As children and then teenagers we all dream of falling in love and living happily ever after. When we were really young we watched all the Disney princess movies and dreamed of one day being swept off our feet by our very own Prince Charming. When we were teenagers we wanted boyfriends and wanted to go on dates and be romanced! We enjoyed getting flowers and love notes from crushes, and we dreamed of our wedding days! Some of you may still be waiting for the right guy to come around. Those like me can think back to the days when you met your husband for the first time and how your "dating story" unfolded. Yes, I think back to those days with a sigh as they were days when my husband and I were just getting to know each other and figuring out if this might just possibly be "the one!" Now, having been married for a little more than 5 years, and having gone through lots of bumps along the way, I know that it isn't exactly a happily ever after like the fairy tales! Instead, it is a reality that you are two selfish sinners, trying to live together under one roof! Haha! Not exactly the perfect endning, huh? But, it is beautiful! And I love being married! How does it work so well? Truthfully, it doesn't! But I love my husband and I am committed to HIM till the end (being death). And so, even with the bumps along the way, we work things out and follow God and love each other, following God's plan!
When you think of the Bible, you probably don't think that there is romance and a few love stories (husband and wife) included inside! But that is what I love about my Bible! God did include these in His word! Why? To give us a guide as to what a true and lasting love story/marriage is supposed to look like. So that we can follow God's guide to "happily ever after."
While reading chapter 24 of Genesis, I couldn't help but read it as if I was reading a "fairy tale." It kind of sounds like one doesn't it? Abraham (Isaac's father) makes a promise with the oldest servant of his household to find a wife not from the Canaanites, but rather of Abraham's family. So, that faithful servant travels all the way back to Nahor, which was approximately 550 miles North of Hebron, where they were. This trip would have taken the servant approximately 21 days to travel! That truly is one faithful servant!
Well, this servant prays for direction from God. He asks that God guide him to the right woman by being specific about what she does for him. The woman who gives both him and his camel a drink from the spring of water shall be the woman that God has chosen as Isaac's wife.
Along comes Rebekah, who is described as a woman of very attractive appearance and a woman whom no man has known - a virgin. She had no idea at all of what was going on. And out of the kindness of her heart gives both the servant and his camel water. Then when the servant inquired as to whose daughter she was, she revealed that she was the daughter of Bethuel who was the son of Milcah (and this is why paying attention to genealogies is important). Milcah was the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother. Rebekah was Abraham's great niece! So, Rebekah then trusts the servant and travels about 550 miles back down to Hebron and then we get to the romantic part of the story!
Isaac goes out to the field one evening to ponder life/pray to God/etc, when in the distance he spots camels coming his direction. Rebekah, spies the man walking in the fields and asks the servant who he was, and the servant simply responds, "It is my master." So, Rebekah covers herself with a veil and Isaac then takes Rebekah and she becomes his wife and it simply says in verse 67, "...and he loved her."
What can we learn about God's picture of marriage from this story? A few key things.
God's timing is always perfect! Obviously, neither Rebekah or Isaac were out dating, or seeking a husband/wife on their own. They were waiting. And each was busy doing what they needed to do in life. Rebekah was being a servant to a servant (right where God wanted her) and she was also a daughter in her father's house. Isaac was a son in his father's house, I am sure helping with tasks that needed to be done. Neither was looking for the other. They were simply waiting and were right where they needed to be for God to work!
Rebekah had never been with another man. She was pure in the sight of God and her husband. So important that we keep a standard of purity in our lives prior to marriage! Let our husband be the first and only man who ever touches us. This is God's will for our lives!
Rebekah was willing to submit to the authority placed over her (God, the servant, and Isaac). She simply followed. This is God's command for wives.
Isaac loved Rebekah. God's command for husbands!
A beautiful picture of a Biblical love story! Instead of seeking after the worlds version of true love, lets strive to follow God's version! It is where we will find true, lasting, fulfilling love in our marriage relationship!
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