyone, but asks whether there is "room". Do we make "room" for Him, or do we "grieve" Him (Eph. 4:30)?
The servant asked only for room. Her answer in the next verse offers more.
He only asks for "room;" she says there is "provision" as well as room (v. 25). … But we do well to take this great question home to ourselves: "Is there room?" Are we prepared to put ourselves out to make room for the Holy Spirit? The flesh and the Spirit "are opposed to each other" (Gal. 5:17). We cannot entertain the Spirit if we are ministering to the flesh. … The house of Bethuel made "room" and "provision" for the servant of Abraham, with the result that the servant is able to speak of Isaac.
The reverse of that welcome has a cost we may already be feeling.
Does this part of the story not show why we make so little progress in the knowledge of Christ, and why our affections are so often cold? We hinder and grieve the One who alone can powerfully move our hearts with the love of Christ.
When Rebekah names her family, the servant does not rush indoors.
God had perfectly answered the desire of Abraham. Eliezer, for his part, sees that God has heard him. He had recognised God's hand in the whole of this business. So before going further, before even entering the house, he bowed himself and worshipped the Lord.
- Question first. "Whose daughter are you?" measures the bright circumstances against the word the servant was sent with. Her kindness alone was not enough. Kindred was what he was sent to find.
- Room next. He will not force his company; he asks for a welcome, and only a welcomed servant goes on to speak of the son.
- Provision beyond room. Rebekah offers more than the servant asked for. Give the Spirit no room, and we grieve Him; our progress in knowing Christ stalls.
- Worship last. Before he steps through the door, the servant bows. A recognised answer from God turns at once into praise.
And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.
Abraham had sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac from his own family, not from the people of Canaan. So when the young woman at the well names her father, her grandmother and her grandfather, she is not making small talk. She is answering the one question the whole mission turned on.
Rebekah had already shown kindness, energy and courtesy at the well. But good character alone did not prove to the servant that he had found the right woman. He still had to hear her family named.
No doubt her character shone out even in this short meeting — in love and humility, in genuine respect and eager service. She was a fitting daughter-in-law for Abraham, a pure and gentle wife for Isaac. Yet this was not all the servant looked for. He was true to the interests of the son and to the words laid down by the father. "Whose daughter are you?" Was she of Abraham's kindred? Her answer was just what he sought.
This is why the servant asked at all, when every circumstance already seemed to be falling into place. Encouraging signs are not the final test.
However clearly God's hand seems to show itself, there is a definite rule in the word. The Christian must pay attention to it. He must not neglect it, for he is weak at discerning what is of God. Faith looks to the power of God, but judges everything by the word; for God must act according to His word.
The names Rebekah gives were not new to the reader. Two chapters earlier, news had reached Abraham of the children born to his brother Nahor.
The closing verses of the chapter give us a short sketch of the line of Nahor, Abraham's brother. His son Bethuel was the father of Rebekah — through Milcah the wife, not through Reumah the concubine. In due time we shall see how close the tie is to Isaac's future, working out the purpose of God.
That earlier notice is why her three names settle the matter at once. Her place inside the family also carries a larger meaning.
Notice that Rebekah is already one of Abraham's relatives. Isaac's bride is not an outside stranger. Genesis 22 presses this on us, where Abraham hears the news of Nahor's children. It is in the family of faith that the Church is found. So I do not believe Rebekah represents the call of sinners by the gospel. She represents the call of saints to a place of special relationship with Christ on high. We are in the mission-time of Genesis 24, and the Spirit of God is seeking a bride for the risen Son.
The one thing Abraham refused was a wife from the land he lived in. The reason lay in what Canaan was, not in mere family preference.
Abraham tells the servant that the bride for Isaac is "not to be of the daughters of the Canaanites," but of "my kindred." The Canaanites were under the curse and marked out for judgment. There can be no link between Christ in the glory and a world under judgment.
The servant's restraint runs through the whole episode. He watched Rebekah water his camels and still said nothing. Only her answer here moved him.
No real spiritual power ever takes us out of the place of waiting on God. So it was with Eliezer. When the woman had given him drink, and his camels too, he does not yet say, Oh, here is the answer to my prayer. He is still waiting on God. Wondering at her, he held his peace, to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosper or not. When the camels had finished drinking, he said, "Whose daughter are you?" He found that she answered the description which to him was divine direction, as the word is to us. Then he bowed his head and worshipped the Lord. Success often takes us out of the place of communion, because it is our success when we do not acknowledge God in it.
The servant's worship follows a pattern.
What came out from God in guidance goes back to Him in praise.
- Word first. The servant tested his answered prayer by Abraham's rule, not by how well the circumstances fit.
- Family required. Three names — Bethuel, Milcah, Nahor — put Rebekah inside Abraham's family. That was the one thing Abraham asked for.
- Not Canaan. Abraham ruled out a bride from a people under judgment. The tie had to be to his own household.
- Already known. Genesis 22 had already named this family. God prepared the answer before the servant asked the question.
- Then worship. The servant bowed only when God confirmed the answer. Guidance that came from God went back to God as praise.