Genesis 24:10–21 (ESV) —
10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor. 11 And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water. 12 And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”
15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” 18 She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. 21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.
NOTE: Is this a fleece, a testing of God? I would say no, because God has not commanded the servant to do anything, and the request is not an attempt to prove God's power. No, this is a very specific prayer that the servant makes. It is of course possible that because of the emphasis on hospitality, most women would have done the task, although I'm not sure. A camel can drink 25 gallons and there were ten. More likely, most would avoid the extra work. But the servant's prayer may be specifically aimed at finding a bride who is well-instructed in hospitality. Without getting too technical or obtuse, the lesson is that the servant prayed a very specific prayer and God answered it. I would add that God answered it miraculously because the young women turns out to be related to Abraham's family, most likely sharing beliefs in a single God of the universe.
PONDER:
- How specific are my prayers?
- Do I pray generally or in such a way that it would be hard to know if God had answered?
PRAYER: Father, I do need to pray more specifically. There are general things, but a stronger faith would pray specifically. Also, a "no" is clear in a specific prayer than in a general prayer.
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