The Lord has led Abraham's servant Eliezer to a young woman related to Abraham's brother Nahor. The Lord performed the sign Eliezer requested so that he would know this is the right bride for Isaac. Now he has been invited by Rebekah to lodge at her family's house tonight.
"The young woman ran and told her mother's household about these things. Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. 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." (Genesis 24:28-30) Rebekah runs to the house, where her mother is probably getting ready to prepare the evening meal, and she tells her family to get a room ready for the visitor and to get ready to house his camels in the barn. Her brother Laban is a shrewd man. As soon as he sees the jewelry Eliezer has given her in return for her kindness, he can't show hospitality fast enough to their visitor. If this stranger is willing to bestow such largess on Rebekah for simply providing water, what might he pay the family in return for a good meal and a night's lodging?
When Laban spots Eliezer still standing by the well, he starts making a big fuss over him. "'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.'" (Genesis 24:31) Rebekah's father, Bethuel, is still alive. But he lets his son Laban take the lead in the discussions with Abraham's servant. We will see Laban again later on the Bible and we will learn that he is not only shrewd where money is concerned but downright greedy. His word can't be trusted because he's always looking out only for himself. It may be that Bethuel allows him to do most of the talking because he's the smoothest talking man in the family. When it comes to making lucrative deals, he's the best man for the job.
"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." (Genesis 24:32) The Bible has not previously mentioned the servants who accompany Eliezer but we wouldn't expect a man to make such a journey alone with ten camels loaded with valuable goods. The Bible doesn't say much about them because they are not relevant to the story.
"Then food was set before him, but he said, 'I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.'" (Genesis 24:33a) He's here on business and he wants to get on with it. He owes it to his master to get to the point and get this matter settled as quickly as possible so he can return with a bride for Isaac. He can't relax until he explains why he's here.
"'Then tell us,' Laban said. So he said, 'I am Abraham's servant. 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. My master's wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. 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, but go to my father's family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.'" (Genesis 24:33b-38) Eliezer lets the family know that Isaac is an eligible bachelor, being the sole heir of his extremely wealthy father. If Rebekah's family wants her to make a good match, they can't find a better match for her than the son of Abraham. He's their kinsman, he serves the God of his father Abraham, and he's able to provide amply for Rebekah all the days of her life. If this news isn't enough to persuade them, proving to them that this marriage is God's will ought to do it, so he launches into the story of how he was led to Rebekah by the Lord.
"Then I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not come with me?' 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. 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.' 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. 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,' 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.'" (Genesis 24:39-44) We know this story already but the ability to tell a detailed and suspenseful story was a highly valued talent in Eliezer's time. People didn't have televisions or radios or books or the internet. Telling or listening to interesting stories was an enjoyable way to pass time in those days. If I were Moses, when I was writing Chapter 24 I think I'd have been tempted to just say, "Eliezer told them everything that had happened." but Moses tells the events of Chapter 24 exactly as they played out, leaving nothing out about Eliezer's tale at the kitchen table.
"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.' 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. I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'I am 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, and I bowed down and worshiped 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. 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." (Genesis 45-49) Eliezer knows Rebekah is the woman the Lord has chosen for Isaac. But Rebekah's family has to agree to give her hand in marriage. Rebekah herself will have to agree to go to a country she's never seen to be the wife of a man she's never met. The Lord's will in this matter is clear, but human beings have been given the ability to choose for themselves and they don't always choose what God has chosen. He's told them everything they need to know in order to make the right choice. Now he just has to wait for their reply.
On this suspenseful note, we must close our study for today since Chapter 24 is quite long. But I wanted to ask: Is there news you're waiting for right now? My husband and I are waiting for some news right ourselves. We don't yet know what the Lord's will is in this matter. But Eliezer shows us how to behave while we are waiting. We can follow his example by doing our best and then praying to the Lord, "If You will, please grant success." Sometimes the thing we want is the Lord's will for us, so He says yes. Other times we have to accept an answer of no. Difficult as it may be, there are times when we will have to accept that a particular thing is not the Lord's will, but it's easier to accept this when we remind ourselves that our loving Father wants only the best for us. If He says no, there's a good reason for it.
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