God’s Will and Abraham’s Thigh

And Abraham said unto his eldest servant… Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: (Genesis 24:2)

In Genesis 24 Isaac gets a wife. The circumstances surrounding that union are strange to a westerner like me. I cannot imagine choosing a husband for my daughter in a similar way.

The story goes like this. Abraham lived in Canaan and is nearing death. Isaac is nearing forty and needs a wife. So, Abe calls his trusted servant and gives him a special mission; "Find a wife among my relatives for the lad." The servant put his hand under Abraham’s thigh and swears that he will do his best.

My question would be, "Was this normal behavior?" None of my friends have ever sent one of their employees on such a mission. At least that I know of. In my family, none of my siblings ever sent anyone to find a spouse for any of their kids. I’ll check it out but I’m pretty sure that they didn’t

And another thing. Was this a trusted method? Again I’ll have to look to the real source of trust in this story. It comes down to the old, "Hand under the thigh" oath. WHAT?

That’s right folks. Abraham sent his servant on a mission of consequential proportions with an oath taken while the servant’s hand was under his thigh. Hummmm…. OK.

So why the thigh? My study Bible gives me a hint here. The thigh was, "near the organ of procreation." Oh my.

You’ll have to remember that Abraham was nearly 180 years old. As mentioned Isaac was a home-boy and single at 40. There was a nation at risk here. If Isaac didn’t get a wife there would be no nation. If there was no nation God’s promise would not be fulfilled. This was important stuff. But was it mission impossible? No. Because God was involved.

Back to the story. The servant returns to Abraham’s city and waits near a well. There he prays that God will show him the right girl for Isaac. The girl who he asks for a drink will offer to water his camels too. He brought along ten for this occasion.

As he finishes his prayer he sees Rebecca, a lovely girl, coming to fetch water. He asks for a drink and she offers to water his camels too.

I’ve read this account many times but never did the math until this morning. Do you know how much water a camel can drink? One site says that, "A large thirsty Camel can drink up to 200 liters a day."

Take 200 liters times 10 camels and you’ve got 2,000 liters of water. That is simple math but not a simple chore! In gallons that is just over 528. A gallon of water weighs 8 pounds. 528 times 8 equals 4,224 pounds of water that she drew from that well in probably more than a hundred trips. Don’t mess with Rebecca!

So, where’s the romance in this account? There isn’t any. Arranged marriages were rarely romantic affairs. However, God was behind the scenes in this love story. A strange oath lead to a "chance" encounter where a young girl worked hard to gratify a complete stranger. That act revealed God’s choice for Israel’s future. If she hadn’t watered those camels Jesus wouldn’t have been born! But she did and He was.

What act of kindness will you do today? How will it affect the future of the world? With God working behind the scenes you might be surprised. But please leave the "thigh oath" out of the picture.