Thirsty Camels Point to Perfect Spouses

A camel can drink somewhere between 20-50 gallons of water in one sitting.  Pause and think about that for a second.  That’s between 360 – 500 glasses of water all at once. 

And at this point I’m sure you're wondering why I’m giving you a lesson in camel hydration.  The reason has to do with showing how to find the perfect spouse.

Let’s start with the story of Rebekah at the well, you can find it in Genesis 24.  But I’ll summarize it for you. 

Abraham is getting on in years, and he doesn’t want Isaac to marry a Canaanite woman, so he sends his eldest servant to find a wife among Abraham’s own people.  The servant heads out with ten camels packed up with loads of gifts for the potential bride and her family.

The servant doesn’t want to disappoint, so he prays to God for help.  He says, “ "O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the well, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; now may it be that the girl to whom I say, 'Please let down your jar so that I may drink,' and who answers, 'Drink, and I will water your camels also'—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master." (Genesis 24:12-14)

Out walks Rebekah, and the servant goes through his spiel, and she gives the servant water and offers to water his camels, and so ultimately she marries Isaac.

Let’s review.  The servant asks God to bring a woman who will offer water to his TEN camels.  One camel drinks 20-50 gallons of water in one sitting, so TEN camels drink between 200 – 500 gallons of water in one setting.  

Rebekah was drawing water from a well, which could have been between 20 and 80 feet deep.  Archeological discoveries suggest the pots they used to draw from the well in those days held somewhere around 4 gallons of water.  That’s upwards of 120 draws from the well, not counting giving the servant some and drawing for her family.   

We’re talking about hours of exhaustive work here. What kind of woman in her right mind would offer such a thing to a stranger without God’s prodding?

Now I’ve heard some say that God doesn’t care who you marry as long as you have a godly marriage after the fact, to which I always respond, “Really? Have you asked Him?”  Rebekah and Isaac had their issues in marriage, especially when it came to their kids, but you’ll notice they had something that few other patriarchs did: a monogamous relationship.  Isaac did not take multiple wives.  Why?  Because God made it very clear who was the “one”.  And they were both satisfied with that.

If you’re single, and you want a good marriage without many of the issues that plague marriages even in Christian environments, ask God to choose your spouse, and then ask Him to confirm it in a crazy, only God can do it, sort of way.  I can speak from experience that this is the best path to take.  My wife and I have a crazy, God-filled story, and maybe someday I’ll share it in these pages.