Genesis 23-24
(Another teaching from the study of Genesis)
One of the reasons I love the Bible so much is that it backs itself up. As the church, we live according to the New Covenant (New Testament) and are no longer bound by the Mosaic Law. But that doesn’t mean the Old Testament is null and void. Actually, the Old Testament is beyond beneficial for us to read. It all points forward to Jesus. That alone is enough, but there’s another reason to read it: it’s layered with example after example of how we are and are not to live as Jesus followers. I find such examples in the lives of Sarah and Rebekah.
The story we’re going to look at today is found in Genesis chapters 23 & 24. Genesis 23 begins with some rather mournful tidings: Sarah has passed away. If you aren’t familiar with Sarah and Abraham’s story, it begins in Genesis 11. But to recap, let’s take a little look at the life of Sarah:
To begin, I’d like to say that I believe the Lord has a special place in his heart for Sarah. After all, not only is she the mother of nations, but she is a type in the Old Testament of the Nation of Israel. She is one of only two women mentioned in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. She is the example, in Peter’s first letter to the church in Asia Minor, of what a godly wife is supposed to be. Think about that. Of all the women we read about in the Old Testament, she is the example Peter wants us as wives and godly women to look to. Think about all the people who have read this letter in all of history. It’s God saying, “Yes, Sarah. Sarah had faith. Sarah was submissive to her husband. Sarah, that’s your girl. She’s the example I want you to follow, church.”
Sarah was a submissive, meek and gentle wife. She followed crazy Abe as he dragged her from her homeland because “God told him to.” Do your husbands ever tell you that? They come to you with a crazy scheme and they say that “God told them to”? And you’re like, “Oh right, God told you to, sure, pfft.” But you go along with it And then later you realize it really must have been the Lord and you go, “Ohhhh.” Anyways…she, Sarah, went along with Abram’s ridiculous scheme of calling herself his sister…twice! That’s one of those crazy schemes that you’re like, “well, honey let’s pray about it.” And outwardly you’re praying that God would reveal his truth, but inwardly you’re thinking that you’d just like to give your husband a good smack. Well, even if Sarah was sinful, like me, and thinking that, she still went along with it. Don’t get me wrong, Sarah (or Sarai, as she was called previously) definitely had her unattractive moments. It was her idea to give Hagar, her maidservant, to Abram to bear a child in her own stead. It was she who laughed at the Lord when He said she’d bear a son in her old age. She wasn’t perfect. But that’s another reason, perhaps, that she is such a good example to us. Because she was human, a real person, and God wasn’t afraid to show that when He wrote about her. But He also calls her faithful and blessed. He praises her for her faith, meekness, and humility. We know she must have been outwardly beautiful, but God raves about her inward beauty through Peter in 1 Peter 3. That’s God’s kind of woman. That’s the kind of woman he calls each of us to be.
So now this woman of God is put to rest at 127 years old, Abraham being 137. We aren’t sure how long they were married, but if Abraham was 75 years old when he left, then it would have been at least 62 years and very likely much longer than that. It must have been a very hard time for Abraham. Some here tonight have known that kind of difficulty. Abraham goes through the process of burying Sarah. And Abraham sort of takes stock of himself and his belongings. And he realizes something…Isaac now almost 40-years-old, is yet unmarried. I wonder about the things Abraham thought as he realized this. I wonder if he wanted his son to experience the same kind of companionship he had found in Sarah. I wonder if he realized, his lineage couldn’t go on if Isaac didn’t take a wife. I wonder how much time he spent in prayer during this time. I wonder about the comfort the Lord gave him.
We aren’t told. But what we do know is that this subject apparently became very urgent to him. So he sends for his servant, probably Eliezer, but again we aren’t told for certain. And Abraham has the servant take an oath that he will not get a wife for Isaac among the daughters of the Canaanites. Not someone who will lean toward the way of the world. Not someone who may be like the leaky faucet wife we read about in Proverbs. He wanted the best for his son. Someone from among his own kin. Someone who was perhaps raised similarly to Isaac. Someone with humble heart and meek spirit. Someone with a deep inner beauty. Someone like Sarah.
“The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.”
Genesis 24:7-8
Abraham had no doubt. He knew that God would keep His promise to make him the father of nations. He knew that couldn’t happen without a wife for Isaac. And He knew that God would bring the right woman forward to be Isaac’s bride. After everything Abraham had been through in his life, it seemed he knew that he had no reason to doubt God. Isn’t that a great faith?
It’s also likely that he knew about Rebekah. At the end of Genesis 22, we read that word was sent to Abraham about his brother, Nahor’s sons. And we’re told that one of those sons (Bethuel) begot Rebekah. We aren’t sure if that part was told to Abraham or not, but it’s possible. So it could be that he knew there was a great niece, a woman who was fit to wed his son.
