The Children's Chapel Award-winning site, featuring Bible stories from a variety of authors, excellent Christian resources for children, and over 140 links to other Christian and family-friendly sites for kids. ~ A Ministry of The Missing Link, Inc. ~ Rebekah Trusts The Lord By Linda Sue Pochodzay Edwards "Just trust me . . . it will be all right . . . I Promise!" Has anyone ever said those words to you? If so, was it really all right? Sometimes it is difficult to know just who can be trusted and who can't. But remember this: We can always trust God and his Word to lead us in the way that is right. * * * Streams of sunlight filled the room as Rebekah was finishing her morning prayers. Hearing the birds singing outside her window made her want to open her mouth wide and join them in singing praises to God. "It is going to be a wonderful day." Rebekah thought to herself, "Every day is a special gift from the Lord." A sharp familiar voice from outside the door interrupted Rebekah's thoughts. "It's already daylight! COME ON! We have chores that need to be done!" "All right, Laban," Rebekah called out to her brother. "I'll be right out just as soon as I get this last braid finished." "Silly girls and their hair," Laban muttered, shaking his head. "If she hadn't been messing around with that hair all this time, we could have been done already." Rebekah was soon at her brother's side helping with the chores they had to do together. "Rebekah, can you please be a little more careful?" Laban complained. "You're spilling the chicken feed again." "I'm sorry," she said. "I guess I was just in too much of a hurry. I want to finish this job so I can go to the well." "Then go ahead and go. I can finish this," Laban replied, thinking the job might be easier without her help. Rebekah knew exactly what her brother was going to say and was already skipping happily down the road before he had even finished speaking. [Picture of Eliezer and camels] Even though the water jugs were quite heavy, going to the well was one of Rebekah's favorite chores. All the young ladies in the city and surrounding area went to the well at the same time. It was such fun talking to the other girls and catching up on the latest news. They were busily chatting, giggling, and filling their water pots. None of them noticed the stranger that was standing nearby watching them. The stranger was Abraham's servant, Eliezer. He had been sent there for a special purpose; to find a bride for Abraham's son, Isaac. He had just finished praying when the girls started coming to the well. Eliezer took special notice of one strong, beautiful young woman. He slowly approached her so as not to startle her. "I have traveled a long way and am thirsty. May I please have a drink?" he asked. She smiled gently and replied, "Yes. I will give you a drink, and I will also give your camels water to drink." She quickly filled her pitcher with water and gave it to Eliezer. When he had finished, she filled the pitcher again and poured the water into a bucket and gave it to the lead camel. She then went back to the well and refilled the pitcher for the next camel. She repeated this over and over until all ten of the man's camels had enough water to drink. [Picture of Rebekah giving water to the camels] Eliezer watched her carefully as she tended his camels. He had just prayed for the Lord to show him which of the young ladies he should ask to take back with him to be a wife for Isaac. This girl was the first one he had talked to and even though she responded exactly as he had prayed, he still wasn't totally sure that she was the right one. When all ten camels had enough water and quit drinking, Eliezer took a golden earring and two golden bracelets out of a pouch, and gave them to her as a thank you gift. He then asked her name and if her father had room at his house so he could spend the night. "My name is Rebekah," she replied. "I am the daughter of Bethuel. Nahor is my grandfather, and we have plenty of room at our house. I'm sure my father won't mind if you stay with us for the night. And don't even worry about the camels. We have plenty of straw and food for them." Rebekah watched in surprise as Eliezer bowed his head and worshipped the Lord right there by the well. * * * Forgetting to even say "goodbye" to her friends, Rebekah picked up her heavy water pots and raced home as fast as she could. "Laban! LABAN!" she called loudly. "COME SEE! COME SEE!" Laban couldn't imagine what all the excitement was about. He ran to meet his sister. [Picture of bracelets and earrings] "Look, Laban!" she exclaimed. "I gave his camels water and he gave me a golden earring! Look at the beautiful golden bracelets! He prayed to God right there at the well! He's coming behind