I Will Go: The Faith of a Covenant Wife Text: Genesis 24:50-61
Introduction: The Sanity of Arranged Providence
We live in an age that has made an idol out of romantic spontaneity. Our culture's high priests are the poets of emotional impulse, and our sacred rite is "following your heart." The result is a relational landscape littered with the wreckage of broken homes, shattered vows, and bewildered children. The modern world believes that the most important decision of your life, choosing a spouse, should be based on the most fickle and untrustworthy of human faculties, unchaperoned emotion. The world tells you to wait for a thunderclap, for a magical feeling, for a soulmate to appear out of the mist. And when the feeling fades, as feelings always do, you are encouraged to move on, because the magic is gone.
Into this sentimental and chaotic swamp, the book of Genesis strides with muddy, patriarchal boots. The story of Isaac and Rebekah is an offense to every modern sensibility. There is no dating. There are no romantic walks on the beach. Isaac and Rebekah do not even meet until the deal is done. The entire affair is arranged by a father, executed by a servant, and agreed to by a family, all under the glaring, direct sovereignty of God. This is not a story about finding your one true love. This is a story about covenantal faithfulness, patriarchal authority, and the beautiful sanity of a marriage grounded in the providence of God, not the passions of man.
This is not to say there is no love, or that affection is unimportant. But it is to say that in God's economy, duty comes before delight, and commitment is the soil in which true, lasting love grows. The world says love is the foundation of marriage. The Bible says marriage is the foundation of that kind of love. What we have in this passage is the culmination of the servant's mission. It is a master class in how godly people make monumental decisions, not by looking inward at their feelings, but by looking upward at God's revealed will and outward at their God-given responsibilities.
The Text
Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The matter comes from Yahweh; so we cannot speak to you bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as Yahweh has spoken.” Now it happened that when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before Yahweh. The servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. And then they arose in the morning, and he said, “Send me away to my master.” But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, or even ten; afterward she will go.” And he said to them, “Do not delay me, since Yahweh has made my way successful. Send me away that I may go to my master.” And they said, “We will call the young woman and ask about her wishes.” Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” Thus they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “May you, our sister, Become thousands of ten thousands, And may your seed possess The gate of those who hate him.” Then Rebekah arose with her young women, and they mounted the camels and went after the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went.
(Genesis 24:50-61 LSB)
The Divine Checkmate (vv. 50-52)
The servant has laid out his case. He has recounted the providential signs, one after another, like a lawyer presenting irrefutable evidence. Now, the verdict comes from Rebekah's family.
"Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, 'The matter comes from Yahweh; so we cannot speak to you bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as Yahweh has spoken.'" (Genesis 24:50-51)
This is the language of utter submission to the sovereignty of God. "The matter comes from Yahweh." This is not fatalism; it is faith. They have seen the hand of God so clearly that to argue would be to fight against God Himself. They are in a divine checkmate. Their response, "we cannot speak to you bad or good," is a Hebrew idiom for saying, "We have nothing to add. The debate is over. God has spoken." They are not being asked for their creative input; they are being asked for their obedient consent. This is the posture of all true faith. When God makes His will plain, the only sane response is to align yourself with it.
Notice the authority. Laban, the brother, and Bethuel, the father, speak for the family. This is a patriarchal decision. They are the gatekeepers, the guardians of their daughter and sister. They are not asking Rebekah what she "feels" about it yet. They are first establishing the objective fact: God has ordained this. The subjective response comes later, and it comes under the umbrella of this established reality.
And what is the servant's immediate reaction? Does he pump his fist? Does he congratulate himself on his persuasive skills? No. Verse 52 tells us, "he bowed himself to the ground before Yahweh." The first response to answered prayer and divine success is not self-congratulation but worship. He gives the glory immediately and reflexively to the one to whom it is due. This man is saturated in a God-centered worldview. Success is not a testament to his cleverness but to God's faithfulness.
Urgency and the Covenant Price (vv. 53-56)
With the agreement in principle settled, the covenant is sealed, and the servant's focus shifts to completing the mission.
"The servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother... And then they arose in the morning, and he said, 'Send me away to my master.' ... 'Do not delay me, since Yahweh has made my way successful.'" (Genesis 24:53-56)
The gifts are not a romantic gesture; they are the mohar, the bride price. This is serious, covenantal business. The value of the gifts signifies the wealth and standing of the house Rebekah is joining and the high value they place on her. It seals the deal. This is a public, tangible transaction that binds the two families together. It is the absolute opposite of our modern, flimsy, "let's see how it goes" approach to relationships.
