If you’ve read my older posts, you probably noticed that this title sounds like it shoots for something different. It kind of does.
I guess my title’s pretty straightforward. That is exactly what I’m going to talk about. After telling you, my precious readers, about the importance of waiting for the right person, I’m going to give you advice about what to do while waiting. And the fun part is that we are going to take the advice straight from the Bible.
I just caught this little fact recently and I wanted to share it with all of you. Of Israel’s patriarchs, Isaac is the only one who didn’t have a second wife or concubine recorded. I guess I can say that he was a one-woman-man and that woman is going to be our role model for this post. Let’s break down the love story of Isaac and Rebekah. I’ll point out five things that Rebekah did to get her man.
1. She fetched water.
15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. 16 The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.
Genesis 24:15-16
Yup. You read it right. Rebekah didn’t meet the man of his dreams partying all night. She was considered as Isaac’s wife because she was where she was supposed to be and did what she was supposed to do. She came out of the city to draw water.
Let me give you a quick background story. Rebekah wasn’t just some woman during her time. She did come from a wealthy family who had a number of servants. Rebekah can be all princessy and stay at home to fix herself up and just delegate the fetching of water to someone else, but she didn’t. Rebekah was working on something else when the time to have a husband came.
I would go as far as saying that getting a husband may be farthest from her mind at that time. I bet she didn’t wake up and say, “This is the day I’m going to be someone else’s wife. I better look my best while drawing water.”
I’m also going to point out a little word that’s in our text. She was a virgin, girls. If you are, then you’re perfect just as you are. Sexual prowess wasn’t a factor in this equation. If you were told that, you’ve been lied to.
The best you can do to get a man is to
DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR LIFE
If you’re still studying, be the best student you can be. If you’re working, work hard. Don’t make getting a man the sole purpose of your life.
2. She gave a man a drink.
17 The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”
18 “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
Genesis 24:17-18
Have any of you drawn water from an actual well? I have. And if you think it’s all Jack and Jill with a pulley that you spin around and get a bucket from with a little whirl and “Ta da!” I have to tell you straightaway that it isn’t that easy.
You have to lift water out, tip the bucket at just the right angle to fill a jar and then carry that jar to where it’s supposed to go. There is nothing glamorous about lifting a container of water.
It’s not easy to just give that precious water away to a stranger. I mean, honestly, if someone I knew asked me for water, it would probably be easier for me to let go of my jar. A stranger would freak me out.
This quick little test showed a lot about Rebekah’s heart. It showed that
A LITTLE KINDNESS GOES A LONG WAY
You never know when God is going to throw a surprise your way. It’s best to be kind to everyone.
3. She watered the camels
19 After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.”20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.
Genesis 24:19-20
This sealed the deal for Rebekah. She may have been at the right place and taken the first step, but this third step is a lot harder.
Having grown up in church, I’ve heard A LOT about how much camels drink and about how difficult it must have been for Rebekah to perform this extra dose of kindness so I won’t focus on this anymore.
What I would say, though, is that Rebekah finished drawing bucket after bucket for those big desert animals not knowing about how this would affect her life. She didn’t know if she would get something for what she did, but she did it anyway.
A LITTLE EXTRA WON’T HURT
Don’t just be kind if you can be kinder.
4. Go.
57 Then they said, “Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.” 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”
“I will go,” she said.
Genesis 24:27-58
Getting a man requires leaving your comfort zone. I never fully grasped what this meant until I had to leave mine to go and meet my man.
Rebekah had to leave her family. And that is part of the process of having a man in your life. With being in a relationship comes a change of priorities and that is a BIG thing to consider before making this decision.
I’m not even married yet, but I’m starting to feel the pulling away that happens when you turn into someone else’s partner aside from being your dad’s daughter.
Rebekah quickly changed from the daughter of Bethuel into the wife of Isaac. If you want to get a man, you can’t just stay in the comforts of your home surrounded by people who already love and adore you. Being with someone requires being out of your comfort zone, meeting new people, and embracing your new role. So,
GO
5. Cover yourself!
64 Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 65 and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?”
“He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.
Genesis 24: 64-65
We are in a culture that screams, “Sex sells!” and tells girls that showing skin in the inappropriate places is the appropriate way to get a man’s attention. That is a flat out lie.
I love Rebekah’s reaction when she saw Isaac. She didn’t throw herself at him or flutter her lashes. When she found out that he was her betrothed, she took a veil and covered herself.
You don’t have to be half-naked to be attractive to the right man. I’m saying this by experience. I very well know that being all girly and flirty will get me boys. A number of them actually told me straightaway that they would court me if I wore more girly clothes and some makeup. Remembering their look of concern and the way they said it like courting me is a great privilege on my part still makes me laugh. Hearing that from someone is a tell tale sign that he’s not the guy for you.
Girls, don’t undress to get a man! Cover yourself. Let him fall in love with the abstract parts of you-your wit, your intelligence, your spirit, your personality. The physical can fade away, but your spirit and your personality can still keep blooming after time.
DRESS MODESTLY
Don’t shoot for boys. Aim for a man. To do this, you have to
DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR LIFE
A LITTLE KINDNESS GOES A LONG WAY
A LITTLE EXTRA WON’T HURT
GO
DRESS MODESTLY
And that’s my two cents on that.
lyqa maravilla 