Genesis 24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
"The Jews affirm that Abraham here swore his servant by the covenant of circumcision, and by the promise of the Messiah who was to descend from his loins. Jacob required Joseph to take an oath in this manner. Gen 47:29. So the princes and the mighty men, according to the margin, put their hands under Solomon. 1 Chron 29:24. But under the christian dispensation, when the angel of the Lord swore, he lifted up his hand to heaven. Rev10:5-6.” (Sutcliffe Commentary)
"The appeal is to God as 'Yahweh, God of heaven and God of the earth.’ Yahweh is the personal name of God, which is properly used by those who are in fellowship with him. He is the Author of all being, and therefore of heaven and earth; and hence the arbiter of the destiny of the oath-taker,.. both in this life and in what is to come. 'Not of the daughters of the Kenaanite,’ [descendants of Ham] a race sinking fast into ungodliness and unrighteousness, doomed to extirpation [In stark contract]... the kindred of Abraham were Shemites, Hebrews, and still retained some knowledge of the true God, and some reverence for him and his will..." (Barnes Note) by the blessing of Noah based on the deeds of his sons.
5 And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6 But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there.
"He knew the sure promise of God to give the land of Canaan to his posterity; a return therefore of the family to Mesopotamia would have been to abandon the promise through unbelief. It would have been as the revolt in the desert to make a captain general, and return into Egypt. What a caveat to christians against a heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. The caution of the steward is equally to be noted. Of a false oath he had no idea; but he feared a failure in the object of the oath, the refusal of the virgin, for daughters of Rebekah’s age were not to be forced away, even by parents. It were devoutly to be wished that all christians had the like ideas of an oath to the Lord.” (Sutcliffe Commentary)
7 The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants [literally “seed]" I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
"It is noteworthy that Abraham does not here speak of Jehovah being present with the servant on his mission. The servant of Abraham will be guided by 'the messenger, or angel,’ of Abraham’s God. For 'the angel of Jehovah' going before His people, cf. Exodus 14:19; Exodus 23:20; Exodus 32:34; Psalm 91:11.”( Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)
10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.
"Ten camels, on which Rebekah and her maidens might return, with their effects, with himself and servants.” (Sutcliffe Commentary)
"For all the goods of his master were in his hand; which agrees with what is before said, that he was the steward of his house, and ruled over all that he had; this in our version, and others, is put in a parenthesis, and given as a reason why the servant took, as it may seem of himself, so many camels as he did, and then set forward on his journey..." (Gill's Exposition)
11 And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water.
And he made his camels to kneel down - "a mode of expression taken from actual life. The action is literally kneeling; not stooping, sitting, or lying down on the side like a horse, but kneeling on his knees; and this the camel is taught to do from his youth" (Thomson, 'Land and Book,' p. 592) - thus the camels and Eleazer or similarly
poised for what was about to happen.
12 Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
15 And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16 Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”
18 So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. 21 And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.
22 So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, 23 and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?”
24 So she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.”
26 Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. 27 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”
Genesis 24:28 So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. 30 So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well.
"Naturally, such unusual experiences as Rebekah had had on this memorable evening had to be told at home, and the stranger’s request had to be made known. What, however, had lent wings to the girl’s return was the startling news, conveyed incidentally by the servant’s prayer, that here was a delegate from Abraham, their own relative in Canaan. The daughter’s course naturally tends to the mother when such startling news is to be communicated… [On the paternal side, Laban- Rebekah's brother- was perhaps being mentored by Bethuel- her father- to be the head of house after his death.] Now the brother of Rebekah, Laban, figured prominently in the proceedings. Therefore the things he does are here reported, and in a preliminary way it is stated at once that 'he ran out to the man to the well.’… Now nothing in this account of Laban’s doings reflects adversely upon his character. The greed of this man is displayed only in the later chapters...” (H C Leupold) Let us not be to harsh in judging him lest we be judged.
32 Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told about my errand.” And he said, “Speak on.”
Then in Genesis 24:34-49, the servant of Abraham recounts his dealing Rebekah at the well. "Another striking feature of this story is that after introducing the new characters of Laban and his household, the writer allows the servant again to retell the narrative (Genesis 24:34-39). But as with most repetitions in biblical narrative, the retelling is not a mere repeating. It is rather a reassertion of the central points of the first narrative.... As we overhear the servant recount more details, we see that the miracle of God's provision was even more grand than that suggested in the narrative itself." [Note: Sailhamer, "Genesis," p. 177.]
