Introduction: For hundreds of years many Christian traditions have read passages of scripture using a tool called a lectionary. During this ordinary season, our devotional team decided to resource you with selections from the Revised Common Lectionary. You will encounter texts from the Psalms, the Prophets, and the New Testament as well as formal prayers.
Source: the Revised Common Lectionary Year A
(Note. If you desire to read these passages in a different version of the Bible, this link will provide all the readings for week 3 in ESV in Bible Gateway where you may also choose other versions of these passages.)
Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
24:34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.24:35 The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys.
24:36 And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and he has given him all that he has.
24:37 My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live;
24:38 but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’
24:42 “I came today to the spring, and said, ‘O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going!
24:43 I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,”
24:44 and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also” –let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master’s son.’
24:45 “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder; and she went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’
24:46 She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels.
24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her arms.
24:48 Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son.
24:49 Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.”
24:58 And they called Rebekah, and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will.”
24:59 So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men.
24:60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “May you, our sister, become thousands of myriads; may your offspring gain possession of the gates of their foes.”
24:61 Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
24:62 Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi, and was settled in the Negeb.
24:63 Isaac went out in the evening to walk in the field; and looking up, he saw camels coming.
24:64 And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel,
24:65 and said to the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself.
24:66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
24:67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
Psalm 45:10-17
45:10 Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father’s house,45:11 and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him;
45:12 the people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people
45:13 with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;
45:14 in many-colored robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.
45:15 With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.
45:16 In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.
45:17 I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.
Song of Solomon 2:8-13
2:8 The voice of my beloved! Look, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.2:9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look, there he stands behind our wall, gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice.
2:10 My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;
2:11 for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.
2:12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
2:13 The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
I am going to focus on the Genesis passage, particularly the prayer Abraham’s servant prayed, the sign he requested of the Lord in verse Genesis 24:43-44, and the extent of Rebekah’s response to his prayer and request in verses 45-46.
In my research, I found that a thirsty camel drinks at least 40 gallons of water. A gallon weighs 8.3 pounds and that would be 320 pounds of water per camel, not counting the weight of the jar. She carried one jar at a time from the spring to the watering trough. Genesis 24:10 says that there were ten camels that were included on the trip and she watered them all. Also, I found that this event would have occurred somewhere in the 1990’s BC. What is ancient history for us was their present day.
