Genesis 24

It seems strange that the longest chapter in Genesis tells the story of how a man got his wife. While that is an important topic, and this is certainly a beautiful story, does it deserve that much space? Only thirty-one verses are devoted to the creation account in Genesis 1; sixty-seven verses are allowed to relate how Rebekah became Isaac’s wife. Why?

For one thing, the chapter emphasizes separation. Abraham made it clear that his son was not to marry a Canaanite woman (24:3). The law of Moses did not permit the Jewish men to marry heathen women (Deut. 7:1–11). Nor are believers today to marry unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14–18; 1 Cor. 7:39–40). Genesis 24 is a great encouragement for those who want God’s will in the selection of a mate. Today, while we do not use the same manner as Abraham’s servant, the principles still apply: We must want God’s will, we must pray and seek His guidance, we must be willing to obey, and we must be alert to what God is doing.

Of course, when the husband in the story is Isaac, the beloved son of Abraham, then the narrative takes on greater significance. After all, Isaac was the next “living link’’ in the chain of blessing that culminated in the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ; so whatever happens to Isaac is of utmost importance in God’s great plan of salvation.

But the chapter goes beyond history into theology. It gives us a picture of the heavenly Father getting a bride for His Son (Matt. 22:1–14). The church is compared to a bride (2 Cor. 11:2–3; Eph. 5:22–33), and during this present age, the Holy Spirit is calling people to trust Christ and be “married to … him’’ (Rom. 7:4). The elements involved in the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah are also involved in the marriage of Christ and His church. There are four of them.

Abraham was now 140 years old (Gen. 21:5; 25:20) and would live another 35 years (v. 7). His great concern was that, before he died, he would find a wife for his only son Isaac. Only then could God fulfill His covenant promises to bless Abraham with many descendants and give them Canaan for their inheritance (12:1–3; 13:14–17; 15:18; 21:12). In those days, the parents made the marriage arrangements. A man and woman got married and then learned to love each other (24:67). In much of the world today, the pattern is different.

We do not know who this “eldest servant’’ was. If it was Eliezer (15:2), then he must have been very old; the events recorded in Genesis 15 occurred more than fifty years earlier. Abraham made him swear to three things: (1) he would not select a wife for Isaac from among the Canaanite women; (2) he would choose her from Abraham’s relatives; and (3) he would not take Isaac back to Abraham’s former home.

Knowing that he had assigned his servant a difficult task, Abraham also gave him some words of encouragement (24:7, 39–41). God had guided and blessed Abraham for sixty-five years and would not forsake him now. Furthermore, God had given Abraham a specific promise that his seed would inherit the land, so this meant that his son had to have a wife who would bear him a child. Finally, God’s angel would go before the servant and guide him to the right woman.

Abraham was a man of faith who believed God’s word and knew how to apply it to specific situations and decisions. He sought to obey God’s word because true faith always results in obedience. The more you meditate on God’s Word, the more truth you will see in it and the more direction you will get from it. This applies to decisions about marriage, vocation, ministry, or any other area in life. Unless we trust God’s Word and obey it, He will not direct us (Prov. 3:5–6).

Just as Abraham wanted a bride for his son, so God the Father elected to provide a bride for His beloved Son. Why? Not because Jesus needed anything, for the eternal Son of God is self-existent and self-sufficient and needs nothing. The bride is the Father’s love gift to His Son. We usually emphasize that the Son is the Father’s love gift to the world (John 3:16) and forget that the church is the Father’s love gift to His Son (17:2, 6, 9, 11–12, 24).

In the divine counsels of eternity, the Father elected to save lost sinners by His grace, the Son agreed to die for the sins of the world, and the Holy Spirit agreed to apply that work to the lives of all who would believe. This is revealed in Ephesians 1:1–14, where you see the work of God the Father (vv. 3–6), God the Son (vv. 7–12), and God the Holy Spirit (vv. 13–14). Note especially that the reason for this great plan of salvation is the glory of God (vv. 6, 12, 14). Those who trusted Christ would be a special people, His inheritance (v. 18) and His bride (5:22–33). His bride would bring glory to Christ on earth and throughout all eternity. One day Jesus Christ would have the joy of presenting His bride in glory to the Father (Heb. 12:2; Jude 24).

The next time you have the privilege of witnessing for Jesus Christ, remember that you are inviting people to come to the wedding!

The servant. Neither Abraham nor Isaac went to find the bride; the task was given to an anonymous servant, who was completely devoted to Abraham. His favorite name for Abraham was “my master,’’ which he used nineteen times in this narrative. He lived and served only to please his master, and that is a good example for us to follow today.

The servant got his orders from his master and did not change them. When he made his vow of obedience, he meant it and kept it. Whether his mission succeeded or failed, the servant knew he would have to give an account to his master, and he wanted to be able to do so without embarrassment. (See Rom. 14:10–12 and 1 John 2:28.)

