Rebekah, a Chosen Woman

Today I read Genesis 24 where Abraham's servant is sent to find Isaac a wife. I have always been fascinated by this story. It seems to me that Rebekah is a truly remarkable woman. Everything I have ever heard or read on the subject tells me that camels drink a LOT. And when she meets the servant of Abraham, she volunteers to give his camels water so they can drink their fill. Depending on the size of her pitcher that could easily have been 10 - 20 trips down to the well just to give them their fill of water. To volunteer to do that without even being asked is the sign of a truly humble person who loves to serve.

I personally am glad that I got to pick my own wife but it is interesting that for so many thousands of years many, if not all, of the cultures survived on arranged marriages. I've wondered what an arranged marriage would feel like. To not even meet the person until you are marrying them. That would be extremely strange. Now, I am a firm believer that you can learn to love anyone because love is a matter of choice and service. As long as you are willing to serve the person, you will grow to love them. It's a byproduct that can't be avoided. It would be interesting to find out what percentage of arranged marriages eventually end up loving each other. Perhaps that is also the reason back in the days when such things happened, that so many spouses had extramarital affairs. Who knows.

Rebekah, I think, must have been very in tune with the Spirit of God. I can't really think of another reason that she agrees so readily to do all the things in this chapter. Surely the Lord whispered to her to offer to draw water for the man's camels also. It must have been the Lord who helped her agree so readily to go down to Abraham, a man she had never even met but perhaps had heard of before, to be the wife of his son. It's times like this that I wish the scriptures included more information on the women. I have been told that it was the culture of the Hebrews and why they did not talk about women very often in their writings as a form of protection. But it would have been nice if someone had written down this story from Rebekah's standpoint. Maybe we will know it someday.

But this is a very good model for our young women to follow. She was a chosen vessel of the Lord because she kept herself clean, she is described as a virgin. She was willing to serve a complete stranger just to be kind. On the whole though, I am very impressed with the young women of the church, at least down here in Alabama. They are so different from the women of the world and it warms my heart to see and hear their testimonies and that they truly love the Lord and the Gospel. If only all women were that way. What a world that would be! Because a righteous woman has SO much influence over men. That would be paradise. Until tomorrow.