GENESIS 24
This is a chapter of profound interest because it is a divine picture of what is going on at the present moment — the wondrous fruit of the Father’s thoughts and purposes. The true Isaac has been offered up, and now the blessed work of securing a bride for Him is going on. In chapter 23 we have the death of Sarah, the vessel of promise; and now what comes to light is the purpose of the Father, and an object for the love of the Son — the bride. Sarah’s death typifies the passing, for the time, of Israel and the promises in relation to the earth, in order that heavenly blessings and relationships may come in. The Son, in figure, has gone through death and taken up a heavenly position, and He gets the bride.
Promises seem to stand chiefly in relation to that which has come in contrary to God. Every manifestation of the power of evil in this world was met by promise. But there was something prior to that, and greater than that; there was what God had treasured in His heart before there was any movement of sin; His eternal purposes of love. There were purposes formed when God had nothing to consider but His own love. Promises came in in answer to the manifestations of the power of evil. Eternal life is the crown of promise, the consummation and summing up of all that God brings in on that line; the blessed answer to sin, death, and Satan’s power; the complete triumph of God in relation to all these things. I think it would also be true to say that promise is chiefly connected with the earth, but purpose brings heaven and heavenly relationships into view. Isaac is typically the heavenly Christ; the [p. 175] One who went into death to lay a basis for the effectuation of all the purposes of the Father; the particular aspect of the purpose seen here is that He gets a bride.
What we have typically in this chapter is something the hearts of all saints should be conversant with. I think we might say that we ought to understand it by reason of our own exercises, and what the Spirit of God is doing with us.
We cannot read this chapter quite in a gospel sense, for the evangelist goes out to proclaim the grace of God to such as are utterly unsuitable, but in this chapter the servant goes out to find a bride suited to be united to Isaac. The evangelist’s business is to speak well of his God, and to tell every poor sinner whose ear he can get of God’s attitude of grace in Christ. He sees men in their deep need and sin, and brings the grace of God in Christ to them. There is the ministry of the gospel and the ministry of the assembly. The ministry of the gospel tells me what there is for me, and the ministry of the assembly tells me what there is for Christ. It is the latter we have come to in this chapter.
The bride must, in the first place, be suitable in origin; those of Canaanitish origin were not suitable for Isaac. We have all read Romans 3; when the evangelist stands up to preach he often tells his hearers that that chapter is their photograph as in God’s sight, and he presents the grace of God to them, and shows how it can meet them in every part of their deep need and ruin. You do not look for moral beauty in the sinner; you try to bring before him that he has none, but that he may have Christ as his righteousness and beauty. You could not think of [p. 176] persons as described in Romans 3 being a bride for Christ. But that side of things is not brought before us at all in Rebecca as a type; she is not seen as needing anything to be removed or cleansed from her. She is seen as kindred with Isaac to begin with. If a man can say, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man”, he is morally of quite a different order from the man described in Romans 3; he is morally kindred to Christ. In Matthew the Lord owns as His kindred “whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in the heavens”; in Mark it is, “whosoever shall do the will of God”; in Luke it is, “those who hear the word of God and do it”. This makes it very plain who are kindred to Him. Such are the product of divine generation and workmanship. When the Lord was here He became very attractive to certain people; He found that which was responsive to Himself.
I believe that John’s gospel has the bride very much in view. John had seen the bride in vision as she will be in the future; and at the beginning of his gospel he tells us that John the baptist recognised that the Son of God was the Bridegroom, and that He alone was entitled to have the bride. We may well suppose that John’s gospel has in view the formation of bridal character and affection. The line on which the bride comes in is a divine work in souls; through the grace and working of God what is suitable for Christ is produced. The servant goes out to find a suitable bride for Isaac; he does not find an unsuitable one and make her suitable. She was suitable because she was, in figure, of divine generation. That is the true secret of all response to Christ; no one would appreciate Christ at all if there was not some [p. 177] thing in their hearts that was kindred with Christ. A man who delights in the law of God after the inward man, and who gets spiritual freedom by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus making him free from the law of sin and death, and who has the Spirit of Christ, is kindred with Christ.
We cannot make the bride individual, though individuals partake of the divine nature. Every one of the individuals that make up the bride is appreciative of Christ and responsive to Him, so that the Spirit can invest them with divine ornaments. When the Lord was here on earth He attracted to Himself just as a magnet attracts what is kindred to itself. Wherever there was a divine work in the souls of men they were attracted, and when responded to He delighted to put wonderful ornaments on them.
