Who actually made the choice? Abraham? The servant? Rebekah? Yes, yes, and yes!
The love story in Genesis 24 about a bride who accepts her bridegroom, sight unseen, is clearly an exquisite pattern, carefully cross-stitched into the tapestry of history. Every detail is significant. And lest we miss it, one particular feature is underlined no fewer than FIVE times. No question, the plan originates in the father’s heart. No doubt, it is effected by the servant accomplishing the father’s will on behalf of the son. But just as surely, the one invited to share the love, life, and wealth of the unseen bridegroom has a choice, too. Listen: “And the servant said to him, ‘Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me’” (v 5). Abraham responds, “If the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath” (v 8). Later, as the invitation is extended to the young woman, the whole arrangement between the father and the servant is recounted, with the two previous statements repeated. But the servant is impatient to get on his way back, to unite the bride and groom. “Send me away so that I may go to my master” (v 56). Not so fast, says her brother. “‘We will call the young woman and ask her personally.’…‘Will you go with this man?’” (vv 57-58). Some argue: Who chooses? Did the Lord choose you, or do you choose Him? The answer should be obvious to anyone who has attended a wedding lately. The groom is asked if he will take the woman as his wife. When he says yes, are they pronounced married? No, the woman is asked the same question. In every love relationship, both must agree. The One “who desires all men to be saved” (1 Tim 2:4) says, “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (Jn 6:37). Likewise, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom 10:13).