MAN (6)
[p. 96] MAN (6)
Genesis 21:1 - 14; Genesis 22:1 - 19; Genesis 24:1 - 9; Genesis 24:61 - 67
JT There is one item to be mentioned which we did not read at the end of chapter 22. There we have the account of Rebecca’s ancestry or genealogy and I think this is worthy of mention as entering into the whole subject now before us, because there is so much damage accruing from the disregard of right principles in marriage. In view of marriage people are very prone to ignore the matter of whether God has begun to work in the persons in whom they are interested, so that we have the matter of mixed marriages, and they are most damaging throughout the testimony. I only mention this as emphasizing a principle that governs this whole matter. So now we begin with chapter 21 referring to the birth and the weaning of Isaac.
SCM How accurate divine Persons are in their movements as to time in connection with man! Certain things are mentioned at certain times and at just the appointed time they are carried out. In our time certain things are being worked out also. It is said of the Lord Jesus in Galatians that at the appointed time He came in.
JT Yes.
ANW Referring to chapter 18, at which we were looking last time, God says, “I will certainly return to thee at this time of the year”, Genesis 18:10. I presume the time in this chapter refers to that promise?
JT Just so, so we have it mentioned in verse 2, “the appointed time of which God had spoken”. The movements initiated by divine Persons must be accurate from their own point of view, even if it be the movements of the heavenly bodies, or the earth. Everything must be in accord with the divine mind in accuracy, so that we have the sun rising and the sun setting with accuracy, and so forth. So that in [p. 97] dealing with divine things, or with spiritual things, we have to keep accuracy in mind.
EAL Verse 21 of chapter 17 also brings in the appointed time.
Ques Is there a link with Galatians 4:4, “but when the fulness of the time was come”?
JT Exactly, that has been referred to, the fulness of the time had to come; so that the Lord Jesus was born exactly according to the divine plan. There can be no doubt that the coming of the Lord will be on that same principle: God “has set a day in which he is going to judge the habitable earth in righteousness by the man whom he has appointed, giving the proof of it to all in having raised him from among the dead”, Acts 17:31.
JHE Could we get some help as to Isaac’s name meaning ‘laughter?’ You said something this afternoon about its being the outcome of what took place in both Abraham and Sarah.
JT Evidently the idea is joy in the birth of Christ as we get it in Luke 2:10, “I announce to you glad tidings of great joy ... for today a Saviour has been born to you in David’s city, who is Christ the Lord”. The angel spoke of that. Now this question of the birth and the weaning of Isaac is something that we perhaps do not know much about, especially the weaning. The brethren will remember that in hymn 211 in our book (1932 edition) the allusion is to Isaac, the weaning of Isaac.
EEH “Abraham exulted in that he should see my day, and he saw and rejoiced”, John 8:56. Would that refer to this?
JT Yes, I think so.
ANW Do you refer to the words:
“When Our hearts this place accord Him,
When, as Isaac, He has come,
We shall then in answer to Him
Cast out Hagar and her son”.
JT Yes; Hagar’s son would speak of the man born after the flesh, which many of us prefer to him that is born after the Spirit.
AR Have you in your mind that Abraham says, in Genesis 17:18, “Oh that Ishmael might live before thee”? Genesis 17:18 That is the man born after the flesh, that is the same man over again only in another character.
TEH Would you say that it took the help of Sarah to bring Abraham to that conclusion so that he acted in casting out the maid servant? It was on the occasion of Isaac being weaned that this animosity on the part of Ishmael came to light. It evidently did not come to light before that.
DP The weaning brings Isaac into prominence.
JT Quite so. The idea of weaning is that we can do without nature, we can do without the natural mother.
JHE Would Paul answer to this in Romans 7, in displacing the man after the flesh and looking to the true Isaac? He came to a realization of what man after the flesh meant, and how he must be disposed of.
JT Just so, only circumcision was needed for that, not weaning.
CAM Would you say that Sarah had made progress in her soul? She says, “God has made me laugh: all that hear will laugh with me”. Had she not really come to the divine thought in her son?
