September 14: Rebekah
and Isaac (Spark pp. 38-41)
Last week we talked about Abram and Sarai beginning their
journey to a new promised land, lots of children, and God’s
blessing as they went. We know that they
made it safely into the land of Canaan.
After they had arrived, God sent an angel to visit them and tell them
about a baby--God also gave them a son named “Isaac” at the age of 90! Our story today is
about how God’s
promises continued through Isaac’s journeys.
As Isaac grew, his parents got OLDER and OLDER. They were worried about his future and, so,
Abraham asked one of his servants to help find a good wife for Isaac—someone to
help him begin a family, take care of the land, and to serve God. The problem was that there was no one who
believed in God (other than Isaac’s parents and Isaac) in ALLLLLL of Canaan. The servant would have to travel back to the
place where Abraham grew up! Remember—it was a very looooooong journey, back
over the desert sands.
When the servant arrived, he knew he needed to find a woman
who would be a good wife for Isaac, but he didn’t know where to start looking!
So, he did what we do when we don’t know
where or how to start on our journeys—he prayed for God to help him.
The servant said, “God, I will go to the well in the
middle of this town and ask a woman if she can give me a drink of water. If she gives me water and offers to get water
for my camels too, I will know that she is the right woman for Isaac.”
The servant waited by the well. And waited.
And waited. In the evening, a
BEAUTIFUL woman came to fill jars with water.
The servant asked her for a drink.
Rebekah replied, “Yes, of course. Here is some water. You look like you’ve come
a long way and are tired. Let me get some water for your camels too.”
The servant smiled and asked her for her name. Her name was Rebekah. The servant knew God had answered his
prayer.
The servant told Rebekah, “God sent me a very long way to find
you. God has a plan for you to marry a
man named Isaac. He has promised that
you and Isaac will have many children.”
Rebekah said with a smile, “I know that God keeps his
promises. I have always wanted a big
family. I will journey with you, and
will go to marry Isaac.”
After they journeyed and Rebekah and Isaac were married, God
kept his promises, and they had twin boys—Esau and Jacob. And Jacob became the father to TWELVE boys,
one of whom was Joseph (and we’ll talk about him and his brothers next week!) So God kept
his promises to Abram and his family.
What did we learn?
Sometimes what we are supposed to do is easy to follow (like
traveling/journeying to Abram’s town), and sometimes what we are supposed to do isn’t so
clear (like when the servant arrived and didn’t know where to look for Isaac’s
wife). Prayer—talking to God and asking for help—is often a good place to
start! Rebekah showed great faith and
bravery too, didn’t
she? She trusted that the servant spoke
the truth and she traveled a far way away from HER family to follow after God’s plan.
What are some ways you have trusted God this week? What are some ways you’ve
heard or seen him talk with you on your journey?
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