Genesis · chapter 24 of 50
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Genesis 24 tells how Abraham, now old, makes his servant swear not to take a wife for Isaac from the Canaanites but from his own relatives. The servant travels to Mesopotamia, prays at a well, and Rebekah, a granddaughter of Nahor, answers the sign he asked for. Her family recognizes that it comes from the Lord, Rebekah agrees to leave, and when she arrives, Isaac takes her as his wife and loves her.
Genesis 24 is the longest chapter in Genesis and one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible. After Sarah's death, Abraham wants to ensure that the promise continues into the next generation, and he sends his servant to find a wife for Isaac. The account shows how God guides those who pray and trust, and how he cares about the details of everyday life.
Abraham is now old and the Lord has blessed him in everything. He makes his oldest servant swear that he will not take for Isaac a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites, but will go to his country and his kindred. If the woman is not willing to come, the servant will be free from the oath, but he must not take Isaac back there.
The servant takes ten camels and gifts from his master and comes to the city of Nahor, in Mesopotamia, and stops by the well at the time when women go out to draw water. He prays to the Lord, the God of Abraham: that the young woman to whom he says let me drink, and who answers drink, and I will water your camels too, be the one God has appointed for Isaac. Before he finishes praying, Rebekah comes out, daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah and Nahor. She was very beautiful. She gives him a drink and draws water for all his camels. The man gives her a gold ring and two bracelets, and when he learns she is of Abraham's family, he bows and blesses the Lord.
Rebekah runs to tell her mother's household. Her brother Laban goes out to the well, brings the servant to the house, and the servant will not eat until he has told his business. He relates everything that happened, and Laban and Bethuel answer that this comes from the Lord and they cannot say bad or good. They tell him to take Rebekah. The servant gives gifts and the next day wants to leave. Her brother and mother ask that she stay ten days, but Rebekah answers that she will go. They bless her and she leaves with her nurse.
Isaac had gone out to meditate in the field toward evening when he lifts up his eyes and sees camels coming. Rebekah sees Isaac, gets down from the camel and covers herself with her veil. Isaac brings her into the tent of his mother Sarah, takes Rebekah as his wife and loves her, and is comforted after his mother's death.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The servant prays to the Lord, the God of Abraham, to grant him success and show steadfast love to his master. His prayer is specific and full of trust in God's faithfulness to Abraham, and it springs from knowing he is part of a larger mission.
The servant blesses the Lord, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and faithfulness to his master, and acknowledges that the Lord led him on the way. He ends the scene of prayer with praise: he sees the hand of God in every detail.
Laban and Bethuel answer that this comes from the Lord and they cannot speak bad or good. The family recognizes that God directs history and, without further resistance, agrees that Rebekah become Isaac's wife.
They call Rebekah and ask whether she will go with this man, and she answers that she will go. Her short, decided reply shows a faith that, like Abraham's, leaves home and land for God's plan.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Not to take a wife for Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites, but from his own land and kindred. — Genesis 24:3-4
Answer: That the young woman he asked for a drink would answer that he could drink and she would water his camels too. — Genesis 24:12-14
Answer: The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, Abraham's brother, and of Milcah. — Genesis 24:15
Answer: She drew water for all his camels until they had finished drinking. — Genesis 24:19-20
Answer: That this came from the Lord and they could not say bad or good. — Genesis 24:50
Answer: That she would go. — Genesis 24:58
Genesis 24 shows a simple, specific prayer that God answers. The servant had no elaborate human plan: he prayed, observed and gave thanks. In a group you can ask how we seek God's guidance in important decisions, and how to recognize his answer with gratitude.
The account also presents Rebekah as a generous and brave woman. She worked diligently without expecting a reward and accepted a difficult calling. Ask what small acts of service may be opening doors you do not expect, and how to pray that God would guide the young people of the church in their decisions about marriage.
Genesis 24 ends with Isaac comforted by Rebekah, and with God's promise advancing to the next generation. In Genesis 25 Abraham dies, and the story continues with the sons of Isaac and Rebekah.
Abraham wanted to preserve faith in the Lord within the family. The Canaanites worshiped other gods, and marrying them risked turning Isaac's heart away. The text does not condemn the Canaanites as people, but it shows the importance of forming a family that follows the God of the promise.
The text tells what happened without presenting it as a general rule. The servant asked for a sign according to the character he was looking for, not a whim, and God answered. Many Christians prefer to seek God's guidance above all through prayer, the Bible and the counsel of other believers, though the account shows that God can guide in concrete ways.
The text does not give his name; it says only that he was the oldest servant of his house, who managed all he had. Some identify him with Eliezer, mentioned in Genesis 15:2, but the Bible does not state it here.