Isaac Marries Rebekah – Genesis 24:1-67

Bethel Baptist Church – David Rising

Genesis 24:1-67; September 13, 2026 Sunday PM

Isaac Marries Rebekah

Sarah has died. Abraham has buried her in the burial plot that he has purchased from the sons of Heth at a price of 400 shekels of silver. Abraham now holds in his hand the deed of that plot of land. It is just Abraham and Isaac now. Of course there were others around, but the focus of God’s future through Isaac now continues.

We have this most wonderful story today of how Isaac finds a wife. As you well know, he does not actually find her; God directs providentially through Abraham’s servant to find her.

I am not sure how many of us would like to find our wife this way, but this is how God arranged it for His promised son, Isaac.

There are 67 verses to cover tonight, and so we will get to it. Most of the verses are straight-forward and don’t need to be overly-explained, but we will note important points as we go through it. Pray.

1. Abraham Gives Instruction to Servant (24:1-9)

24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

Sarah died at 127 years, and so Abraham was around 137 when Sarah dies. If this takes place soon after her death, then he would be this age. Surely this is well advanced in age, and indeed God had blessed Abraham in all things – just as He had promised. He was blessed as God was keeping His covenant.

Abraham was concerned that Isaac finds a wife and a wife from among the right people. He is likely too old to travel, and he does not seem interested in sending Isaac on the trip either. Given what recently transpired, perhaps he wanted to keep him close to home.

Abraham instructs his servant to promise that he would find for Isaac a wife from among his family and not among the Canaanites. The instruction about putting his hand under his thigh is surely a euphemism for a way of promising that we don’t really relate to in our day. We might say to someone that they put their hand over their heart, but the point is clear. Solemnly promise to find a wife from among Abraham’s family.

Now when you or I give direction for our children to find a spouse, what is the first thing we make clear? You must find a spouse who is also a genuine follower of Christ. You marry in the Lord, as the NT puts it. We don’t find any stipulation here along those lines. It is only about avoiding a Canaanite girl and one who is of Abraham’s family. Keep that in mind as we trace through the account of Isaac and Rebekah.

We have already been given a clue to Abraham’s family in the text that concluded chapter 22, so we likely would expect it to include someone from that list. Indeed it does.

5 And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?”

The servant raises an important concern, and he suggests bringing along Isaac in case she does not agree to return to the land. This is a good question, but one that Abraham easily handles because of the larger context of Isaac’s future. After all, the future includes the land they were presently occupying, so that is key. Notice verse 6:

6 But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. 7 The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

This project is all about bringing a wife to the land of promise, not taking the son of promise away from the land. Notice that Abraham describes that this is what happened to him – God took him from his father’s house and land to the land God showed him. Been there, done that. It is all about God’s land and promise, not family roots and heritage.

Abraham says that the agreement is off if the woman will not come to the land of promise. And so the servant agrees and affirms it in the manner described here, and so off they will soon go.

2. Meeting Rebekah (24:10-28)

10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.

We noted this at the end of chapter 22 and 11. Nahor the person was of one of Abraham’s brothers, the one who married Milcah and who were the grandparents of Rebekah. Now there was a previous Nahor noted in Genesis 11 who is listed as the father of Terah, Abraham’s father. Thus, it is most likely that this city of Nahor north of the land of promise, in Mesopotamia, was named after Abraham’s grandfather. And so, it makes sense that this is described here as the land of Abraham’s family.

Ten camels would be quite a scene, and at the end of this journey – estimated to be a month long (Speiser) – the animals would certainly have needed some water. This will be the key point in this trip. Now Moses gives us the details of their arrival and what followed:

11 And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. 12 Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

Abraham’s chief servant parks his camels by the well and asks the LORD God for success in identifying the woman who would be the right girl for Isaac. We see this prayer of his noted here as if he prayed out loud. We might pray like this also, if no one is around.

Notice that he is asking for the LORD God to show him the one God had appointed for Isaac. He has a view of the world that sees the LORD God as the One Who has the plan. He wanted through the identification of this woman to be the way he would know that God was keeping His promise – showing “kindness to my master” Abraham.

After all, Isaac needed a wife to have children and see the promise fulfilled.

15 And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder.

This is written in a way that is informed by the events already passed. At first, he did not know all the family information, but Moses tells us this as it happens. Notice also that even before Abraham’s servant finishes speaking to the LORD, God already had answered.

16 Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her.

Before we knew this, we were given her family tree in verse 15. Now we learn of her personally: beautiful, a virgin (or young women of marriageable age), and never slept with anyone, to use today’s language.

And so out she comes with her pitcher on her shoulder, and verse 16 continues:

And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up.

She accomplished what she came to do. But of course the day would get very interesting for her. Abraham’s servant notices all of this of course:

17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”

He asks for just a sip of water, but notice how she responds:

18 So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink.

She is someone we would picture as highly energetic and focused. She sees a need and offers to help.

