-
†. Gen 24:23-25 . . Pray tell me; he said: whose daughter are you? Is
there room in your father's house for us to spend the night? She
replied: I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she
bore to Nahor. And she went on: There is plenty of straw and feed at
home, and also room to spend the night.
That did it. The identity of Becky's family was the final chop that felled the
tree. Abraham's steward had no more doubts about the Lord's providence.
At this point, he put the ring in Becky's nose and the bands on her arms.
†. Gen 24:26-27 . .The man bowed low in homage to The Lord and
said: Blessed be The Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has
not withheld His steadfast faithfulness from my master. For I have
been guided on my errand by The Lord, to the house of my master's
kinsmen.
How utterly astounded Becky must have been that this stranger would give
her all that gold for doing nothing more than watering him and his camels;
and then his prayer to boot.
I'm guessing that at this point, Becky began to suspect that something was
up. There were men with Abraham's steward who were no doubt all intently
observing this scene and gauging Becky's reactions throughout the whole
incident. Looking at them, looking at the man, looking at his camels loaded
down with all manner of stuff, and that there were more saddled camels
than men to ride them; I think Becky began to get nervous because right
then she took off out of there for home like a United passenger with scarcely
seconds to spare to catch their connection from Chicago to Seattle.
†. Gen 24:28 . .The maiden ran and told all this to her mother's
household.
Becky told the story to her mom's side of the family, which suggests that her
dad Bethuel may have kept a concubine as well as a wife.
Here's a possible scenario of what happened next.
Becky's mom (whose name isn't given) has become anxious-- it's getting
late, and her baby hasn't returned yet with the evening water supply.
Then, WHAM! as sudden and unexpected as a California earthquake: an
excited, out of breath Becky-girl comes crashing through the door with a
shriek and a squeal; dropping her jug on the floor with a thud, sloshing
water over the floor, accompanied by the incomprehensible jabbering of a
flock of magpies-- gasping for air, lungs burning; she spits her tale as arms
flash with gold, and the ring in her nose sparkles like a glimmering salmon
lure every time she turns her head; which is quite often.
At first, in dazed silence, everyone is paralyzed and nobody moves.
Then, BOOM! the whole place erupts and people start scrambling. Chairs get
knocked over, tables bumped out of their places, lamps teeter, and doors
slam with the whump and concussion of incoming mortar rounds. People out
in the courtyard are barking orders to the servants at the tops of their
voices; as everyone bolts off from ground-zero in ten different directions like
panicked North Koreans making emergency preparations to put Kim Jong-Un
up for the night.
Meanwhile, Becky's brother Laban (who just happens to be infected with a
severe case of unbridled avarice) ignites the afterburners and sails out the
door at Mach 2 on his way to fetch Abraham's steward.
†. Gen 24:29-30a . . Now Rebecca had a brother whose name was
Laban. He ran out to the man at the spring when he saw the nose
ring and the bands on his sister's arms, and when he heard his sister
Rebecca say: Thus the man spoke to me.
There's no record that Laban ever actually met Abraham in person, but
Bethuel surely must have talked about him around the dinner table-- how
the god of Noah had called uncle Abram to leave Mesopotamia and head
south to the frontier. And caravans arriving from Egypt surely passed
through Abraham's region, picking up news and information about the great
sheik's exploits and the fact that Abraham's camp was very large; a
community of at least a thousand people.
Then; Shazaam! Abraham's steward seemingly materializes out of nowhere
- totally unexpected like Forrest Gump's friend Jenny after a long absence -
with samples of Abraham's prosperity. That must have been really exciting:
akin to news from early-day Texas oilfields.
†. Gen 24:30b-31a . . He went up to the man, who was still standing
beside the camels at the spring. He said: Come in, O blessed of The
Lord;
The word for "Lord" is actually yhvh and is the very name of deity the
steward used in his prayer.
Laban didn't actually worship Yhvh nor serve Him either. The steward's god
was Yhvh; so for now, Yhvh would be Laban's god too. Becky's brother was
a flexible, clever manipulator. By feigning respect for the steward's god;
Laban no doubt hoped it would work to advantage. Later we're going to
discover that Laban's own personal religion was actually idolatry. He kept a
supply of divine figurines in his home-- little statuettes called teraphim.
†. Gen 24:31b . . why do you remain outside, when I have made
ready the house and a place for the camels?
Unlike Abraham's home, where Abraham ruled supreme, the daddy in
Becky's home doesn't seem to have much voice or power in it. Bethuel's
son, is the principle spokesman. He and his mom together seemed to run
the place. Some husbands are happy with that kind of an arrangement so
what the hey, if it works for them? It could be too that the daddy's health
was not all that good and so he preferred letting his family manage the
home.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 24:23-25 . . Pray tell me; he said: whose daughter are you? Is
there room in your father's house for us to spend the night? She
replied: I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she
bore to Nahor. And she went on: There is plenty of straw and feed at
home, and also room to spend the night.
