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This chapter starts with, “Now Abraham was old, well-advanced in years….” Abraham was 137 years old when Sarah died, while Yitzkhak (Isaac) was 37 years old. This chapter occurs a few years later.
Abraham knew that Yitzkhak needed a wife, but he didn’t want a daughter-in-law from the women of the Canaanites (Gen. 24:3).
He called his oldest, most trustworthy servant and made him take a vow to find Yitzkhak a wife. The Bible tells us this vow was invoked in an unusual manner:
“Put your hand under my thigh that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of Heaven and earth….” (Gen. 24:3)
This is basically the area we call the outer thigh, where one carries a sword. Some try to make it seem more intimate than that but that is conjecture outside of scripture.
Abraham told the servant exactly where to go to find this wife, from among the women of his clan and home tribe in Aram. The Canaanites were not loyal to the Creator of Heaven and Earth but Abraham’s family were and that is why Abraham did not want a daughter-in-law from the women of the Canaanites.
We also find here that Abraham had told the servant not to dare take Yitzkhak to Aram to find a wife for himself. Yitzkhak was not allowed to leave the Promised Land ever, regardless of what calamity he might experience in life. Abraham was allowed to travel to Egypt but Yitzkhak was not.
This servant carried out Abraham’s command to the letter and was a very loyal man. Abraham’s servants were not gangsters or drifters. They knew who God was how powerful God was. The flood had occurred only 500 years before this time, it was not ancient history as it is for us.
The servant gathered up “a tithe” of Abraham’s camels — עֶשֶׂר ‘aseer (Strong’s H6235), which means ten — to take with him to Aram. He would have taken an entourage of servants with him on this trip. He did not go by himself.
When he arrives in Aram, he meets a young woman named Rivkah. He initially had no idea who she was or where she came from. Her name in Hebrew — רִבְקָה Rivkah (Strong’s H7259) — means fettered or bound.
When the servant first met Rivkah, she volunteered to draw water for Abraham’s servants and his camels as well. The servant gave her a gold ring and some gold bracelets.
I was curious about what these items were really worth in today’s money, which was very tough to do, since the gold that the servant gave Rivkah was measured in weight not in monetary value. The Bible says this gold was a “tithe weight of gold.” These were a gift to her regardless of whether she accepted the later engagement proposal or not. They were also symbolic of her name.
God already had a wife in mind for Yitzkhak. Although the servant did not know who she was or whether she would respond to the call, God knew who He had chosen, and Abraham had faith that God would send His angel ahead of the servant. Abraham had faith that the servant would not return empty-handed. He specifically told the servant, “you will take a wife for my son from there.” God called Abraham a prophet, and God told Abraham who He had chosen for Yitzkhak’s wife.
Once Rivkah accepted the marriage proposal, the servant immediately took her back to his home. We are told in Gen. 24:62 that Rivkah met with Yitzkhak at a place called Beer-lahai-roi in the Negev. This is the well where Hagar spoke with the Lord. Yitzkhak was living in Ishmael’s land at this time.
Shortly after she arrived, the servant told Yitzkhak the entire story of his journey to and from Aram. Yitzkhak accepted Rivkah and they were married very soon after her arrival.
Reader: Jeff. Summary: Tammy.
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