Year in the Bible Daily Reading:
Genesis 24-25; Psalm 4; Mark 9 Listen to Today's Reading
Genesis 24:12-27
Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.” Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.” “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.” And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.” Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.” Genesis 24:12-27 (NIV)
On the surface this story has all the makings of a modern-day movie or reality show one might see on one of the many streaming or cable channels we enjoy today. While this particular passage lacks the drama we have come to expect in movies and reality shows, one can certainly see an opportunity to insert some in this storyline.
As we embark on our journey of reading the Bible together, we will have the opportunity to read all of Chapter 24, which provides both the backstory and the outcome for this passage, which forms the action part of the story.
And what an interesting story. The highlights of the backstory are as follows:
- Abraham and Sarah are very old and very wealthy.
- Their son Isaac will inherit everything but needs a wife.
- Abraham wants Isaac to have a wife.
- Abraham tasks his senior servant with finding Isaac a wife and places a number of restrictions on the task.
- The wife can not be from the daughters of the Canaanites (among who Abraham was living).
- The wife must be from Abraham’s homeland where she could even be a distant relative.
- The servant must go and find the potential wife.
- The wife must be willing to come back with the servant and live with Isaac.
- Isaac cannot go to Abraham’s homeland and live with his wife if she will not come back with the servant.
- And it is completely on the servant to figure out how to make all of this happen.
As we read in this passage, the servant does indeed develop a plan. But like many of the movies we all tend to watch, the plan requires a specific series of events to occur at precisely the right time and also requires a certain amount of luck (or divine intervention) to occur as well. What makes this different, however, is that the servant inserts another step that we rarely see in the movies. He runs his plan by God through prayer, asking for God’s help, not for himself, but as a favor to his master, Abraham.
Again, as we read, the events unfold just as the servant had planned them, and he meets Rebekah and her family. And. As one would expect, the balance of Chapter 24 describes the happy ending. Rebekah agrees to return with the servant. Rebekah and Isaac are married and love and comfort each other.
Again, what a story! Throw in some drama and some timely action scenes. Maybe a love interest among the Canaanites for Isaac, or multiple suitors for Rebekah. And of course, some topflight actors and actresses. And you have a made-for-tv movie, or maybe even a series.
Unfortunately, what really makes this story special is none of the above. What makes it special is the trust that Abraham put in his servant, and the trust that the servant put in God. And God blessed His servant Abraham by blessing the servant’s plan and providing the necessary divine intervention. The servant did not just accept God’s gift and move on but responded by worshipping God and giving thanks.
Every good story needs a moral. In this case, the moral should be that events happen because God wants them to happen and because of God’s plan. Live events are not the result of stars aligning or the result of a seemingly random series of events. God is present and God is involved.
And, by the way, He is also topflight!
Thanks be to God!
Questions for Reflection:
- Do you see God’s inspiration or involvement in events in your life?
- Do you routinely give thanks and praise God when a plan comes together in your life?
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, please help us to look to you for the guidance, inspiration, love and hope that we seek. Help us as well to truly appreciate your gifts of love, grace and your Son Jesus. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Login To Leave Comment