12. The Chief Manager Matches Marriage by the Well: How to Find a Match Thousands of Miles Away?

 “Abraham longed for a city with foundations, designed and built by God.” [Hebrews 11:10]

As time passed, Abraham moved back to Hebron with his family, where he met angels who were told of Isaac’s birth and the destruction of cities like Sodom.

When Isaac was 37, his mother Sarah passed away at the age of 127. Abraham stayed by her side, weeping bitterly. She returned to God, but left herself and her son to spend the rest of their time on earth.

At that time, Abraham was living among the Hittites. Although he was a wealthy shepherd, he owned no land. Abraham sought out the elders of the Lyhites in Hebron, begging them to sell him a piece of land to bury Sarah. Ephron among the Hittites showed sincerity to Abraham and sold him a piece of land for ninety taels of silver.

Abraham buried Sarah in a cave on that land. The ancients kept their promise, and that land was always used by the Abraham family as a burial site, burying four generations including Abraham, over more than 500 years. Their remains remain there to this day, becoming a famous sacred site. Because of the biblical records here, the Hittis were only excavated and confirmed by archaeologists after the nineteenth century, once again confirming the biblical accuracy.

Three years passed after Sarah’s death. Abraham was 140 years old, Isaac was 40, but they had not yet married. Abraham was unwilling to marry Isaac off to a local woman because God did not reveal this to him; he knew God hated the locals for idolatry, even killing his own children as sacrifices. He feared that his life was numbered, and that his son had been herding with him in the wilderness since birth, free from conflict and desire, obedient and pure. Remembering God’s promise to him to become a great family, he worried about his son’s marriage. He thought of his own clan thousands of miles away, where his younger brother had many descendants.

Abraham called his reliable old servant (who may have once accompanied his master to Mount Moriah) and said, “Please put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the LORD, the God who rules heaven and earth, that you will not take this Canaanite woman as my son’s wife.” You must return to my hometown and find a wife for Isaac among my relatives. ”

The old butler asked, “If that woman refuses to come here with me, should I take your son back to your hometown?” Abraham said, “You must not take my son back there!” For the Lord in heaven, who led me away from my father’s house and my homeland, spoke to me and swore to promise to grant this land to my descendants. He will send angels to lead you before you and help you find a wife for my son there. If the woman refuses to come with you, you have fulfilled the oath you made to me, but you must not take my son back there. ”

The steward prepared various valuable gifts, placed them on ten camels, and set out for Haran in the east, thousands of miles away. More than twenty days later, the old steward, weary from travel, arrived outside Harlan’s city. It was dusk, the sun setting in the west, and the tall city walls covered in a glow of orange-yellow.

The steward found a spring well by the camel, laid it down, and silently prayed to God: “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please show mercy to my master Abraham so that this may happen today.” Now, I stand by this spring, and the women of the city are coming out to draw water.

If I say to a young girl, ‘Please put down your water jar so I can drink some water,’ if she says, ‘Please drink, and I will fetch water for your camels to drink,’ may that woman be the wife you choose for your servant Isaac. That way, I can know the master you have bestowed upon me. “Just as he finished praying, a group of women came out of the city, carrying water jars on their shoulders to fetch water. The laughing women approached the well, and when they saw the unfamiliar butler, they were stunned, stopped joking, and nervously began to fetch water. The butler watched from the side, and when a beautiful young woman came to fetch water, he was moved and went up to her, saying, “Please give me some water to drink.” The beautiful woman’s eyes were as gentle as a dove’s. Seeing the servant’s weary eyes and parched lips, she immediately put down the water jar from her shoulder, held it in her hand, and said, “My lord, please drink.” ”

After the servant finished drinking, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve, but before he could thank him, the young woman said, “I’ll fetch some water for your camels so they can drink their fill.” So, she told her companions to fetch water and go home first, stayed behind herself, then fetched water and poured the water from the jar into the sink. After a long trek across the desert, ten camels were already extremely thirsty, scrambling to squeeze water from their troughs. The water was quickly drained. The girl went back and forth by the well and the trough until the camels finally drank their fill.

The old butler stood nearby, watching the young woman wipe the sweat from her forehead, then took out a nose ring weighing about six grams and a pair of gold bracelets weighing about one hundred and ten grams, giving them to her, and asked, “May I ask whose daughter you are?” Does your father’s family have a place for us to stay? The girl replied, “I am Rebekah, daughter of Pethuri. My father was the son of Nahor (Abraham’s brother). I have plenty of provisions at home, and I have a place for you to stay. When the steward heard this, his eyes grew moist, his white beard trembled, and he immediately fell to the ground, looked up to heaven, worshiped God, and said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, for He has always treated my master with love and faithfulness.”

Not only did He hear my prayer and answer it immediately, but He also led me to find the granddaughter of my master’s brother and gave me the Son of the Lord as his wife. Rebekah was confused but caught the underlying meaning. Blushing with embarrassment, he abandoned the water jar and ran home to tell his parents and brother everything that had happened.

Rebekah’s brother was named Laban. While listening, he looked at his sister’s nose ring and gold bracelet, and as he hurried to the well, he saw the old steward and the camel still waiting, so he said, “You who have been blessed by the Lord, come to my house.” Why stand outside? I have prepared a room for you and a place for the camel. The steward followed him to Laban’s house. Laban had already invited his father, had the camels unloaded with fodder, fed them fodder, fetched water for the steward and his companions to wash their feet, and prepared dinner for him. But the steward said, “Please wait until I explain my purpose before eating, okay?” Laban said, “Please go ahead.” ”

The old steward then described in detail how his master Abraham sent him here to befriend Isaac, how he endured great hardships on the long journey, how he prayed to God at the well, and how Rebekah miraculously appeared and granted all his prayers. Finally, he pleaded: “Now, if you are willing to treat my master with love and faithfulness and agree to this marriage, please tell me; If you don’t agree, please tell me so I know how to respond to my master. ”

Laban said to his father, “Since this is the Lord’s arrangement, we cannot say anything more.” Look, Rebekah is here; you may do as the Lord has said, and take her back to marry the Son of your Lord. When the old steward heard this, he fell down to the ground again and worshiped the Lord, then took out gold and silver jewelry and garments to Rebekah, and gave precious gifts to her brother and mother. The next morning, the old butler got up early and asked Rebekah’s parents to let him take her home immediately. Of course, Rebekah’s family insisted on trying to persuade her to stay.

But the old steward insisted, “Since the Lord has made my journey smooth, please do not hold me back, so that I may return to my master soon, for he is old and cannot bear to worry about this matter for long.” Rebekah’s parents had no choice but to call their daughter over to ask for her opinion, “Would you like to go with this man?” Rebekah looked at her parents and then at the old butler, her face flushed again, but her gaze remained calm as she said, “I do!” “More than twenty days passed, and at dusk again, Isaac, who lived in the southern wilderness of Beersheba, came to the fields.

Every evening, he would take a walk alone under the sunset, deep in thought. Since his mother passed away three years ago, he had been in a bad mood, missing her and not knowing how long he had been wandering like this. As he was pondering, he faintly heard the faint sound of camel bells coming from the east. He put his hands on his hand and looked around, saw the caravan of camels, and on closer inspection, he saw his father’s old butler and a stranger girl beside him. Though far away, he could still see her beautiful silhouette, pure and angelic in the sunset. Rebekah also saw Isaac in the distance. Facing the setting sun, she could only see his figure, but her heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

She turned to ask the steward, “Who is he?” “That is my master Isaac, miss.” Upon hearing this, Rebekah immediately covered herself with a red veil to cover her delicate face. She saw Isaac striding toward her…