Verses 1-9: Covenant Responsibility and a Solemn Oath

¹ Abraham was old, and well advanced in age. Yahweh had blessed Abraham in all things. ² Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please put your hand under my thigh. ³ I will make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live. ⁴ But you shall go to my country, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” ⁵ The servant said to him, “What if the woman isn’t willing to follow me to this land? Must I bring your son again to the land you came from?” ⁶ Abraham said to him, “Beware that you don’t bring my son there again. ⁷ Yahweh, the God of heaven—who took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, ‘I will give this land to your offspring—he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ If the woman isn’t willing to follow you, then you shall be clear from this oath to me. Only you shall not bring my son there again.” ⁹ The servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

• God’s blessing calls for faithful stewardship of the covenant line:

  Because “Yahweh had blessed Abraham in all things,” Abraham treats Isaac’s marriage as a matter of covenant fidelity rather than mere preference. The insistence on not taking “a wife…of the daughters of the Canaanites” and instead seeking one from “my relatives” shows a concern that household and worship belong together, so that the promises of God are received and passed on within a faithful community.

• Holy decisions may involve solemn commitments made before God:

  Abraham makes the servant swear “by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of the earth,” reminding the church that some responsibilities are weighty enough to require clear, accountable commitments. This is not superstition; it is deliberate seriousness before the Lord who rules heaven and earth.

• God’s guiding purpose does not erase real contingency and human responsibility:

  Abraham trusts that Yahweh “will send his angel before you,” yet he also acknowledges the possibility that “the woman isn’t willing to follow you.” The servant can be “clear from this oath” in that case. The chapter begins by holding together confident trust in divine leading with honest recognition that human persons must truly consent.

Verses 10-27: Prayer, Providence, and Worship at the Well

¹⁰ The servant took ten of his master’s camels, and departed, having a variety of good things of his master’s with him. He arose, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. ¹¹ He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water. ¹² He said, “Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, please give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, I am standing by the spring of water. The daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ Let it happen, that the young lady to whom I will say, ‘Please let down your pitcher, that I may drink,’ then she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink,’—let her be the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.” ¹⁵ Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher on her shoulder. ¹⁶ The young lady was very beautiful to look at, a virgin. No man had known her. She went down to the spring, filled her pitcher, and came up. ¹⁷ The servant ran to meet her, and said, “Please give me a drink, a little water from your pitcher.” ¹⁸ She said, “Drink, my lord.” She hurried, and let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will also draw for your camels, until they have finished drinking.” ²⁰ She hurried, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw, and drew for all his camels. ²¹ The man looked steadfastly at her, remaining silent, to know whether Yahweh had made his journey prosperous or not. ²² As the camels had done drinking, the man took a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold, ²³ and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there room in your father’s house for us to stay?” ²⁴ She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ She said moreover to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge in.” ²⁶ The man bowed his head, and worshiped Yahweh. ²⁷ He said, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his loving kindness and his truth toward my master. As for me, Yahweh has led me on the way to the house of my master’s relatives.”

• Faith seeks God’s guidance through prayer while using wise, ordinary means:

  The servant travels with “camels” and “a variety of good things,” times his arrival to meet people at the well, and then prays: “please give me success today.” Genesis 24 portrays prayer and prudent action not as rivals but as companions—human diligence undertaken in dependence on Yahweh’s kindness.

• God’s providence often answers before we can see it:

  “Before he had finished speaking,” Rebekah arrives. The narrative encourages believers that God can be actively arranging events even while we are still asking, and that his “loving kindness and…truth” are reliable realities, not sentimental wishes.

• Character becomes visible in concrete acts of service:

  The servant’s requested sign centers on generous hospitality: “Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink.” Rebekah’s repeated “hurried,” her labor “for all his camels,” and her readiness to lodge them display a virtue the story treats as spiritually significant—love expressed through costly, practical service.

• Discernment includes verification, not credulity:

  The servant “remaining silent” watches to learn “whether Yahweh had made his journey prosperous,” and then asks, “Whose daughter are you?” This models a reverent, careful discernment: gratitude and faith do not cancel the need to confirm what is true.

• Right guidance leads to worship, not self-congratulation:

  When the servant recognizes God’s leading, he “worshiped Yahweh” and blesses the Lord who “has led me on the way.” The chapter treats successful guidance as an occasion for adoration, because the glory belongs to God rather than to human cleverness.

