Genesis Chapter 24

A Bride for Isaac

Remember the figures of speech: SIMILE: Resemblance; ALLEGORY: comparison by representation; METAPHOR: Representation; HYPOCATASTASIS: An implied resemblance or representation; TYPE: A figure or example of something future; ANALOGY: Resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike. These figures of speech will DIRECTLY apply to us, so we need to be on the alert for them in this powerful prophetic chapter, speaking to each of us!

24:1

We almost smile and laugh to be told again that Abraham is quite old now; yet remember, the Holy Spirit does not want someone to just read this verse alone, or even just this chapter, and not have the knowledge of exactly how ancient he is. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to acknowledge that the Lord had blessed YOU in all things? Hasn’t He? Why do you think He hasn’t?

24:2-4

Abraham’s request of his chief servant is so solemn that he has him place his hand under his ‘thigh’; this is a polite way of saying under his genitals. This would cause the servant to actually be swearing an oath to and for Abraham’s posterity. It would also bind the oath to be a blessing or curse to the servant’s posterity. We know from previous chapters that the eldest, or chief servant is Eleazer, whose name means “Comforter”. Are you beginning to see some Types and Metaphors? What name is given for the Holy Spirit? Comforter! Yet he remains unnamed in this chapter. See John 16:13-15, The Holy Spirit is unnamed, yet He is the One who gives us the Grace to become Believers; all Truth comes to us through the Holy Spirit. This trusted servant of the Father of his people is being sent to obtain a bride worthy of his son (remember, he, Isaac, was a ‘type’ of Christ in the sacrificial offering on the Mount). Are you seeing the Hypocatastasis? A Comforter who goes to a distant land to find a worthy, pure bride for the son of the father! Why did Abraham insist that the servant find a bride from ‘my country’ and from ‘among my people’? A non-believer would not be in the land or family of the Father! The Bride of Christ must be chosen by the Father, through his servant, and must be pure and holy. We will soon see other attributes that the bride must have.

24:5-6

This ‘perhaps’ is very reasonable; and the servant wants to know if the son should go to the distant land, presumably to try to find a bride himself. Abraham states emphatically that he is never to take his son back to the foreign distant land. The chance that Isaac might remain in the foreign land instead of the Promised Land would be too great. Notice that Isaac is not named by either the servant, nor Abraham, only ‘the son’ is mentioned. We are clearly being given a ‘type’ of Christ here.

24:7

Abraham gives a summary of the history of his coming to the Promised Land, and God’s promises that his offspring would inherit the land; then he adds that the God of heaven will send His Angel before the servant to take a wife for the son. The ‘offspring’ are all those who become believers, in Abraham’s time and down through the centuries to our time. His Angel would be a theophany of Jesus. The wife is to be the Bride of the Son. All these Metaphors, Similes, Types and Allegory are clearly showing us the future; all pointing to Jesus and then on to all Believers who will become the Bride of Christ.

24:8-9

Abraham relieves the servant of any obligation IF the woman refuses to come back with him and become his son’s bride. The servant then completes the actions and oath regarding this solemn promise to Abraham. If the Holy Spirit calls us and we refuse, God will not force us to become the Bride of Christ; the Holy Spirit will eventually stop striving for our soul for all Eternity. What a sad Truth we must face. Hopefully, you have accepted the call to be the Bride of Christ. Pray earnestly for those who have not yet said ‘yes’ to Jesus.

24:10

Ten camels means the servant is traveling with quite a number of other servants from Abraham’s household in a caravan; they are taking provisions, and we are told, treasures with him, no doubt to pay a dowery for the bride, as well as gifts to the bride and her family. This trip to Mesopotamia, which is located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, to a city where Nahor’s family tribe lived, would have taken several weeks.

24:11

The act of having the camels kneel down was to unload the burden they were carrying; and to give them much needed water. Camels were used in the desert because they could go for weeks without food or water. We are given the additional information letting us know that it is the evening time, the time when the women come out in the cool of the day to draw much needed water.

