Genesis 24:15 "And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder."
By the time of this passage, Sarah had died and Abraham was of a great age. He
made his servant promise to go find a wife for Isaac. He didn't want Isaac to
go back into the land where idolatry was predominant; rather, he was to bring
the wife to Isaac. The servant has now made his way back to the land where
Abraham's kinsfolk lived. He had brought camels and many goods from Abraham
that would be used as the dowry paid for Isaac's wife. He went to the well in
that town and there he began to pray as he waited for God to give the answer.
He was very specific in his prayer. He asked God to send the very one
that was to be the wife taken back to Isaac. His prayer was specific in that he
asked for God's choice to be the one who would not only give him drink, but
also draw water for all his camels to drink. There are times when we pray
that we are made to wait for the answer. We must remember God's timing is
always perfect and He is always right on time. But notice the wording of
today's verse of Scripture: "And it came to pass, before he had done
speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out..." God made certain that
the servant understood Rebekah was indeed His choice to be Isaac's wife. Our
first thought is to be reminded that we can be very specific when we pray, but
we must always seek the answer to be that which God wills for our life.
Next, we look at Rebekah. She was coming to the well and she was prepared for
whatever was to happen. Yes, she came to draw water for the family, but the
point I want to see is that "her pitcher was upon her shoulder." We
cannot know her frame of mind, but I wonder if she had included in her prayer
life a desire for the proper husband. Had she asked God to bring the right man
into her life to become her husband? I tend to think that she did. She had her
pitcher on her shoulder in preparation to serve. But in all this - as we think
about the servant's prayer and Rebekah's readiness, I want us to understand God
was working behind the scene to bring it all to pass. Yes, I love those words
that begin today's verse: "And it came to pass..." God moved
Abraham to send his servant to that place. God moved the servant to pray the
very specific prayer. And God moved Rebekah to come to the well at that precise
moment with a heart that was ready and her pitcher on her shoulder in order to
serve. Have you ever stopped to think about how many times, we call an
instance to be a coincidence, when in reality God was actually placing things
for us to enjoy His great blessing? I pray that today, I will stop to
think upon such matters in my life.