THE HOLY SPIRIT IN RELATION TO THE TYPES OF THE ASSEMBLY (3)
[p. 307] THE HOLY SPIRIT IN RELATION TO THE TYPES OF THE ASSEMBLY (3)
Genesis 24: 50 - 67; Genesis 41: 37 - 52
JT The time failed us yesterday in looking at chapter 24. The type is so important that we should consider it fully and perhaps take into account the life of Jacob affording some light on our subject, especially as to Leah, and then Asnath, the wife of Joseph, bringing out the assembly as with Christ at the time of His rejection by Israel and His acceptance among the nations. After that we have also to look at Zipporah as related to Christ in the wilderness and the testimony of God in the wilderness, the tabernacle and covenant. There are others, of course, such as Achsah, the wife of Othniel, and Ruth, the wife of Boaz, and finally, Abigail, but Zipporah and Abigail are the main types after Genesis.
Leah represents the assembly, the gentiles, that is ourselves, and is not so attractive as Israel was historically; she was tender eyed, whereas Rachel is very beautiful both as to form and generally. Asnath has no special features at all save that she is in the position of wife to Joseph in this important administrative position that he occupies in Egypt. The Lord will help us to see the point in each type, but Rebecca is the most important in the book, next to Eve, and as we had yesterday, she typifies the assembly as the bride of the heavenly man, that is Christ typified in Isaac; great space is given to her in this long chapter and later on, too, as far as chapter 27, where she is concerned about the wives that Esau had, Canaanitish women. The assembly is thus followed up in her, as a type, as discriminating, and judging mixed marriages, which is a very important matter. She is recognised as a holy seed in sisterhood, so that three times over it is mentioned here, that her father [p. 308] was the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. The mother is mentioned as well as the father. Her grandfather and grandmother are mentioned also, showing that the female side is peculiarly carried through in Rebecca, as related to Christ above.
Rem It is wholly a family matter, “To take my master’s brother’s daughter for his son” (verse 48).
JT To bring the thing down to practice, what is referred to there in the closing word of the servant to Bethuel and Laban, is we might say a presentation of a case as we call it, for fellowship in a care meeting. The chapter affords richness in the way of prayer and worship, the fact that assembly material comes to light. The man, it says, “Stooped, and bowed down before Jehovah, and said, Blessed be Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, who has not withdrawn his loving-kindness and his faithfulness from my master; I being in the way, Jehovah has led me to the house of my master’s brethren”. Then we have what the maiden told her mother’s house in verse 28, and then we read that Rebecca had a brother named Laban. Now we have to watch him to see how he is going to act and how the matter may be brought into the care meeting of the saints. Laban is an outstanding personage, because he takes the lead of his father and mother. He and his mother finally decided that the woman should not leave for ten days; that is postponement which is often very dangerous in regard to the saints, especially where there are matters calling for judgment. The servant’s speech to them begins in verse 34, after he refused to eat before he told his business. It runs down to verse 49, and he is what we might call the leading brother for the moment. Laban is in mind as the leading brother after this speech in which the facts are stated. In verse 50 Laban speaks before his father, and says, “The thing proceeds from Jehovah”. He does not keep to that word, however, for he changes his mind a bit. I think he wants to be the leading man to decide a matter of that importance, which is a dangerous thing.
FNW Would the servant be governed by the Holy Spirit? We saw earlier the position that he took in relation to the well. Would he be able to discern the features of the Holy Spirit in Rebecca?
JT Yes, his remarks and prayer are connected with the well. Beer-lahai-roi was the well with which Isaac is connected. The word says in verse 62, “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 toward the beginning of evening”. The note says, ‘came from coming to’, meaning that it typified the Lord as occupied with the Spirit in view of Rebecca, in view of anyone coming in, but this must be dependent on the Holy Spirit, or it will never be satisfactory.
AR Laban going ahead of his father would not be recognising headship.