That did it. The identity of Becky's family was the final chop that felled the
tree. Abraham's steward had no more doubts about the Lord's providence.
At this point, he put the ring in Becky's nose and the bands on her arms.
†. Gen 24:26-27 . .The man bowed low in homage to The Lord and
said: Blessed be The Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has
not withheld His steadfast faithfulness from my master. For I have
been guided on my errand by The Lord, to the house of my master's
kinsmen.
How utterly astounded Becky must have been that this stranger would give
her all that gold for doing nothing more than watering him and his camels;
and then his prayer to boot.
I'm guessing that at this point, Becky began to suspect that something was
up. There were men with Abraham's steward who were no doubt all intently
observing this scene and gauging Becky's reactions throughout the whole
incident. Looking at them, looking at the man, looking at his camels loaded
down with all manner of stuff, and that there were more saddled camels
than men to ride them; I think Becky began to get nervous because right
then she took off out of there for home like a United passenger with scarcely
seconds to spare to catch their connection from Chicago to Seattle.
†. Gen 24:28 . .The maiden ran and told all this to her mother's
household.
Becky told the story to her mom's side of the family, which suggests that her
dad Bethuel may have kept a concubine as well as a wife.
Here's a possible scenario of what happened next.
Becky's mom (whose name isn't given) has become anxious-- it's getting
late, and her baby hasn't returned yet with the evening water supply.
Then, WHAM! as sudden and unexpected as a California earthquake: an
excited, out of breath Becky-girl comes crashing through the door with a
shriek and a squeal; dropping her jug on the floor with a thud, sloshing
water over the floor, accompanied by the incomprehensible jabbering of a
flock of magpies-- gasping for air, lungs burning; she spits her tale as arms
flash with gold, and the ring in her nose sparkles like a glimmering salmon
lure every time she turns her head; which is quite often.
At first, in dazed silence, everyone is paralyzed and nobody moves.
Then, BOOM! the whole place erupts and people start scrambling. Chairs get
knocked over, tables bumped out of their places, lamps teeter, and doors
slam with the whump and concussion of incoming mortar rounds. People out
in the courtyard are barking orders to the servants at the tops of their
voices; as everyone bolts off from ground-zero in ten different directions like
panicked North Koreans making emergency preparations to put Kim Jong-Un
up for the night.
Meanwhile, Becky's brother Laban (who just happens to be infected with a
severe case of unbridled avarice) ignites the afterburners and sails out the
door at Mach 2 on his way to fetch Abraham's steward.
†. Gen 24:29-30a . . Now Rebecca had a brother whose name was
Laban. He ran out to the man at the spring when he saw the nose
ring and the bands on his sister's arms, and when he heard his sister
Rebecca say: Thus the man spoke to me.
There's no record that Laban ever actually met Abraham in person, but
Bethuel surely must have talked about him around the dinner table-- how
the god of Noah had called uncle Abram to leave Mesopotamia and head
south to the frontier. And caravans arriving from Egypt surely passed
through Abraham's region, picking up news and information about the great
sheik's exploits and the fact that Abraham's camp was very large; a
community of at least a thousand people.
Then; Shazaam! Abraham's steward seemingly materializes out of nowhere
- totally unexpected like Forrest Gump's friend Jenny after a long absence -
with samples of Abraham's prosperity. That must have been really exciting:
akin to news from early-day Texas oilfields.
†. Gen 24:30b-31a . . He went up to the man, who was still standing
beside the camels at the spring. He said: Come in, O blessed of The
Lord;
The word for "Lord" is actually yhvh and is the very name of deity the
steward used in his prayer.
Laban didn't actually worship Yhvh nor serve Him either. The steward's god
was Yhvh; so for now, Yhvh would be Laban's god too. Becky's brother was
a flexible, clever manipulator. By feigning respect for the steward's god;
Laban no doubt hoped it would work to advantage. Later we're going to
discover that Laban's own personal religion was actually idolatry. He kept a
supply of divine figurines in his home-- little statuettes called teraphim.
†. Gen 24:31b . . why do you remain outside, when I have made
ready the house and a place for the camels?
Unlike Abraham's home, where Abraham ruled supreme, the daddy in
Becky's home doesn't seem to have much voice or power in it. Bethuel's
son, is the principle spokesman. He and his mom together seemed to run
the place. Some husbands are happy with that kind of an arrangement so
what the hey, if it works for them? It could be too that the daddy's health
was not all that good and so he preferred letting his family manage the
home.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=