The very next morning, the servant is ready to leave. His urgency is instructive. The family, quite naturally, wants a little more time. "A few days, or even ten." They want a farewell party. But the servant is relentless. His reasoning is profoundly counter-intuitive to our modern mindset. He says, "Do not delay me, since Yahweh has made my way successful." We would think success is a reason to relax, to celebrate, to take a victory lap. The servant sees success as a reason for greater diligence. God has blessed the mission, so let's get it done. He is a man under authority, and his joy will not be complete until he presents the bride to his master's son. This is the heartbeat of every true minister of the gospel. We do not rest on past successes; we press on toward the goal.
The Decisive Consent (vv. 57-58)
Now we come to the pivotal moment for Rebekah. The objective reality has been established by the men, and now her subjective, willing consent is required.
"And they said, 'We will call the young woman and ask about her wishes.' Then they called Rebekah and said to her, 'Will you go with this man?' And she said, 'I will go.'" (Genesis 24:57-58)
Let us be clear. This is not the act of an autonomous, individualistic feminist. This is the act of a faithful, covenantal daughter. She is not making this decision in a vacuum. She is making it under the authority of her father and brother, who have already discerned the will of God in the matter. They are not asking her to render the primary verdict, but to add her willing consent to the verdict already rendered. Her choice is real, but it is a choice made within a secure and godly framework.
And her answer is stunning in its simplicity and faith. "I will go." Two words in English, one in Hebrew. Elek. It is a declaration of faith that rivals Abraham's. She is agreeing to leave her home, her country, and her family, forever. She is agreeing to travel hundreds of miles across a dangerous wilderness with a man she just met. She is agreeing to marry a man she has never seen. Why? Because she believes the testimony. She has heard the servant's account, she has seen the evidence of God's blessing, and she trusts the judgment of her family. Her "I will go" is not a leap of romantic fancy. It is a step of robust faith. She is entrusting herself not to the servant, nor to Isaac, but to the God of Abraham who has so clearly orchestrated these events.
The Dominion Blessing (vv. 59-61)
As she departs, her family sends her off not with sentimental fluff, but with a potent, prophetic blessing.
"And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, 'May you, our sister, Become thousands of ten thousands, And may your seed possess The gate of those who hate him.'" (Genesis 24:60)
This is the language of the Abrahamic covenant. This is a blessing of kingdom advancement. First, fruitfulness: "become thousands of ten thousands." They are blessing her with a long line of covenantal offspring. They understand that the future of God's people depends on godly seed. This is a direct repudiation of our modern, anti-natalist, two-kids-and-a-dog vision of the family.
Second, victory: "may your seed possess the gate of those who hate him." The gate of a city was the seat of its power, its authority, and its defense. To possess the gate is to conquer the city. This is a military blessing. They are sending their daughter out to be a mother of warriors who will advance God's kingdom and crush the strongholds of His enemies. This is muscular, dominion-oriented faith. This blessing is ultimately fulfilled in Rebekah's descendant, the Lord Jesus Christ, who promised that the gates of Hell would not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18). Rebekah is being enlisted as a key figure in that holy war.
And with that, she gets on the camel and goes. The decision is made, the blessing is given, and the journey begins. This is faith in action.
The Bride and the Spirit
It is impossible to read this story without seeing the bright lines of typology pointing to a much greater story. This is a living parable of Christ and His Church.
The Father (Abraham) desires a bride for His beloved Son (Isaac). He does not send the Son, but He sends His most trusted servant, whose name is not given. This servant is a picture of the Holy Spirit. He is sent into a far country (the world) to gather a bride for the Son. The Spirit does not speak of Himself, but He testifies of the Son (John 16:13-14). He comes bearing the glorious gifts of the Father's house, the riches of salvation, showing us the inheritance that is ours in Christ.
The Spirit convicts the world, showing us the clear hand of God in the gospel. He presents the case. And to the Church, to each believer, He puts the question: "Will you go with this man?" Will you leave the land of your birth, the kingdom of darkness, and your father the devil? Will you entrust yourself completely to a Savior you have not yet seen with your eyes? Will you get on the camel?
And the true bride, the Church, having heard the testimony and seen the evidence of His grace, says with the faith of Rebekah, "I will go." We leave our old life behind and we follow the Spirit's leading, all the way to the day we finally meet our Bridegroom face to face. And we too have been given a blessing, that we would be fruitful and multiply, making disciples of all nations, and that in our Seed, Jesus Christ, we would possess the gates of our enemies. This ancient story is our story. Let us therefore be as decisive, as faithful, and as courageous as our mother Rebekah.