JT There is that in it. Evidently Laban is allowed to be the leading man in that place. He does well at first. We are told that Rebecca had a brother. “And it came to pass when he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s hand, and when he heard the words of Rebecca his sister, saying, Thus spoke the man to me — that he came to the man, and behold, he was standing by the camels, by the well. And he said, Come in, blessed of Jehovah! why standest thou outside? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels”, Genesis 24: 30, 31. You can see he is a leading man. It would look as if the father was weak, but then that does not set aside his place. I can understand her going to her mother’s house (verse 28) because the feminine line was in view throughout, but the father seems to be weak or else [p. 310] the son is too much for him; I think the latter is the case, but this time it is a question of her parents — the family line.
Ques Is your thought that this aggressiveness, this forwardness, would forfeit the servant’s help? Rebecca is principally the assembly — a type of it.
JT Yes, I think so. Look at the suggestion Laban and his mother make. They say, “And her brother and her mother said, Let the maiden abide with us some days, or say ten; after that she shall go”. Is not that an opening of the door to the enemy? Here is the point, this assembly material ought to be at once in the assembly. She is in principle in the assembly, of course. She is a type of it, but we are trying to make it practical. If you have something for the assembly, its place is in the assembly, and it belongs to the assembly. Nobody doubts that, not even Laban, because he recognises the jewels. Nobody doubts that she is the real person, and belongs to the assembly. Why should the matter be delayed?
SMcC He is marked by vacillation. I was thinking of your reference to “say ten”. When he had to deal with Jacob, he proposed certain things, then Laban immediately changes it.
JT Yes. That shows the principle, the element of vacillation, really you might say deception, unfairness, for Jacob should have had Rachel at once, but he did not. He was deceived by Laban, who changed his wages ten times.
SMcC You feel that is an element in our localities that has to be faced. It is very specious in its workings and motives as it has a pretence to serve right ends, but really there is deception working in it.
JT Yes. He behaves well at first. It even says he had prepared the house, as if the thing was in his hands.
[p. 311] Rem A difference in judgment might arise as to discernment of what is assembly material. In this case it is quite clear.
JT That is the point. If the matter is not clear, then we have to wait upon one another, and the person himself, so that the answers are clear, and there is no question about his being assembly material. In this case, there is no question even by Laban. The matter is all clear. There is only this suggestion of ten days or so.
Ques Would this discernment largely be seen in those that are spiritual? If unspiritual persons take part in it, you may get a wrong conclusion. Is that so?
JT Well, that is just it. The servant here is most emphatic. His speech is most conclusive. He has already prayed, and after prayer he found the answer, and after the answer he worships putting on the jewels. Then he states the case at length, beginning at verse 34 and going on to verse 49. It is a long statement by a spiritual man in the meeting. Well, the leading brother and his father say, ‘Well, that is from God, so far so good’. What is there to say? There is no need to say anything. Someone says something that is right. Then someone says, ‘Let him wait ten days or so. It will do no harm’, but it will do harm. Satan will have the advantage.
RRT The servant here seeks to take on the matter himself. It speaks about taking Rebecca. He says, “Do not hinder me”. He takes on the matter.
JT It is a matter of his responsibility, that is, the Spirit of God operating through the brethren.
AAT Do you get this in Acts 15, where Peter stands up and then James speaks, saying, “Listen to me”.
JT Quite so. That is the best example we have of the care meeting. Acts 15 is always the model [p. 312] we turn to. You have an excellent condition in the assembly. Barnabas and Paul are allowed to state the full account of their work among the gentiles; it is always attached to the care meeting, to bring in positive things.
Rem I was wondering if you would regard this statement as a model of what would carry the concerns of the assembly, especially a woman that is already adorned by the servant, speaking of the Spirit.
JT There is no doubt about it. It is the Holy Spirit typically that has committed Himself to her in the adornment in the gifts and the ring; which we might say is an endless matter, not to be interfered with, and that applies to the assembly. I was thinking of the reference to Peter and James in Acts 15, that the case is stated and an excellent condition is promoted in the assembly by a report of the work of God elsewhere. It is a question of assembly material. Titus went to Jerusalem with Paul and Barnabas, and there was an excellent example of the work of God in Titus, and Peter did not enforce circumcision in his case, because there was not a better brother in Jerusalem. Here in Genesis 24 the work of God was manifest and the servant’s report in the care meeting, so to speak, is lengthy and is supported by positive evidence of the work of God.