The servant found Rebecca by the spirit of grace which came out in the way of excess. She not only answered his request for a drink, but she went beyond what he asked, and drew water for his camels also. It was a peculiar touch of grace, which marked her as the one appointed for Isaac, and as suitable to be adorned with the ring and bracelets. As the fruit of divine working or sowing, persons are found who have moral features suited to Christ. There would be no treasure and no pearl if there had not been the sowing and ground prepared by the Father to receive the seed and give it productiveness. There is thus produced and brought to light a generation suitable to be adorned with spiritual ornaments. [p. 180] It has been said that the Lord did much for the disciples which was afterwards the work of the Spirit. And I think we may look at the Lord’s ministry to His disciples as a putting on the ring and the bracelets. He brought [p. 178] forth entirely new conceptions of the divine pleasure; a new kind of moral beauty that was perfect in Himself, and would become theirs as they appreciated Him. He thus invested them with one precious ornament after another. He was really investing them with what He was Himself, so that they might set Him forth. He became their excellency and ornament (Isaiah 4: 2); the hidden man of their hearts was adorned with the characteristics and moral features of Christ (see 1 Peter 3: 4), as set forth in His word, which was really expressive of Himself. It is precious to keep that word, for as we keep it we are adorned; what Christ is becomes excellency and ornament to us.
In the course of our reading of this book we have had various aspects of the mission of the Spirit brought before us. We have seen Him, in figure, given as power to set aside the flesh. Another type of the Spirit is the well, the Spirit as the source of divine refreshment. Now in this chapter we see in the servant a new aspect of the Spirit, a beautiful type; He is sent to find and bring the bride. The thought of the bride originates with the Father, and the mission of the Spirit is to bring her to Christ.
Eve was a type of the assembly before sin came in, and we must put Eve and Rebecca together. Eve gives us the bride purely from the side of the divine sovereignty and work which formed her; there was no type of exercise on her part. God took a rib and builded a woman, and brought her to the man; it was all God’s doing. But in Rebecca we see intelligent exercise and the moral features of the bride, and in the servant the Spirit is set forth as the One who puts these exercises of affection in movement. Rebecca [p. 179] has to take the journey, too, to Isaac; so that we get here the history of the bride on the line of intelligent exercise and movement. In Ephesians 1 we get the purpose of God; and in chapter 2 we get the work of God, which involves the formation of new and quickened affections.
Rebecca was brought to a tent; that is, it is a figure of Christ’s present compensation, not what the church will be to Him in heaven or eternity. Its application is to the present time. It is a character of things brought about now in the affections of saints that is illustrated in this chapter. It is a spiritual movement that brings saints in their affections to where Christ is so that they may be a comfort to Him. It is blessed to think that Christ may have present compensation, and that He may find it in us. He has lost His mother — Israel — the vessel of promise; she is dead, but He has compensation. Indeed, nothing that was represented in Sarah is lost; it is perpetuated and cherished in the assembly. Then the church is the witness to Him of His Father’s love, for she is the object His Father’s love has secured to Him. The tent is a present idea. The Lord has that which is present compensation to Him. The thought of it ought to awaken profound interest in our hearts. We may have said, “Christ for me”, but the question is, do we desire to be for Christ? That would be compensation for Him.
Rebecca, when the servant first saw her, was marked by grace; it was that which the servant looked for, and by which he found her; if she were of Isaac’s kindred she must be recognised as such by being in the grace of it. When the Lord was on earth there were those whom He could recognise as His kindred.
It has been said that the Lord recognised in those around Him something of the proper features and beauty of the church. He saw that in His brethren which He could love, not only in a sovereign way but in a complacent way. He saw a company who did the will of God, and heard the word of God; they were like Himself; and He could say, These are my mother and my brethren. They were kindred to Him, and the grace of it came out. Thomas said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him”; and Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast words of life eternal”.
Rebecca established her genealogy; “I am the daughter of Bethuel” (verse 24). It has to be done morally now, so that what is of the Spirit of Christ may be seen; nothing else will do. Those who love what is of God, and are attracted to it whenever they come in contact with it, are material for the bride.
There is not always much room for the Spirit! The servant was entertained; there was room and provender for him, and his proposals were accepted: that is very important. I wonder if we have all accepted the proposal? I suppose the acceptance of the proposal is when the soul comes to this, No one has any title to me but Christ, and I delight to be for Him. “Forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty”, Psalm 45: 10, 11. There was willingness to go; Rebecca said, “I will go”: that is a very important word. The servant was exercised about the willingness of the woman (verse 5). There is a remarkable word in Psalm 110: 3, “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power”; that is, when [p. 181] the sceptre of His might has been sent out of Zion. That is the way souls are made willing. It is by the powerful influence of Christ brought to bear upon the heart by the Spirit. When the Spirit is entertained the result is that souls decide for Christ. I do not mean sinners deciding for the Saviour, but saints deciding for Christ in the sense that He is entitled to possess them wholly, and in free affection they give themselves to Him.
