Heroes of Israel Part 3

And the servant ran to meet her, and said, "Give me to drink, I pray thee, 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. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, "I will draw for thy camels also, until they have done drinking." And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.

And the man looked stedfastly on her; holding his peace, to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. And it came to pa.s.s, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold, and said, "Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee. Is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?"

And she said unto him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor." She said moreover unto him, "We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in."

And the man bowed his head, and wors.h.i.+pped the Lord. And he said, "Blessed be the Lord, the G.o.d of my master Abraham, who hath not forsaken his mercy and his truth toward my master: as for me, the Lord hath led me in the way to the house of my master's brethren."

C. THE BETROTHAL OF ISAAC AND REBEKAH

And the damsel ran, and told her mother's house according to these words. And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the fountain. And it came to pa.s.s, when he saw the ring, and the bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, "Thus spake the man unto me;"

that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the fountain.

And he said, "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels."

And the man came into the house, and he ungirded the camels; and he gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the men's feet that were with him. And there was set meat before him to eat.

But he said, "I will not eat, until I have told mine errand."

And Laban said, "Speak on."

And he said, "I am Abraham's servant. And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and menservants and maidservants, and camels, and a.s.ses. And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. And my master made me swear, saying, 'Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: but thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son.' And I said unto my master, 'Peradventure the woman will not follow me.' And he said unto me, 'The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house: then shalt thou be clear from my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give her not to thee, thou shalt be clear from my oath.'

"And I came this day unto the fountain, and said, 'O Lord, the G.o.d of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: behold, I stand by the fountain of water; and let it come to pa.s.s, that the maiden which cometh forth to draw, to whom I shall say, Give me, I pray thee a little water of thy pitcher to drink; and she shall say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed for my master's son.' And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the fountain, and drew: and I said unto her, 'Let me drink, I pray thee.' And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also.' So I drank, and she made the camels drink also. And I asked her and said, 'Whose daughter art thou?' And she said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him.' And I put the ring upon her nose, and the bracelets upon her hands. And I bowed my head, and wors.h.i.+pped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the G.o.d of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left."

Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, "The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken."

And it came to pa.s.s, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the earth unto the Lord. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.

And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, "Send me away unto my master."

And her brother and her mother said, "Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go."

And he said unto them, "Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master."

And they said, "We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth."

And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, "Wilt thou go with this man?"

And she said, "I will go."

And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, "Our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them."

And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

D. THE MARRIAGE

And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, there were camels coming.

And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. And she said unto the servant, "What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us?"

And the servant said, "It is my master." And she took her veil, and covered herself.

And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

THE MEANING OF THE STORY

21. What promise had been made repeatedly to Abraham? But he had grown old and was still without a son. Yet the Lord repeated the promise and Abraham believed. At last to his great joy the son was born. It makes a man's life strong to believe that G.o.d will fulfil his promise. Faith and goodness are very near together (Gen. 15:6). A good boy believes his parents: surely he can believe G.o.d.

22 (--8A). In order to understand this story we must consider a strange and fearful custom of the old times. Read II Kings 3:26, 27, and note the awful sacrifice that a king, who was seeking help, made to his heathen G.o.d. The ancients felt that G.o.d ought to have the best that man has. They had not learned that he is loving and good, wis.h.i.+ng our best to be given to him in loving service and not killed in sacrifice.

23 (--8A). Abraham knew that it was the custom of his neighbors to show their loyalty to their G.o.ds by killing their oldest sons. He was most anxious to do what G.o.d would wish, so what would he naturally think that he ought to do? Is a man wicked if he does what he thinks is right? But if he is pure in his motive and is very anxious to know what is right, he will often come to the truth. This story shows how G.o.d led Abraham to know what he really wanted of him.

24 (--8). It is a very striking story. Picture the scenes: (1) The long journey: who went? (2) Abraham and Isaac alone: what did Isaac ask? What was Abraham's confidence in G.o.d? (3) The preparation for the sacrifice.

(4) The wonderful interference: what did this teach Abraham? What was the promise that was repeated?

25 (--8). Men have often used wrong methods, thinking to please G.o.d. What did the Puritans do to the witches? But the Puritans were good men, anxious to do right, and they soon learned that they had been wrong. It is not enough for us to be willing to do right. We must try hard to find out what is right.

26 (--9A). This section is a long one, but is full of interest and need not detain us for special study. It is the charming story of an old-time wooing. Parents often arranged the marriages of their children in those days as they do in many countries to-day. Abraham had a trusted servant who managed his business for him. What did he ask the servant to promise?

27 (--9B). Mesopotamia means "between the rivers." Locate it between the two rivers of Abraham's old country. Recall Abraham's journey (5, 6, --2) and trace the servant's journey.

28 (--9B). Tell the story of the meeting with Rebekah.

29 (--9C). Tell the story of the betrothal. Notice that the betrothal took place although Isaac was not there.

30 (--9D). Tell the story of the marriage.

WRITTEN REVIEW

We have finished the study of the "Father of the Faithful." He was a man who trusted G.o.d. Think over all that you have learned about him and write down in your notebook two or three ways in which you think that he showed his trust in G.o.d. Think whether there is any way in which you would be willing to trust G.o.d.

JACOB-ISRAEL

IV. JACOB, THE CLEVER

V. ISRAEL, THE G.o.dLY