But how would he go about finding the right woman for his master’s son? The servant acted by faith in the God of Abraham and Isaac (Gen. 24:12). He believed the promise of God and trusted the providence of God to direct him (v. 27). He took time to pray and to ask God for help, and he kept his eyes open to see what God might do. In fact, while he was praying, God was sending the answer (Isa. 65:24). The servant was not impulsive but waited on the Lord to see what He might do (Gen. 24:21). “Whoever believes will not act hastily’’ (Isa. 28: nkjv).

The bride. In His providence, God brought Rebekah to the well just as the servant was praying, and she did exactly what the servant had been praying about. The servant did what Gideon would do years later, “put out a fleece’’ (Judg. 6:36–40). This is not the best way for God’s people to determine the will of God, because the conditions we lay down for God to meet might not be in His will. We are walking by sight and not by faith, and we may end up tempting God. However, God accommodated Himself to the needs of the servant (and Gideon) and guided them as they requested.

Little did Rebekah know that doing a humble task for a stranger would make her the bride of a wealthy man who was in a covenant relationship with God. She would become the mother of Jacob, and he would become the father of the twelve tribes of Israel! Years ago, I read a quotation from a writer identified only as “Marsden,’’ and it has stuck with me: “Make every occasion a great occasion, for you can never tell when someone may be taking your measure for a larger place.’’

The servant was evaluating Rebekah to see if she would make a good wife for Isaac. He could see that she was kind, pleasant, humble, healthy, and a hard worker. Watering ten camels is no easy job! After a long trek, a thirsty camel might drink as much as forty gallons of water, and Rebekah had to draw all that water by hand.

“Whose daughter art thou?’’ (Gen. 24:23) is a key question for any suitor to ask. Of course, the servant was interested in her family, but the question has a wider application for Christian believers today, both men and women. “Are you a child of God? Have you been born again into the family of God?’’ What a tragedy when believers marry unbelievers and try to establish a home without the full blessing of God.

The family. Rebekah took her gifts and ran home to tell her father, mother, and brother Laban (who seemed to be the leader in the home) that a generous stranger needed a place to stay for the night. Hospitality is the first law of the East, so the family went out to meet the visitor. Laban’s character is revealed in verse 30: He was more excited about the expensive gifts than the privilege of showing hospitality to a stranger. Isaac and Rebekah’s son Jacob would discover years later what a clever rogue Laban really was (Gen. 29—31).

The servant would not eat until he had fulfilled his mission (24:33; John 4:32). He did not speak about himself but about Isaac and his great wealth. (The train of ten camels helped to tell the story.) He reviewed his experience at the well, and for the first time Rebekah discovered that she had been “measured’’ for a new and exciting assignment. But, would they let her go, and would she be willing to go?

Before we learn the answer to those questions, we must pause to see how the servant illustrates the work of the Holy Spirit in the world today as He uses us to witness about Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8). He did not speak about himself but about his master and his riches (John 15:26; 16:13–14). He gave tokens of his master’s wealth just as the Spirit gives us the “firstfruits’’ and “down payment’’ of our spiritual riches in Christ (Eph. 1:13–14). The best is yet to come!

The servant’s job was not to argue or bribe but simply to bear witness to the greatness of his master. He did not force Rebekah to marry Isaac; he merely gave her the facts and the opportunity to make a decision. While there is nothing wrong with urging people to be saved (Acts 2:40), we must be careful not to try to take the place of the Spirit who alone can do the work of conviction in the human heart (John 16:7–11).

Rebekah’s brother and mother were willing for her to become Isaac’s wife, but they wanted her to wait at least ten days before leaving home. This was a natural request, since the parents would want to spend as much time as possible with her and perhaps even invite the neighbors to celebrate with them (31:25–27). Of course, they were delighted with the wealth the servant gave them, which was probably the marriage dowry, and no doubt they wanted to hear more about Isaac and the home Rebekah would share with him.

Just as the servant would not delay in presenting his petition (24:33), so he would not delay in completing his mission. When the Lord is at work, that is the time to keep going! He asked that they let Rebekah make the choice, and her reply was, “I will go.’’ This is the decision every sinner must make if he or she is to be “married to Christ’’ and share His home in heaven.

What motivated Rebekah to make the right decision? She heard the word about Isaac and believed it. She saw the proof of his greatness, generosity, and wealth and wanted to belong to him for the rest of her life. She had never seen Isaac (1 Peter 1:8), but what she had heard about him convinced her to go to Canaan with the servant.

Her parents and friends could have given Rebekah many arguments for waiting or even for saying no. “You have never seen the man!’’ “Maybe the servant is a fraud!’’ “It’s nearly 500 miles to where Isaac lives. That’s a long trip!’’ “You may never see your family again!’’ But she was determined to make the long, difficult journey and become the wife of a man she knew only by hearsay.

The application is obvious for unsaved people today: They must not delay in making their decisions for Christ. It is a decision of faith, based on the evidence provided by the Holy Spirit through the Word and the witness of the church. The sinner who delays is in danger of losing the opportunity to belong to God’s family and live in heaven (John 14:1–6). “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts’’ (Heb. 3:7, 15 nkjv). “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation’’ (2 Cor. 6:2).