Verses 28-53: The Testimony of God’s Leading and Communal Recognition

²⁸ The young lady ran, and told her mother’s house about these words. ²⁹ Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man, to the spring. ³⁰ When he saw the ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “This is what the man said to me,” he came to the man. Behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. ³¹ He said, “Come in, you blessed of Yahweh. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.” ³² The man came into the house, and he unloaded the camels. He gave 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 my message.” Laban said, “Speak on.” ³⁴ He said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ Yahweh has blessed my master greatly. He has become great. Yahweh has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ Sarah, my master’s wife, bore a son to my master when she was old. He has given all that he has to him. ³⁷ My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, ³⁸ but you shall go to my father’s house, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not follow me?’ ⁴⁰ He said to me, ‘Yahweh, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you, and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my relatives, and of my father’s house. ⁴¹ Then you will be clear from my oath, when you come to my relatives. If they don’t give her to you, you shall be clear from my oath.’ ⁴² I came today to the spring, and said, ‘Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, if now you do prosper my way which I go— ⁴³ behold, I am standing by this spring of water. Let it happen, that the maiden who comes out to draw, to whom I will say, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,” ⁴⁴ then she tells me, “Drink, and I will also draw for your camels,”—let her be the woman whom Yahweh has appointed for my master’s son.’ ⁴⁵ Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. She went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ ⁴⁶ She hurried and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels a drink. ⁴⁷ I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her hands. ⁴⁸ I bowed my head, and worshiped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter for his son. ⁴⁹ Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. If not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.” ⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The thing proceeds from Yahweh. We can’t speak to you bad or good. ⁵¹ Behold, Rebekah is before you. Take her, and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as Yahweh has spoken.” ⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the earth to Yahweh. ⁵³ The servant brought out jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and her mother.

• God’s works are rightly testified to in truth and order:

  The servant refuses to eat until he “told my message,” then recounts the whole matter: God’s blessing, the oath, the prayer, the immediate answer, and the verification of lineage. This teaches that spiritual discernment is strengthened by clear testimony—what God has done is narrated plainly so that others can judge with integrity.

• Providence is confessed without denying human participation:

  The servant openly says Yahweh “has appointed” and “had led me in the right way,” and Rebekah’s family concludes, “The thing proceeds from Yahweh.” Yet the narrative also shows ordinary human steps—hospitality, conversation, gifts, and family consent—through which God’s purpose is recognized and embraced.

• God’s kindness and truth shape ethical dealings among people:

  The servant asks the household to “deal kindly and truly,” tying their response to covenant-shaped virtues rather than manipulation. The chapter presents “loving kindness and…truth” as attributes of Yahweh that should be mirrored in human promises, hospitality, and decision-making.

• Worship remains central even amid successful outcomes:

  When the family agrees, the servant again bows “to the earth to Yahweh.” The story underscores that even when plans succeed and relationships align, the faithful response is worship—acknowledging God as the ultimate author of the good gift.

Verses 54-61: Willingness, Freedom, and a Blessed Departure

⁵⁴ They ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and stayed all night. They rose up in the morning, and he said, “Send me away to my master.” ⁵⁵ Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young lady stay with us a few days, at least ten. After that she will go.” ⁵⁶ He said to them, “Don’t hinder me, since Yahweh has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.” ⁵⁷ They said, “We will call the young lady, and ask her.” ⁵⁸ They called Rebekah, and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.” ⁵⁹ They sent away Rebekah, their sister, with her nurse, Abraham’s servant, and his men. ⁶⁰ They blessed Rebekah, and said to her, “Our sister, may you be the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let your offspring possess the gate of those who hate them.” ⁶¹ Rebekah arose with her ladies. They rode on the camels, and followed the man. The servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

• God’s prospering guidance does not coerce: it invites a real “yes”:

  The servant is convinced “Yahweh has prospered my way,” but the household still says, “We will call the young lady, and ask her.” Rebekah’s answer—“I will go”—matters. Genesis 24 portrays a harmony between God’s effective guidance and a person’s genuine willingness, showing that divine leading is not a denial of meaningful human response.

• Family, community, and blessing have a rightful place in vocation:

  Rebekah is “sent away” with support, and her family speaks blessing over her future: “may you be the mother of thousands of ten thousands.” The chapter treats marriage and calling as communal realities, where those who love us can rightly pray and bless as we step into God’s unfolding purposes.

Verses 62-67: Isaac’s Receiving Love and Comfort in God’s Provision

⁶² Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he lived in the land of the South. ⁶³ Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the evening. He lifted up his eyes and looked. Behold, there were camels coming. ⁶⁴ Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she got off the camel. ⁶⁵ She said to the servant, “Who is the man who is walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” She took her veil, and covered herself. ⁶⁶ The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷ Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife. He loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

• God’s provision meets personal grief with real comfort:

  The chapter closes not with abstraction but with a human ache: Isaac, having known loss, is “comforted after his mother’s death.” God’s faithful preservation of the promise also includes tender care for the individual—comfort expressed through love, marriage, and the continuation of family life.

• Marriage is received as covenantal gift and lived as committed love:

  Isaac “took Rebekah, and she became his wife. He loved her.” Genesis 24 frames the marriage as both providentially given and personally embraced—an enacted covenant reality that calls for faithful affection and commitment within the household of promise.

• Faithful service culminates in truthful reporting and peace:

  The servant “told Isaac all the things that he had done,” completing his mission with transparency. The narrative honors integrity: God’s guidance does not bypass truthfulness; it produces it, so that relationships begin on clarity rather than secrecy.

Conclusion: Genesis 24 displays Yahweh’s steadfast “loving kindness and…truth” through the ordinary faithfulness of Abraham, the prayerful diligence of the servant, the generous character of Rebekah, and the consenting participation of her family. The chapter teaches believers to seek God’s guidance with reverent prayer and wise action, to recognize his providence with worship, and to honor genuine human willingness and communal blessing as God faithfully carries forward his covenant purposes.