Drink and I Shall Water Your Camels Also
The topic of this article is taken from Genesis 24. Our focus is on the words that Rebecca said to Abraham's servant when she encountered him at the watering hole. Let us to take some time to focus in on these words and her response because I believe that they are very significant to not only the marriage story of Abraham and Rebecca but also to the biblical principal of marriage itself.
Rebecca's mindset attitude and response communicates volumes. You must understand that this is a young virgin woman unmarried going out to carry out her daily chores. She encounters a strange group of men in a place where women typically gather. its clear that they are not locals from the city and are in a place that men don't normally visit. Their leader, a old man asked her for a drink of water.
Let us pause there for a moment. I often wonder what Rebecca must have been thinking. How uncomfortable she must have been in the situation. The servant would have been old we know from the book of Genesis that he would walked with Abraham for more than 40 years. I asked myself would I have been willing to give a strange person water? If it were me and I had a long list of things to do could I have paused to care for the needs of a stranger? Visualizing her position. In a time and place with all modern-day Motors and electricity surely her chores alone were expected to take most of the day to complete. Without air conditioning, the convenience of running water or many of the modern conveniences we have come to depend on surely this was a major task for a young girl to take on. The last logical thing for Rebecca to do would be to say yes to the strangers request.
Rebecca Agreed to not only draw water for the stranger but she volunteered to water his camels also. You must understand that camels drink a significant amount of water. It was no small feet to lift a bucket or a pail of water, multiple times to the point that 10 camels can drink to their full. This task requires a significant amount of manual labor that would have taken Rebecca sometime to complete. But I find surprising is that later on in Genesis 24 we learned that Abraham servant was traveling with men. These would have been the man that were with him to Guard and secure the valuables that would later become Rebecca's dowry. These would not be weak and feeble fellows, but men that were strong and built for wrestling with camels and lifting heavy loads.
These men could have easily have watered their own camels and drawn their own water. As a matter of fact it would have been the responsibility of these men to care for the camels and the needs of Abraham's servant on his journey. Yet this was Rebecca's test. She went up and Beyond what was expected of her. It was her willingness to be inconvenienced, to allow her plans to be interrupted. It was her servant heart and humble character that indicated to Abraham's servant that she was the woman God had sent.
Based on her words and her actions what do we learn about Rebecca? her response alone communicates volumes about the type of person she was, her character, her values and her virtue.
She's kind - upon hearing the request of the servant Rebecca's response was simple drink. Her response to the stranger tells us that she is a kind and caring person. She could have easily said no. She could have responded with the number of reasons why she could not assist him. the natural mind might have asked him why haven't the men with you already watered your camels and gotten you a drink?
She is serving - "Drink, And I shall water your camels also" shows she has the heart of a servant. she is OK with giving the man a drink. she went beyond the his request and volunteered to water his camels. The shows that she truly has a heart for serving the needs of others..
She's Brave - A young woman in these times would have been in great danger in the presence of strange men in her village. she did not know them or what they were capable of, their history or their intentions. they could have been harden criminals. but she give him and his camels a drink anyhow.
She is welcoming it's interesting how the type of person Rebecca was is completely opposite of the type of person the modern-day feminist says that women should be.
Verse 22 says When the camels had finished drinking. This means she didn't give up. she set out to water 10 camels and the strange men and she completed this task. she put the needs of others, strangers before her own and she completed what she had set out to accomplish.
Rebecca shows us in a few short verse the heart of the Biblical wife. she is showing us what Christ is requiring from his bride [ the church]. In John 21:17 Christ says Do you love me? then Feed my sheep. To love God is to be like Rebecca and be loving towards others. To allow ourselves to be inconvenienced in our marriages, our relationships and in ever area of our daily lives. no matter how routine or mundane a task might be we never know how God will use us to do his work in the lives of others or in our own lives.
In Matthew 16:24 Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Christ bride must not be focused about her own daily chores and her own agenda. Just as Rebecca was willing to have her plans interrupted and put the needs of the strangers above the needs of her own so must we who seek after Christ.
I can say much more about Rebecca's response. But will pause there for now and would like to hear your responses to this below.