Genesis 24
God listens...
Previous post: Genesis 23
If you’ve been following along, you know that we’re only 24 chapters into the Bible and God has already established a pattern: many significant events in the Bible take place at water wells. I once heard a preacher say that anytime you see a well in the Bible, pay close attention to what God is trying to say there. So, I did that here. You’re welcome, preacher. This is the story of Isaac’s wife being found at a well.
Before we get to the well, it is worth noting that one of the first recorded prayers in the Bible is found in verse 12 of this chapter. In it, the servant asks for a sign from God. Also worth noting: here are a few other examples of prayers where people asked for God to give them a sign (or God told someone to ask for a sign): Judges 6:17, Isaiah 38:22, Isaiah 7:11. In this case in Genesis 24, the servant’s prayer is met with an immediate answer. I love those prayers by the way. And, I’ve absolutely had that happen—both in trivial matters and not-so-trivial ones. Please, God, let me find my keys. Boom. Keys. Please, God, give me the opportunity to talk to my friend about x situation that just happened. Boom. Phone call from friend.
For me, the message here is to be real with God. If you’re having doubts, express them. You can’t hide them from God anyway, so you might as well be real about it.
Now, we’re at the well.
Isaac’s servant has prayed for a sign: specifically to make the wife-hunting expedition easier on him.
“May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac.” Genesis 24:14, NIV
And, that’s exactly what Rebekah says and does. As you may or may not be aware, this was no small ask. First, according to Google, camels drink up to 20 gallons at a time. Verse 10 tells us that Isaac’s servant had 10 camels with him. Simple math: Rebekah was committing to drawing as many as 200 gallons of water out of a well. And, we know she was only carrying one jar. That’s an absurd amount of labor.
19 After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. 21 Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.
22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. 23 Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” Genesis 24:19-23, NIV
Side note, if you’ve ever drawn even one bucket of water out of an old well via an old rope, you know that this is no small task. I had the privilege of doing exactly that on one of our trips to Kenya. There’s a bit of a technique to drawing water out of well; and, even with the proper technique, it wore me out. But, I digress. This poor girl makes who knows how many trips to the well and back. Did Isaac’s servant make small talk or offer to help or encourage her with “thank you”s? No, verse 21 tells us that he watches her every move in silence like a creeper, not helping at all…or offering to help at all.
All that said, what’s my takeaway from Genesis 24?
First, we have yet another example of God showing up in the midst of action. I’ll admit that I don’t always have a bias toward action. My wife has more of a ready, fire, aim mentality whereas I’m more ready, aim, aim, aim, aim, aim, second guess, aim, aim, maybe fire if my spreadsheet tells me my chances of success are statistically worthwhile. Much of the time in the Bible when God encounters people, God does so as they’re working or doing something. On a journey. On the threshing floor. Working at their job. Drawing water from a well. Serving people. Etc. Personally, this was a reminder to be praying as I’m acting…and acting while praying.
Second, let’s go back to the first recorded prayer in the Bible. Theologically speaking, it’s fascinating to me that a human can throw up a request for a specific sign and God honor that request. Call me crazy, but I believe that to be true still.
I’ve had the opportunity to speak to a few groups about my son’s very rare medical condition and how God is working in the midst of it. One question I’ve asked to the groups is this:
Have you ever misplaced your keys or wallet or document or something and thrown a quick prayer up to God, “Please help me find my keys or phone or whatever?” And then, miraculously, you find whatever item? And then, pretty quickly thereafter, you discount it as luck or “well, of course it was in the last place I looked…” or something? When I asked for a show of hands, do you know how many hands went up? Almost every single one.
I don’t know where you’re at in this whole “Where do I fit in the cosmos? … Is there a higher power? … How does this all work?” thing; but, here’s where I’m at: I believe there is a very real God who packed everything we need to know about our purpose here into the written scriptures of the Bible and then personified those words in the form of Jesus Christ. And, I believe that same creator God still interacts with us little humans today in mysterious ways—from helping us find lost keys to bringing people back from the dead to finding a wife for a guy at a well. And, for some mysterious reason, the same God of the universe places a high value on humans conversing with him.
So, that’s my takeaway from Genesis 24: God listens. I just need to remember to start the conversation more often.
This week’s AI rap summary:
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™