Genesis chapter 24
"And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had...go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac...and the servant... swear to him concerning the matter." extracts from Genesis 24v1-9
It is well established that Isaac is a type of Christ, and in the narrative we can think of Abraham as God the Father; his servant as a type of the Holy Spirit; Isaac as a type of Christ; Rebekah as a type of the church. This is an illustration of the mission of the Spirit to woo a bride for Christ. The chapter ends with Isaac's love for Rebekah-v67, and sets it as one of the great love stories. In fact this is only the second mention of love in the bible, the first being the love of a father for a son; the second. the love of the son for his bride. Through the narrative, we discern many pictures of the work of the Spirit as He seeks a bride for the Son.
Behind the biblical narratives are deeper than just the surface meanings, and God reveals Himself in narrative, prose, and prophecy, and wisdom sayings. All forms of revelation are a revelation of God. We consider this chapter as typical of the wooing of the bride of Christ by the Servant sent by the Father. We repeat the outline concerning Christ in the chapters:
Chapter 21 the birth of Isaac the birth of Christ
Chapter 22 the sacrifice of Isaac the death of Christ
Chapter 23 the death of Sarah the setting aside of Israel
Chapter 24 the wooing of Rebekah the wooing of the Church
Chapter 25 the inheritance of Isaac the riches of Christ
We are therefore considering the mission of the servant which results in a love union, corresponding to the present day, when the Spirit of God is calling a bride for Christ. Prophetically speaking this took place on the demise of Israel. This story takes place some 15 years after chapter 22, and three years after the death of Sarah.
The servant chosen was the closest to Abraham, his trusted, eldest servant who ruled over all his house 24v2. The typology is never perfect but sufficient to illustrate the truth. To woo the church for Christ, God sent the one closest to Him, His holy Spirit, one who was His equal, who carried all His authority and trust. The words of the Spirit are the words of God, and His promises through Him are certain. This is the unequivocal teaching of the New Testament scriptures-notably John 14v26, 15v26, Acts 2v33, and others. The One who was sent, who came, is one of the Godhead. He was called "Another Comforter", one of the same as Jesus, who would comfort God's people in His absence.
He was to take a Gentile bride. There are a number of Gentile brides in scripture, and the Church the bride of Christ is predominantly Gentile. Rebekah of Mesopotamia; Asenath of Egypt; Zipporah of Midian; Rahab of Jericho; Ruth of Moab. One common feature of all these, is that while there are many Jewish wives whose deaths are recorded, including Sarah in chapter 23, none of the Gentile brides' deaths were recorded, symbolising the eternal union of Christ and the Church. God works all these wonderful details into His book.
The servant vowed that the will of Abraham would be carried out. The Spirit is in the world to perform the wishes of the Godhead. John 14v26 "He shall teach you all things"; John 15v26 "The Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me"-the message of the servant was of Isaac, the message of the Spirit is of Christ; John 16v13 "...when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me, for He shall take of mine and show them unto you." In the narrative, the servant travels with the goods of His master, evidence of the worthiness of Isaac to be accepted-refer 24v10-22.
Rebekah agrees to go with the servant, pressing her folks not to hinder her. She said "I will go". The Spirit woos, but will not press, the lady must want to go. This, of course is all over the New Testament. God is not in the business of enforcing His will on people, it must be with their agreement-24v23-60.
When the decision was made, she was committing herself to someone she had never seen. Said Peter "Whom having not seen ye love, and in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory"-1st Peter 1v8. She came by faith, not by sight, she believed the evidence of the servant, and she was not disappointed. So it is by the members of the bride of Christ, they hear, they believe, they leave their old life behind and follow the servant to a new life.
Isaac came from the well Lahai-roi, and saw the party including the servant and his new bride afar off. Their eyes met, and they came together, and Isaac took her to his mother's tent, and she became his wife, and he loved her. What a picture of what has come to be known as the Rapture, when the saints of God from all the age, saints only by faith, will meet Him in the air,"...and so shall we ever be with the Lord!" Truly, rapture it will be when first we see Him whom we love and enter an eternal union which shall never be broken. A lovely story, prefiguring the GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD.
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