At the closing service of a great evangelistic crusade he conducted in Fort Worth, Texas, Dr. George W. Truett, then pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, said to a vast congregation: “Satan does not care if men and women come to the house of God, and to public services such as these, and are attentive and serious and deeply moved, if only they will let the religious opportunity pass, and be unimproved. Oh, dreadful possibility, that religious opportunity may come and pass by, and the highest things of the soul be lost and forfeited forever’’ (A Quest for Souls, 362). Dreadful possibility indeed!

A century and a half before, Charles Spurgeon said to his London congregation: “Ten days did not seem too long; but they might have been ten days too late. One day does not seem much; but one day more may be one day too late, and one day too late is to be too late forever; yea, one minute too late is an eternity too late!’’ (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 13, 533)

The entire story makes it clear that God had chosen Rebekah for Isaac, for His providential leading is seen each step of the way. Yet Rebekah had to make her choice of Isaac. There is no conflict between divine sovereignty (God’s plan) and human responsibility (man’s choice). In fact, Jesus taught both in one statement: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me [divine sovereignty], and him that cometh to me [human responsibility] I will in no wise cast out’’ (John 6:37).

“Am I one of God’s elect?’’ is not the question the lost sinner should ask. The admonition to “make your calling and election sure’’ was written to believers (2 Peter 1:10), not to lost sinners. The question the lost sinner should ask is, “What must I do to be saved?’’ (Acts 16:30; cf. 2:37). And the answer is, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ’’ (16:31). When God is speaking to you, that is the time to respond and put your faith in Christ (Isa. 55:6–7).

“We make our decisions,’’ wrote Frank Boreham, “and then our decisions turn around and make us.’’ From the minute she left her home (Gen. 35:8), Rebekah was under the special providential care of God and was now a part of a thrilling plan that would bring salvation to the whole world (12:1–3). Had she stayed in Mesopotamia and married one of the local men, we would never have heard of her again.

Camels traveled about twenty-five miles a day and could cover sixty miles if they had to, while the average pedestrian walked about twenty miles a day. A train of ten camels with its attendants and guards could easily make the trip from Hebron to Mesopotamia and back (about 900 miles) in less than two months. The servant was the kind of man who permitted no delay and was anxious to complete his task successfully. Certainly Abraham and Isaac were both praying for him and his mission, and their prayers were answered.

Isaac pictures our Lord Jesus Christ in his miraculous birth (Gen. 21) and in his willingness to obey his father and give his life (Gen. 22). We have already noticed that verse 19 does not tell us that Isaac returned with his father from Mount Moriah, although certainly he did (v. 5). This omission suggests the ascension of our Lord: He returned to glory to wait for the time to receive His bride (1 Thess. 4:13–18).

Isaac was not living with his father at that time but was south of Hebron, getting ready to establish his own home. Isaac is identified with wells (Gen. 24:62; 25:11; 26:17–33) just as Abraham is identified with altars. Water was a precious commodity and had to be guarded carefully.

The name of the well would be an encouragement to Isaac as he waited for the return of the servant: “the well of him who lives and sees me’’ (16:14). If God took care of Hagar and met her needs, surely He would take care of Isaac and provide the wife that he needed in order to maintain the messianic line. Jehovah is the living God who sees everything and plans all things for His glory and the good of His children.

Genesis 24: suggests that Isaac was a quiet, meditative man who pondered the things of the Lord in solitude (Ps. 1:2). His wife was more the activist type, so there would be a good balance in their home. The two saw each other at a distance, and Rebekah dismounted so she could meet him on foot. In that day, it was considered a breach of etiquette if women rode beasts in the presence of strange men. She also put on the long veil that was a mark of her modesty and submission.

It is significant that Isaac met his bride “at the eventide’’ (Gen. 24:63), for when Jesus comes for His church, it will be a time of spiritual darkness (Rom. 13:11–14). Just as a new day dawned for Rebekah, so also will the coming of Jesus Christ usher in a new day for His people (1 Thess. 5:1–11).

But that meeting involved much more than the claiming of the bride by the bridegroom. The servant also gave an account of himself to his master’s son (Gen. 24:66). When Jesus Christ comes for His church, there will not only be a joyful wedding (Rev. 19:1–9) but also a solemn judgment seat (Rom. 14:10–13; 2 Cor. 5:9–10) where our works will be examined and rewards given out (1 Cor. 3:13–15; 4:1–5).

With Isaac, it was “love at first sight,” but what did Jesus Christ see in us that He should want us to be His bride? We were rebellious sinners with no beauty or merit to boast about, and yet Jesus loved us and died for us (Rom. 5:6–8).

Rebekah had received a few gifts from Isaac, but now that she was his very own, she possessed everything that he possessed. Their lives were one, and so it is with Christ and His church (Eph. 5:22–33).

This is much more than an ancient, idyllic love story. It can be your love story today if you trust Jesus Christ and say, “I will go!’’

If you already belong to Jesus Christ, then be like the faithful servant and tell others the good news about the marriage and the glorious wedding feast yet to come. Invite them to say, “I will go!’’