Slices
Prepare
Calmly settle yourself and experience the ever-present God with you.
Bible passage
29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. 30 As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. 31 ‘Come, you who are blessed by the Lord,’ he said. ‘Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.’
32 So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. 33 Then food was set before him, but he said, ‘I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.’
‘Then tell us,’ Laban said.
34 So he said, ‘I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. 37 And my master made me swear an oath, and said, “You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, 38 but go to my father’s family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.”
39 ‘Then I asked my master, “What if the woman will not come back with me?”
40 ‘He replied, “The Lord, before whom I have walked faithfully, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family. 41 You will be released from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they refuse to give her to you – then you will be released from my oath.’
42 ‘When I came to the spring today, I said, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. 43 See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, ‘Please let me drink a little water from your jar,’ 44 and if she says to me, ‘Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,’ let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.”
45 ‘Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, “Please give me a drink.”
46 ‘She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, “Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.” So I drank, and she watered the camels also.
47 ‘I asked her, “Whose daughter are you?”
‘She said, “The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.”
‘Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, 48 and I bowed down and worshipped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.’
50 Laban and Bethuel answered, ‘This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.’
52 When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 53 Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewellery and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.
When they got up the next morning, he said, ‘Send me on my way to my master.’
55 But her brother and her mother replied, ‘Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you may go.’
56 But he said to them, ‘Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.’
57 Then they said, ‘Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.’ 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, ‘Will you go with this man?’
‘I will go,’ she said.
59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
‘Our sister, may you increase
to thousands upon thousands;
may your offspring possess
the cities of their enemies.’
61 Then Rebekah and her attendants got ready and mounted the camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
62 Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. 63 He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. 64 Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 65 and asked the servant, ‘Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?’
‘He is my master,’ the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.
66 Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. 67 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.
Explore
The events in this story unfold so quickly, from Rebekah’s running back to her home (v 28), to Laban’s hurrying to the well (v 29), to his immediate invitation to the servant (vs 30,31) (he has sniffed prosperity in the air), to the servant’s determination to state his purpose (v 33), to Laban and Bethuel’s immediate consent (v 50) and the servant’s insistence on speedy departure (v 56).
‘What’s the rush?’ we might ask. Fear of Abraham’s death or that Rebekah might change her mind? A suspicion that Laban might have some delaying tactics (which he demonstrated later on in life – 29:27), or the servant’s determination to fulfil his mission? Or could it simply be that the servant recognises that the Lord has been leading him, so he wants to be off (vs 27,48,56)? From the start he and his master hoped for God’s leading.
It sounds as if the servant had been reflecting on his experience. Some Christians today practise the Examen, a spiritual exercise which involves reflecting on what has made them most grateful and also least grateful to God. Such reflection can enable us to put out our own God-awareness antennae, expecting to discern the presence and leading of God in our lives.
Respond
So, what has made you most grateful as well as least grateful to God over the last day, week and month? Don’t rush! Take your time.
Deeper Bible study
Worship God, who knows the end from the beginning and works all things for the good of those love him and have been called according to his purpose.1
How do you make important decisions? Perhaps you write a list of pros and cons; perhaps you imagine yourself dwelling in the various options before you and see which feels right. Or perhaps you talk the matter through with trusted friends. Above all, Christians have a trusted friend whose opinion they can always seek: God himself. As the old hymn advises: ‘Are you weak and heavy-laden? Take it to the Lord in prayer.’2 God’s guidance may not be written on the wall for us to see, but the more we grow towards him and trust him, the better we will grasp his will for us.
Several steps can be observed as Abraham’s servant seeks to discern the mind of God. He discovers that Rebekah and her household are Abraham’s relatives (v 27), Rebekah being Abraham’s great-niece (God’s providence). The servant is in need of accommodation and a place for his camels, and Laban provides food and lodging (provision has been made for them, vs 30–33). The servant tells the story and honours the purposes of God within it (vs 35,40,42). Laban and Bethuel both perceive the hand of God in all that is happening (v 50). The others in the story honour Rebekah, and she gives her permission for the plan to go ahead in accordance with God’s will: she is not coerced (vs 55,58). Finally, Isaac marries Rebekah and they love one another: he is missing his beloved mother Sarah, while Rebekah has to make her home in a new place: they meet one another’s needs in love and experience peace (v 67).
The servant’s testimony of God’s leading and guiding may encourage you. How has God led you in the past? How can you give God the honour when you tell the story?
Father, please make known your will to me, my church leaders and national and world leaders as they make important decisions.
1 Rom 8:28 2 Joseph Scriven, 1819–1886, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ruth 1,2; Proverbs 15,16
Pray for Scripture Union
Making good connections and partnerships with churches is a huge part of our ministry. Pray for North regional team leader Rob Steward as he seeks to find creative ways to grow these relationships across the north.