Well, they wanted her to stay with them. They do not ask the man to stay, but ‘Let her stay with us’, they say; which would not help, because now she has come into touch with the Spirit typically, and all that connects with him; her safety lies in movement. They say, “After that she shall go”. It is as much as to say, we are the persons to determine this matter. Very often you see that in the care meetings, when some think that it is our matter, but it is not our matter. It is a question of whether the person is qualified, whether he or she has established her [p. 313] qualification. We confer nothing on anybody. It is a question of their right. If they have washed their robes, they have a right to the tree of life. It is our matter to see that their robes are washed. They are assembly material the same as ourselves, and it is a question of right. To assume that we will determine the matter is not right; that is the position, and that will never do at all in the care meeting.
ANW Would you say that Laban acting before Bethuel is wrong? Laban should never have been before Bethuel. It would be better to encourage his father to take the lead.
JT He should never be before Bethuel. Bethuel may be a weak man in fatherly qualities. Sometimes fatherly qualities are weak, and it is very humbling that it is generally so amongst us, but still they should be recognised. You can see how a pushing man may acquire a place beyond his spirituality. If he has qualities, of course, we cannot ignore them.
RWS After this vacillating, the servant says, “Do not hinder me, seeing Jehovah has prospered my way”. In matters so urgent would the Holy Spirit hold the position by asserting His power?
JT It is quite clear that Jehovah is in this matter. It is a question of the servant of Jehovah, that is, what the servant says, “Do not hinder me”. He is representative, of course, of Abraham. “Seeing Jehovah has prospered my way; send me away, and I will go to my master”. That is an excellent word, because you bring God in; you say, ten days will do no harm, but then what about God? This is the work of God.
RWS You mean it is more a question of God than the servant?
JT That is the point. It is more a question of God than the servant. The Holy Spirit would do that amongst us, assert God’s rights in the assembly.
[p. 314] Ques In the care meeting has every brother a right to express his judgment on every matter?
JT Well, it is not so much a question of expressing an opinion. The question is, is there any spiritual power in what is said? The idea of a debating society does not enter into the assembly. It is foreign to it.
Ques Would a brother express anything in spiritual power unless he has taken on the whole commitment of the service of God?
JT I think that is good. It is a question of what obligation you are taking on in this matter, or are you just wanting to say something? We have to ask sometimes in our meetings that the brethren be concise in what they say, and that they contribute to the matter in hand, so that no time be wasted. The assembly time is the most important time we have.
WGT You were speaking about the brethren leaving matters in the hands of the ones who take the lead. In the care meeting would we leave the matter in the hands of those who are spiritual?
JT Well, quite so. Everyone, of course, is responsible and I think the absence of eldership in Corinthians is significant. It is a time when everyone is responsible. The least is of importance. So that we know that in principle anyone can speak, but if there is fatherhood or eldership, surely that ought to be recognised.
FHL Taking on the whole service of God is most important, as some who are silent in most meetings have a great deal to say in the care meeting.
AR When you say eldership, do you mean a brother who says, ‘I am fifty years in fellowship’?
JT It is not that which qualifies us; it is a question of what years they are. What is his experience in those years? Evidently Laban had a place in the house. How did he get it? It may be that Bethuel was a weak man, and possibly he was, but sometimes brothers are made weak, because others [p. 315] are aggressive and take the position that they are not equal to.
SMcC Do we have a judgment of this in Acts 11, where Cornelius and his company come into view and certain contended about them, and then Peter sets out the matter before God, and the brethren are brought into it?
JT Yes, that is a good illustration. The six brothers that he had with him would show that there was competent testimony. While the testimony is here in the case of Rebecca, it is manifest that she is the one. The thing is from the Lord, too. ‘Let us proceed’, that is the next thing. Why should we delay ten days?
WB-w That suggestion was overruled; “And they said, Let us call the maiden and inquire at her mouth. And they called Rebecca”.
