Genesis 22:20-24

2008.Jan.09 21:57

Children of Nahor

Read Genesis 22:20-24 Full Chapter

Abraham’s brother Nahor had married Milcah, and Abraham was later told that they had eight sons. Uz was their first-born; Buz was next, and then there was Kemuel who became the father of Aram; their other five sons were: Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel, who became the father of Rebekah. Nahor also had another wife. Her name was Reumah, and she had four sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. (Genesis 22:20-24, CEV)

The amount of time spent in the Bible keeping track of families and lineages first strikes me as very high. While it’s useful to know the connections between various people in the Bible, Chesed’s relation to Abraham means nothing to me. And then I think about it a little longer and the time spent on ancestry isn’t very much. Did Chesed marry, after all? Did he have children? Who were the parents of Mrs. Chesed? Maybe it doesn’t matter sitting here in Oklahoma in 2008. But maybe it matters a great deal? After all, I like having information organized and available. Another few generations listed might have had a use I can’t imagine.

Paul reminds Titus to “avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless” (Titus 3:9, NIV). I imagine that Jehovah has made some effort to minimize information in the Bible that could lead to such unprofitable focus. Still, the Bible does give significant focus to the family connections between people. I interpret this as at least revealing a significant value that Jehovah places on the connections between people. After all, his chosen nation, Israel, was principally defined during Biblical times (I think) by their common ancestry in Jacob.

And I’ve just realized that I have nothing more at this time to say on this point. This genealogical aside segues from the Isaac as potential, then actual, child segment of Genesis–focusing on the experiences of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar and Lot. The next few chapters have a “passing the torch” feel, following Isaac into adulthood, and through the deaths of Abraham and Sarah. Isaac himself sometimes seems to me a segue, a necessary step between the stories of Abraham/Sarah and of Jacob. Perhaps, then, one of the most significant values of this passage is a reminder that all these patriarchs and matriarchs that we read about and discuss are also members of a family, dealing with regular life. That is, they are not heroes who sprung from the ground fully formed, but, well, people.

Genesis 24:15-21

2008.Feb.23 02:03

Not your everyday courting

Read Genesis 24:15-21 | Full Chapter

Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. The girl was very beautiful, a virgin, and no man had had relations with her; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar." She said, "Drink, my lord"; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink. Now when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking." So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. Meanwhile, the man was gazing at her in silence, to know whether the LORD had made his journey successful or not.
(Genesis 24:15-21, NASB)

Everybody is so nice in this passage. Well, anyway, the servant and Rebekah are so nice. Both of them are practicing servanthood–Abraham’s servant, by his care in seeking a wife for Isaac, and Rebekah, by her attentions to this traveler. They both exhibit one of the keys of true service to another, which is that their service is complete. Rebekah does not merely give the servant a bit to drink, but goes back to the well and draws additional water for his camels. Likewise, the servant does not just watch to see if she seems like a decent lady, but even once it’s clear that Rebekah is fulfilling the signs for which the servant had prayed, he’s watching her; he could have, at her first approach, said, “She looks good and is polite. Let’s go.” But instead, because he chooses to serve Abraham well watches Rebekah carefully to judge her qualities as best he can in this short span.

And, well, that’s the point I’m wanting to make in a nutshell. In a smaller nutshell, service to others is more than doing the minimum to help or please, it is rather helping in a complete way.

Genesis 24:22-27

2008.Mar.01 03:08

Reactions

Read Genesis 24:22-27 | Full Chapter

The servant watched Rebekah and saw her actions matched the sign he had requested from Yahweh. Rebekah has finished giving water to the servant and his horses. So, we arrive at a point in the story where conflicts have been resolved (for now), everything is looking lovely, and it’s time for a few reactions (and an additional positive revelation).

After the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing half a shekel, and for her wrists two bracelets weighing 10 shekels of gold.
(Genesis 24:22, Holman)

I’d imagine there’s all sorts of cultural significance to this ritual. Wikipedia does not shed any particular light on it, and thus, my 60 second research period reveals nothing. However, receiving–from someone you’ve just met–significant gold jewelry cannot be ignored. I would guess that at least this act reveals to Rebekah that whatever this guy is about to say, he’s serious about it. It also makes clear that the servant is convinced that she is the woman whom God desires Issac to marry. I might then consider that this act is a statement of confidence in a forthcoming covenant. Mostly because I think the phrase sounds neat.

"Whose daughter are you?" he asked. "Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" She answered him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor." She also said to him, "We have plenty of straw and feed, and a place to spend the night."
(Genesis 24:23-25, Holman)

Despite the servant’s confidence that Rebekah is indeed the woman he set out to meet, he has not yet proposed to her marriage with Isaac or even stated that this is the purpose of his travels. Not that I would have expected him to broach that subject yet. Instead, he inquires as to Rebekah’s family and if he may spend the night with them.

Again, Rebekah’s response is to extend hospitality, unlike, to throw in a contrasting example, the folks of Sodom. However, she adds an unintentional bonus. Guess what, servant? God led you to a relative of your master. Yay! Which is kind of the servants reaction.

