Playing our part in God’s will (Gen 24:10-61)

Have you ever wondered how God achieves His purposes when He wants willing servants? It is not enough to know God’s will, we need to play our part and do what God calls us to and that does not always happen. I am reminded of Queen Esther, who agonised over risking her life to plead for her people, the Jews (Esth 4:8-11). Her guardian, Mordecai, warned her that if she remained silent, God would find another way to save His people, but she should not imagine that she could escape (Esth 4:13-14). Those who hold on to their life will lose it and those who lose it for the Lord’s sake will gain it. Doing God’s will is not an optional extra but if we are reluctant, the Lord is not without resources to bring about His purpose another way. Yet, it will be our loss if we exclude ourselves from what God had intended for us.

Seeking God’s guidance

How a wife was found for Isaac is the longest incident within the Abraham cycle and emphasises its significance. Abraham’s servant probably arrived in Nahor about a month after he swore an oath and set out from Canaan.[1] His approach to finding a bride is a combination of common sense (the well of the city was where he could encounter women) and seeking God’s guidance through prayer and a sign (Gen 24:11-14). Yet even the sign is not arbitrary but designed to reveal the girl’s character (willingness to serve and being hospitable).[2] Water jars at the time could hold three gallons of water maximum (ca. 11 litre) and a camel without water for a few days could drink up to 25 gallons (ca. 95 litre).[3] Watering ten thirsty camels then would have been no mean feat! Although the servant does not know who Rebekah is, his instinct leads him to run and meet her (Gen 24:17). She in turn shows the kind of eager hospitality that characterised Abraham (Gen 18:3-8; note the terms ‘quickly’ twice and ‘ran’ – Gen 24:18, 20).

Recognising and acting on God’s will

While the first hurdle is over when Rebekah fulfils the sign and is revealed to be Abraham’s kin (Gen 24:24), her family will also have to agree to the marriage. The chief negotiator is Laban, her brother (her father, Bethuel, may have been old and infirm). Later, Laban will show himself greedy and deceitful (Gen 30:27; 31:6-7), and we get a glimpse of his calculating hospitality when his effusive welcome follows on from seeing Rebekah’s new ring and bracelet and the camels (rare in the region at this time and valuable; Gen 24:30).[4] Admittedly, providing a woman with a stable economic future in an arranged marriage was an important consideration and the servant himself emphasises God’s (material) blessings on Abraham and that Isaac will inherit it all (Gen 24:35-36).

Nevertheless, for the servant, the key is the Lord’s involvement, which he explains at length underlining its importance (Gen 24:42-48). Indeed, Rebekah’s family affirm this when they agree to the marriage (Gen 24:50), though the lavish bride-price (Gen 24:53) and Rebekah’s prospects would also have been a bonus. Whatever their motivation, the reader knows that ‘The matter comes from the LORD’ (v.50). While the family understandably wants a few days more together and the servant’s urgency seems almost unfeeling, what stands out is Rebekah’s attitude. Her simple ‘I will go’ (Gen 24:58) is quick and decisive despite the staggering implications of this move. In fact, she will never again see her family or homeland.

Pressing on

This story illustrates well what it looks like to seek God and obey His will. Praying for guidance and waiting on God can go hand-in-hand with putting oneself in opportunity’s way, making a thoughtful choice and presenting one’s case persuasively as the servant had done. We are also reminded in Rebekah’s actions of the cost that God’s will may mean at times: selfless service and a determination to leave all behind for the sake of what the Lord has for us. Like her, we cannot know for sure what awaits us on the other side of such obedience, so we have to take God on trust that following Him wholeheartedly will be worth it in the end.

---

[1] There is no parallel elsewhere for the custom of placing one’s hand under the thigh to swear an oath (Gen 24:2, 9; 47:29). There is a suggestion that this involved touching the genitals as the word here for ‘thighs’ (or loin) is sometimes used as a euphemism for procreation (Gen 46:26 – NASB ‘direct descendants’ lit. ‘who came out of his thighs/loins). The meaning of this practice is obscure, but Gordon Wenham notes that taking an oath in the ancient Near East could involve holding a sacred object (much like it is customary today to swear an oath on the Bible). Additionally, he observes that Abraham’s circumcision was a mark of the covenant, which would also contribute to the associations that an oath taken this way would carry. Genesis 16-50, WBC 2 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994), 141.

[2] Asking for a sign in guidance was common in the Old Testament, though it is not necessarily a practice to imitate today. While it is appealing because it offers certainty, it is also limiting God because it implies a binary question: if you want me to do this, let such and such happen, if not then something else. But what if God wants a third or fourth option that we have not thought about? We also have more resources than the OT people of God to know His will: His full revelation in Scripture, as well as His indwelling Spirit.

[3] John H. Walton, Genesis, NIVAC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 530.

[4] Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 146. These may seem like small details, but Hebrew narrative is sparse, and no detail is incidental but significant for the story.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with others.