Generosity and Eagerness in Hospitality

And it truly was extraordinary hospitality not merely to give what he asked but to provide more than was requested. What she gave was water, but that was what she had to give at the time. People who practice hospitality are judged not by the costliness of their gifts but by the resources from which they give. God praised the one who gives a cup of cold water; He also said that the woman who put in two small coins had given more than everyone else, because she gave everything she had. In the same way, Rebekah welcomed that noble man with what she had available, for she had nothing more to offer him.

Nor are the words “she hurried,” “she ran,” and the other such expressions added without purpose. They teach you the eagerness with which she did this—not unwillingly, not under compulsion, not irritated or resentful. This is no small thing. Often we have asked someone passing by who was carrying a lamp to stop for a moment so that we could light ours, or someone carrying water to let us have a drink, and he could not bear even that but was annoyed. Rebekah did not merely lower her jar for him; she drew water for all the camels as well, accepting so much labor and offering the service of her own body for the sake of hospitality, and doing it with great gentleness. Her virtue is shown not only by what she did but by the eagerness with which she did it. She called “lord” a man she did not know and had seen for the first time that very day.