Genesis 24:22

Vs.22- “And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight,”- When Rebekah had given the camels enough water to satisfy their thirst, the servant gave her an earring.  This piece of jewelry was made of half a shekel of gold.  A shekel of gold translates to about $1,920 in our currency.  So, half of a shekel would be worth around $960.  This was quite a gift to be given for simply watering some camels!

“and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;”- The servant also gave Rebekah two bracelets that totaled ten shekels of gold.  I would assume that they were five shekels a piece, but we do not know.  The bracelets value would then be estimated at around $19,200! 

 

One-Line Explanation- The servant gives Rebekah an earring and two bracelets.

 

Lesson:  1.)  It pays to serve.  Rebekah did not know that she was going to be rewarded for her actions.  She was simply acting according to her character.  She was a woman with a servant’s heart and she responded to the request of this servant.  After watering the man’s camels, she was rewarded with golden gifts amounting to approximately $20,160 in value!  The old saying is ‘You can’t out give God!’  Jesus said, “Give and it shall be given unto you.”  The Bible says that if we sow sparingly we will reap sparingly, but if we sow bountifully we will reap bountifully.  Whatever service we render to God will be rewarded.  It always pays to serve the Lord.  With that in mind, we need to be careful about our motivations.  Our motivation in serving God should never be about what we can get out of it.  I do not serve God for the monetary blessing I can get out of it, but I serve God because He is my master and I love Him!  God rewards proper actions and proper motives.  Rebekah displayed both in this story.  She served the servant of Abraham and was not thinking about a reward at all.  We need to just serve the Lord out of a pure heart and trust Him to take care of us.  He will reward us in due time.  2.)  The Holy Spirit gives valuable gifts!  Rebekah responded to the request of the servant and was rewarded with gifts.  The servant in this story is a type of the Holy Spirit of God.  When we get saved by responding to the wooing of the Holy Spirit, we then receive gifts from God.  We receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we receive spiritual gifts that we use to serve the Lord, and we receive the gift of eternal life.  3.)  Nose rings?  Most modern translations translate the Hebrew word “Nezem” in this passage as ‘nose ring.’  The King James Bible translates the word ‘earring.’  Many of the ancient commentators also have said that this ornament mentioned in this passage was a nose ring.  So which is it?  Is it a nose ring or an earring?  The word could be translated nose ring.  Why don’t we let the Bible define the Bible?  Gen.35:4- And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.  Exo.32:2-3- And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. (Vs.3) And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.  Both of these passages contain the Hebrew word “Nezem” which is again translated in the King James Bible as earring or earrings.  These passages, however, make it very clear that the intended meaning is for a jewel in the ears.  The Bible says, “…all their earrings (Nezem) which were in their ears.”  I have been reading commentaries that have said the word would be better translated ‘nose ring.’  The modern translations for the most part do translate the word Nezem in this passage as nose ring; however, as we search the Scriptures we find once again that the King James Bible is right and the other translations are wrong!  The Bible clearly says that Nezem is a jewel in the ear!  The modern liberals have used this verse to tell the young people that it’s ok to wear nose rings and look like some kind of a punk rocker.  I study this verse and am once again convinced that the King James Bible is the Word of God and the other ‘translations’ are cheap imitations.