24:12-14

Notice how specific the unnamed servant’s prayer is. He address God as Lord and God of his master, Abraham. He asks God to give him ‘good success today’ and in so doing that would show kindness to Abraham. He tells God to see him, that he is standing by the well and the daughters of the men of the city are now coming out to draw water. Notice how specific his prayer is: “Let the girl to whom I say ‘let down your jar and give me a drink’, that she would give me a drink and then offer to give water to all the camels!” Now that was an unbelievable request, because these camels were very, very thirsty. Camels can drink 30 gallons of water in just 13 minutes! They drink faster than any other animal on the planet! They also hydrate themselves faster than any other animal; drinking huge amounts of water. Keep in mind that the only way to get water was to lower a bucket into the well, then draw it up and empty it into your water jar; then repeat the process until the jar was filled. Do you realize that a gallon of water weighs over 8.25 lbs? 5 gallons of water would weigh well over 42 lbs! How many ladies could lift and carry that amount? Now, do the math, each camel would drink 30 gallons minimum; so that would be 6 jars of water, assuming she could carry the 5 gallons at a time, for each of those thirsty camels!!! Are you getting tired just thinking about it? Just drawing water for one camel would be an exhausting job! So it appears that the servant is asking God for the impossible!

24:15

Before the servant is even finished speaking to God in Prayer, out comes Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Micah and Nahor, who was Abraham’s brother; with her water jar carried on her shoulder. You can check the genealogy given to us back in Genesis 22:23. Now you know why it is so important to pay attention to the details given by the Holy Spirit to us. Remember, all scripture is given to us for very specific purposes.

24:16

Rebekah is not only gorgeous on the outside in appearance, but she is also beautiful and pure on the inside, and unmarried. Now how the servant knew all this is a mystery; yet the Holy Spirit does reveal Truth to those who seek it and trust God; certainly the servant was doing both of these things. Keep in mind that the servant was very loyal and intelligent. Yet, he possessed an even more important characteristic; he was wise.

24:17-18

The servant immediately runs up to Rebekah and respectfully asks her for a little water from her water jar. She responds immediately by honoring this stranger by saying to him “Drink, My Lord,” and immediately lets down her jar into her hands and gives him a drink. Notice the gracious, helpful, generous attitude she has.

24:19-20

Now Rebekah does and says something unbelievable, she generously offers to sacrifice her time and energy to draw water for all the thirsty camels, and take it to them and pour it into the trough until all ten camels have had their complete fill of water! This could take hours and hours of hard, hard backbreaking work! Then we are told she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and then ran back to the well and drew more water. She must have worked fast and hard continually to draw that much water for all those thirsty camels; plus after hauling that heavy jar to the trough, she runs back each time! She must have been a super hard worker, plus she was very strong. I suspect she was a real go-getter as we saw she was the first of the girls to get to the well to begin with.

24:21

The servant was speechless! He probably couldn’t believe his eyes, seeing this beautiful, lovely girl race back and forth to the well, furiously drawing up the water, pouring it into her jar, then hurrying back to the camels, then running back to the well, trip after trip after trip! The more she continued to keep her word to do this exhausting, seemingly impossible job, at no pay, mind you, the more the servant began to clearly see God had indeed successfully answered his prayer. Even though this was an exhausting, strenuous, and difficult task, Rebekah kept her word. She was a woman who honored God by keeping her word. This was the entire purpose of his trip; to have this prayer answered successfully. He had faithfully sworn to his master, Abraham, that he would do everything he possibly could to obtain a worthy bride for Abrahams son. How are you at keeping your word, even when it becomes very difficult, if not almost impossible? Rebekah was truly a Godly woman.

24:22-23

Only after all the camels had finished drinking to their fill, did the servant take out some of the gold treasures he had brought. First, an earring of pure gold weighing half a shekel and for each of her hands two bracelets of pure gold, weighing ten shekels. He also asks her whose daughter she is and do they have room in her father’s house for all of them to stay. Hotels were non existent in that day, so they would have to stay out in the desert, or ask for accommodations from some of the inhabitants of the town. Rules for hospitality were to be generous to travels and offer to accommodate them, if at all possible. In return, the travelers were expected to offer some sort of gifts to those who would provide them food and lodging. Archeologists have discovered large gold earrings and intricate necklaces and bracelets of fine gold, dating well before Abraham’s time. These ancient craftsmen were highly skilled artisans of gold. We can rely on God’s Word to be true and accurate, all the time.

24:24-25

Rebekah reveals who her parents are and that they have both straw and feed for the camels as well as room for all of them to lodge in her father’s house. She shows herself to be gracious, trusting, generous, kind and faithful in honoring the rules for hospitality above and beyond what is required or expected, truly a Godly, pure maiden!

