IMITATE THEIR FAITH

"I WILL ALSO DRAW WATER FOR YOUR CAMELS"

The great changed that came into Rebekah's life began in a  way that may have seemed fairly ordinary to her.  She grew up in or near Haran, a city in Mesopotamia. Her parents were different from most people in Haran.  They did not worship the moon-god Sin.  Rather, their God was Jehovah. -Genesis 24:50. 

Rebekah grew up to be a very beautiful young woman, but she was no passive, vain beauty.  She was spirited, and she remained morally pure.  Her family was prosperous enough to have servants, but Rebekah was not coddled or treated like a princess; she was raised  to work hard. Like so many women of those times, Rebekah has some heavy chores to do, including fetching water for the family.  Early in the evening, she would hoist a vessel onto her shoulder and head off to the spring. -Genesis 24:11,15, 16.

One evening, after she had filled her jar, an elderly man ran up to meet her.  He said to her:  "Please give me a little sip of water from your jar." It was such a modest request and so politely made!  Rebekah could see the man had traveled far. So she quickly  swung her water jar from her shoulder and let the man drink, not a mere sip, but a real drink of the fresh, cool water.  She noticed  that he had a train of camels kneeling nearby and that the trough had not yet been filled to water them. She could see that his eyes were watching her attentively, and she wanted to be as generous as she could.  So she said:  "I will also draw water for your camels until they done drinking." -Genesis 24:17-19.  

Note that Rebekah offered not merely to give the ten camels a drink but to water them until they were satisfied.  If very thirsty, one camel might drink  over 25 gallons (95 L) of water!  If all ten camels were that thirsty, Rebekah faced hours of hard work. As matters turned out, it seems unlikely that the camels were extremely thirst.  But did Rebekah know that when he made her offer?  No.  She was willing, even eager, to work as hard as need be to show hospitality to this elderly stranger.  He accepted her offer. Then he watched  her intently as she ran back and forth, filling and refilling her jar and emptying it into the trough again and again. -Genesis 24:20, 21.  

Next time: IMITATE THEIR FAITH - Conclusion of "I WILL ALSO DRAW WATER FOR YOUR CAMELS"

From The Watchtower magazine