JT Well, that is the next thing. We come to a hindrance. This ten days matter was supported by Laban and his mother. It looks serious and now the next thing is the servant is very pronounced about it, and his word is “Do not hinder me, seeing Jehovah has prospered my way”. We would say the Spirit of God is asserting Himself in what has come about. God is brought into it. He says, “Send me away, and I will go to my master”. The word ‘master’ is important. Authority is in all this. The next thing is to call the maiden and inquire of her mouth. The more you look at her, the more you are assured that she is the one, but what is her decision? Is she definite? Is her mind fixed? They called Rebecca and said to her, “Wilt thou go with this man?”. It is a question now of the servant, not Isaac yet, but the person with whom you are going. What has already come out. The servant is definitely of God. Will you go on this line? Are you amenable to all these things we are dealing with, or are you going to listen to an objection that has no weight at all? When a person [p. 316] is coming into fellowship, he ought to be ready for all that goes with it. Isaac enters into it by this man. We must recognise what is of God amongst the brethren, and that is the way. In the book of Acts, “the way” refers to this very thing. It is the procedure that leads to the assembly, and she is coming into that. “Wilt thou go with this man?”. She says, “I will go”. I am going on with what is manifestly of God. I have come into this thing, and am going on with it.
Ques Would the words used in Acts 2, referring to the Spirit, “impetuous blowing”, be in line with this, that there is an urgency in relation to the working of the heart of Christ?
JT That is very good. There was a large number coming into this way. “And they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers”, Acts 2: 42. That is the “way”. She is ready for that here. She is with the man.
LES I was wondering if, at this point, the epistle to the Thessalonians would come in. Paul speaks of cherishing his children as a nurse. Rebecca’s nurse is spoken of at this point. There is also the youthfulness and energy that marked the Thessalonians.
JT Very good. She needed a nurse, of course. We read of this nurse later when she died. “And they sent away Rebecca their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men”. Now this, put into our own language, is assembly procedure — principles that are abiding and that we are not going to turn from even after we are in fellowship. She commits herself to the “way”. That is the idea.
JHE “With this man” is important, because there is a journey between this and the meeting of Isaac.
JT Quite so; the quality of Rebecca here is remarkable, and her definiteness. They are all carried [p. 317] now. The hindrance is completely overcome. Laban and his mother and all commit themselves, and that shows how important it is that persons asking for fellowship should be definite. Not only that I love the Lord and that my sins are forgiven, but that I am in the thing, in what is called the “way” of God. There is Apollos, he is not fully instructed. They showed him the way of God more exactly. He is thoroughly in the thing, and there is never any doubt of him afterwards.
AR That is what the servant says in verse 48, “who has led me the right way” or ‘in a way of truth’. That is the idea; he had started it, and she is brought into it. It is carried right on.
JT Very good. “And I blessed Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, who has led me the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter for his son” (verse 48). It is the way of truth. They all enter into this matter, and she is thoroughly in the thing; in the “way”. And the next thing, “And Rebecca arose, and her maids, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man”. This is her initiative. She did this herself, showing that she is in the “way” and knows what to do in it. She knows when to take the initiative.
WB-w Then the turning point in the care meeting is in verse 56 — “Do not hinder me”. Those of us who are taking too much part, and are hindering the Spirit, should seek ourselves to make way for the Spirit.
JT Quite so. It is a good question to see what does hinder me. Anyone who is coming in, from the religious world around, though they may not know it will come in contact with hindrances, and it is a good question to ask, “What doth hinder me?” That is, what the eunuch says. Typically the Holy Spirit says, ‘Do not hinder me’. That developed, would be a sin against the Holy Spirit. But it does not [p. 318] develop here, thank God. They submit, and the way is secured, and they arrive at definiteness. So that Paul says, “I speak as to Christ, and as to the assembly”. So that any brother or sister coming into fellowship, must realise that it is Christ and the assembly.
D Would you say that Rebecca was a great model of the assembly in her movements towards Christ?
JT The next thing is, what is occupying Isaac in all this matter. It says, “The servant took Rebecca, and went away”. She had already taken the camels. She arose, and her maids, and they rode upon the camels. That is the right kind of carrying power; not simply that I am in fellowship, but I am moving by the Spirit. It is the right kind of carrying power to Christ. Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi, which means ‘Well of the Living who was seen’. It appeared first in connection with Hagar (the Jew), which is a remarkable thing. Christ typically is standing by the well. The well is all right, but Hagar was not right. It is God coming in in grace to Hagar in Genesis 16. The principle of grace is now established, and Christ in heaven is in relation to that. The same grace that went out to the Jews is now going out to the gentiles. The assembly is formed in that grace. Isaac is there. That is what he is occupied with. “And Isaac had gone out to meditate in the fields toward the beginning of evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, camels were coming”. It was not Rebecca that he noticed first, but the camels. That is, if anyone is coming into this way, this is the carrying power, nothing else.