Repeating an event confirmed its truthfulness in Scripture (cf. Genesis 41:32).” (Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable)
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good. 51 Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken.”
"Laban, the brother, as well as Bethuel, the father, are the two with whom according to custom the right of decision in such a case was lodged."(H C Leupold)
52 And it came to pass, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, that he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. 53 Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.54 And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they arose in the morning, and he said, “Send me away to my master.” 55 But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go.” 56 And he said to them, “Do not hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.”
The servant of Abraham: "This worthy man was almost garrulous about his master. Count the number of times in which he contrives to introduce those two words, 'my master.’ He put the errand on which he had come before his necessary food, and poured out his story in a stream of crystal utterance, which was the highest eloquence. This identification of his thought and speech with his ‘master's interests is full of teaching for us all. He could talk of nothing else, was only anxious not to fail for Abraham’s sake; and took the favorable reply as kindness shown to him whom he represented. George Herbert caught the same spirit when he spoke of 'the aromatic fragrance' of 'My Master’ when applied to Jesus. We, too, are called to be ambassadors, as though God did beseech men by us. If we are in the way of God’s will, be sure that the Lord will not only lead, but lead 'in the right way,' and will create for us a sympathetic reception whither we go.” (F.B. Meyer's 'Through the Bible’)
57 So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.” 58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”
"Men, and circumstances, would fain defer our starting on pilgrimage. This is Satan's method of breaking off the union for ever. There must be no dallying or delay: but when the enquiry is put to us, 'Wilt thou go with this man?' we must promptly and swiftly answer, 'I will go.'
The journey was long and toilsome; but all the way the heart of the young girl was sustained by the tidings told her by the faithful servant, who beguiled the weary miles with stories of the home to which she was journeying, and the man with whom her life was to be united -- 'Whom having not seen, she loved; and in whom, though she saw him not, she rejoiced.’ She already loved him, and ardently longed to see him.” (F. B. Meyer) Let us say "yes" to Jesus and begin at once the Christian voyage.
59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her:
“Our sister, may you become
The mother of thousands of ten thousands;
And may your descendants possess
The gates of those who hate them.”
Rebekah was to share the inheritance of Abraham with Isaac. "And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them— that is, let them be victorious over their enemies: a blessing that is fully accomplished through Jesus Christ.” (Geneva Study Bible)
Genesis 24:61 Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.
62 Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South. 63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. 64 Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; 65 for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”
The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself.
66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
Beer-lahai-roi is the place where Hagar met the angel of Yahweh, being assured of His presence and blessing on herself and her son, Ishmael. Remember, it’s meaning is "the well of the living One who sees me.” Isaac had likely been wondering, like Hagar, if the pains of life would subside-- particularly, for Isaac, the sorrows of losing his beloved mother to the enemy of death. Moreover, he likely wondered if Eliezer would ever return from his mission... and what life had in store for him. He “went out to contemplate in the open country at eventide." "The meaning of the verb is pure guesswork for it occurs nowhere else. But Isaac is a much quieter soul than the vigorous Abraham and contemplation would probably suit his character, as is suggested by his predilection for this comparatively lonely oasis away from the hub of civilisation.” (Peter Pett's Commentary)
Some commentators believe that Isaac could have just been to the well. Rebekah found him after he had been to "the well of the oath." "Look, brothers: Isaac's servant found Rebekah at the well, and Rebekah in turn found Isaac at the well. It is true Christ does not find the church, or the church Christ, except at the sacrament of baptism." (Ceasarius of Arles, early church father)
"Are you not yet moved to understand that those were just spoken spiritually? What do you think that it always happens by chance that the patriarchs go to wells... I, following Paul the apostle, say that these things are 'allegories'… it is certain that this union of the soul with the Word cannot come about otherwise than through instruction in the books, which are figuratively wells." (Origen, early church father) Perhaps, it was the Scriptures (oral at the time) that he was meditating on in the field!
