Genesis 24:51
Rebekah is here before you. Take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, just as the LORD has decreed."
Rebekah is here before you.

Rebekah’s arrival confirms the servant’s prayer for clear guidance and shows that God had directed the encounter. Her family recognizes that the matter has been settled by the LORD.

Gen 2:22-23 And from the rib that the LORD God had taken…
Rut 4:13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife.…
Pro 18:22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing…

Take her and go,

Rebekah’s relatives grant permission for her to leave Mesopotamia with Abraham’s servant. She will depart from her household and homeland to join the family through which God’s covenant promises will continue.

Mat 2:13 When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared…
Gen 12:1 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country…
Rut 1:16 But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you”…

and let her become the wife of your master’s son,

Isaac’s marriage to Rebekah preserves the promised line of Abraham. Their union will produce the next generation of the covenant family.

Gen 28:2 Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of…
Gen 29:28 And Jacob did just that. He finished the week's celebration,…
Pro 19:14 Houses and wealth are inherited from fathers,…

just as the LORD has decreed.”

Laban and Bethuel acknowledge that the outcome came from the LORD. What began with Abraham’s servant seeking a wife for Isaac has unfolded according to God’s purpose.

Pro 19:21 Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose…
Isa 46:10 I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times…
Psa 33:11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, …

Persons / Places / Events
1. Rebekah
A young woman from the family of Abraham's brother Nahor. She is chosen to be Isaac's wife, signifying God's providence and guidance in the continuation of Abraham's lineage.

2. Abraham's Servant
Likely Eliezer, tasked with finding a wife for Isaac. His journey and actions demonstrate faithfulness and reliance on God's guidance.

3. Laban and Bethuel
Rebekah's brother and father, respectively. They acknowledge God's hand in the matter and consent to Rebekah's marriage to Isaac.

4. Nahor's Household
The family of Abraham's brother, residing in Paddan Aram, where Abraham's servant travels to find a wife for Isaac.

5. Isaac
Abraham's son, the heir of God's promises. His marriage to Rebekah is a pivotal moment in the fulfillment of God's covenant with Abraham.
Teaching Points
Divine Providence
God's hand is evident in the events leading to Rebekah's marriage to Isaac. Believers are encouraged to trust in God's plan and timing in their own lives.

Faithful Obedience
Abraham's servant demonstrates obedience and faithfulness, qualities that believers should emulate in their service to God.

Family and Community
The involvement of Rebekah's family in the decision-making process highlights the importance of family and community in life decisions.

God's Sovereignty
The acknowledgment by Laban and Bethuel of God's will in the matter reminds believers of God's ultimate authority and control over all circumstances.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the account of Rebekah and Isaac's marriage illustrate the concept of divine providence in our own lives?

2. In what ways can we demonstrate the same faithfulness and reliance on God as Abraham's servant did in our daily decisions?

3. How can the involvement of Rebekah's family in her marriage decision inform our understanding of the role of family and community in our own life choices?

4. What does the acknowledgment of God's will by Laban and Bethuel teach us about recognizing and submitting to God's sovereignty?

5. How can the relationship between Isaac and Rebekah serve as a model for Christian marriages today, in light of Ephesians 5:22-33?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 12:1-3
God's promise to Abraham about making him a great nation and blessing all families of the earth through him. Rebekah's marriage to Isaac is a step in fulfilling this promise.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trusting in the Lord with all your heart and acknowledging Him in all your ways. Abraham's servant exemplifies this trust as he seeks God's guidance in finding a wife for Isaac.

Ephesians 5:22-33
The relationship between husband and wife as a reflection of Christ and the Church. Rebekah and Isaac's marriage can be seen as a precursor to this divine relationship.
The Unfolding of the Divine PurposeR.A. Redford Genesis 24
People
Abraham, Aram, Bethuel, Canaanites, Isaac, Laban, Milcah, Nahor, Rebekah, Sarah
Places
Beer-lahai-roi, Hebron, Mesopotamia, Nahor, Negeb
Topics
Behold, Directed, Lord's, Master's, Rebecca, Rebekah, Son's, Spoken, Wife
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Genesis 24:51

     5736   singleness

Genesis 24:12-51

     5695   girls

Genesis 24:28-60

     5737   sisters

Genesis 24:47-51

     8252   faithfulness, relationships

Genesis 24:50-60

     5661   brothers

Library
Guidance in the Way
'I being in the way, the Lord led me.'--GENESIS xxiv. 27. So said Abraham's anonymous servant when telling how he had found Rebekah at the well, and known her to be the destined bride of his master's servant. There is no more beautiful page, even amongst the many lovely ones in these ancient stories, than this domestic idyll of the mission of the faithful servant from far Canaan across the desert. The homely test by which he would determine that the maiden should be pointed out to him, the glimpse
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

No Compromise
The faithful servant of Abraham, before he started, communed with his master; and this is a lesson to us, who go on our Lord's errands. Let us, before we engage in actual service, see the Master's face, talk with him, and tell to him any difficulties which occur to our minds. Before we get to work, let us know what we are at, and on what footing we stand. Let us hear from our Lord's own mouth what he expects us to do, and how far he will help us in the doing of it. I charge you, my fellow-servants,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 34: 1888

If, Therefore, Even they who are United in Marriage Only for the Purpose Of...
22. If, therefore, even they who are united in marriage only for the purpose of begetting, for which purpose marriage was instituted, are not compared with the Fathers, seeking their very sons in a way far other than do these; forasmuch as Abraham, being bidden to slay his son, fearless and devoted, spared not his only son, whom from out of great despair he had received [1997] save that he laid down his hand, when He forbade him, at Whose command he had lifted it up; it remains that we consider,
St. Augustine—On the Good of Marriage

Jesus Sets Out from Judæa for Galilee.
Subdivision B. At Jacob's Well, and at Sychar. ^D John IV. 5-42. ^d 5 So he cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 and Jacob's well was there. [Commentators long made the mistake of supposing that Shechem, now called Nablous, was the town here called Sychar. Sheckem lies a mile and a half west of Jacob's well, while the real Sychar, now called 'Askar, lies scarcely half a mile north of the well. It was a small town, loosely called
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark,
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Genesis
The Old Testament opens very impressively. In measured and dignified language it introduces the story of Israel's origin and settlement upon the land of Canaan (Gen.--Josh.) by the story of creation, i.-ii. 4a, and thus suggests, at the very beginning, the far-reaching purpose and the world-wide significance of the people and religion of Israel. The narrative has not travelled far till it becomes apparent that its dominant interests are to be religious and moral; for, after a pictorial sketch of
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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