So his servant sets out. Even if there were any doubts, he was still faithful to his master. He sets out on a 500+ mile journey from Hebron to Haran. Most translations say Mesopotamia, or some say Aram-naharaim. The amplified translation says it’s the area between the Tigris and the Euphrates river. Later on, in Genesis 27, Rebekah talks about her brother living in Haran, so that’s the general consensus about the location. Most agree it was probably about a month’s journey.
So after all that travel, finally, the servant and his caravan arrive outside the city by a well of water. It was an advantageous spot because, not only were they thirsty, I’m sure, from their journey. But this man was no dummy. He probably knew the customs, that this was the time of day the daughters of the city would come to draw water. Now the original word here in the Hebrew is Bat , which is used other times in the Bible for the word maidens…so it would probably be the young, unmarried women who would come to the well. What a perfect opportunity to sit and observe, right? –wink, wink-–
But this servant was no dummy in another way too. He sought the Lord. He prayed for the right woman, that God would give him a sign. And BEFORE HE FINISHED SPEAKING, Rebekah appeared.
Now, when the bible says that Rebekah was very beautiful, David Guzik says we can assume that it was even an understatement. Like this girl was drop dead gorgeous, a 10/10, a dead ringer, a knockout! But that wasn’t the most important thing about her. We’re also told that she was a virgin. That was very important, so important that the writer of Genesis wanted to make it a point. She was pure. Now, I’m not sure if Eliezer could know this by looking at her. Again, looking at the original language, it’s probably assumed that the young, unmarried women would come to the well in the evenings. But maybe her purity was evident in the way she dressed—modestly. Maybe it was in her mannerisms—meekness. Maybe it was in her attitude—humility.
1 Timothy 2:9-10
“…in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works.”
Likewise, Colossians 3:12 tells us that as God’s children, we are to put on the clothing of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Fancy jewelry and clothing, although not evil in and of themselves, are not what we should be focused on. We are to be modest, focused on the spiritual clothing of compassion, humility, gentleness, patience. I would be willing to bet these characteristics were evident in Rebekah. It could very well be that this servant saw the same kind of inner character and beauty in Rebekah that he witnessed in his master’s wife, Sarah.
And when approached by this stranger for a drink of water, Rebekah isn’t satisfied with just giving him a drink. She goes on to bless this stranger with an Abraham-level kind of hospitality. Going above and beyond, she also waters his camels. Now that might not seem like a big deal, but let’s just do a bit of math here…
So Eliezer had ten camels with him. In studying for this teaching I found that a camel that has been without water for some time can drink anywhere from 20-50 gallons! And Rebekah had a water jug that could probably hold 3 gallons at a time. So she’s running to the well and hauling up this jug, and taking it to the camels who are actively drinking already, dumping the jug and running back to the well…I mean, it would be like trying to fill a sieve with water, really! By the time she turned around to go get more water, the camels would be finished with what she just poured in the trough. Even if we were generous and said the camels only drank 20 gallons each. That’s 200 gallons total. That’s about 67 jugs of water. And again, that’s being generous! A camel can drink up to 50 gallons at a time, and these camels had just finished a long journey. Talk about work. It would have been AT LEAST an hour, if not hours, of HARD work. And remember, it was already evening. It would have very likely been dark by the time she was finished.
Hospitality is not one of my gifts. It does not come natural to me. But I’m challenged by Rebekah’s heart here. Am I willing to go that extra mile the way she did? Am I willing to follow the words in 1 Peter 4 that say “to be hospitable to each other without grumbling”? How many times have I grumbled over a simple task in comparison? Watering 10 parched camels…that’s a lot of work!
Rebekah was not all talk. She didn’t give up in the middle of this task, wipe her brow and say, “whew, that’s probably good enough…” She finished it until the camels had had their fill. She made sure the task was completed. When God calls us to do something difficult, do we settle for good enough? God never settles on “good enough” for us. He is faithful to finish the work He began in us, and He will see it through to completion, this we are promised in Philippians 1 verse 6. Let us be faithful in doing the work He has asked us to do. Maybe its sharing the gospel with a difficult person in your life. Maybe it’ stepping out in ministry. He promises to equip us to do every good work. Let us trust Him to keep His promises. Let’s step out in faith.
Because, remember, Rebekah didn’t know the things that we know. She didn’t know that this servant was testing her. She didn’t know that she would be rewarded for her hard work. But we do know, we will be rewarded for the work we do here. In Philippians 3:14, Paul writes: “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Rebekah received gold jewelry, a husband with a huge inheritance. Our ultimate prize, ladies, is Jesus.
