Scripture Daily

Context No. 474 of 4322 · Genesis

Context · Reflection

Genesis 24:48-54: in context

48I bowed my head, and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter for his son. 49Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. If not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.” 50Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The thing proceeds from the LORD. We can’t speak to you bad or good. 51Behold, Rebekah is before you. Take her, and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the LORD has spoken.” 52When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the earth to the LORD. 53The servant brought out jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and her mother. 54They ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and stayed all night. They rose up in the morning, and he said, “Send me away to my master.”

This is the climax of a long, lovely errand. Abraham had sent his most trusted servant far away to find a wife for his son Isaac, and the servant, not knowing where to begin, had prayed for a specific sign at a well, and God had led him straight to Rebekah. Now he stands in her family's house, having told them the whole story, and asks for their answer. Laban and Bethuel reply, the thing proceeds from the LORD; we cannot speak to you bad or good. Rebekah is before you; take her. And when the servant hears it, the very first thing he does, before the gifts, before the meal, is to bow himself down to the earth and worship.

What stands out about this servant, all through the story, is that habit of worship. He does not congratulate himself on a job well done, on his own cleverness in devising the test at the well or his skill in negotiating. At every turn he bows and gives the credit to God. Earlier he said, I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD, who had led me in the right way. Now, when the family says yes, he worships again. He sees God's hand in the concrete details of an ordinary practical task, the right woman appearing at the right well, the family's consent, and his instinct is not self-satisfaction but thanksgiving. And notice his single-mindedness the next morning: not, let me stay and enjoy the hospitality, but send me away to my master. He is wholly focused on completing the mission he was given.

That quiet habit is worth examining in myself. When an ordinary task of mine goes well, when the right opportunity appears, the deal comes together, the day unfolds better than I feared, what is my first instinct? This servant's reflex was to bow and credit God for leading him. Mine is more often to feel a small glow of self-satisfaction, as though I had arranged it all myself. When things go well in the everyday errands of my life, do I see God's hand in it and bow in thanks, or do I quietly take the credit myself?

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