Abraham is now around 140 years of age, Isaac himself about 40, and once again the entire covenant hinges on one outstanding situation: securing a bride for Isaac. One could easily empathize with Abraham's reaction if he were to entertain anxiety and frustration at this juncture. However Abraham is a mature man at this point in the record, not just in years, but also in faith. The patriarch commissions his trusted servant to secure a wife for his son from his kindred people. These events have been foreshadowed in the text (22:23) where we learn Abraham's nephew Bethuel has a daughter named Rebekah. Parallels and contrasts abound throughout the Genesis account of Abraham's life and lineage and this chapter is no exception. Whereas Abraham's nephew, Lot, bore daughters of immorality and scandal, Bethuel's Rebekah is introduced in our passage as a virtuous woman of faith. While Abraham's earliest years were sometimes marked by compromise, at this stage he will make no concessions that might jeopardize the covenant. Furthermore the calling of Rebekah herself will mirror that of Abraham as she journeys to a promise that will be revealed along the way. This miraculous faith and love story unfolds in a spectacular display of God's sovereignty across 550 miles as the purposes of God defy the odds yet again proving that Yahweh is Lord of His covenant and history...