JT She had laughed prematurely at first, now she laughs intelligently.
FHL If we look at Abraham and Sarah as the full thought of manhood, do they suggest the subjective side in love that would take account of the mockery of the man after the flesh and set it aside to make room for Isaac?
JT Just so. The point is the weaning. Circumcision is obviously according to law, but the weaning [p. 99] is so important, that is to say when, spiritually, we can do without the natural support of the mother.
SW Would you say it is at that time that we can be dedicated to service? I had in mind Samuel in the day when he was weaned Hannah took him up to the temple and left him there.
JT That is to say she gave him up to the service, just so. And she was concerned that he grew accordingly; she made a little coat for him every year, always keeping in mind his growth. That is a subjective idea.
Ques It is said of the Lord in Luke’s gospel that He advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men. Is that the idea?
JT Quite so, He advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men. Do not let us forget that side either.
Ques Does circumcision precede weaning?
JT It does, the cutting off of the natural.
Rem In verse 4 it is said that Abraham circumcised his son Isaac; and then in verse 8 that he was weaned.
JT “The child grew, and was weaned”. There had to be growth before the weaning but not before the circumcision.
ANW Does that mean that weaning is a greater test? The matter of circumcision is complete; but when it comes to weaning, while Abraham makes a great feast for Isaac he is not ready to have Ishmael displaced. But the two cannot remain together, is that the point?
JT “Cast out this handmaid and her son”, is where the hesitancy comes.
CFE Abraham had to learn that the first order of man had to go, as it says in verse 11, “And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son”.
TEH What is the difference between the expression that Mr. Darby uses in his hymn, “Art thou weaned from Egypt’s pleasures?” (76:5) and this matter of being through with the man according to flesh?
JT Well, Egypt’s pleasures are more simple, they are worldly things; but the weaning here is from what is proper in itself; that is, the mother’s food is proper in itself. But it is not proper when the time of weaning has come.
JHE Paul says, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child”, 1 Corinthians 13:11 but then he looks for full-grown manhood.
JT Quite so.
Ques Are you suggesting that circumcision is now made good in us?
JT Oh, I think so; it is first but weaning is second, in that sense. It is not simply a legal thing; the person is equal to it; the person has grown to it. It is a question of growth, not of legal requirement.
RWS David says in Psalm 131, which is in the songs of degrees: “Surely I have restrained and composed my soul, like a weaned child with its mother: my soul within me is as a weaned child”, Psalm 131:2.
JT Like a weaned child, he was true to the thing. He was true to what Abraham set out at first. Weaning is a subjective thing; circumcision is not that, it is a legal thing, a requirement.
RWS Would composing the soul mean that he was restful in the new condition?
JT Quite so.
RWS The last verse might throw further light on the matter. It reads: “Let Israel hope in Jehovah, from henceforth and for evermore”, Psalm 131:3.
JT It is a fixed matter with him, as a true and experienced person. But returning to our passage, the great question is the casting out of Hagar, and her son. Ishmael mocked, it was persecution, he was [p. 101] a mocker.
ANW Are we helped by that principle today? Do we have to learn the mocking character of the maidservant and her son to help us reach the point of liberty?
JT Quite so, the casting out; Abraham was hesitant about that but Sarah was not, and God orders that it should be so. There must be the casting out; it is a violent thing, it is really violence.
AR So that the two mothers represent two systems, and the two sons the products of those systems, according to Galatians.
JT Just so; so that it says in verse 11, “And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son. And God said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad and because of thy handmaid: in all that Sarah hath said to thee hearken to her voice, for in Isaac shall a seed be called to thee. But also the son of the handmaid will I make a nation, because he is thy seed” — that shows how extensive, how liberal God was in these matters: “because he is thy seed”, that is, God respects the father. And so it says, “And Abraham rose up early in the morning”. Now notice that, he “rose up early in the morning”; he was obedient, which is another thing we have already noticed in Abraham — “and took bread, and a flask of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder — and the child, and sent her away”. There is a complete break in sending her away.
Ques Would you say a word as to Sarah taking a lead in the matter of casting out Ishmael?
