William Hilton the Younger (1786–1839):
Rebecca and
Abraham’s Servant at the Well
Tate Gallery, London
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
The News Beyond Comparing
It isn't hard to picture
The children in this scripture
Because we know how childish
It is, and sometimes stylish,
To rant and rave whenever
It seems some new endeavor
Will rock the boat we're sailing,
And set us all awailing.
Thus John provoked despising,
And Jesus, moralizing;
But Jesus knew that infants,
Without the world's enrichments,
Know only their receiving,
Which boils down to believing
That one thing never changes:
The love which he arranges.
Scott L. Barton
“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like
children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ‘We played the
flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ For
John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son
of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her
deeds.”
At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the
intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your
gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one
knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and
anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying
heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from
me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
+ + +
Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
Toto, We're Not in Kansas Anymore
These days, we might call it racist,
Sending for a bride for your son
Back home amongst your own people;
So what's wrong with Canaanite girls?
I sit in a local restaurant,
Amazed at combinations there,
Black and white, and Asian and white,
And the new grandparents who aren't
(I surmise) entirely happy
With their white daughter's non-white spouse;
It's a new world, to some's chagrin;
But I think: This is wonderful.
Abraham needed son Isaac
Not to forsake this new Yahweh;
But much more than race was at stake -
Much more than he could imagine.
God cares not a whit about tribe,
But only what it takes to see
What someday all will know: Just love
Will put us where we need to be.
Scott L. Barton
So he said, ‘I am Abraham’s servant. 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. 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. 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; but you
shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.”
‘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! 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,’ 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.”
‘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.” 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. 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.
Then I bowed my head and worshipped 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. 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.’ And they called Rebekah, and said to her, ‘Will you go
with this man?’ She said, ‘I will.’ So they sent away their sister Rebekah and
her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men. 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.’
Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed
the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi, and was
settled in the Negeb. Isaac went out in the evening to walk in the field; and
looking up, he saw camels coming. And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw
Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel, 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. And the servant told Isaac
all the things that he had done. 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.
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