Watch Her Now, Righteous Rebekah

“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