JT Well, it is a principle in the New Testament, it is Scripture, really. The word of Sarah becomes Scripture in that sense.
Rem Abraham is told to hearken to her voice.
GH In connection with the violence involved in casting out Hagar and her son, it says that the kingdom of heaven is taken by violence. Is that the [p. 102] idea?
JT Well, just so, but I think you would have to examine the force of the word ‘violence’, “the violent take it by force”, Matthew 11:12. The kingdom of heaven is a thing we must have, and you enforce it. It is only a question of the use of the word.
RWS Is weaning a principle involved in manhood according to God? Would the weaning and the casting out and the acceptance of the matter enter into our subject of manhood according to God?
JT Oh, I think so, and that Sarah insisted on it and God supported her. It is something that may happen in the assembly, in our care meetings, that a matter must be insisted upon.
TEH It says that when Hannah brought the boy up to Jehovah she brought three bullocks with her and one ephah of flour and a flask of wine. Would that be the appreciation of manhood in her soul as she came up to give the child to the Lord?
JT Just so; wine is applied to what is for God Himself; it is stimulation, a question of holy stimulation.
Ques Does circumcision coming first here suggest the presence of the Spirit, the power to reach the subjective results as seen in weaning?
JT The Spirit enables you to do what is right and supports you in it against nature. So the casting out is clearly seen here as an enforcement.
WWM The apostle says to the Hebrews, “For every one that partakes of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe; but solid food belongs to full-grown men, who, on account of habit, have their senses exercised for distinguishing both good and evil” Hebrews 5:13,14.
JT That is an allusion to what we are aiming at here, it is just that.
ANW So that this principle of the flesh will not just drop off or drop out; it takes on a mocking [p. 103] attitude, and it has to be cast out; there is need of forcefulness.
JT Quite so, because there is persecution in a mocking attitude. The Lord Jesus himself speaks of being persecuted; Saul of Tarsus persecuted Him. We now should go on to chapter 22 to consider the offering up of Isaac: “And it came to pass after these things, that God tried Abraham, and said to him, Abraham! and he said, Here am I. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and there offer him up for a burnt-offering on one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he clave the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up and went to the place that God had told him of” (verses 1 - 3). Now we have not only come to the weaning, but Abraham himself is tested to the limit, in offering up his son. It is the test of obedience to the full limit of it that God would have in His people, that we are not to admit anything else but the full limit of testing, and go through with it. That is the next thing before us now in our lesson in the thought of humanity, what man is according to God.
ANW And the manhood, the fibre of the man, is seen again in the rising early under these conditions. “Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass”, There must have been an extraordinary fibre of manhood there.
JT So that we might as well read a little further, from verse 4 and down, to bring out the perfection of Abraham’s obedience: “On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. And Abraham said to his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and the knife, and they went both of them together. And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, My father! And he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the sheep for a burnt-offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself with the sheep for a burnt-offering. And they went both of them together. And they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built the altar there, and piled the wood; and he bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slaughter his son. And the Angel of Jehovah called to him from the heavens, and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, Here am I. And he said, Stretch not out thy hand against the lad, neither do anything to him; for now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not withheld thy son”.
[p. 104] Now let us dwell upon that, all of us, the extreme test of obedience, the knife actually raised up to slaughter his son, the extreme test of obedience in Abraham. We are dealing with manhood particularly now, manhood in Abraham.
GH Is that seen so beautifully in the Lord Jesus Himself, becoming obedient even unto death?
JT Quite so, He became obedient even unto death, and that the death of the cross.
ANW Does not the repeated reference to wood in this chapter indicate manhood, really? It says he “piled the wood”, and “laid him on the altar upon the wood”.
JT In fact there is a wood sacrifice in the types; it is really humanity of an acceptable kind.
SCM Does that agree with the shittim wood of which the ark was made?
[p. 105] JT Quite so, the supreme thought of wood is seen in the ark; it is the supreme thought of wood as seen in Christ; the shittim wood suggests the humanity that was seen in Christ.
TNW Earlier it says that Abraham “laid” the wood “on Isaac his son”.
