May the mumbling commence!
God answers prayers.
Those stories are worthy of being told again and again. Abraham’s servant knew that. So he did.
Read from Peterson’s The Message:
“Well, when I came this very day to the spring, I
prayed, ‘God,
God of my master Abraham, make things turn out well in this task I’ve been given. I’m
standing at this well. When a young woman
comes here to draw water and I say to her, Please, give me a sip of
water from your jug,
and she says, Not only
will I give you a drink, I’ll also water your camels – let
that woman be the
wife God
has picked for my master’s son.’
I had barely
finished offering this prayer, when Rebekah
arrived, her jug on her shoulder. She went to the spring and drew water and I
said, ‘Please, can I have a drink?’ She did not
hesitate. She held out her jug and said, ‘Drink; and
when you’re finished I’ll
also water your camels.’ I drank, and
she watered the camels. I asked her, ‘Whose
daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The
daughter of Bethuel whose parents were Nahor and
Milcah.’ I
gave her a ring for her nose, bracelets for
her arms, and bowed in worship to God. I praised God,
the God of my master Abraham who had led me straight to the door of my master’s family to get a wife for
this son.
Now tell me
what you are going to do. If you plan to
respond with a generous yes, tell me.
But if not, tell me plainly so I can figure out what to do next.” (Genesis
24:42-49)
Now read the same passage from the NIV translation:
"When I came to the spring today, I said, 'O Lord,
God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I
have come. See, I am standing beside
this spring; if a
maiden comes out to draw water and I say to
her, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar,"
and if she says to me, "Drink, and I'll draw
water for your camels too," let her be the one the Lord
has chosen for my master's son.'
Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew
water, and I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.'
She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too.' So I
drank, and she watered the camels also.
I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?'
She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.'
Then I put the ring
in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, and I bowed down and worshiped
the Lord.
I praised the Lord, the
God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the
right road to get the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son. Now if you will show
kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may
know which way to turn." (Genesis 24:42-49)
Again, I see no problems with the differences in wording
between Peterson’s work and the NIV. The
heart and Spirit of the scripture has not been altered.
This is the pure joy of Abraham’s servant in the
miraculous and instantaneous answer to his prayer. He wanted to know if all the pieces would
fall into place now. He was asking Rebekah’s
family if they would consent to her going to a foreign land to be married to
Isaac.
There was no beating around the bush. The joy of the Lord rushed this conversation
along.
How would they answer?
Tomorrow we will see.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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