Rebekah: Isaac’s Virtuous Woman

For Christian women, I think most of us hold the Virtuous woman mentioned in Proverbs 31 as the high standard. There are varying opinions as to who the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31 is. Some say she is a made up person, others say she was Solomon’s mother. In studying Scripture I see examples of women who are at least in part the virtuous woman of their generation. I’ve compared the Virtuous Woman with the Shunammite Woman in a previous post. This past week I was struck by the similarity between the Virtuous woman and Rebekah.

In Genesis 24, we see the story of a very old Abraham sending his eldest servant to his family in Mesopotamia to get a wife for Isaac. The beginning of this story is hard to imagine given the culture we live in. It was even a little odd for the servant. He asks Abraham what to do if she will not come back with him. He seems a little concerned at traveling about 500 miles and getting the girl to come back with him to a family she has never met. I can’t say I’d be excited if my master asked me to do that, but the servant obeys and Abraham gives him gifts to help seal the deal with the new bride.

When the servant finally arrives in the city of Nahor he goes to the well. His camels were surely parched by this time and they needed water desperately. He prays specifically that when he asks her for a drink that she will then give him the water she has and then water all 10 camels. This was no small feat. These wells were down in a deep cave and the women would have to make several trips to finish this task. I know how much effort it takes to carry my 30 lb son up and down the stairs one time. Imagine carrying buckets of water up and down enough to water these camels! The servant was praying for a woman who was not only willing to do her work, but to work diligently and have a generous spirit.

I wonder if I would have stopped to even offer a stranger a drink, let alone offer to do the back-breaking work of watering the camels. I want the answer to be yes, but it is probably no. And why is that? Seriously, in our society while we have differing wealth, most of us have plenty of time. Just like the virtuous woman of the Bible we have servants as well. Most of us do not employ people to do our work, but our servants take the form of washing machines, dishwashers, electricity, running water, grocery stores etc. It doesn’t take me all morning just to make bread for my family. I go to Publix and spend 2 dollars for my bread for the week.

Proverbs 31 tells us that finding a virtuous woman is difficult and that her price is far above rubies. Surely Rebekah was this kind of rare gem. Too often the demands of work, children, husbands, friends, church, tend to wear on us. We do the work we must. We clean the bathroom because we have to. We go to church because we should. We cook dinner because our family needs to eat. Yet somehow in the midst of surviving, we lose the desire to be generous and diligent with our work. Even people who don’t know Christ do those things. We need to dedicate ourselves as women of good works who will be called blessed by their husband and children.

Something else that strikes me about this story is not only that the servant prays to know her by her work but that she is chosen because of it. I am quite sure that the last shall be first is true. She was not only willing to help with a seemingly menial task but she was persistent in finishing the job. Her hard work at a small thing allowed her to be chosen for a greater task and blessing.

So how does the story of this woman change our lives? I think we can choose to live lives full of good works and generosity. We can start by going the extra mile in our homes. For some this will mean cleaning up after their roommate. For others it will mean spending extra time with our children reading a book for the millionth time. Husbands could be treated to a favorite meal instead of the boxed dinner that’s easy to throw in the microwave. We can help out our parents with chores around their house. We can call a sick friend and offer to watch their kids or cook their supper.

I hope this week those who read this blog will do at least one extra good deed in their home and one outside. If you take this message to heart and do something this week or have a practical suggestion of something we can do let us know by posting a comment or sending me an e-mail. It would be a blessing to those who read this blog to get ideas of works that can be done and the blessing that comes from generous work.