Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Watering Camels

"Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master." Genesis 24:12-14

Yesterday I was reading of Jacob and Isaac in Genesis, and when I came to the story of Rebekah, I really read it, and looked for something in the story that I might have always skipped over before. It's a fantastic story. When it was time for Isaac to find a wife, his father Jacob did not want Isaac marrying a local woman from Canaan, so he sent his servant to his homeland to find a wife there. We know that Jacob is a man of God, and these verses above show that Jacob's devotion to God was also present in his household, for his servant turned to God in his time of need. These verses are his prayer to God, as he is in need of a wife for Isaac, and wants to please his master by bringing back the best wife he can. And of course, these verses come to pass a short while later.

"The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar."

18 "Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

19 After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking." 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. " Genesis 24:17-20

Do you know what these verses show about Rebekah? They show that she is a woman of compassion and love, first of all. She didn't hesitate to share water with a strange man who looked like he was in need of a drink. Secondly, they show her diligence, and they show that she is not afraid of hard work. Rebekah proceeded to water ten camels without being asked. This is significant because they are camels! When a camel travels over a long distance, their bodies allow them to store water, and use it accordingly, but without being watered, they can lose up to 25% of their body weight in water. So when Rebekah had to water ten camels, she had to make many, many trips to the well to fill a trough for them to drink. We're talking gallons upon gallons- for one camel, let alone ten!

When I think about Rebekah I have to admit, I feel like I would come up very short in a comparison of character. Think about when you hear about someone doing some work around their home. Lets get specific- lets talk about moving. No one enjoys the process of moving, and it is always a lot of work. But when you first hear about someone moving, do you offer to help before you are asked? You know, I have to admit, that I am not that person to offer before being asked. I hate moving! More than just about anything! Instead, we usually come up with excuses. Well, I'm a little busy this time of year, but can I send over a pizza? Or, gosh, you know I'd love to help, but it's allergy season, so it wouldn't do much good for me to be sneezing all over your new home, and other excuses. I could probably list excuses all day. I imagine that Rebekah had other things to do. She may have had livestock to tend to, bread to bake, clothes to mend, and on and on. But she didn't even hesitate, she didn't think of herself and what she could be doing. Instead, she looked at this man she didn't know, and his parched camels and was moved by compassion to help them before thinking of herself.

I pray that I can be more like Rebekah. That I can think of others needs before my own. You would think it would be easier for a parent to put others needs first, and in some respects it is, my children always come before me. But those same children also make a fantastic excuse! May God soften my heart and keep me from coming up with excuses and reasons to not help. Instead, may I put others needs before mine.

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