me with camels and wants to spend the night here!" Rebekah was so excited about the beautiful expensive gifts, she could barely gets her words to come out right. Laban was having a hard time understanding all that she was trying to say, but he did see the stranger with the camels and walked to meet him. "Come! Come on in!" he said jovially to the stranger. "You are welcome to spend the night with us, and we have plenty of room in the stable for the camels." Laban proceeded to take care of the animals and brought water so Eliezer could wash his dusty feet before entering the house. Once inside, Eliezer could see that there was a meal prepared and Rebekah and her mother had already set a place for him at the table. "Please come to the table. You can sit there." Laban pointed to a chair as he was speaking, "And we can talk while we are having our meal." "I can't sit down to eat until I have told you the reason for my coming," the stranger said graciously. "I am Eliezer, Abraham's servant. The Lord has greatly blessed him with herds, flocks, servants, and riches. Abraham made me promise to bring back a young lady from this city to be a bride for his son Isaac. When I was at the well, I prayed that God would show me which young lady was the right one. "Just as I finished praying, your sister came to the well, and everything happened just as I had prayed. She gave me a drink and also gave water to the camels. When she told me she was the granddaughter of Nahor, I knew instantly that she was the right one and that God had answered my prayer. I bowed my head and worshipped God. . . . Now . . . I need to know if you will allow Rebekah to come back with me and marry Isaac. If not, I must be wrong, and I must leave before it gets too late." As the family listened to Eliezer's story and saw the excitement in Rebekah's face, they had no doubt that this was all planned by the Lord. Both her brother Laban and her father Bethuel agreed that it was the Lord that had brought Eliezer to their house, and they agreed to let Rebekah go with him. When Eliezer heard their words, he bowed on his knees and prayed again, thanking God for his successful journey. After he prayed, he reached into his sacks and brought out even more beautiful gifts to give to Rebekah. Then Eliezer, Rebekah, and all the family sat down to eat the delicious meal that was on the table waiting for them. * * * Rebekah went to bed that night but could barely get any sleep. What a strange, wonderful day it had been! She woke up that morning a simple farm girl, but, by the end of the day, she was engaged to a very wealthy young man. It was all too marvelous to imagine! "It must be dream," she thought. She pinched herself to see if she was really awake. A million questions were going through her mind all at the same time. "What kind of a person is he?" she wondered. "Is he quiet and gentle or loud and boisterous? Will he be kind to me? Will we be happy together?" Even though there were many uncertainties, she was sure of one thing: The Lord had planned it, and He would take care of her. She wasn't worried, not one little bit. The next morning, Eliezer arose early and fully intended to start his journey back home with Rebekah. His job here was finished and he was anxious to get back. However, Laban and Rebekah's mother wouldn't hear of it. "We are willing to let her go with you, just not yet," they explained. "Let her stay here a few more days . . . at least ten more days. We want to celebrate and give her a good time before she leaves us. We don't know when or if we will ever get to see her again." Eliezer wasn't at all happy about this turn of events. "You know that God led me here. You know God wants Rebekah to be with Isaac. Why are you trying to hinder us from leaving?" he asked. It was obvious that this argument wasn't going to be settled among them, so they called for Rebekah to come into the room. "Rebekah, do want to go with this stranger, or do you want to stay home awhile longer?" her mother asked. "I will go with him," Rebekah responded without hesitation. Having that settled, they all helped Rebekah pack her belongings and loaded them onto the camels. However, Rebekah wasn't the only one going . . . she had a maid that had taken care of her since she was a tiny baby. The maid also packed all of her belongings and prepared to go on the trip with Eliezer. [Picture of Eliezer and camels] After the two women were ready and everything had been loaded onto the camels, Rebekah's family all took turns hugging her, congratulating her and wishing her well. They prayed for her and blessed her. Then Rebekah and her maid got on their camels and were soon following Eliezer to a place they had never seen. Rebekah, trusting God to know what