Gen. 24:17-2217And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. 18And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. 19And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. 20And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. 21And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. 22And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; (Genesis 24:17‑22)
“AND THE servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also.” vv. 17-19.
God, before whom Eliezer had put the whole matter, now unfolded bore his eyes His choice of a bride for Isaac. In his amazement, the servant “wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.” v. 21. Then, assured of God’s guidance, he presented her with tokens of his master—jewels and bracelets of gold. He did not draw attention to himself, but presented to Rebekah those things that spoke of his master’s glory. Thus the Spirit of God does “not speak of Himself,” but takes the things of God and delights the hearts of His own with them. It was surely Rebekah’s time to be amazed. Coming out to draw water, as was her custom day after day, she must have been astounded to find herself the object of such gracious attention!
As the story unfolds, how delightful it becomes; and the more so as in it we see a type of God’s divine grace seeking out a companion for His Son. His eternal counsels have ever had that companion in view, but the object of His love could know nothing of the divine plan until His love revealed itself. “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us.” 1 John 4:9, 109In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9‑10).
Rebekah is an example of all who through faith in a crucified and risen Saviour, are brought into the good of God’s love. They acquire a divine relationship with Him and will soon be displayed in glory as the bride of His Son. While Abraham and his servant were putting the grand program into action, and as finally the servant crossed the desert to reach her, she was entirely ignorant of the purposes that were to involve her so richly. So too God had His foreknowledge of and purposes of love for the Church, before ever those counsels were revealed to it.
Another lesson is observed here. It was at “the well of water” that Rebekah was first introduced to that which soon captivated her heart. Christ is the “well of water” to every thirsty soul who comes to Him. To another, as He sat at Sychar’s well, He said: “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:1414But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14). The servant in committing his mission to God had declared: “Behold, I stand here by the well of water.” It was here only that Rebekah could receive the blessing that he wished to reveal to her. She would not have found that source of grace and love elsewhere. A soul seeking peace must come to Christ, the true Living Water before the Holy Spirit can delight his heart in the glories of both the Father and the Son.
ML-03/06/1966