24:26-27

The servant now bows down before God and worships Him, acknowledging the Lord is to be Blessed and honored as He has clearly blessed the servants request and blessed Abraham with his loving kindness and generosity. He acknowledges that he had gone on this long arduous journey out of obedience and faith and the Lord had led him directly to the house of Abraham’s brother, Nahor. Truly, this was a miracle from God. When the Holy Spirit seeks us as the bride of Jesus, isn’t it a miracle that we respond in faith and obedience? We were lost sinners on our way to hell and the Holy Spirit searched and sought us diligently and steadfastly until we finally responded in faith and obedience. What a reward we have; forgiveness of our sins, being saved from an eternity of agony and suffering; then being given the unbelievable position of being made the bride of Jesus Himself. We should be humbled and grateful, being given something beyond anything we could have ever imagined or hoped for!

24:28

Rebekah immediately runs back to her home and tells the whole story to her mother’s entire household. No doubt showing them the beautiful gold earring and two bracelets as proof of her story. They probably had wondered where in the world she was all that time. Yet, it appears that because she was a woman who was known for speaking only the truth, and kept her word, they knew she was speaking the truth.

24:29-31

Rebekah’s brother, Laban, immediately believes his sister and realizes the importance of this servant, who is the chief servant of his great uncle Abraham; and he runs out to the well to meet the servant, and make him feel welcome and honored to be in his presence. He addresses the servant as “Blessed of the Lord” and begs him to come into the house, assuring him that the accommodations are all ready for him and they have prepared a place for all the camels to stay and be taken care of. In effect, he is ‘rolling out the red carpet’ for the servant of Abraham. When God sends an unexpected ‘visitor’ to bring an important message to us, how do we treat them? As an inconvenience, or are we spiritually sensitive enough to recognize when God is intervening on, or for, our behalf?

24:32

Now the servant of Abraham comes into the house, which is probably quite large since it is the home of the extended family. Meantime, Laban, and his servants, ungirded the camels and take care of their needs for straw and feed. He also has water provided to wash and bathe the feet of the chief servant and all the other servants with him, and to provide places for all of them. You can imagine that everyone was scurrying around to make everything ready and perfect for this important visitor. Notice how everyone in the household made extra efforts and did everything possible to make the unexpected visitors feel welcome and wanted. How welcome and wanted do we make an unexpected visitor feel in our home? What about the Holy Spirit, how welcome and wanted do we make Him feel in our hearts each day?

24:33

A great meal is then set out before the servant and all his men with him. Yet, the servant, despite the fact that he was probably very hungry, refuses to eat until he tells the entire household the full reason, or the mission given to him, for his trip to their region. Laban honors him, by respectfully having everyone sit down to listen to Abraham’s servant. Notice that the servant shows us the characteristics of a true servant of God: dependable and trustworthy, praying fervently and believing that God will answer heartfelt godly prayers that are made in the will of God. He is so dedicated that he refuses to eat until his master’s business is made known. The will of God is the business, or Mission, of the Father and the goal of the Holy Spirit. He never even speaks his own name, but gives all glory and honor to his master. We see in the New Testament that the Holy Spirit never seeks glory for Himself, but gives God the Father all the honor and glory.

24:34-38

He continues to identify himself only as Abraham’s servant. He tells them that the Lord God has blessed his master mightily, that he has become super successful and great, that he has great wealth, going into detail about all Abraham has. Then he reveals the details of his mission to seek a pure, holy, Godly wife for his master’s son. He states that the wife must be one from his father’s house. The Bride of Christ must also be a member of God’s household, the family of God. Only those who are true Believers can qualify as the Bride of Christ. Remember, only those who accept Jesus as Lord, God and Savior, confessing and repenting of their sins, can be “Born Again” as a child of God. All people are NOT God’s children, only true believers in Jesus.

24:39-40

“But suppose…” This ‘what if’ is a true consideration; for without God’s will in the matter, it would not come to pass. The servant clearly tells them that Abraham had assured him that the Lord God, in whose presence he walked habitually, would send His Angel to be with him, and would prosper and make successful his trip to obtain a wife for his son; from his father’s house. Wow, can you see all the figures of speech relating to us? God sends His Holy Spirit to those He has chosen to search for the true Bride of Christ. We must be obedient, and willing to accept Jesus as Lord, God and Savior before we can be considered to become a part of God’s forever family. The Holy Spirit is always successful in winning us to Jesus. Remember, only the Holy Spirit can win a soul to Jesus. We, as His servants, may share the Truth of salvation with another person, yet only the Holy Spirit can touch their heart and soul and reveal the Truth to them. Anyone who says, “I got someone saved” is NOT telling the Truth, ONLY the Holy Spirit can get someone saved. We may have been used by the Holy Spirit to share God’s Truth with them, but the ultimate decision to accept Christ as Savior and Lord is only brought about by the Power of the Holy Spirit.

