†. Gen 24:64b . . She alighted from the camel
Suspecting that the man up ahead just might be her future husband,
Rebecca took no chances of getting off on the wrong foot with impropriety.
She could always get back up on the camel if it turned out the man wasn't
her Isaac; but just in case . . .
†. Gen 24:65a . . and said to the servant: Who is that man walking in
the field toward us? And the servant said: That is my master.
Well; the man approaching was much too young to be Abraham, and there
was only one other person on the whole planet that Abraham's servant
would ever call his master-- the heir apparent.
†. Gen 24:65b . . So she took her veil and covered herself.
Becky's veil was a full body wrap, similar to a burqa; not just a cute little
scarf in front of her face. In Akkadian, the bride on her wedding day was
called kallatu kutumtu, (the veiled bride). Also, in Akkadian; she was called
pussumtu, (the veiled one), which means the same as kallatu, (bride). In
that day, Rebecca's veil had both symbolic and socio-legal significance. It
was an unmistakable signal to Isaac that among all those ladies riding along
with his dad's servant that day; the one wrapped up in a burqa was to be his wife.
This meeting is interesting. We spent quite a bit of time viewing the
character, the background, and the beauty of a really outstanding young
woman in the beginning of this chapter. But it's all under wraps now in the
presence of the groom. Becky is doing absolutely nothing to attract Isaac at
this point. In fact, Isaac can't even see past the veil to what is a gorgeous
package of womanhood that Becky really is.
The anonymous steward who went north to speak with Becky on Isaac's
behalf, will now speak with Isaac on Becky's behalf. Thus, Abraham's
steward will be an ambassador for both Isaac and Rebecca; and when he's
done, Becky will know all she needs to know at this point about Isaac, and
Isaac will know all he needs to know at this point about Rebecca; even
before they meet each other for the very first time.
†. Gen 24:66 . .The servant told Isaac all the things that he had
done.
The steward's responsibility was to canvas Abraham's kin for a bridal
candidate, engage the girl to marry Isaac, gain her consent to leave home,
and then transport her safely back to Palestine. Next hurdle: Isaac's
acceptance of the candidate. The marriage still isn't set in concrete yet until
Isaac meets Becky and voluntarily accepts her to be his wife. But this phase
of the romance is out of the steward's jurisdiction. It's not his responsibility
to make the couple like each other. He only had to bring them together. (cf.
John 6:44)
†. Gen 24:67a . . Isaac then brought her into the tent of his mother
Sarah,
That tent was once Abraham's home. His choice to donate it for Becky's
temporary quarters was very thoughtful, and must have meant a lot to her;
since at this point, Becky was far from home, family, and friends; and her
future was in doubt. Meeting one's future in-laws can prove a bit scary for
some. To be given Sarah's tent was a very good indication that Isaac's dad
was pleased, and that the girl was okay by him.
She would live in the donated tent until such a time as the marriage was
performed, or (if Isaac didn't like her) until she was sent back home. There's
more to marriage than just business; after all, marriage is a union of two
people-- and people have feelings. It's one thing to do your duty, but it's
quite another to feel loved-- and marriage really ought to have some love in
it after all.
†. Gen 24:67b . . and he took Rebecca as his wife.
The literal of that verse is: he took Rebecca and she became his wife. The
meaning of "he took" Rebecca, is that Isaac accepted her. The meaning of
"she became his wife" is that Rebecca accepted Isaac. So that the marriage
was between two people who truly accepted each other; not between two
people who were stuck with each other. It turned out that those two went
together like a pair of old shoes: quite literally a match made in heaven.
†. Gen 24:67c . . Isaac loved her,
The word for "love" is from 'ahab (aw-hab') and means: to have affection
for. This instance is only the second time in the first twenty-four chapters of
Genesis where that word appears. The other was in chapter 22, just prior to
the Akedah, when God asked Abraham to "Take your son, your favored one,
Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a
burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you." So Isaac
genuinely loved Rebecca as a person just as much as Abraham had loved
Isaac as a son. Their union wasn't just another arranged marriage like so
many of the others in that day; but was truly a romance.
†. Gen 24:67d . . and thus found comfort after his mother's death.
It would take a very special girl to repair the hole torn in Isaac's heart by his
mom's passing. Well, Rebecca was just the one to do it. She not only
replaced Sarah in the matriarchy, but she also replaced Sarah as the woman
in Isaac's life. All too often, men experience very little happiness with their
mothers during boyhood. A callous mom can easily become a boy's worst
enemy, and permanently warp his attitude towards women for the
remainder of his life; even leading to male frigidity. But Isaac's mom wasn't
like that at all. She was not only a good mother to Isaac, but she was also a
really good buddy too.
