SERMON FOR JULY 4, 1999
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
HEBREW TESTAMENT: “Rebekah Responds to God’s Call” ~ Genesis 24: 34-38, 42-49, 58-67
It was almost an impossible assignment. “Find a wife for my son. Not here among the women of our land, but go back to the land of my ancestors. Go there and find a wife for Isaac.” I protested, “But what if she will not come? What if she wants to meet him first?” My master Abraham said, “Do not take my son from this land. Do as you must , but leave him here.”
Now I was accustomed to difficult situations, for I, Eliezer, had been Abraham’s servant for many, many years. I was with Abraham and Sarah as they waited for God’s promise to come true. As they waited for a child to be born. I was there when Sarah sent her handmaiden, Hagar, to Abraham so that Hagar might bear a son. I was there when Ishmael was born, and I well remember the pride of Abraham as he taught his young son. I was there when the strangers came, when Sarah was an old woman. I remember her laughter when they said that she would still bear a son. I was there when Isaac was born. I remember the laughter rolling down from the heavens, and his name it’s self which means laughter. I saw the jealousy in Sarah’s eyes when Ishmael and Isaac were together. It was her envy that drove Hagar and Ishmael out into the wilderness. I knew the pain that Abraham felt that day. I sat with Sarah when Abraham took their son, Isaac, to the wilderness to follow God’s command. I don’t think I had ever seen Abraham sadder than he was that day. I was there when he came back leaping like a kid with young Isaac in tow.
So I have seen impossible things happen. This assignment was one more thing for Abraham’s God to accomplish. It was time. Isaac was 40 years old. Sarah had just died at the age of 125. Abraham would soon follow her. It was time for Isaac to have a bride. So I gathered together the camels, and the riches, gold and silver. It is good to believe in God, but it’s always better to be prepared.
I set out with my companions and we traveled across the desert and the rocky hills. After many days we were no longer in the promised land of Abraham’s God, but in the land of the ancestors, at the city of Nahor, named for Abraham’s brother. There is a well in that town, fresh cool spring water. It stands in the middle of town and there are stone steps around it. In order to get water you have to descend to the well. The women come in the evening with their pots that they balance upon their heads. They come down the uneven stairs to fill their jars with water. If there are animals, they bring the water back up again to fill the troughs, because the beasts are unable to maneuver their way down the steps.
As I approached the well I thought of a plan. It is good to have trust in God. But it is better to have a plan. I said to myself, “I will ask a young woman for a drink. If she gives me water, I will wait, and see if she also offers to water my camels. If she does, then I will know that she is a compassionate woman, a kind woman, a fitting wife for my master’s son.”
So I approached the well at dusk as the young women were coming. Strong young women. Laughing and speaking to each other. Then I saw one that stood out from the others. She was a bit taller, a bit quieter. With long legs, she moved with grace, so that even among these beautiful young women, she stood alone. My eyes were fixed on her. As she approached I watched her intently. I wonder what she thought. An old man, old enough to be her grandfather, watching her every movement. I noticed a slight blush in her face, but she did not turn her eyes away. I said, “Woman, may I have a drink from your jar?” The others watched, but she never wavered. She said, “Yes, certainly.” I took a drink. Her friends left to carry their water home. She looked around at the ten camels that were lounging now near the well. She looked at my dusty feet and she knew that I had been traveling for a long time. She said, “Let me water your camels, also.” My heart began to sing. I sat there, waiting as she carried water up to the trough for the camels. When they were all filled she came back down and I said to her, gently but with some anxiety in my voice, “My daughter, what is your father’s name?” She said, “Bethuel, son of Nahor.” I caught my breath and said to myself, “Nahor, I know that name.” I sent up a quick prayer of thanks to God. “Come here my child.” I put the gold ring in her nose and slipped the bracelets on her wrists. “Does your family have room to host an old man?” She said, “Yes, we have straw and food. Come.”
We went to her house. Her brother came out to meet us, her father was too old and sick, but Laban came and he spoke with me. I explained my mission. He said, “God has spoken.” But he was also a wise man. He had seen the gold bracelets upon the wrists of his sister, the ring in her nose. Perhaps he was a man of faith, perhaps he was only being practical, but he said, “Yes, you will stay here.” I stayed that night. The next day I said, “It is time for me to go.” They said, “Wait for ten days. Then the maid will go with you.” I said, “My master is old, I don’t know how much longer he will live, and it is still a long way back to our country.” They said, “We will ask Rebekah.” They brought in this young woman of grace, of beauty, of intelligence. It is still a wonder to me now that God should not only chose a wife for Isaac from among his father’s kinsmen, but that the wife that is chosen should be so beautiful and intelligent. She came and stood before her brother. He said, “Will you go with this man?” There was not even a heartbeat before her answer came, “Yes, I will.” How courageous, how faithful she was.
We set out across the desert on the camels. After 30 days of travel we were approaching the Negeb. Rebekah saw a man in the distance. She slipped from her camel and asked, “Who is that man?” I said, “That is the son of my master Abraham, that is Isaac.” She put on her veil to cover her face. When the two met, they took hands and went to Sarah’s tent. From that day on there was no other woman in Isaac’s eyes than Rebekah. She became his wife and God’s promise continued.
Thanks be to God.