….. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.
Gen 24:64 KJV
……. When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel
Gen 24: 64NLT
…… When Rebecca saw Isaac, she got down from her camel.
Gen 24:64 GNB
The twenty fourth chapter of Genesis gives a narrative of the Lord’s providence in giving Isaac a wife. It bears testimony of His commitment and assistance to us when we are given to seeking His will. Many of us will remember His help in this area of our lives.
‘You may now kiss the bride’ announces the Officiating Minister. The Groom then lifts the veil and kisses his bride. ‘I present to you MR & MRS X’ the Minister added. The congregation gives a round of applause to the newlyweds or in a COVID-19 world, those who view online. And so begins their lives together, two people from two different backgrounds with two different upbringings. One of the Lord’s mandates for them being Genesis 2: 24; therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Towards the end of the chapter in Genesis 24, we see Rebekah consenting to leave Mesopotamia without delay in order to be married. The journey on Camel would have taken several days no doubt. What happened on their arrival in Canaan is what I will like to draw our attention to. Verse 64: When Rebekah saw Isaac, she got down from her camel.
What is the significance of this? It means both of them can relate on the same level, Rebekah would have had to talk to Isaac from a height had she not taken that step. Secondly, covering herself with her veil would at best have been an inconvenience when atop a camel.
It is possible to be married in name, but remain on camels. This camel could be anything from hero worship, comparison, friends, Status, economic power, unrealistic expectations etc. The camel of ‘this is how we do it when I was with my parents’ or ‘Uncle Peter and Aunt Alice usually do things this way’, ‘Oh ! The Jones did this last year, we must do it too’, some other times, they are just ideals we have consciously or unconsciously built. Should we then not have ideals? – Not if they are at variance with God’s word and purpose. We must alight from these camels – whatever that may be for us as individuals.
Getting down from them allows us to be able to wrap ourselves with the veil of humility and godliness through which Christ can shine. It leaves us with the readiness to follow the Lord into the unknown, open hearts and hands to receive God’s help in building our homes. Without this in place, many shadows will haunt the marriage. The man can hardly take his wife into his mother’s tent so to say. The injunction of God to the man in Gen 2:24 will be a herculean task for the man if his bride is still riding her dromedaries of camels. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Gen 2: 24
Or how easy will it be for a man to cleave to a woman that is cleaving to other things? Am I absorbing the menfolk of their responsibility? By no means, I am only focusing on what pertains to the female human. The best mirror we can look into in order to find what our individual camel is, is God’s word- The Bible. As we make it a habit to humbly approach the throne of grace on a daily basis, we will clearly see what our individual ‘camel/s’ is/ are. Victory comes when we surrender them at the foot of the cross. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. Heb4:14 AMP
Let us then get off our camels, cover ourselves with veils of humility and godliness, following the master as He leads us to build His kingdom beginning from our homes. We will see the love and comfort of the Lord permeating our homes. Don’t we know that healthy marriages produce balanced children, strong Church and safe society? The decay we see in society and church are a direct result of dysfunctional marriages. Alas! The change we crave must begin with us.