If we accept the proposal, it becomes the occasion of special enrichment to us. When the proposal was accepted, and Rebecca was given up to the servant, there was no longer any reserve on his part; he brought out all the wealth with which he had been entrusted for the bride. He brought forth “silver articles, and gold articles, and clothing, and he gave them to Rebecca”. I think this suggests a further endowment; the Spirit making the saints conscious of being set in the value of redemption, and in deliverance as its fruit, so that the love of God and the infinite thoughts of blessing to which that love has given birth can be enjoyed in perfect freedom. The Spirit can now open up all His treasures — all that is connected with Christ as in death and resurrection, and as glorified. ‘Silver articles’ would speak of what stands in connection with the death of Christ as showing His title to possess us through redemption. We know the price His love has paid that He might have us for Himself. We are set in the wealth and blessedness which is the answer to that precious death. But ‘gold’ articles seem to suggest what is necessitated by what God is, so that He may be revealed and known, and the saints filled into His fullness. In John 14 - John 16 we see the Spirit as enriching [p. 182] the saints with all that is connected with Christ as having gone to the Father.
Then the ‘clothing’ is very important. It is a wonderful thing to see how the Spirit can clothe saints so that they become descriptive of Christ. We not only see this in Scripture, but we can see it in real life in the saints. Did you never see something in a brother or sister which made you wish you were like him or her? When the Spirit is free, the wealth and blessedness of Christ can be put upon the soul that loves Him. The question is: What kind of ornaments do we want to display? We see a marked contrast in Isaiah 3 and 4. All the ornaments that women wear are spoken of in chapter 3 and they are all going to be blighted, and instead of them will be the utmost wretchedness. Then chapter 4 speaks of Christ as the One who shall be for beauty and glory, and for ornament for those who have escaped. Their movements then would show Him off; it is Christ that is to be displayed.
There may be a suggestion, too, in these jewels of the gifts which Christ has given to the assembly to adorn her through ministry with all that is of God and of Himself. The gifts are a token of His love and deep interest in her, and every gift is really an expression of Himself, and in so far as we get the good of it we are adorned with what is of Himself. The bestowal of gifts is a precious activity of the love of Christ, for the gifts are the evidence of His triumph, and the proof that He is alive. They come from the ascended Christ, and are for the increase of spiritual wealth so that we may grow up to a perfect correspondence with Him, and so be formed in the true character of the bride.
[p. 183] If we do not come to the Lord’s Supper in something of the affections of the bride we shall not eat it aright. And that raises the question of the veil, for I suppose the veiled — or covered — woman comes in in 1 Corinthians 11 as a kind of figure of the assembly in suited conditions for the eating of the Supper. She is for Him; she is His glory; she does not want anyone else to see her. As soon as Rebecca saw Isaac she covered herself; she was now to be exclusively for him. When we come to the Supper we are in the presence of the greatest thing in the universe — the love of Christ. We used to dwell on His dying to put away sins; then that He died to make an end of all that was offensive to God; but a big step further is to see that He came into death to let out all that was in the heart of the blessed God, and all that was in His own heart; it is not merely what is removed, but what is brought in. The Son has come in holy and perfect affections into the place of death, and has brought in His own love and the love of God, and as we drink into that there is bridal formation. It is good to think of the sin offering, for it is most holy; Scripture puts great emphasis on the holiness of the sin offering; it is spoken of in the same words as the holiest of all. It is most holy, but it is connected with the removal of sin. But the love which is brought in is far greater than the sin which was put away; it is infinitely precious, and it forms the bride, for as we drink into it we are formed in bridal affections.
He says, “This is my body which is for you”. He gave Himself in love for the assembly; all the fragrance and perfection of His Person and love came out in death. “In that death all love was centred”. That is what we come to in eating the Supper, and the apprehension [p. 184] of it would make a Rebecca of the saints. His death is wondrous also because it is the expression of His love to the Father. “That the world may know that I love the Father”. The thoughts of the Father can now come into effect; for He died “that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad”. The saints can now be brought into unity, which is a distinctive feature of the church.
The Spirit has come, sent by the Father, in order to carry out a wonderful mission; that the assembly should be secured as present compensation for Christ. “Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death”. Think of what the Lord suffered as having lost Israel, and all the promises connected with Israel! But He gets the church to make up for it. I suppose we have all heard this many times, but how are we affected by it? And to what extent are our hearts put in motion so as to get the gain of it?
It is most blessed to see, at the end, the Spirit and the bride in concert; Revelation 22: 17. I met a man lately who said, “It is all going to end in Laodicea”. I said, “It seems to me it is all going to end in the Spirit and the bride saying Come!” Of course both statements are true, but the latter is the end which all divine working has in view. We see the assembly in Philadelphia representing, in a way, everything that will be caught up, while Laodicea represents everything that will be left behind. The true characteristics of the bride are seen in Philadelphia; that assembly may be taken as representative of the bride; and she is seen at the end in concert with the Spirit. “The Spirit and the bride say, Come”. It is like Rebecca moving along in concert with the servant,
[p. 185] and in the good of all he has brought. Invested with every precious token of the Father’s wealth and of the love of the Son! A wonderful endowment! The love of Christ comes especially before us in the Supper. There may be varieties in conditions of soul, but when we come together to eat the Supper the love of Christ, and the thoughts of His love, come into view for us all.