Then the man bowed down, worshiped the Lord, and said, "Praise the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."
(Genesis 24:26-27, Holman)

The servant’s journey is not yet complete. But he knows that Yahweh has already given him great favor. And he worships and thanks Yahweh. When success arrives, as in this case, there’s often so much left to do. But I don’t want to forget to give Yahweh praise for each blessing he gives me…although too often I do forget.

Genesis 24:28-32

2008.Mar.10 14:57

Introducing Laban

Read Genesis 24:28-32 | Full Chapter

Laban, son of Nahor, is one of those interesting folks whose antics are recorded in several chapters of the Bible, and yet comes off as a throw-away character. That is, I don’t recall ever hearing anybody teach about Laban. He’s just Jacob’s pesky father-in-law, perceived more as an environmental factor that a real person. Which is unfortunate, because his life, like Lot, is an example for us (men, especially, I think) of how we can get out-of-tune from seeking God, and end up doing a lot of stupid.

Most of what the Bible records of Laban is in relation to his son-in-law and nephew, Jacob, second-born of his sister Rebekah. But in this episode, we see him interacting with his sister and Abraham’s servant, many years before Jacob begins working for him.

Rebekah ran straight home and told her family everything. Her brother Laban heard her tell what the servant had said, and he saw the ring and the bracelets she was wearing. So Laban ran out to Abraham's servant, who was standing by his camels at the well. Then Laban said, "The LORD has brought you safely here. Come home with me. There's no need for you to keep on standing outside. I have a room ready for you in our house, and there's also a place for your camels." Abraham's servant went home with Laban, where Laban's servants unloaded his camels and gave them straw and feed. Then they brought water into the house, so Abraham's servant and his men could wash their feet.
(Genesis 24:28-32, CEV)

Rebekah, shortly after the servant gives her the ring and bracelets, heads home to inform her family of the matter. I imagine that she also goes back to get another member of the household to give the official invite, probably a male in this patriarchal society. In addition, we are in the middle of a courtship ritual, whether or not everybody realizes it. While Rebekah’s father, Bethuel, appears later in this chapter, it appears that Laban is acting as the head of household by this time, and so he would be the one, in our contemporary context, to “give away” Rebekah. Hence, him inviting the servant may make particular sense within the courtship context. Then again, this paragraph has pretty much been a series of guesses.

Anyway, back to Laban. He, as had his sister, shows great hospitality to the visitor. It’s unclear to me if he has yet guessed the servant’s purpose, but it’s evident that Laban has determined to treat Abraham’s servant very well. I do appreciate that Laban’s first response is to ensure the comfort of his guest, rather than to interview him as to his goal. At this point, I don’t see any of the attributes that I find distasteful later on in Laban, in particular his deceptiveness in dealing with Jacob. Which is something that I want to be mindful of in my own life. Just because I choose to seek, serve and obey God now (although I often fail) doesn’t guarantee that I will continue to do so later in life. Or, to put it another way, I cannot rely on my past ‘goodness’ to override any unrighteous decisions or actions in the present. I must, instead, continually and throughout my days, choose to place Yahweh above all else in my life and continue to seek more of him and his work in me.

Genesis 24:33-48

2008.Mar.15 03:35

The Servant Reviews

Read Genesis 24:33-48 | Full Chapter

Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, "I will not eat until I have said what I have to say." He said, "Speak on." So he said, "I am Abraham’s servant. The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys.
(Genesis 24:33-35, ESV)

Thus the servant begins to tell his story to Rebekah’s father, Bethuel, and Laban, her brother. Which I am not going to quote in it’s entirety. It’s pretty much a rehash of the chapter so far.

There are two “retellings” going on here. First, the servant is telling this story once again, but to an audience that hasn’t heard it. So, it’s natural that he would need to retell recent history here, lest Bethuel and Laban have no idea what’s going on. But there’s another retelling, which is to us readers of the Bible. I try to take note when the scriptures repeat something. This is because, especially back in youth group, I found that so often people focused on the one-off phrases in the Bible and made huge deals out of them whilst ignoring the things the Bible says over and over and over and over… “Love your neighbor” for example. Realizing that I too am often guilty of doing so, I do try to make an effort to pay more attention to that which is said multiple times.

In this case, I’m not sure why this explanation is recorded rather than “and the servant explained what he was doing.” It’s not a bad review though. After all, in the midst of the story, I can forget why the servant is on this errand anyway (Not that I drew any real firm conclusions on that earlier). It is significant to remember though that the servant did not meet Rebekah in a vacuum, although it may feel like that to her and her relatives at this point. He has arrived for a purpose and one in which Yahweh has blessed him.

And, to an extent, what the servant is retelling here is Abraham’s life since leaving his relatives. Sure, the servant doesn’t spend much time on the power and wealth Abraham has collected. Instead he focuses more time (not much more, technically) on Abraham’s son, Isaac, and particularly on Isaac’s future. Is that weird?

One of my wife’s professors one time mentioned that you know someone is dying when that person stops including themselves when considering the future–or stops considering the future altogether. Abraham is getting old, so his thoughts for the future are naturally more directed towards his descendants than himself. But he is determined to take interest in that future. In effect, I read what the servant is saying right now as, “Abraham is blessed and he’s expecting more blessing for his descendants.” Which is a good sort of expectation for a parent to have.