Part 3:  Are we willing to go the extra mile in all we do?? Is it a way of life?  Ed.

In Part 2, I suggested that Abraham’s servant was looking for someone, as a wife for Isaac, who was exceptional in the way they worked…but was looking for something more.

Second quality: He was looking for someone who would respond to the needs of others, including strangers.

Rebekah was exceptional in the way she worked. But, if she hadn’t responded to the needs of this stranger, she would have missed her opportunity. She didn’t know that this stranger was praying about another special quality he was looking for in a wife for Isaac—Gen 24:13-14 (NKJ): “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….”

Rebekah didn’t have to respond at all to the expressed need of this stranger…or she could have responded in some minimal way. But her response displayed a willing readiness to respond to, and even anticipate, the needs of others. And that reminds me of this encouragement we are given, in Gal 6:9-10 (NAS): “ ⁹ Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. ¹⁰ So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”

Rebekah was exceptional in the way she worked…and exceptional in the way she responded to the needs of others, including strangers. But Abraham’s servant was looking for one more special quality.

Third quality: He was looking for someone who would go beyond what was expected.

The only request Abraham’s servant made, initially, was: ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink’. Rebekah could have done what was asked of her…and left it at that.

What she didn’t know was that Abraham’s servant had something more in mind—Gen 24:14 (NKJ) “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.”

But it didn’t matter that she didn’t know…because she was an extraordinary woman whose standard approach was to go beyond what was expected, even in the everyday activities of life—Gen 24:18-21 (NKJ): “ 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….”

This was no small task she took on, offering to draw water from the well to satisfy ten thirsty camels. In a ‘camel’ website I checked, they suggested that a camel (on a trip) could consume about 80 litres of water a day. 80 litres by 10 camels equals 800 litres in total. A typical water jar in those days held about 12 litres. That means Rebekah might have needed to make around 66 trips between the well and the trough…and she had to go “down to the well” and come up again (v16) …and she was running down to the well (at least at the start – v20)!

No wonder it says that Abraham’s servant was “wondering at her” (v21). This is the only major English translation that comes close to expressing his reaction, and even this doesn’t adequately describe his reaction. The original Hebrew word is sha’ah, that tells us Abraham’s servant was “stunned; astonished; his mind whirling to the point of giddiness”. Today, we might say that he was “blown out of his mind.” I’m not surprised!

We too can train ourselves to go beyond what is expected—at home, at work, at church, at school, shopping—wherever we are in life, so that this becomes a way of life for us, and we respond this way automatically (like Rebekah).

Abraham’s servant has found an extraordinary person in Rebekah. But there’s one more step he has to take to see if he is on track to successfully complete his mission.

Ray Graetz
September 25, 2024