24:41

Even after all this, the servant tells them his master says: if the girl refuses to become the bride; or if the girls family will not give her to you, you shall be free and innocent of the oath. So, if the Holy Spirit tugs at our heart and convicts us of sin and we refuse to repent, and turn away from our sins, and turn to God, the Holy Spirit will not force us to become God’s child. We too, can refuse God’s gracious, generous, invitation to become His child for all eternity. Is God speaking to you now?

24:42-48

The servant repeats the entire heartfelt passionate specific prayer he offered up to the God of the Universe, asking that He guide and direct him to the perfect Bride for his master’s son, and that the Lord God of Creation make him successful in his search. He tells how that, before the prayer was even finished, The Lord God began to provide the answers, step by step, bringing Rebekah into his presence. He carefully, and accurately repeats the entire prayer, situation and sequence of events to show how perfectly God had directed him and skillfully orchestrated and provided BOTH the people and situations to meet the need to find the perfect Bride for his master’s son. Do we even have any possible idea of all the details that God had to work out for our Salvation? Was it a miracle that YOU were saved? After studying and reading this account it should be obvious to you that the answer is ABSOLUTELY YES!

24:49

Yet, after all this, the servant still politely requests them to deal kindly and truly with his master, and tell him if they would allow Rebekah to become the bride of his master. The term turn to the right, or turn to the left, is an indication that the servant cannot do anything until they give him an answer. This meant that he would even refuse to eat until an answer was given. Notice, that, even though it is apparent that God has carefully orchestrated all of this in a miraculous manner, yet the servant still humbly asks for their kind and gracious approval. Even when God has worked miracles to bring us to a saving knowledge of Jesus as our Lord, God and Savior, we can still stubbornly refuse!

24:50-51

Both Laban and Bethuel (Rebekah’s father) both speak and acknowledge that this entire situation has come directly from God and that they cannot speak bad or good to the servant. They both say that Rebekah is there before him and tell him to ‘take her and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken’. In their culture, the brother would be the negotiator for the bride, trying to get as much as possible in wealth for the giving of his sister. We always see it as the father of the Bride who gives her away, not the brother. Yet, it may be because of the emotional tie of a father and daughter, that the brother would be more inclined to look at the wealth one could receive, rather than the emotional side of the transaction.

24:52

Immediately Abraham’s servant bows himself humbly down to the ground before the Lord God, who has now clearly shown His power to bring about all the circumstances to obtain a perfect bride for his master. Only God’s power and might can bring us into a pure and holy position to become the Bride of Christ.

24:53

Now the wealth; jewels, silver, gold and precious garments and gifts are brought out and given to Rebekah; and also precious things were given to her brother and her mother. Notice that the servant honors with great wealth those who are giving Rebekah to become the precious Bride.

24:54

Only now, after all the negotiations are complete and the agreement is secured to assure the servant that Rebekah will indeed come with him back to the land of Canaan to become his master’s bride, does the servant, and all his men, sit down with the family and eat and drink. They spend the night and then rise in the morning asking to be allowed to leave and return to their land. This may seem strange to us, yet in their culture, the host can insist that the guests stay several days longer.

24:55

Both Laban and Rebekah’s mother ask that Rebekah be allowed to stay at least ten more days, then they will allow her to go. Once they ‘ask’ this, it is considered that the guest would then have to agree to their terms. We see here a ‘negotiating tool’ to either try to keep Rebekah, or to try to elicit more wealth from the servant.

24:56

The faithful servant doesn’t fall prey to their tactics to delay his mission, nor to stop, or stall the outcome of the mission, or even thwart the mission; he politely refers back to the Lord prospering, or directing all of this mission, and respectfully asks to be sent on his way so that he can return to his master. This would mean that he could not go unless Rebekah would be with him.

24:57

Now they have a stand off, neither one can give in, yet they must resolve the matter, so presumably finally Laban says, ‘we will ask the girl and see what is her desire’. Now, she already has all the wealth and gifts, and so do they, so Laban may be thinking that she would defer to his request and that of her mother out of respect and loyalty to them and agree to stay the extra days. Remember, once she delays, then the servant cannot just stay there and wait for her, his right to the hospitality will end. We already know that in order to be in God’s will, timing is everything. If we delay to obey, we are disobeying! Keep this Truth in mind with everything God asks you to do or be a part of. Either we obey, or we don’t, it is that simple. How many times have we said, “Oh, I should have… , or I wish I had done such and such…”.