JT So that the idea of humanity in Abraham is seen in the wood; it is burnable and could be used for the purpose in question.
FHL We had altars in the previous chapters, but is not this the first time the wood is mentioned so far as Abraham is concerned?
JT I think it is.
WWM Would we have the same idea as to the wood that Moses took when they came to the bitter waters? He cast the wood into the waters and they became sweet. That would refer to the humanity of Christ, would it not?
JT Just so.
AR Did God intend in this test that Abraham should really reflect Himself?
JT He did, so that the place was called Jehovah-jireh. That leads us to verse 14, at the end of our passage: “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh” — meaning, The Lord will provide — “as it is said at the present day, On the mount of Jehovah will be provided”. That is, God comes in now when we are in an approved state of obedience; God comes in for us. That is the thing we may count on, that God will come in for us when we go the full length of obedience.
FHL Not only is his obedience tested, but his love, is it not?
JT Quite so, his love for his son and his obedience unto God.
ANW Is that not the first mention of love in the Bible, suggesting God in His love for His Son?
It says, “Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, Isaac”.
JT So that now we come to the prime thought of the whole passage, beginning with verse 15: “And the Angel of Jehovah called to Abraham from the heavens a second time, and said, By myself I swear, saith Jehovah, that, because thou hast done this, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, I will richly bless thee, and greatly multiply thy seed, as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is on the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because thou hast hearkened to my voice. And Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba”. Now, it is not said that Isaac comes down from the mount; typically he goes up to heaven. That is the idea. Isaac does not go down at all; he is offered up to God, and you might say he goes up to heaven. It says, “Abraham returned to his young men”, it does not say Isaac is there; “and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba”. Well, there is no mention of Isaac, what has become of him? We have to understand that we must make way for heaven and go there, be ready for it.
ANW Then do you place Rebecca’s genealogy which follows in the next few verses, in that relation with Isaac?
JT Yes; that would offset the pernicious effect of mixed marriages which come in amongst us and you cannot be too strong in speaking about it; the terrible effect of mixed marriages. This passage from verse 20 to the end of the chapter is to bring out the genealogy of Rebecca, that she is a true woman to marry Isaac; she is true woman suitable for marriage according [p. 107] to God.
RWS It is most important with all the sorrow we have had and still have because of it.
Ques There is a remarkable passage in Nehemiah 13:23 - 25: “In those days also I saw Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab. And their children spoke half in the language of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people. And I contended with them, and cursed them”. Does that show how strong we have to be in this matter?
JT Quite so, those were mixed marriages, that is the thought, they are abominable. There must be the seed of God; if a woman is to be married she must be a sister according to God. “To take round a sister as wife”, 1 Corinthians 9:5 it says, otherwise she is not fit for it, and there are to be suited qualifications in the brother, too.
DP Are all the promises which God had given to Abraham now seen in a risen, exalted and glorified Isaac?
JT Very good.
ANW Is that not the idea of the laughter? God has secured joy that way.
JT Just so.
Ques Is that why, in this passage, it is said that Abraham’s seed will be as the sand of the sea and also as the stars of the heavens?
JT Quite so; the idea that the seed was to be heavenly is brought in.
AR So that in the partnership of marriage both should be heavenly. It is an awful thing to think of persons marrying if one’s outlook is heavenward and the other’s is not.
JT Awful to think of it! How can anyone take the risk of that?
DP So there should be equality in the relationship before the marriage takes place.
[p. 108] JT Equality lies in the word sister, “to take round a sister as wife”. 1 Corinthians 9:5.
DMacd Do we not see a beautiful example of that in Exodus 2, “And a man of the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi”? Exodus 2:1.
JT Yes, the right genealogy, that is the idea.
ETM In the Song of Solomon it says, “Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse”, Song of Songs 4:9.
JT Just so; he recognizes her as his sister first before she is his spouse.
WWM So that in Galatians where this is referred to it says, “But to Abraham were the promises addressed, and to his seed: he does not say, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed; which is Christ”, Galatians 3:16. There was no mixture.
JT No; very good.
