Abraham was very concerned that his son Isaac not marry a woman from Canaan (Genesis 24:3-4), and that Isaac not return to Abraham’s homeland, Ur, to find a wife there (24:6, 8). It’s an odd set of requirements. It probably indicates Abraham’s awareness of how easy it is for the next generation to get off track from the previous generation’s religion. If Isaac married a Canaanite girl, he would end up involved in Canaanite life and culture and religion. If Isaac journeyed back to Ur and got married there, he would end up involved in the life and culture and religion of Ur.

But Abraham had been called away from the culture and religion that he had grown up with: and he had come realize that that call included his descendants as well. So a wife for Isaac needed to be someone who was willing to separate from her family of origin, and go to live in a land far away from her home (24:5). She and Isaac would need to live as followers of Yahweh, without living in Ur and feeling the constant pull toward polytheism there, and without her being a Canaanite and wanting to worship Canaanite gods with her sisters and brothers and cousins, and all their families.

So Abraham sent his servant to travel to Mesopotamia (24:10), to find a wife for Isaac. The text does not tell us the name of the servant. We might guess that he was Eliezer of Damascus, whom Abram had named as his heir before Isaac had been born (15:2); but that can be no more than a guess. It would have been easy for the text to reveal the servant’s name to us during the instructions Abraham gave the servant: but the servant’s name is not given.

It is a critically important task, and the servant fulfilled it, faithfully and prayerfully (24:14, 21, 26-27, 37-48). When Laban and Bethuel heard the story, it clearly impressed them. They gave their permission for Rebekah to leave and become Isaac’s wife. Interestingly, they asked Rebekah about her willingness to go become the wife of someone far away whom she had never met (24:57-58); it would not have been unusual for her not to be consulted. But they asked, and she agreed to go – perhaps indicating that she was an independent-minded woman, just what Abraham wanted for his son Isaac.

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When you have done all that you were commanded, say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty” (Luke 17:10).

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In ancient times and today, O Lord, so much of the work of your kingdom has been done by people who never get the credit they deserve. Give us eyes to see and hearts to commend the faithful work of our fellow servants; and give us glad hearts for the privilege of working for your kingdom even if no one notices but you.

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