Did you know, this story is a picture of Jesus’ relationship with His church? We already know that Isaac is a type of Christ. We know that Abraham is a type of the Father. Now we see Rebekah as a type of the church, and Eliezer as a type of the Spirit. The Father sends a messenger to get a bride for His Son. And we see that the bride has a choice to listen to the messenger, or to remain as she was, where she was, with her family, which represents the world. The bride has a decision to make. She has neither met nor seen this Bridegroom, but the messenger serves as a witness to and for Him. Are you tracking with me? We are Rebekah, and Jesus is the Bridegroom. Even though she has never met Isaac, Rebekah chooses to go with the servant. With a stranger, to a strange land, to marry a man she’s never met.
And you know something? We’ve never met our Bridegroom either…not physically face to face. We’ve heard about Him through the word of Scripture. We can see evidence of Him. But we are still waiting, waiting to meet Him face to face. And He is a gentleman. He would never force this marriage to happen. Even Abraham says to Eliezer, “if she will not go with you, you are released from this oath.” In other words, you are not to force her. The Holy Spirit will not force us to choose…the choice is up to us. And even if we have made that choice, and Jesus is our Savior, we still have choices to make every day if we will do things His way, or the world’s way. Joshua challenges his people in Joshua 24 to “choose this day whom you will serve.” We face the same challenge every day.
Rebekah chooses to go to her Bridegroom. Jon Courson, in his teaching on Genesis 24, brings up a good point…remember, it’s about a month’s journey back to Hebron. Rebekah has all that time to ask the servant about Isaac. What’s he like? What sort of man is he? She had the entire journey to learn about this man she was to wed, to ask any question she could about him. Was she getting excited? Nervous? That’s a picture of what this life is like for us. We are on a journey to meet our Bridegroom, just passing through. We are learning about Him all the time, preparing for Him to catch us up to be with Him, to take us to His home to become His bride. And we read that Isaac lifted his eyes and saw the caravan. Isaac was watching for Rebekah, too. That’s another picture of Christ with us. To quote Jon Courson, “The Lord longs for us more than we long for Him, by far.”
“The Lord longs for us more than we long for Him, by far.”
-Jon Courson
Just as we are watching for His return, He is watching for us. He is more excited for His wedding day than we are. He knows what He’s bringing us to, He knows what eternity is going to look like for Him and His bride, and He can’t wait to share it with her…with us, His church.
And Rebekah lifted her eyes and saw Isaac. She asks the servant “Who is that?” I wonder what the tone in her voice was. I wonder if she was thinking to herself, “please let that be him, please let that be him.” So she covers herself with a veil. This was a cultural custom at the time, something that again points to her modesty. They meet, and then Isaac takes her into his mother’s tent to become his wife. His mother, who was a tough act to follow, right? She set the example for what a godly wife was supposed to look like…an example for Christian women throughout history. Well, Rebekah was just that sort of woman. And the servant knew it. And Isaac knew it. “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”
The examples of Sarah and Rebekah aren’t only beneficial to look to for practical reasons, but they (particularly Rebekah) show us the love that God has for us, that Christ has for His church. As women, we should seek to be all of those things we read about in passages like 1 Peter 3, 1 Timothy 2, Titus 2, and Proverbs 31. These portions of Scripture were lovingly put there for our instruction as women, and for young men to look to as an example of the type of wife they should seek out. But on a higher note, this is what we should strive to be as God’s church. Beautiful, meek and gentle, humble and submissive, compassionate, loving, patient, pure, chaste to Christ. I don’t know about you, but I am not all of those things all the time…probably not even some of the time, right? But that’s how God sees his church. Yes, we are daily being sanctified and worked on, and God is finishing the work He started in us when we came to Christ. But if we are in Him, Jesus sees us as His beautiful bride. As believers, we are beautiful and pure, like Rebekah is described. And Isaac loved Rebekah…and Jesus loves us. Let’s pray.
Dear Lord, thank you for loving us so deeply. Thank you for giving us these examples in your word, even if it’s only a fraction of a picture of your love for us. Thank you for not leaving us as we are, but growing us more and more to be like you. Thank you for walking with us each step of the way. Thank you for gently guiding us, and being patient with us. Father, I pray that you would help us to be the type of women you desire us to be. Help us to follow the example of Sarah and Rebekah, to hold tight to scriptures like Proverbs 31 and 1 Peter 3. But Lord, help us also to fall back on your grace when we fail and fall short. And ultimately, Lord, help us to remember to strive toward that ultimate Goal…toward heaven and our Bridegroom, toward You, Jesus. We love you. In Jesus’ holy and precious name, Amen.
