Rebekah herself had to make the final decision because the entire arrangement hinged on her being willing—God's foreknowledge worked through her freely given 'I will go.'
Abraham's servant was sent to find a bride, but the mission was explicitly conditional on the woman's willingness (Genesis 24:5). When the family asked Rebekah, 'Wilt thou go with this man?' she answered, 'I will go.' Les Feldick explains that God's sovereign plan did not override Rebekah's will; instead, God knew she would be willing, and so her choice became part of His plan.
Genesis 24:5 — This verse shows the servant's mission was conditional on the woman's willingness, making the final choice her own.
Genesis 24:58 — It records Rebekah's direct answer 'I will go' when asked, making her personal decision explicit.
When Abraham sent his servant for Isaac's wife, the servant first raised the possibility that the woman might not be willing: 'Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land' (Genesis 24:5). Abraham responded by telling him not to take Isaac back to Mesopotamia, but he did not instruct the servant to compel a bride. Later, after the servant told Rebekah's family everything, 'they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go' (Genesis 24:58). Scripture thus presents the decision as Rebekah's own.
Les Feldick emphasizes the importance of personal willingness. He highlights Genesis 24:5, where the servant asks what to do 'if the woman not be willing'—the whole plan depends on her voluntary response. Rebekah was not merely a piece in a divine puzzle; she was willing, and God, in His foreknowledge, knew she would be willing. Les sees this as a picture of the calling out of the Gentile bride of Christ: God's sovereign hand arranges circumstances, but every individual must personally be willing.
The servant's question shows the mission was conditional: if the woman was not willing to come, he was not to force the matter. Les calls the word 'willing' the key to understanding the passage. In the actual event, the family did not decide for Rebekah; they called her and asked directly, and she answered 'I will go.' Willingness was not a formality—it was essential.
Les Feldick explains that Rebekah came to the well at exactly the right time by God's sovereign working, but that does not cancel her will. She was willing. God knew she would be willing. The two sides—God's sovereign arrangement and Rebekah's personal choice—are reconciled by His foreknowledge. As Les puts it, God knows what an individual will do with His offer.
Les sees Genesis 24 as a picture of the calling out of the body of Christ—Christ calling out a Gentile bride. Just as Rebekah had to be willing to leave her home and follow Abraham's servant, every person must be willing to respond to the offer of salvation. God's hands on the situation and the individual's willingness work together; there is no salvation by coercion.
Is It Luck or God? Divine Sovereignty vs. Free Will
"...and the man, this servant, bowed his head, and he worshipped Jehovah, the God of Abraham. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth. I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren. And the damsel ran and told them." Now verse 29, "...and Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban.
Willingness and Foreknowledge
Les teaches that Rebekah was willing, and God chose her because He knew she would be willing—showing that her final decision mattered.
God's Sovereignty and the Willing Response
Les affirms both God's sovereign control over the situation and the necessity of personal willingness, showing they are not opposites.
Bride Picture
Les describes Isaac taking a Gentile bride as a picture of Christ calling out the Gentile bride, framing Rebekah's willing response as part of the Gospel picture.
The Birthright Explained: Why God Chose Jacob Over Esau
He begat Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian, of Padam Aram the sister to Laban the Syrian. Now for those of you who are not acquainted with all of this in the Old Testament, remember that when Abraham first left Ur of the Chaldees, he went up the Euphrates River near the headwaters in what is now more or less eastern Turkey or Syri…
Jacob & Esau: The Sovereignty of God in the Birthright & Blessing | Genesis 25-27
The elder shall serve, or be under, the younger. Now who mandated then that Jacob would end up where Jacob ended up? God did. See? Now as we study this, and again especially when we come into the conniving that Rebekah and Jacob do to get that blessing away from Isaac, never lose sight of the fact that God had mandated this before they were ever born.
The Meaning of Adonai: Understanding God as Master
Now, this is when Abraham is sending a servant, you remember, back up to Syria to get a wife for Isaac. And in verse 9, the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham, his what? His master. There's that master and servant relationship down in the human realm. Now, I said it also refers to husband and wife.
The Servant's 'Willing' Test
Les points to Genesis 24:5 as the key verse: the whole search for a bride was conditioned on whether the woman was willing, making Rebekah's choice indispensable.
Genesis 24:5: And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?
This is the servant's question to Abraham, showing that the search was contingent on the woman's willingness.
Genesis 24:58: And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.
It records Rebekah's personal answer to the family's question, making her choice explicit.
No. After hearing the servant's account, the family called Rebekah and asked, 'Wilt thou go with this man?' Her answer, 'I will go,' shows that she made the final choice herself.
Because the servant's whole errand depended on the woman's willingness. Les sees this as evidence that God's sovereign plan works through a person's voluntary response, not against it.
Les teaches that Genesis 24 pictures Christ calling out the Gentile bride. Just as Rebekah had to be willing to leave and follow the servant, a person must be willing to respond to God's offer of salvation.
Watch the Teaching: Is It Luck or God? Divine Sovereignty vs. Free Will