Excerpts from Portraits of Christ in Genesis by M. R. Dehaan
[Meanwhile-- the Lord orchestrating] "Rebekah prepared herself and went with this man to a strange country with which she was totally unfamiliar. She hardly knew in which direction they were going, but she simply trusted her leader who had been sent by the master, Abraham. She believed that he knew the way. And then after a long journey, one day toward evening she lifted up her eyes and saw a man walking in the gloaming, and recognized him, not because she had ever seen him before, but from the faultless description which the servant must have given her all along the way. She recognized him, and with a voice filled with emotion, cried out 'What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us?’ And the record tells us that the servant said, ‘It is my master.' And you recall the touching incident, how Rebekah, overcome with joy, lighted from the camel and ran to meet him. That blessed scene of greeting is briefly described in these words: And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her… (Genesis 24:67).
Surely you have already seen the meaning of this typical and prophetic picture from the life of Abraham and Isaac. God the Father too had an Only Son. After He had offered Him up to die on the cross of Calvary, He too sent His servant, the Holy Spirit, represented and typified by Eliezer, into the far country of this old, wicked world to call out a bride, the Church, for His Son, the Lord Jesus. And that Servant was sent out on the day of Pentecost and has been on this journey now for 1900 years, asking men and women to come [on a journey of faith] and become the bride of the Master’s son. The same questions are put to sinners today, which Eliezer expect Rebekah to answer. You remember, they were:
1. Believe a person you have never met before, even the Holy Spirit of God.
2. Go with Him, and allow Him to lead and guide you by faith into a far country from which you will never return as you leave.
3. Be married to a man whom you have never seen before.
This, then, is the simple plan of salvation. It is by faith. We must believe the testimony of the Holy Spirit in this world, or as the Bible puts it 'Whom having not seen ye love; in whom though now ye see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory' (1 Peter 1:8).
When we believe on Him, and accept the offer of the Son of God, immediately the Servant, the Holy Spirit, opens up the treasures of His grace to our eyes, even as Eliezer opened up the bags of jewels to show the riches of the son to the prospective bride. Then He clothes us with the raiment which the Son has provided, even His sinless righteousness. We set out on a new journey with the Holy Spirit, with only Him and the Bible as our guide. We may not know the next step, but we trust Him, and permit Him to lead. Sometimes the days are dreary and hard, but when the journey seems long, the Holy Spirit tells us more about the One whom we soon are to meet and we take courage and plod on again. And then the Holy Spirit takes some of those precious jewels from the Book of our blessed Master, and with the glittering blessed promises of truth encourages us all along the way. All the way the Servant talks, not of Himself, but only of Him who we are going to meet. This is what John speaks of in the 16th chapter of his gospel when he say: Howbeit when the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall He speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you (John 16:13-14).
This is what the Holy Spirit, typified by the servant of Abraham, does today. He witnesses concerning our coming Lord. He reveals the beauty of Christ in the Book as we journey by faith.
And then one of these days, as the evening shadows of the closing day of this dispensation come to an end, and the night of the world approaches we will lift up our eyes, and there suddenly in the field of Heaven we shall see Him, and the Spirit within us will answer 'That's Him,' and lighting off the camel of our mortality, we shall rise to meet Him in the air, into the open arms of Him whom, though we had never seen Him, we had learned to love. In His eternal tent of many mansions He will bring us, introduce us to His Father and our Father, and the eternal honeymoon of bliss and happiness, where sorrow and pain can never come, shall be ushered in with all its glory and splendor forever." (M. R. Dehaan)
So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death..."Although Abraham commands otherwise, in a spiritual sense Isaac returns 'back there.' He dwells upon death, and he is locked in the past. He will not heed, he cannot heed, the call of the Lord to 'go forth.' In fact, the overall characterization of Isaac in Genesis suggests that Isaac never follows Abraham’s pattern. He is a passive and largely silent figure. When Rebekah arrives, she finds Isaac at Beer- lahai- roi, Hagar’s well (16:7–14), and he is wandering disconsolate (24:63), not unlike the despairing Hagar who wept over what she imagines to be the impending death of her son (21:15–21) Rebekah, not Isaac, is the one who embodies the pattern of Abraham. She leaves her father’s house and goes forth, and she does so solely on the promise of marriage. Isaac, the one who carries the physical seed of the promise, needs Rebekah. She comforts him. Her life is directed toward the promised future. He inherits the body of Abraham, as it were, and she his soul.” (Brazos Theological Commentary)