Stories From The Hebrew Bible
STORY OF A JOURNEY TO FIND A WIFE
Stories From The Hebrew Bible
STORY OF A JOURNEY TO FIND A WIFE
After the death of Sarah, Isaac, her son, was lonely; and as he was now old enough to marry, Abraham sought a wife for him; for at that time the parents always chose the wives for their sons, and husbands for their daughters. Abraham did not wish Isaac to marry any woman of the people in the land where he was living, for they were all worshippers of idols, and would not teach their children the ways of the Lord.
Do you remember story five, titled “The Story of a Long Journey”? Abraham made his long journey to the land of Canaan, where he stayed for a time at a place called Haran, in Mesopotamia, between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates, far to the northeast of Canaan. When Abraham left Haran to go to Canaan his brother Nahor and his family stayed in Haran. They worshiped the Lord, as Abraham and his family did; and Abraham thought that it would be well to find among them a wife for his son Isaac.
Since Abraham could not leave his own land of Canaan and go to Haran in Mesopotamia to find a wife for his son Isaac, he called for his chief or eldest servant. This was a man Abraham trusted; a man who cared for all Abraham’s flocks and cattle, and who ruled over his other servants. So Abraham sent his chief servant to Haran to find a wife for his son Isaac.
When Abraham’s servant arrived at the walls of the city of Nahor it was evening, the time when women would go out and draw water. He prayed to God, and said:
Let it be that the young woman to whom I say, “Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,” and she says, “Drink, and I will give your camels a drink” – let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.
And before he finished praying, a beautiful young woman came to the well to draw water. As she drew the water and filled her jar, the servant ran to her, and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”
And she said, “Drink, my lord,” and she held her jar for him to drink. And then she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”
And she emptied her jar into the trough by the well and drew more water, until she had given drink to all the camels.
And the servant of Abraham looked at her and wondered whether she might be the right woman for Isaac to marry. And he said to her, “Will you tell me whose daughter you are?” And do you suppose that I could find a place to stay at your father’s house?” He gave her a gold ring and two bracelets for her wrists. And the beautiful young woman, whose name was Rebekah, said: “My father is Bethuel, who is the son of Nahor. We have room for you, and your camels will have a place and food.”
Then the man bowed his head and thanked God, for he saw that his prayer was answered. And Rebekah ran home and told her family about the stranger, and showed them the presents that he had given to her. Rebekah’s brother Laban went out to Abraham’s servant and brought him into the house, and took care of his men and camels. And provided water so they could wash their feet, for that was the custom of the land, where people did not wear shoes, but sandals: and food was offered. When the food was set before Abraham’s chief servant, he said: “I will not eat until I have told you why I’m here.” Then he told them he was the servant of Abraham, and shared the whole story.
The trusted servant told them about Abraham’s riches; and how Abraham had sent him to Haran to find a wife for Isaac, his son; and how he had met Rebekah, and how he had prayed and God had answered his prayer; and then he asked that they would give him Rebekah to be taken home to be married to Isaac.
When the servant finished telling the reason for his journey, Laban, Rebekah’s brother, and Bethuel, her father, said, “This comes from the Lord; it is His will; and it is not for us to oppose it. Here is Rebekah; take her, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, for the Lord has shown it to be His will.”
Then Abraham’s servant gave rich presents to Rebekah and to her mother and her brother Laban. And that night they had a feast, with great joy. Next morning the servant said: “Now I must go home to my master.” But they said, “Oh, not so soon! Let Rebekah stay with us for a few days, ten days at least, before she goes away from her home.”
And Abraham’s servant said to them, “Do not stop me; since God has given me what I came for, I must go back to my master.”
And they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”
So the servant of Abraham went away and took with him Rebekah, with good wishes and blessings and prayers from all in her father’s house. And after a long journey, they came to the place where Abraham and Isaac were living. And when Isaac saw Rebekah, he loved her; and she became his wife, and they were faithful to each other as long as they both lived.
Afterward Abraham, great and good man that he was, died. He lived a hundred and seventy-five years. And Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham in the cave where Abraham had buried Sarah at Hebron. Then Isaac who was a peaceful, quiet man became the owner of all of his father Abraham’s riches.