It is at this moment, no doubt, that Abraham’s servant is wondering if this will go the next step. Remember, the sign he has laid before the LORD was for the girl to offer him a drink as well as voluntarily offer to give a drink to his camels – all ten of them! He had also prayed that the LORD God would give him success today, so he would soon find out. Verse 19:

19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.

Right about now, the servant is smiling and perhaps thanking God for answering his prayer. She has to be the one, he is thinking. Verse 21:

21 And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

Indeed, he was pondering the situation and would soon find out if she was the one.

This scene here reminds me of the thoughts that went through each one who has married – that moment when you look at your friend and wonder – is she the one? Is he the one?

Keep in mind also that though the servant has asked God for a particular scenario, we do not have record of God agreeing to this. We merely assume it, but it is a good assumption.

It could have taken quite a while for one young woman to water ten camels with her one pitcher.

22 So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, 23 and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?”

The servant takes out these two gifts, and we do not hear precisely what he does with them, but presumably he offers them to her for what she has done. We will find out in a few verses she does know what to do with them indeed. Little does she know that these are likely gifts with a broader purpose. He asks about her family and if there is room for him to stay for a time. She answers:

24 So she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.”

The servant surely was educated about Abraham’s family, and so he would have recognized this was the right family indeed. And there was also room for him to stay for a time.

26 Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. 27 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” 28 So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things.

Here we see the appropriate response of a man who has asked God for specific things in prayer, and now gives glory to God for answering that prayer. He bowed down his head and worshiped the LORD. Normally we have seen worship associated with the building of an altar and sacrifice, but this is not noted here and probably absent from this situation.

Did he say this in the hearing of the girl? If so, she would have heard in a general way that God has led him and that he is also from the same family – ‘my master’s brethren’. He does not say as he says later why specifically he has come. For, all of the pieces of the puzzle are not yet confirmed. She would have to consent to return to the land, and that has yet to be established.

He probably did here what we would do as well – just look down and give God glory for what just happened. Notice his prayer to the LORD honors Abraham’s God, the One who has kept mercy and truth for Abraham. It would not be a stretch to say that God’s promise to Abraham was likely a well-known promise within his household, including his servant here. The focus is about Abraham, but notice the last part of verse 27 includes the Lord’s leading also of this servant.

His statement is clear that he believes that the Lord has led him on his journey clearly to the right place. It is a little reminiscent of God’s call to Abraham – to leave home and go to the place that God would show him. So often the Lord calls us to go, even before we know precisely where that will end up.

Upon hearing this or after taking in all that had happened, she heads home to tell all she has experienced. She appears to be a young lady with plenty of energy.

Notice she heads to her mother’s household, perhaps an indication that her father, Bethuel, is deceased, although verse 50 notes a Bethuel listening. In this chapter we see reference to both mother’s and father’s household – same place, so perhaps it is just two ways of telling the same thing.

Notice her family is noted:

3. Meeting the family (24:29-49)

29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. 30 So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. 31 And he said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.”

Brother Laban heads to the well and when he sees sister Rebekah sporting jewelry and telling all about that man, Laban heads over to the well to see him and invites him into the house. It would seem that the well and the house are not far apart. He immediately shows hospitality, much like Abraham did when his guests arrived in Genesis 18.

32 Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Food was set before him to eat,

Gracious hospitality was shown to him. But that is not really why he has come, and so he puts this on pause:

but he said, “I will not eat until I have told about my errand.”

And he said, “Speak on.”

His “errand” was to be spoken first. ESV has “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say” NASB “until I have told my business.” Clearly, he was there for more than just a pit-stop. He explains:

34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and to him he has given all that he has. 37 Now my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; 38 but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’ 39 And I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ 40 But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house. 41 You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’

42 “And this day I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, 43 behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,” 44 and she says to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

45 “But before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also. 47 Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”

He retells the story that we have read, but now it is in the hearing of Laban and Bethuel. Everyone’s ear must have been well-tuned into hearing this amazing story. He tells of Abraham’s blessings by the LORD, of Isaac’s birth to elderly Sarah, and the fact that Isaac now is essentially heir of all of this. Father Abraham has sent this servant on this particular mission and this servant tells of all of the factors that had to take place to bring this mission to a successful conclusion. He puts to Label and Bethuel the proposal and asks for their response, be it yes or no.

Now, how would you respond if something like this happened to you? You lay before the Lord a list of things that have to match reality, and then when they match, what do you do?

Remember, if the Lord is leading us in a matter, He is also leading the others involved in the same matter. And so we see their response here:

4. Returning back to the land (24:50-61)

50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good. 51 Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken.”

In just a few sentences, they acknowledge that the LORD has led in the matter. They are basically speechless. It is quite interesting that they have reached the conclusion as much as the servant has – that this thing is from the LORD, Yahweh, the God of Abraham.

