Marriage and the Succession
Act 1 comes to an end with an elderly widower, an heir who has survived and the need of a wife to take the story on. A servant is dispatched to find one.
If the method seems somewhat bizarre and outlandish (vv. 13-14) remember it is an arranged marriage and in any story it is not uncommon for a whole series of events to be reduced to a single line (‘I knew at the time she was the right one because of her care for the camels’). What often looks unbelievable in a love story (or a soap) is not as crazy as it seems, and the summary statement is not all that different from someone who says, ‘I prayed about it and God gave me his answer’. The essence is not unfamiliar.
Not every story, of course, has such a happy ending. No doubt Rachel had many friends who could tell a different story. But if you feel that there is too strong an air of unreality some of it may just be the way it is told. Laban’s remark (v. 50) is still around, even if it slips too readily off the tongue in some circles and is meaningless to others.
But if truth is stranger than fiction it is worth remembering that there are times when we can see no other solution or explanation for what happens. There are also situations when we need to be open to the miraculous, and other situations when we need to acknowledge that ‘God knows best’ even if we would not choose to put it that way. Think of some.
In this case it is easy to say Amen to Laban’s remark, but that is only because we know the end of the story. For Laban, as indeed for Abraham throughout, this was not 'a judgement after', but 'an act of faith before'.
It marks a new stage in the story of the promise. Abraham’s heir has not only survived. He has an eminently suitable wife, destined to produce another heir, the inheritor of the promise in the third generation: ’The continual guidance of God at every stage’ (R N Whybray).
