“And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his
hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city
of Nahor. And he made his camels to kneel down without the
city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time
that women go out to draw water. And he said, O LORD God
of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this
day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I
stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men
of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass,
that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I
pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will
give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast
appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that
thou hast shewed kindness unto my master” (Gen. 24:10-14).
Abraham’s eldest servant, Eliezer, was a man on a mission. He took of his master what goods were to be given as
a gift to the damsel, and to the family, who would become
the wife of Abraham’s son. It is apparent that when the
servant came to the city to which he was sent, he felt the
weight of the responsibility that was laid upon him. I’m
almost certain that the heaviness of the responsibility was
felt from the moment he understood Abraham’s instructions, and this heaviness was with him for the duration of
his travels to Mesopotamia.
Imagine this tremendous duty of finding an adequate
help to his master’s son. No doubt he understood that such
a serious task allowed only “one go at it,” so to speak, and
that he could not afford to make even one mistake. He had
to be certain that this damsel was the right one, the adequate one, a willing one.
So, what did this man do under such serious obligation?
He prayed! He lifted his voice to the God of heaven to guide
him. Also, he prayed for the damsel to be sensitive to his
need which in turn would serve as an indicator that this
was she who should be Isaac’s wife from among the many
daughters of men who came to draw water from the well.
“And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that,
behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son
of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her
pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to
look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she
went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up”
(Gen. 24:15, 16).
There near the well, the servant patiently waited and
observed. As he watched he must have seen her fill her
pitcher and then toss it up upon her shoulder and begin
to leave the area where they were. The Bible says that “she
went down to the well.” I read somewhere that some of
these wells had long staircases built to provide convenient
access to them. Some wells were 30, 75 or more feet deep
and the women would come and fill their pitchers down at
these wells.
Was this her? She was young, she was pretty, she had
come to the well—could it be her? Of course, he would
have his answer if she fit the pattern described in his prayer.
For Rebekah, it was evening time—the time the women
would typically come to draw water, possibly about sunset. Would she pass him and his companions by in a hurry
because it was late in the day and she had some distance
to travel to get home, seeing that the well was outside the
city? What would he encounter in her? Would she wait on
him and demonstrate a spirit of servanthood? Would she
be too busy to give a drink of water to this stranger? That
water she had drawn from the well was their salvation,
after all; they were thirsty, and they were tired from the
long distance traveled.
“And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray
thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink,
my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her
hand, and gave him drink” (Gen. 24:17, 18). Watch her now,
righteous Rebekah, whom God had prepared and who was
also going about her daily duties of fetching water with a
natural unselfish spirit and a sensitivity to the needs of others. By that same unselfish spirit and servanthood attitude
she would unknowingly demonstrate to Eliezer her divine
selection. It was no “show” on her part, no audition, it was
just her being her. What a tense moment it must have been
when he ran to meet her. Eliezer uncertain about the outcome, yet anxious to know as soon as possible, and it is certainly imaginable that Rebekah might have wondered for a
brief moment who this stranger was.
As we examine some of the details of what took place
during this brief period of time from the servant’s arrival, to
his prayer and the appearing of Rebekah it brings to mind
that wonderful and glorious relationship that is in existence today between Christ and His Church. It also brings
into view what ought to be by nature the devotion, sensitivity, burden and work ethic of God’s Church everywhere
at all times among all people.
There is a prayer that Christ uttered in John 17:6-23
from which we can put together a list of what Christ found
and desired to find in His Bride. Think of this list as requirements that needed to be met by the one chosen to be the
Bride of the Son of God. Just like Eliezer’s prayer over the
damsel who would serve to be his master’s son’s wife, the
institution claiming to be Christ’s True Bride must fit the
pattern of the prayer of the Son of God. Listen to excerpts from Christ’s prayer: “They have kept they word” ; “The words
which thou gavest me…they have received them” (while so called church groups everywhere give up the Word, His
Church keeps it!); “They have believed that thou didst send
me” (His Church declares, Thou art the Son of the living
God!); “I am glorified in them”; “Keep them through thine
own name” (The Church of God is His own name); “The
world hath hated them, because they are not of the world”;
“Not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but
that thou shouldest keep them from the evil”; “Sanctify them
through thy truth; thy word is truth”; “Even so have I sent them
into the world”; “Believe on me through their word” (A gospel
message sharing Church); “That they all may be one; as thou,
Father, are in me, and I in thee, that they may be one in us”
(Speaking and minding the same things. Walking by the
same rule); “That they may be perfect in one.”
These things, among others, God requires of Her and
they serve as indicators to God’s children that of all the
“daughters” who come to “draw out water” from the well
of Living Waters, She is the one appointed and divinely
selected for Christ our King. The Bible says, “There are
threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins
without number. My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is
the only one of her mother...” (Song of Sol. 6:8, 9), and again
“Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest
them all” (Prov. 31:29). Rebekah was not chosen because
she was “very fair to look upon” or for being “a virgin,” though
this was good and right, but because she fit the pattern of a
servant, and so it is with the Church. According to Scripture
there are many good and pure Christian groups doing a
good work, but they are not the Bride of Christ because
they do not fit the pattern of Christ’s prayer. It would not
have been enough for Eliezer that Rebekah was just pretty
and a virgin but she had to also fit the pattern of what was
prayed to God regarding her. The true Church will be presented to Christ a glorious Church and as a chaste virgin,
and She will fit the pattern of that which was prayed to the
Father regarding Her and all the types and shadows of the
Old Testament.
