I mean, wouldn't it take some guts to follow a servant to a foreign home to marry a guy you've never met? WOWEE! Did she trust God or WHAT?
You can read about Rebekah in Genesis 24:1-67 - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+24&version=NIRV.
Rebekah is the second woman at the well we have studied. The first, the Samaritan woman, was so different from Rebekah. The Samaritan woman was considered lower class. She was full of shame...she was hiding her sin...she was surprised that someone would speak to her. It took an encounter with Jesus to make her bold.
Rebekah was bold from the get-go. She was from a nice family and, it appears, she was pretty confident.
Enter: Abraham's servant. Abraham had sent this man to find a wife for his son, Isaac. The servant wanted to do a good job in his search, so he prayed for God to help him. God helped him to decide -- whatever woman at the well agreed to give him water PLUS water his camels (all 12 of them!) would be the wife for Isaac.
While Abraham's servant was still praying, Rebekah came forward with her water jar. Rebekah was ready for action! Look how many times the word "quickly" appears in the following verses:
Genesis 24: 18 - 19
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.
THEN - Rebekah broke tradition and actually SPOKE to Abraham's servant - offering to do JUST what he wished...give water to the camels! Again, look for the word, "quickly." Check it out:
Genesis 24: 19 - 21
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.
What can we say? Rebekah is a woman of action and she is NOT shy! She filled water jars, over and over again, to give to those camels. She had to be strong and energetic. This watering job was a BIG one!
Abraham's servant figured his prayers had been answered and immediately asked to go to Rebekah's house to request to take her back to be Isaac's wife.
Again - Rebekah - a woman of action - RAN to tell her folks. She listened to the proposal. Could she leave immediately? Rebekah did not hesitate. She was ready to go. She basically packed her bags and left to meet Isaac the next morning!
I would be scared, I would be quaking in my boots, so to speak. But - off Rebekah went - to an unknown land and an unknown husband! SHE was a woman who trusted God. She could see God "stacking things up" all through this adventure.
Long story short, Rebekah and Isaac hit it off!
Genesis 24:66-67:
Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
What a wonderful love story! If everything ended with Genesis Chapter 24, we would all go "awe" and think we could never be as good as Rebekah. Let's look at the REST of the story.
Rebekah has twin sons with Isaac: Esau and Jacob. Esau came out first, so he was considered the first-born, which was a big deal back in Bible times. Esau was supposed to get the inheritance -- too bad for Jacob.
This is where Rebekah's flaws begin to show through. The very same traits that blessed her: decisiveness, boldness, energy.... began to work against her in God's plan.
Rebekah showed favoritism to her children. Bottom line: she liked Jacob better. When Isaac became old and feeble, Rebekah planned a way to deceive her husband, cheat Essau of his inheritance and put Jacob in the number one position.
In the end -- Rebekah's plan worked. Unfortunately, it caused a big rift in her family. I'm talkin problems here. Essau was ready to kill Jacob. Jacob had to run away.
WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN TO US????
I am headstrong and bold like Rebekah. God can use those qualities, but so can the devil. In this case, Rebekah made a mistake by getting ahead of God. I do this all the time.
Our good qualities can become bad when we forget to follow God's lead.
BUT -- WAIT -- GOD IS GOOD!
God worked Rebekah's mistakes for good. In the end, Jacob and his brother made up. In the end, God used Jacob to form the nation of Israel.
WOWEE !
What's our lesson from Rebekah? USE your gifts for God AND, when you make a mistake (which we will all do on this side of Heaven) -- ask for forgiveness and let God take over.
God has us covered, as long as we give Him our gifts AND our mistakes!
I am happy God used this great woman to show us we, too, can be blessed, when we follow his lead.
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