was best for her, was on her way to a strange country to marry a man she had never even met! It was quite a long journey and traveling on a humpy, bumpy, lumpy camel isn't exactly comfortable, but no one complained. Rebekah knew that this was what God had planned for her, and she knew that if God planned it, then it had to be good. She was excitedly looking forward to whatever was in store for her. * * * Back in Canaan many hours later, Isaac went out to a field to think things over and to pray. He knew that Eliezer had gone to bring back a wife for him, and he was anxiously awaiting his return. After his prayer, he lifted up his head and saw the camels coming. He was a little nervous about the whole matter and wondered if Eliezer's journey had been successful. If he brought back a young lady to be his wife, what kind of a girl would she be? Would she be quiet and timid? Would she be joyful and bubbly? Would she even like him? There were just so many questions running through his head at the same time. What if Eliezer couldn't find a woman willing to move away from home? "It's a lot to ask of any young lady to move away from the family she has loved all her life and go marry a man she has never met. Maybe I won't even have a wife after all," Isaac thought to himself. Isaac kept watching as the camels came closer. Finally they were close enough that he could see a person riding on the second camel and another person riding the third camel. As they came nearer, he could tell that the two people were women, and he knew that Eliezer had come back with a young lady to be his bride. Isaac hesitated no longer. Using every muscle in his body, he ran as fast as he could toward the caravan to meet them. [Picture of Rebekah meeting Isaac] Rebekah kept her eyes wide open and was taking in all the scenery. She wondered where her new home would be. Seeing someone in the distance running toward them, she asked Eliezer, "Who is that?" "It is Isaac," he replied. Not wanting to waste another second, she carefully slid herself off the camel, covered her face with her veil, and started walking gracefully toward him. When Eliezer and the camels caught up to them, he made the proper introductions and told Isaac all that had happened on his trip. He told how he prayed and God had answered his prayers. He told how God had led him to Rebekah and how she had agreed to come. Isaac was happy to have such a beautiful bride, but, more importantly, he was happy that Rebekah was a young lady who trusted in the Lord. He was happy that his father Abraham and the servant Eliezer both had prayed about the situation, and that God had answered their prayers. All the questions they had about one another simply disappeared. Isaac and Rebekah knew God meant for them to be together, and they were married that very day. Isaac loved Rebekah very much, and they both looked forward to living a long happy life together. * * * THINK! 1. What was the name of Abraham's trusted servant? 2. How did Eliezer know which young lady was the right one? 3. Who wanted to delay the trip? 4. How did they settle the argument? 5. Who else went with Eliezer and Rebekah? REMEMBER: God loves you and has a special plan for your life. Nothing is too big or too small to take to God in prayer. A VERSE TO LEARN "Trust in the Lord ... and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). ALTERNATIVE VERSES TO LEARN "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me" (John 14:1). "Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah" (Psalm 62:8). PRACTICAL APPLICATION Have you received an answer to prayer? Did that help you trust God more? Did you remember to thank Him? Are you still waiting for God to answer your prayer? Are you continuing to trust Him for the answer? What if you have to wait a long time before He answers? Will you keep on believing Him to answer your prayer? Can you think of a friend or adult you could ask to agree with you in prayer about it? [After discussion:] Eliezer trusted God to show him the right wife for Isaac. God was faithful and did just that. Rebekah showed how much she trusted God by going with Eliezer to become Isaac's wife. Ask God to help you trust Him just like Rebekah, knowing your life is in God's hands. LET'S PRAY [Picture of Dog and boy praying beside bed] **************************************************** Dear God, thank You for loving me and preparing a special plan for my life. Help me learn to trust You and find it easy to come to you for help, knowing nothing is too big or too small to take to You in prayer. In Jesus' Name. Amen. **************************************************** CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE? 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