Only Rebekah could see that Abraham’s death, rather than liberating Isaac from the burdens that his father had placed upon him, only guaranteed that there would be no relief as long as Isaac lived. That memory of his father choosing to obey God and offer up his life, however he might understand it and even agree with it in his mind, still preyed on him in his heart and showed itself in Isaac’s contempt for his own abilities. Whatever Abraham might have said to him on his deathbed, whatever blessing he might have given, it was not enough to counter all the years of self-doubt, the hopeless self-evaluation that had become a part of Isaac’s character.

The one gift I long most to give him, thought Rebekah, the one that a wife should be able to give, is simply beyond my power. Whatever preys on Isaac’s soul, only God can take from him; whatever happiness he hungers for, only God can give it.

With time, however, changes did come. As the Philistine cities grew, so did their need for farmland to support their growing populations, and soon Philistine farmers were deliberately filling the wells near their cities that Abraham’s herds depended on. It was an act of war, but when Isaac sent complaints to the king of this or that Philistine city, the king always protested that he had never given permission for such a thing, that he deplored it, and that he would surely find and punish the perpetrators.

Isaac, Eliezer, and Rebekah conferred about it, and decided that there was no point in dying or killing over it. “If we had fewer herds,” said Isaac, “we’d have no need of those wells.”

Eliezer’s response was, “If you had no herds at all, we’d need no water except for ourselves.”

He meant it to be a joke, but Isaac didn’t laugh. “I couldn’t feed the men and women who have served my father all these years if I did that. But I’ve found a middle way. I have a loyal servant whose grandsons are now grown men, and it’s wrong to keep him in service to the end of his days. He has earned an inheritance to give to his sons and grandsons, and so I’ll give him all the flocks and herds that are watered at the wells of the Philistines, along with the servants who now tend them. If he’s wise, he’ll move them immediately to other pastures, and avoid quarreling with the Philistines. But since they’ll belong to him, that decision is his as well.”

“That’s nearly half your wealth,” said Eliezer.

“That’s how this servant deserves to be rewarded,” said Isaac. “Though in another sense he will still be lifting half my burden, so even this gift gives back as much to me.”

“And who is the servant who will receive this burdensome gift?”