“AND THEY did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night.” The faithful servant had refused to eat until his story was told. Then, following the joy of hearing a favorable reply to his request that Rebekah should be the wife of his master’s son, he refreshed himself with food and drink and a night of rest. This is a lovely illustration of the faithfulness of the Holy Spirit who will ever persist in His object of drawing the heart to Christ and will not rest until this has been accomplished.
Yet, in the morning, he presented a further test to this family, which had not been anticipated by them and for which they were not fully prepared. “And they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.” The brother and mother, who were agreeable to Rebekah becoming the bride of the wonderful man of whom they had heard, were not equal to releasing their loved one so quickly, and so they replied: “Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.” v. 55. Some translations read: “Let the damsel abide with us a full year, or ten months.” It is not difficult to understand their natural reluctance to sending her away so abruptly, but actually they were thinking only of themselves and not of her welfare, were they not?
Surely there are lessons here for consideration. First of all, the well-meaning and natural affection of her family presented a real difficulty in the matter of her fully responding to the servant’s urging. They had taken the first step in requesting a delay and Rebekah would know that if she were to please them she also should agree to wait “a few days.” Their influence on her would have to be taken into consideration when she must answer for herself.
Every true Christian father and mother must meet a test similar in many ways to what is pictured here and frequently a brother or sister is involved as well. How very much parents need prayerful exercise to know whether their desire for their child is providing encouragement in the young years of Christian faith, or if, in their programming, there is harm done to the spiritual good of that much-loved child! There is real danger in our present day when parents are over-anxious about a child’s progress in this world — education, a career, or some other objective on which the parents have set their heart—and arrange that these things have first place in the daughter’s or son’s life. Such a program will invariably be a real barrier to the young one in responding fully to the Lord’s claims and his spiritual happiness is thereby sacrificed while these things are achieved. The enemy of young (and old) believers knows only too well that such a pattern usually results in the world gaining such a hold that the hoped-for spiritual growth in later years is never experienced at all, to the sorrow of all concerned.
May God grant exercise to Christian parents, when giving counsel to their children, to ever put the claims of the Lord before all else. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matt. 6:3333But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33).
ML-03/27/1966