And Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceeds from Jehovah we cannot speak to thee bad or good.
Abraham's servant has just told Rebekah's family the whole story of his journey — the prayer at the well and the exact answer God gave. Now he waits for their reply. Their answer settles the matter without debate. It also raises a question: how do people with no real devotion to God still recognise His hand and step out of its way?
Their answer is a conclusion drawn from evidence. The servant had not argued for a favour. He had told them how God opened his path.
The servant told them how great his master was — both father and son. Then he told them how God had opened up his way and directed it. This was the evidence that "The thing has come from the LORD," as both Laban and Bethuel recognized. So they agreed to let Rebekah go, and left the final word to her, though they begged for a delay.
Notice what the servant did not do. He offered no persuasion and no case for why this arrangement would be sensible.
He tells Laban about the matter, and how God guided him. He uses no argument. He never says it would be wise to act in one way or another. He simply leaves the outcome of the affair with God. "Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, 'The thing has come from the LORD.'" We spend our time reasoning. If instead we were more simple and obedient, and told things as the Holy Spirit tells them to us, the result would be better. But we often put our own wisdom in the place of God's commands. The things said most simply often produce the greatest effect.
Their words sound reverent. Yet nothing suggests these men cared about God's glory. Their quick agreement did not come from their own piety.
We can hardly miss how God controls hearts as well as circumstances to carry out the plan in hand. It was not that there were no difficulties or dangers… We have no reason to credit Laban and Bethuel with zeal for the divine glory. Yet they agreed at once with what was put before them. They confessed that the thing was from the Lord, and that left them with no word to say against it. They gave way at once. They saw that Abraham's word was the Lord's doing, and that drew fresh worship out of Eliezer.
To speak neither bad nor good is to have nothing at all to say against it. Writers draw a working principle from this for anyone who serves God.
Laban and Bethuel heard Abraham's servant tell what had happened. They acknowledge that the thing comes from the Lord, and say, "We cannot speak to you bad or good." So if we act in complete dependence on God in the circumstances of our Christian life, He will make our way plain. He will even soften our enemies, because of the dependence on Him in which we live.
The family gives Rebekah up with no price attached. Commentators contrast this with the same Laban years later, when Jacob came wanting a wife.
It is good that Laban and Bethuel saw that the Lord had ordered this whole matter (v. 50). They realize that they must not interfere with the Lord's working. They are willing to give Rebekah up without question. Later Laban was ready to bargain with Jacob, when Jacob wanted Laban's daughter. But there is no sign of any such legal agreement in the case of Rebekah. Instead we see a true picture of the proper character of marriage. For marriage is a relationship of grace.
The order of names is odd. The son speaks first and the father second. Writers note this without claiming to explain it.
Laban was the son of Bethuel and the brother of Rebekah. His quick welcome of Abraham's servant shows a heart the Lord had prepared in answer to prayer. But why he took the lead instead of his father Bethuel is not revealed.
- Told — the servant reported how God had ordered his way. He used no argument and no pressure, and the plainest telling had the strongest effect.
- Recognised — the family drew their conclusion from that evidence. The matter was from the Lord, so they had no word to say against it.
- Controlled — God governs hearts as well as circumstances. Men with no zeal for His glory still agreed at once with His purpose.
- Released — the family gave Rebekah up without question and without bargaining, and left the final word to her. Marriage here is a relationship of grace, not a bargain.
- Answered — when a believer lives in real dependence on God, He makes the way plain. He even softens those who might oppose.
Behold, Rebecca is before thee take [her], and go away; and let her be wife of thy master's son, as Jehovah has said.
Abraham's servant has finished his story, and the family must answer. Rebekah's brother and father say the matter is from the LORD, and they hand her over to marry a man she has never seen.
The servant had pressed for a straight answer, and what he got was a refusal to interfere. Commentators read their reply as an honest admission. This was not theirs to manage.
The servant asks the key question: will they "deal kindly and truly" with his master? He wants an immediate answer, because if not, he would go elsewhere. It is good that Laban and Bethuel saw that the Lord had ordered this whole matter (v.50). They realize that they must not interfere with the Lord's working. They are willing to give Rebekah up without question.
One writer draws out the practical lesson. This is how God treats people who depend on Him.
If we act in entire dependence on God through the circumstances of our Christian life, He will make our way plain. He will even soften our enemies, because we live in dependence on Him.
Rebekah stands before the servant. Her family names no price and sets no terms. Writers contrast this with what happened in the same family a generation later.
Later Laban was ready to bargain with Jacob, when Jacob wanted Laban's daughter. In Rebekah's case there is no hint of any such legal agreement. Instead we see a true picture of the proper character of marriage. For marriage is a relationship of grace. "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor (grace) from the LORD" (Prov. 18:22). To pay for a wife therefore is an insult to her and contrary to God's word.
The family agreed fast, which raises a question about their motive. One writer answers it by looking past them to God.
We can hardly miss how God controls hearts as well as circumstances in carrying out His plan. It is not that difficulties or dangers were lacking. They were many and varied. They were there to exercise faith in Him who knows all beforehand, even when appearances say otherwise, and who works all things according to the counsel of His own will. We have no reason to credit Laban and Bethuel with any zeal for God's glory. Yet they agreed at once with what the servant set before them. They confessed that the thing was from the Lord, and that left them without a word to oppose.
The father and brother release her, but they do not close the matter by themselves. Their consent and her decision are two different things.
The servant had told them of the greatness of his master — both father and son. Then he related how God had opened up and ordered his way. This was evidence that "the thing proceeds from the Lord," as both Laban and Bethuel recognized. So they consented to Rebekah's departure and left the final word to her, though they pleaded for delay.
"Take her and go" is what the servant came for. He let nothing turn him aside from it.
We may observe how Eliezer acts with the decision given by a single eye. We do not only see prayer in the Spirit, and worship. We also see a walk remarkably devoted to the will and word of his master, who sent him on this mission for his son. He is set on this alone. It was quite outside the world and its objects. Eliezer will not turn aside from his errand. He lets no bodily need come between him and the task he must put first. All other claims must bend to it.
Writers read the whole chapter as a picture. A father sends his trusted servant to find a wife for his son, and the servant's work ends when he hands her over. One writer names the moment it points to.
It is the moment when the Divine Eliezer delivers up the true Rebekah to be the everlasting and beloved companion of the Son (Gen. 24). Many have pointed out that the word translated "shout" here means a call. It is not a general call, but a call to persons in relationship. His shout does not concern the world — at any rate, not just then; it is for His own. "The sheep hear His voice." "They know His voice" (John 10:3-4).
- Recognised — Laban and Bethuel saw that the Lord had ordered the matter. They knew better than to interfere.
- Released — the thing was from God, so they had nothing to say against it. They gave Rebekah up without question.
- Given — no price, no contract, no bargaining. Writers call this marriage as it should be: a relationship of grace.
- Ruled — God controls hearts as well as circumstances. Even men with no zeal for His glory fell in at once with His purpose.
- Received — the servant never turned aside from his errand. The story ends with the bride handed to the son.