Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

The following attributes suggest themselves to me:

Rebekah was apparently (even if not consciously) living in God's will, as indicated by her coming to draw water at the precise time that Abraham's servant had prayed for that specific sign.

Her calling came at a time when she was conscientiously performing normal required tasks. She did not actively seek (or have to actively seek) any extraordinary aspect with regard to her activities or her station in life. God can still work in a similar way today.

She readily responded to the request of Abraham's servant, indicating a hospitable spirit, even toward strangers, which contributed significantly to the working out of the situation.

In addition to that, she displayed generosity in going "above and beyond" by freely (without prompting or request) offering to draw water for the servant's camels (despite the laborious nature of that task), as well as by inviting the servant (with his camels) to spend the night with her family.

She was completely willing to go with Abraham's servant, despite the many unknowns or uncertainties that were involved in the situation, once again indicating openness to God's will and direction.

March 16 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

As “an amiable and lovely girl,” as her name suggests, she was industrious, for although she was a member of a family of standing she was not afraid to soil her hands. The hard work of drawing and carrying water, the provision she made for Eliezer’s camels speak of Rebekah as one who did not shun domestic duties. --HL Locker

The servant was evaluating Rebekah to see if she would make a good wife for Isaac. He could see that she was kind, pleasant, humble, healthy, and a hard worker. Watering ten camels is no easy job! After a long trek, a thirsty camel might drink as much as 40 gallons of water, and Rebekah had to draw all that water by hand. -- WW Wiersbe Commentary on the OT.

Another source says a thirsty camel drinks up to 25 gallons after a week's travel. LASB

Google says 50 gallons can be drunk by camels today in 3 minutes! 50 x 8.3 = 415 pounds of water only, per camel, but with 10 camels this is 4150 pounds! This doesn't include the pot. Assuming, as one source said, that the pot held 2-3 gallons, she carried 2075 times to the camels (with 2 gallons each time). Or if her pot held 3 gallons, she did this 1,383 times! That's a long days work, backbreaking work, but Rebekah was willing and able. 

A gallon of water weighs 8.3 pounds. The pots used for carrying water were big and heavy. Maybe at least 1 pound? So 50 x 9.3 = 465 pounds / camel. For 10 camels worth of work, it would be 4650 pounds! I used to teach Math to 3rd and 4th graders at Deer Valley Christian School in Phoenix, Arizona, and really loved it!

As a more important application of this passage, Abraham’s servant (probably Eliezer) knew this was a woman with a heart for doing far more than the bare minimum. Do we have servants’ hearts? When we are asked to help or when we see a need, we must go beyond the minimum. This is Christ’s desire for us. LASB

March 21 2021 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report