Rebecca at the Well in Genesis 24 is a beautiful story and every girl's matchmaking dream come true.
All Rebecca was asked for was a simple drink of water - something which would have taken one minute max. But she offered to water the camels too. Surely Abraham sent more than his "oldest servant who ruled over his house" with the caravan to Nahor! They could have easily drawn the water for the camels. And in fact there were more servants, although they are not mentioned until after Rebecca is found and secured.
I was wondering how many camels there were - can you guess? I was guessing at least five, probably more - but I read it again and it says there were ten. There was all the presents for Rebecca and her mother and brother to carry, plus a bride price, food for the camels and servants to last a good portion of the journey, and possibly camels to ride for the servants. It seems to me that this trip was an urgent one. Everything happens in a rush!
Abraham asks and in the next sentence, Eliezer has left and arrived. Before he finishes praying, Rebecca has appeared. He "runs" to her and she "quickly" lets down her pitcher. She "runs" home to make arrangements for him to stay and her brother "runs" out to invite him in. Then he refuses to eat before he tells them his mission, and after being asked to stay ten nights he will only agree to stay one before returning home.
Giving Eliezer a drink would have fulfilled his request, and is more than Rebecca was obligated to do. But to offer to water ten camels must have taken quite a while even though she did it "quickly".
The below podcast by experienced people says that a thirsty camel can drink between 100-150 liters of water in around 15 minutes. So to water 10 camels, Rebecca might have had to draw 1000-1500 liters of water. I imagine that Rebecca could lift no more than 20 liters at once, so she would have to draw water at least 50-75 times in order to draw that much water which must have taken a couple of hours. It was no casual offer that she made.
Memory Verse: “And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”” Genesis 24:19 NKJV.
Materials needed to create the Rebecca at the Well quiet book page:
- A4 felt background sheet - I used orange
- this printable from LambSongsNZ
- a method of sublimation printing - see below
- white acrylic/polyester felt
- sewing thread to best match the page
- two mini black split pins
- string or wool
- hot glue and glue gun
- scissors!
Firstly, get the printable transferred onto white felt by the sublimation printing and heat press method - see my post on Sublimation Printing on Felt - Test. Print the Rebecca and bucket section in reverse as well so you can glue her back to back.
Cut out the printable picture and both buckets and Rebecca's.
Attach your wool or string to the background felt underneath where your picture will be sewn using zig zag stitch. Go back and forth a few times to reinforce the hold.
Sew down the picture along three sides to form a pocket at the top.
Use the split pins to join each Rebecca to her bucket. Hot glue the buckets together and enclose the other end of the wool or string inside, leaving space for the split pins to remain free to turn. Hot glue Rebecca together, again leaving space for the bucket to swivel between her arms and the bottom edge open to form a finger puppet.
Cut out the printable picture and both buckets and Rebecca's.
Attach your wool or string to the background felt underneath where your picture will be sewn using zig zag stitch. Go back and forth a few times to reinforce the hold.
Sew down the picture along three sides to form a pocket at the top.
Use the split pins to join each Rebecca to her bucket. Hot glue the buckets together and enclose the other end of the wool or string inside, leaving space for the split pins to remain free to turn. Hot glue Rebecca together, again leaving space for the bucket to swivel between her arms and the bottom edge open to form a finger puppet.
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sew version.
A very easy quiet book page! The hardest part is lining up both side of Rebecca when hot gluing (but that's not that hard)!
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.
Key Learning Areas and Skills
- Genesis 24 - God is a good matchmaker!
- Imaginative Play - draw water from the well to give the camels a drink
- Finger Puppet - Rebecca
- Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
- Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
Read the Chapter
Genesis 24Devotional
How great are the rewards for being faithful in little.All Rebecca was asked for was a simple drink of water - something which would have taken one minute max. But she offered to water the camels too. Surely Abraham sent more than his "oldest servant who ruled over his house" with the caravan to Nahor! They could have easily drawn the water for the camels. And in fact there were more servants, although they are not mentioned until after Rebecca is found and secured.
I was wondering how many camels there were - can you guess? I was guessing at least five, probably more - but I read it again and it says there were ten. There was all the presents for Rebecca and her mother and brother to carry, plus a bride price, food for the camels and servants to last a good portion of the journey, and possibly camels to ride for the servants. It seems to me that this trip was an urgent one. Everything happens in a rush!
Abraham asks and in the next sentence, Eliezer has left and arrived. Before he finishes praying, Rebecca has appeared. He "runs" to her and she "quickly" lets down her pitcher. She "runs" home to make arrangements for him to stay and her brother "runs" out to invite him in. Then he refuses to eat before he tells them his mission, and after being asked to stay ten nights he will only agree to stay one before returning home.
Giving Eliezer a drink would have fulfilled his request, and is more than Rebecca was obligated to do. But to offer to water ten camels must have taken quite a while even though she did it "quickly".
The below podcast by experienced people says that a thirsty camel can drink between 100-150 liters of water in around 15 minutes. So to water 10 camels, Rebecca might have had to draw 1000-1500 liters of water. I imagine that Rebecca could lift no more than 20 liters at once, so she would have to draw water at least 50-75 times in order to draw that much water which must have taken a couple of hours. It was no casual offer that she made.
How Much Water Does a Camel Drink?
by Camel Connection
Rebecca is not the only virtuous person we can learn from in this chapter. Eliezer is pretty impressive too. Although he is not named in this chapter, Abraham thinks in chapter 15 that Eliezer his servant will be his heir. Eliezer must have known this at the time too. Not only does he not become hurt or offended when he is no longer heir, but he is the one trusted to secure a Godly wife for his replacement Issac. What faithfulness! We can learn so much about how to behave when we are disappointed by not receiving what we thought we were going to. Like when we don't get the promotion we thought we deserved. God has a plan, and often it is not our business!
Thank you for the good info on the camel's large capacity and thirst, as well as your insights into how urgent and rushed the action of the story is. And your good point about Eliazar being content and a virtuous and trustworthy servant.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, glad you found it useful.
DeleteVery insightful! Thanks for sharing
ReplyDelete