24:58

Laban’s ploy to have Rebekah break the stand off in their favor fails. Why? Because Rebekah is a person of integrity and always keeps her word. This characteristic causes her to immediately agree to abide by what God is directing her to do. Even though this decision is now against what her beloved mother and brother want. She is now stepping out in faith and obedience to do what God has called her to do. Keep in mind that she is agreeing to go with a strange servant to an unknown land and become the wife of an unknown man! Wow! That is really stepping out in faith and trusting God!

24:59-61

This formal ‘sending away’ meant they were going away permanently. Rebekah would never again see her mother, brother, father, or her homeland. She would be able to take her personal servant Deborah, with her, otherwise she would be with strangers. Her family blesses her with the traditional blessing of becoming the mother of many people and her posterity always being successful and free. Rebekah and her maids, meaning other household personal maids, also prepare their camels to be part of the Caravan. The entire Caravan now prepares and leaves for the long journey back to the land of Canaan. Now the servant is able to finally take Rebekah and return to her new homeland. God’s preparations for His Son’s Bride is complicated and involves many different obstacles and threats. Remember, we are in a spiritual warfare. Satan never wants us to become the Bride of Christ, he will use every devious trick and dishonest maneuver possible to stop us from becoming the Bride of Christ. We cannot win without being in God’s will.

24:62-63

We now jump back to what is going on back in the land of Canaan regarding Isaac. He has moved and is now living in the South county known as the Negeb. He has returned from going to a well known as Beer-lahai-roi meaning the Living One Who sees me. This of course, is a reference to the All Seeing and All knowing Creator of the Universe. We are told that Isaac goes out in the open country in the evening to meditate and bow down in prayer. This Hebrew word ‘suah’ means to pray, lament, wail or moan. This may be because he is grieving the death of his mother Sarah. It also probably means that he has been doing this for some days, maybe even weeks. Verse 67 indicates several clues to this possibility. Now, suddenly, on this one evening, he sees camels coming in the distance on the horizon.

24:64-65

Their culture demands than an inferior, when riding, immediately dismount from their camel and bow before their superior. Rebekah had asked the servant who the man was that was walking across the field to meet them and he had told her that he was his master. We know that Isaac clearly saw that there were more than 10 camels coming back, so he probably assumed that the servant had been successful in obtaining a Bride for him; so he was walking toward the Caravan! So she had immediately taken a veil and concealed herself with it, then she dismounted from her camel when they drew near to Isaac and bowed to the ground before the servant’s master, which, we know is Isaac. Rebekah knew her place, and never tried to put herself in a higher position, but as a servant, she humbled herself before her master. The Bride is never superior to the Groom.

24:66

The servant now tells Isaac everything that has taken place. So he tells Isaac all about his prayers to the Lord God; the trials and tribulations of obtaining the Bride; all about the Bride’s character traits: her moral purity and holiness, her faithfulness, generosity, truthfulness, willing attitude and action of working hard and long, keeping her word and most of all her willingness to obey God’s direction without question or delay. Quite a list of Christ like character traits, wouldn’t you say? How do you score on all of these?

24:67

Once Isaac takes Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, he has now agreed to accept her as his Bride. He is no doubt delighted to see her beauty once her veil is removed. He takes Rebekah and she becomes his beloved Bride and wife, and he loves her dearly. We are then told that Isaac is comforted after his mother’s death. So we know that he was grieving the loss of his mother for some time after her death. Perhaps the fact that he chose to keep his mother’s tent as his own home, gives us a clue as to how close he was to Sarah. Yet, his new Bride now becomes his focus. His love for Rebekah is no doubt real and true, and she obviously loves him.

God always knows what is the very best for his children. Sometimes we fail to obtain God’s very best for us because we don’t believe Him. We casually say, “Oh, I believe in God; and yes, I believe in Jesus”. This is an area we all need to pray about and seek to Believe in Faith and Truth. Now think it through very carefully; IF you truly believe God, you WILL OBEY HIM. The only reason for not obeying is because you do not believe God. So, when you say you BELIEVE IN JESUS, that would mean that you OBEY Him in ALL areas of your life ALL THE TIME. When God says those who BELIEVE in His Son are saved, that Belief must be true and honest.

Jesus tells us in John 14:15 “If you really love Me, you will keep and obey My commands.” and in John 14:21 “The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who really loves Me; and whoever really loves Me will be loved by My Father and I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him, (let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him).

If you truly want a deeper, real, honest and personal relationship with your Lord, God and Savior, you may want to memorize these scriptures and pray them into your life.

God tells us this is the way to truly know Him with all your heart, mind and soul:
Psalm 119:10-11 “With my whole heart I have sought You, Oh let me not wander from Your commandments, Your Word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You.” How do we ‘not sin’? By obedience to God!