FSC What can be said about the oath in regard to the promise in Hebrews 6? God swore by Himself, it says, because He could not swear by a greater. Why did God have to swear by an oath?
JT The whole thing is made sure through the oath, that is what is meant; it is a question of priesthood and of our assurance.
AR Is your point in this chapter that in figure Isaac goes up to heaven and stays there, and Rebecca comes to light under these circumstances?
JT So that we have already spoken of the stars as alluding to our heavenly portion, the seed of Abraham being viewed as stars.
Ques If asked what our link with heaven is, should we not say that it is the Spirit, through the Spirit? Of course, we must be righteous in what we say.
JT Yes.
CAM Would that not be inferred in the statement that Abraham dwelt in Beer-sheba, which would correspond with Isaac’s not coming back? That would seem to suggest [p. 109] the Spirit.
JT We must bring in the Spirit to make things possible and certain subjectively, not objectively. For what is subjective we must have the Spirit.
AR What had you in mind about chapter 24?
JT It brings out the need of a suitable bride for Isaac. The point is that the link must be in the family, there must be a family link between the two. Isaac is not to marry a person who is not of the family, of his own genealogy, so that the early verses of chapter 24 record that. And then beginning from verse 61 we have the facts of Rebecca’s marriage to Isaac and the results, that he was comforted after the death of his mother.
AR If one is looking for a wife, should he look for her according to the mind of God?
JT Quite so; but it is a question of the family link, that the family link must be spiritual.
SCM In Genesis 2 it says, “I will make him a helpmate, his like”; Genesis 2:18 and the footnote says, ‘counterpart’. She must be like himself.
JT Yes; counterpart is the word, she is of himself. Myself over again, as someone has said. The man says of the woman, in principle, It is myself over again. So that Christ would say that of the assembly, it is Himself in that sense, it is like Himself. “The fulness of him who fills all in all”, Ephesians 1:23.
AR You have said that you must have kinship before you can rightly have marriage; so that for the assembly the idea of brethren must come first. After that you get the idea of the assembly.
JT That is the point here, so that the first nine verses of the chapter should be read again that we may all have it before us: “And Abraham was old, and advanced in age; and Jehovah had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the eldest of his house, who ruled over all that he had, Put thy hand, I pray thee, under my thigh, and I will make thee swear by Jehovah, the God of the heavens and the God of the earth, that thou take not a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am dwelling; but thou shalt go to my land and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac. And the servant said to him, Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land: must I, then, bring thy son again in any case to the land from which thou hast removed? And Abraham said to him, Beware that thou bring not my son thither again. Jehovah the God of the heavens, who took me out of my father’s house, and out of the land of my nativity, and who has spoken to me, and who has sworn to me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land — he will send his angel before thee, that thou mayest take a wife for my son thence. And if the woman be not willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be quit of this my oath: only, bring not my son thither again. And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore unto him concerning that matter”.
[p. 110] It is by an oath that the matter is confirmed, it must be by oath. And then we can proceed from verse 61 for the completion of the whole matter: “And Rebecca arose, and her maids, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man. And the servant took Rebecca, and went away. And Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi; for he was dwelling in the south country. And Isaac had gone out to meditate in the fields towards the beginning of evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, camels were coming. And Rebecca lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac, and she sprang off the camel. And she had said to the servant, Who is the man that is walking in the fields to meet us? And the servant said, That is my master! Then she took the veil, and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac led her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebecca, and she became his wife, and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after the death of his mother”.
RWS There are no discrepancies now with Abraham, either in this matter of supreme obedience or in his word to his servant not to take his son back into Syria again if he cannot find a wife. It seems to be a perfect conclusion now in Abraham and in Isaac and in Rebecca. Is that how we should arrive at this feature of manhood where discrepancies vanish and what is perfect is seen?
JT I think it is almost, as the word in Hebrews 12 says, “the spirits of just men made perfect”, Hebrews 12:23. Abraham, we might say, is made perfect in chapter 24; it is in measure like perfect manhood.
