Saturday, November 27, 2010

(Genesis 24:62-66) Meet Your Wife

Isaac was living in the Negev, the desert which is south of Beersheba.  He was out meditating in the fields one evening when he noticed a caravan approaching.  (v.62-63)  Perhaps he was thinking about the wife who was soon to be coming into his life, or praying for God's hand to guide that matter.  At that moment, Rebekah also looked up and saw a man beginning to approach the travelers.  She dismounted "...and asked the servant, 'Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?'  'He is my master,' the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself." (Genesis 24:65 NIV)

I wonder what thoughts were going through Rebekah's mind at that moment.  She certainly had been through a lot already.  She had left her family and her homeland and had traveled for some time with the group of servants and her nurse and several maids (Genesis 24:59,61).  She was probably excited at the idea of meeting her future husband, yet also probably a bit apprehensive.  What would the man look like?  Was he kind?  These and a thousand other thoughts probably raced through her mind.  Perhaps she adjusted her veil in order to try to catch a glimpse of the man's face as he approached.

The servant told Isaac all that had happened on their journey. (v.66)  The text next informs us that "Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah.  So she became his wife and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death." (Genesis 24:67 NIV)  Now I am pretty sure that Isaac didn't just meet the girl and usher her into his mother's tent.  The account is just condensing matters a bit.  Considering Abraham's wealth, I think that they probably had quite a marriage feast first.  However, it would be logical to assume that Rebekah would take Sarah's tent as her own as she began her new life with Isaac.

It is good to see that Isaac loved Rebekah and that she was a comfort to him as well.   

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