“And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will
draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough,
and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his
camels. And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit
whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not”
(Gen. 24:19, 21).
Some say that the jugs carried by the women could
hold between 3-5 gallons, which is about 30-50 pounds
when calculating the weight of the water jugs themselves.
The servant only asked for “a little water of thy pitcher,” but
watch her now, righteous Rebekah, a type and shadow of
The Church of God, as she seeks out the opportunity to do
a good thing and go beyond what has been requested of
her. One man wrote, “Now figure that a thirsty camel could
drink at least 10 gallons, and that the men also drank a
minimum of 3 gallons after their trek across the desert.
The water jars that the women carried held about 3 gallons and would have weighed about thirty pounds [the
same as about 4 gallons of milk] when they were full. So,
the total volume of water that this dear woman with a
servant’s heart carried out of that well that day was about
103 gallons; about 34 trips [that evening], carrying about
30 pounds each trip. Do you get the picture? This was no
small test.”
Had she been of a different spirit she may have told the
man that she did not have time to help, or she may have felt
that she had no obligation to bring the pitcher down from
her shoulder, after all, they were complete strangers to her.
However, she never once had any kind of motivation other
than to demonstrate kindness to someone else who was in
need. Regardless of all the work it may require, the Church,
like Rebekah, must be sensitive and have a servant’s heart
and learn to obey the beckoning of the Master. Rebekah
cared little for what she had already gone through to draw
the water, she did not fuss about how late in the evening it
was and how far she had yet to walk to arrive at the comforts of her home in order to go on about her day.
We must be careful, Church, with getting too busy
amongst ourselves—busy running to and from, busy with all
our internal activities, busy with all of our programs that
we forget about the strangers who approach us needing
prayer, needing a kind word or gesture, and most importantly spiritual water to drink. It is not too difficult to be
overtaken in the busyness of our church responsibilities.
It is not to difficult to be overrun by the busyness of our
administrative church duties. It is very possible that somewhere along our journey we have been guilty of passing
some thirsty and needy soul by because we were “pressed
for time” or maybe “late to some engagement” or “prior
appointment.” Perhaps we passed a soul by simply because
we felt that a portion of our daily routine, family time,
weekly scheduled event, an annual outing of some sort
could not be given up—no not even for a loved one, much
less for a stranger. Some of the sweetest words a lost soul
has ever heard were from someone who simply stopped
what they were in the middle of and took the time to say,
“I want to tell you about Jesus” and it changed the course
of their lives.
Watch her now, righteous Rebekah, as she is anxious to
be of service. She not only gave the men to drink but said,
“I will draw water for thy camels also.” This was not asked and
certainly not expected of her. Have you ever been anxious
to be of service for the Lord? Have you ever been accused
of and persecuted for seeking the welfare of others? Some
people have; Nehemiah made some folks angry because he
dared to seek the welfare of others. The devil will not be
happy when God’s people really begin to seek the welfare
of others, especially the spiritual welfare of others. But we’re
not here to make him happy, we are here to please the Lord.
Her work ethics and willingness to do good unto others,
and to forget about self, seem to just naturally flow and spill
out of her. Church of God, lets take her example, let’s reach up and reach out to follow after the pattern set before us!
Rebekah, this great woman of God, would not stop until all
had the opportunity to drink. How much more then should
the Church work and labor nonstop until every soul has
had the opportunity to taste of the Water of Life? The Bible
says that Rebekah “ran again unto the well to draw water,
and drew for all.” Oh, it seems as though her servant-like
spirit cannot be matched in this present age of a narcissistic
world and among (so-called) Christian culture that, in great
part, is interested only in its small circle of friends. But you
and I, Church of God, in view of lost and dying humanity,
should we not run again to the Fountain of Life that does
not run dry, run to Jesus, and be filled with His Spirit so we
have plenty to give to as many as we may encounter?
The Church, as a servant, must not hesitate to do something kind and even go beyond our reasonable service. The
Church must not hesitate in the face of the thirsty and tired
multitudes that need spiritual water, but we must work
and employ every effort to go down to the well and get
upon our knees and “DRAW UP” the Living Water to give a
little water of our pitcher. We’ve got to have something to
give something! Like Rebekah, let’s not occupy any of our
time questioning if it is really necessary, but let us be swift
to satisfy the request!
Eliezer and the other men who traveled with him were not
helpless, but able-bodied men. They could have gone down
and drawn the water for themselves and their camels. Nevertheless, Eliezer watched and wondered to see if she fit the
pattern of a servant’s heart. Rebekah was not a poor servant
girl, and she had no need or reason to do what she chose to
do. In like manner, our God is well able, and He doesn’t really
need us to do anything for Him, but He is watching Church,
wondering if we will obediently and willingly with a servant’s
heart wait on Him and serve those in need.
By The Church of God, General Overseer, Bishop Oscar Pimentel