RHS Does the thought of manhood in any sense supersede that of sonship? Is manhood a greater thought than sonship? We have been considering Isaac in relation to sonship; but we find in Revelation that God will tabernacle with men.
JT It is difficult to say; God is leading many sons to glory. These are men, it is a masculine idea. So that there are two things to be noted in Hebrews 2: first the masculine side in that God is leading many sons to glory, which is what God is doing; but then in verse 12 we have the assembly: “In the midst of the assembly” the Lord says to His Father, “will I sing thy praises”; Hebrews 2:12 that is the feminine idea. The Lord Jesus has the assembly now in which to sing the praises of God. Those are the two ideas; the first is the masculine in that sons are being led to glory, and the second is the feminine, in the assembly in which He praises the Father.
ANW So that the system in unity is feminine; when it is a matter of sons it is masculine.
JT That is right.
[p. 112] Ques There is nothing greater than the thought of “Let us make man”, Genesis 1:26 as we had it in our first reading, is there?
JT I would say that; and that is inclusive of women, it included Eve.
TEH Speaking of greatness, there is a remarkable statement in chapter 26 which says, “And Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold; and Jehovah blessed him. And the man became great, and he became continually greater, until he was very great” Genesis 26:12,13. That helps us as to the greatness of Isaac.
JT Just so, as it were to fill out the thought of Abraham; because while Isaac himself failed eventually, he filled out the full thought of Abraham at first.
Ques How is Isaac to be regarded as master? Throughout the chapter generally the servant speaks of Abraham as master.
JT Isaac supersedes Abraham, he is the master now; there is the idea of succession, for Abraham dies, the next chapter tells us of his death, while Isaac becomes greater and greater.
ANW May I suggest that it might be indicated in the Spirit and the bride saying, Come. The Servant, typifying the Spirit, is saying it now to His master, one may say reverently. Is that not the consummation of the whole matter, “the Spirit and the bride say, Come”, Revelation 22:17 to that Man?
JT Yes.
AR Rebecca asks “Who is the man?”
JT The answer is, “That is my master!” Abraham’s servant is really a type of the Spirit, and He is the One that answers.
FHL If the full thought of manhood is seen in Christ and the assembly, then, in that sense, would it be greater than the thought of [p. 113] sons?
JT Well, Christ and the assembly, just so. But the assembly is never viewed as belonging to Deity, that should be guarded.
AR So the chapter really finishes with the idea of union, which we had this afternoon. “And she became his wife, and he loved her”.
ANW Here we have the second mention of love in the Bible I believe. The one who was loved now loves his wife.
JT Yes; and then Sarah has mention eventually in the narrative; it says, “Isaac was comforted after the death of his mother”, that is to say that although Rebecca comes into her tent, yet Sarah is a type of Israel and she will come into her place in the millennium.
GH That expression, “Who is the man that is walking in the fields to meet us?” brings before us in a wonderful way the greatness of Christ.
JT He is recognizing the Spirit really, he is coming and going to the well of Lahai-roi. “And Rebecca lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac, and she sprang off the camel. And she had said to the servant, Who is the man that is walking in the fields to meet us? And the servant said, That is my master!” Now that is the Spirit of God really, in type; the Spirit of God comes in there to link up Rebecca with Isaac. But then there is another thing to think of, and that is the mother; and the millennium must make way for Israel in some sense; and the mother here I believe is Israel.
SW Is there significance in the place from which Isaac is coming at this point?
JT It is the principle of coming and going. It is to recognize the Spirit, I think. “And Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi; for he was dwelling in the south country”. There is a note to that verse, that he ‘came from coming to’. It is the Lord Jesus, in type, recognizing the Spirit as seen in the well,
[p. 114] coming from and going to it. I hope the brethren will not think that I am speaking too strongly about these things, but I think that we ought to recognize the Spirit wherever we can, because it is a great point at the moment that we should see the Spirit of God in everything, even in type.
ANW Does Rebecca show her chaste virginity when she veils herself? Paul speaks of presenting the saints as “a chaste virgin to Christ”, 2 Corinthians 11:2.
JT Just so, suitability too, and lowliness are seen in her act.