adapted from the study, She, delighting in the examples of women of the Bible, volume 4/pp51-52
Today’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 24: 1-21
The day and time were different in the days of Abraham. Parents often, if not typically, chose not only who their child would marry, but purposefully arranged for them to marry within the same family line.1 This is where our journey through Rebekah’s story opens. Abraham, described as a “very old man” now, is making arrangements with his oldest servant, Eliezar, who was in charge of his household, to make arrangements for Isaac to marry a relative from their homeland2 and not a Canaanite woman.
Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.2 One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, ‘Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. 3 Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. 4 Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.’ Genesis 24:1-4
Eliezar has a few questions, but in the end, he promises to do as Abraham has requested. Abraham assures him that God will send an angel to help him. Scripture says that the servant went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled. He made the camels kneel beside a well just outside the town. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water. So he stops to pray a very specific prayer, saying:
O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,’ he prayed. ‘Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham. 13 See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water. 14 This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’ — let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.’ Genesis 24:12-14
Have you ever prayed for God to show you something in such a specific way? While our journey’s focus is on Rebekah and not Abraham or Eliezar, I can’t help but stop and focus just briefly on this prayer of Eliezar. It is a prayer that God has used through the years to teach me how to pray specifically. It is also a vivid reminder that God’s gift of prayer is an opportunity for us to talk to Him, not just thanking Him for things He has already done (though that is important), but casting our cares on Him, pouring out our hearts to Him, and yes, asking Him for things we need.
Specific prayers build a more personal relationship with God and enrich our prayer life with trust, confident boldness, and joy. ~Me, from the inside-out
Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. ~Genesis 24:15
Rebekah serves as an example that the LORD has a purpose appointed just for us💜
She, Volume 4, p52
Don’t you just love it? Before the servant had finished praying, a daughter from the tribe of Abraham was coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. Whether there were others there at the same time is not clear, but we do know that Rebekah is the one he saw and that she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up again. When she did, he ran to meet her, saying: “Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.”
Little did Rebekah know it, but with the water jug on her shoulder (most likely, like every other day), she was prepared for what God had planned for her today. Her life was about to change as God was answering the specific prayer of Abraham’s servant for the provision of a wife for Isaac and clear direction as to who that should be.
She was prepared for what God had planned for her.
She, Volume 4, p51
Tomorrow’s journey will reveal more details on God’s answer to Eliezar, the beauty and benefit of praying specifically, and Rebekah’s response to what Eliezar was seeking. Today, let’s rest in the beauty and comfort that come from knowing that God has a plan and a purpose for our lives, but also a desire to make His way known to us. May we learn from Eliezar to pray specifically and watch for God to answer.
The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.I will advise you and watch over you.
I am a follower of Christ, on mission for God, fueled by His Word and empowered by His Spirit. My life has been blessed but not perfect, crippled with mistakes but forever changed by His grace.
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Me From the Inside Out 