Cont.
/
Suspecting that the man up ahead just might be her future husband,
Rebecca took no chances of getting off on the wrong foot with impropriety.
She could always get back up on the camel if it turned out the man wasn't
her Isaac; but just in case . . .
†. Gen 24:65a . . and said to the servant: Who is that man walking in
the field toward us? And the servant said: That is my master.
Well; the man approaching was much too young to be Abraham, and there
was only one other person on the whole planet that Abraham's servant
would ever call his master-- the heir apparent.
†. Gen 24:65b . . So she took her veil and covered herself.
Becky's veil was a full body wrap, similar to a burqa; not just a cute little
scarf in front of her face. In Akkadian, the bride on her wedding day was
called kallatu kutumtu, (the veiled bride). Also, in Akkadian; she was called
pussumtu, (the veiled one), which means the same as kallatu, (bride). In
that day, Rebecca's veil had both symbolic and socio-legal significance. It
was an unmistakable signal to Isaac that among all those ladies riding along
with his dad's servant that day; the one wrapped up in a burqa was to be his wife.
This meeting is interesting. We spent quite a bit of time viewing the
character, the background, and the beauty of a really outstanding young
woman in the beginning of this chapter. But it's all under wraps now in the
presence of the groom. Becky is doing absolutely nothing to attract Isaac at
this point. In fact, Isaac can't even see past the veil to what is a gorgeous
package of womanhood that Becky really is.
The anonymous steward who went north to speak with Becky on Isaac's
behalf, will now speak with Isaac on Becky's behalf. Thus, Abraham's
steward will be an ambassador for both Isaac and Rebecca; and when he's
done, Becky will know all she needs to know at this point about Isaac, and
Isaac will know all he needs to know at this point about Rebecca; even
before they meet each other for the very first time.
†. Gen 24:66 . .The servant told Isaac all the things that he had
done.
The steward's responsibility was to canvas Abraham's kin for a bridal
candidate, engage the girl to marry Isaac, gain her consent to leave home,
and then transport her safely back to Palestine. Next hurdle: Isaac's
acceptance of the candidate. The marriage still isn't set in concrete yet until
Isaac meets Becky and voluntarily accepts her to be his wife. But this phase
of the romance is out of the steward's jurisdiction. It's not his responsibility
to make the couple like each other. He only had to bring them together. (cf.
John 6:44)
†. Gen 24:67a . . Isaac then brought her into the tent of his mother
Sarah,
That tent was once Abraham's home. His choice to donate it for Becky's
temporary quarters was very thoughtful, and must have meant a lot to her;
since at this point, Becky was far from home, family, and friends; and her
future was in doubt. Meeting one's future in-laws can prove a bit scary for
some. To be given Sarah's tent was a very good indication that Isaac's dad
was pleased, and that the girl was okay by him.
She would live in the donated tent until such a time as the marriage was
performed, or (if Isaac didn't like her) until she was sent back home. There's
more to marriage than just business; after all, marriage is a union of two
people-- and people have feelings. It's one thing to do your duty, but it's
quite another to feel loved-- and marriage really ought to have some love in
it after all.
†. Gen 24:67b . . and he took Rebecca as his wife.
The literal of that verse is: he took Rebecca and she became his wife. The
meaning of "he took" Rebecca, is that Isaac accepted her. The meaning of
"she became his wife" is that Rebecca accepted Isaac. So that the marriage
was between two people who truly accepted each other; not between two
people who were stuck with each other. It turned out that those two went
together like a pair of old shoes: quite literally a match made in heaven.
†. Gen 24:67c . . Isaac loved her,
The word for "love" is from 'ahab (aw-hab') and means: to have affection
for. This instance is only the second time in the first twenty-four chapters of
Genesis where that word appears. The other was in chapter 22, just prior to
the Akedah, when God asked Abraham to "Take your son, your favored one,
Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a
burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you." So Isaac
genuinely loved Rebecca as a person just as much as Abraham had loved
Isaac as a son. Their union wasn't just another arranged marriage like so
many of the others in that day; but was truly a romance.
†. Gen 24:67d . . and thus found comfort after his mother's death.
It would take a very special girl to repair the hole torn in Isaac's heart by his
mom's passing. Well, Rebecca was just the one to do it. She not only
replaced Sarah in the matriarchy, but she also replaced Sarah as the woman
in Isaac's life. All too often, men experience very little happiness with their
mothers during boyhood. A callous mom can easily become a boy's worst
enemy, and permanently warp his attitude towards women for the
remainder of his life; even leading to male frigidity. But Isaac's mom wasn't
like that at all. She was not only a good mother to Isaac, but she was also a
really good buddy too.
Cont.
/
