Rebekah at the Well

Genesis 24The servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. Genesis 24:1718
When Isaac was old enough to marry, Abraham wanted his son to have a wife who was worthy to receive the blessings of the covenant:
"And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, ...
"... Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, ...
"But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac" (Genesis 24:24).
In obedience to Abraham's command, the servant took 10 camels laden with treasures and traveled to the city of Nahor, which was named after Abraham's brother. As the servant came to the city, he prayed:
"O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.
"Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:
"And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac" (Genesis 24:1214).
Before the servant "had done speaking," Rebekah came to the well "with her pitcher upon her shoulder" (Genesis 24:15). When the servant asked for water, Rebekah replied: "Drink, my lord: and she hasted, ... and gave him drink.
"And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking" (Genesis 24:1819).
After Rebekah had finished drawing water for all the camels, the servant asked her, "Whose daughter art thou?" When Rebekah told him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor," the servant "bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord" (Genesis 24:2324, Genesis 24:26). The servant knew that "the Lord God ... had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's [grand]daughter unto his son" (Genesis 24:48).
Rebekah took the servant to her home, where he immediately stated his errand. Her father and her brother, Laban, knowing that "the thing proceedeth from the Lord," agreed to the marriage. "And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go" (Genesis 24:50, Genesis 24:58).
Before she left her home, her father and brother "blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions" (Genesis 24:60).
As the servant and Rebekah were nearing the end of their journey, "Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. ... And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her" (Genesis 24:64, Genesis 24:67).
Summary
Abraham wanted his son Isaac to marry a woman who would be worthy to receive the blessings that the Lord had promised to Abraham and his children. He asked his servant to go back to Abraham's land of birth and find a worthy wife for Isaac. The servant prayed that the Lord would show him which woman Isaac should have for a wife by having the woman give him a drink of water and offer to draw water from the well for his animals. As he waited at the well, a beautiful young woman named Rebekah offered to get water for him and his animals to drink. The servant then knew this was the woman the Lord wanted him to take back to be Isaac's wife. Rebekah agreed to become Isaac's wife, and she and Isaac were married.
Artist, Michael Deas
© 1997 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA

Ponder: Some people think women get short changed in the scriptures and in the church. Not so! (In my humble opinion.) One of the themes/principles that seems to be re-occuring for the women is...be patient...wait with faith. Women want to do it all and we want to do it all right now and we want to do it perfectly! Is that Heavenly Father's plan for us? When we try to live that way joy - which we are commanded to have - tends to get lost. Sarah (Abraham's wife, Isaac's mother) had to wait until she was old to have a child. Rebekah was married (to Isaac) for at least 20 yrs. before she had Esau and Jacob.

Several years ago I played the part of Rebekah in a Relief Society meeting. Of course the story of Rebekah is centered around the marriage covenant. I did not have a covenant marriage and wanted it very much. During my portrayal the Holy Ghost let me know that when I did get the covenant marriage the length of time would mean nothing. After 27 years of civil marriage we were finally sealed in the Temple....the Spirit was right!

Assignment: Practice patience! Do the right things for the right reasons and let Heavenly Father direct your life on His time! Learn more about these people by reading about them in the Bible Dictionary.