It is as if the LORD has been preparing Rebekah for this day as well since they readily give permission for her to go and be Isaac’s wife, “as the LORD has spoken.” They perceive that what Abraham’s servant has said is precisely what the LORD has spoken. Perhaps they also recognized this marriage as part of God’s promise to relative Abraham.

Notice the reaction:

52 And it came to pass, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, that he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth.

He responds in the same way as he had just done when he had heard and saw the response of Rebekah (verse 26). He worshiped the LORD, and then the words ‘bowing himself’ are supplied to make sense out of ‘to the earth’. ESV has it “he bowed himself to the earth before the LORD.’

For the third time, this servant has given honor to the LORD. First, in petition for a successful day. Second, in response to what Rebekah does, and now third, in response to what Laban and Bethuel say.

53 Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.

Abraham’s servant now give jewelry and clothing both to Rebekah and to Laban and to Rebekah’s mother. Notice that these gifts do not come as incentive at the front, but as gifts at the back. There is no sense here that there was some kind of greed involved.

54 And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they arose in the morning, and he said, “Send me away to my master.”

After he stayed the night, the servant of Abraham was ready to head home, but a request was made:

55 But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go.”

56 And he said to them, “Do not hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.”

57 So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.” 58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”

And she said, “I will go.”

For whatever reason, Laban and their mother asked for more time and then to let her go. As a mother and brother, this makes sense because this has all come about so rapidly. Perhaps they just wanted more time with their sister and daughter, and we can understand this.

But Abraham’s servant instead would rather get going because he sees this all as God’s clear leading. And so they give the question to Rebekah, and she consents to leave. The question was really 1) will you agree to marry Abraham’s son, and 2) so soon?

59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her:

“Our sister, may you become

The mother of thousands of ten thousands;

And may your descendants possess

The gates of those who hate them.”

Both Rebekah and her nurse head out. In their goodbye blessing, they display an understanding of the promise of God to Abraham and Isaac and incorporate it into their blessing here. Or, I should say, whether they know about that or not, they certainly echo the promise in what they say. They pray for many offspring and for triumph over any future enemies they might encounter.

The nurse is not named here, which is similar to Abraham’s servant. It allows the focus to be upon Rebekah in this narrative. We learn later in 35:8 that the name of her nurse was Deborah.

And so off they go:

61 Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

And so off they go.

5. Rebekah Meets Isaac (24:62-67)

62 Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South.

Isaac was living in the south, the Negev, and came from Beer Lahai Roi – the name we saw given to the well in Genesis 16 when the Angel of the Lord met Hagar as she was leaving for the first time from Sarah.

63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming.

Much has been written to understand what exactly Isaac was doing out in the field that evening. This is a word that is only found here, and translations struggle to know how to translate it. It really is not critical to the storyline; what is critical is that God has allowed these two parties to run into each other.

He looks up and there is a caravan of camels coming. I wonder what this could be?

64 Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; 65 for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”

The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself.

This is the interesting part of the whole story of course. There Rebekah sees this man, and she wonders who he is. Notice that she is not talking with the man, but just the servant with whom she is familiar. After asking for identification, Abraham’s servant identifies him as his master, which promptly caused Rebekah to cover herself with a veil. She discovers who he is before Isaac realizes who she is. This veiling was a way of identifying herself as a prospective bride.

66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

They meet, go to Sarah’s tent – their home – and he takes her as his wife. Verses 66-67 quickly, almost too quickly it might seem, summarize all that transpired in all of this. Isaac loves her and she was a great comfort to him after the death of Sarah his mother.

And there you have it – the story of how Isaac finds a wife.

There are lots of interesting things we can note here, but let me highlight the overarching theme of this story: God’s providential guidance in all of the details of life.

We can study the bible and make charts and put people on lists and see the flow: Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, future, blessing, etc. This story illustrates how God providentially guides through the circumstances of life. We could look at every detail of this story and see where a variant in the plot could have changed the outcome, or so we might think.

What if Abraham’s servant got lost? What if Rebekah never came out to the well? What if she did not offer to Abraham’s servant water for her camel? What if Laban or Bethuel did not consent to give her to Abraham’s servant? What if they insisted on ten days of waiting, while Abraham’s servant insisted it be today? What if Isaac did not consent to receive Rebekah? What if, what if.

I suppose we could raise these objections to any narrative. But I think of these since they are specifically related to God keeping His promise to Abraham and Isaac and to future generations.

My whole point here in summary is to recognize that God is sovereign over the big and little matters of our lives to bring about His will. Instead of fighting with God and expressing our frustration for the lives that we have, the struggles we face, the difficulties we can’t seem to get over, let us instead look to our God and rest in Him, knowing that He is working all things according to the counsel of his will (Ephesians 1:11).

How God incorporates all of life to bring about his purposes is beyond us, but it is a teaching I believe scripture teaches that we should readily accept and in which we can rest.

To the praise of His glory indeed (Ephesians 1:14b).