WR The Spirit is linked on with the bride in Revelation 22, in connection with the coming of Christ.
JT That is right; that is the carrying power. The Lord is adhering to the Spirit as maintaining the [p. 319] assembly position here — not any religious paraphernalia borrowed from judaism. Christendom is made up of that. The Lord is adhering to the Spirit. That is the only preservative and carrying power for what is of God.
RRT You were stressing the importance of Rebecca watering the camels. What a service it was! Now she is riding on the camels.
JT Just so. I think it brings out the mutual conditions that mark the assembly. The end of Acts 2 is the great dominating thought as to what it is the Lord is adding to. Anyone who reads the passage will see and remember the mutual state of things and how love was operating. Well, Rebecca really administered to these camels, so that it is a continual thing. It is mutual support right through in the assembly.
AR Would you say the journey is over in verse 64 of the chapter? It says, “And Rebecca lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac, and she sprang off the camel”. That is the end of the journey.
JT I think that would mean that she is now suitable to Isaac in actual power. The ‘spring’ means the Holy Spirit moved her. “She sprang off the camel”. It is in relation to the Lord Himself. The camels were no longer needed.
WR Does all true service in the assembly point to Christ? The servant says, “That is my master!” Genesis 24: 65.
JT Well, now we come to Christ. It is a question of dignity now, and the same term that is used in regard to Abraham is used in regard to Isaac. So you can see the father and son are duly honoured together.
WGT It is good to see the Spirit and the bride go on to the end. It is an intimate relationship. The bride has nothing apart from [p. 320] the Spirit.
JT Yes, it is a beautiful touch, I think, that the assembly at the end was what she was in the beginning, in intelligent recognition of the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit and the bride say, Come”. The Lord brings out there what He is here. He is Master to the servant here. The Holy Spirit would recognise that. The Lord says, “I am the root and offspring of David”. The root is deity, and the offspring is humanity, so that He is God, and the Lord is stressing that in these days — that Christ is equal to the Father; all that honour the Father must honour the Son likewise.
WGT The assembly in that way recognises that the Spirit is a divine Person.
JT Quite so. Well, I think the Lord is helping us to make room for the Spirit, and at the same time to make clear who Christ is.
RRT Does this indication deserve spiritual response to Christ in the assembly? In verse 63 it says, “and he lifted up his eyes” — and in the next verse — “Rebecca lifted up her eyes”. It is spiritual impulse in the assembly responding to Christ?
JT Quite so. He saw the camels, and she saw Isaac. She is justified. Her dignity is there in that she is using the camels, typically the power which God provides.
Ques Is it typical of the Spirit to retire in His movements to make way for Christ?
JT It is like Colossians. Colossians makes everything of Christ. The Spirit is mentioned only once, whereas in Ephesians you get a great deal about the Spirit, and likewise in Romans.
Ques Is that a lead for us personally in relation to this chapter?
JT The Spirit is always ready; even eternally He will be the power of everything, but it is the Father and the Son objectively.
AAT Why did she put a veil on her [p. 321] face?
JT I think that is female seemliness, which comes out in 1 Timothy 2, “I do not suffer a woman to teach”. It is just what is womanly under the circumstances. She is for Isaac, and she sprang off the camels, showing that she is thoroughly alive and energetic in the power and subjectiveness of the Spirit.
ABP In Romans 14 where there is a question about one, it speaks of God having received him. Would you say a word as to where God’s receiving comes in? We have had the Spirit’s movements in Christ.
JT Well, that is good. The reception is that God has received him. And then we are told in chapter 15 to receive one another to the glory of God. It is a question of the work of God — God has received him, why should we object? The word ‘reception’ has really no application when we come to a person taking his place in the assembly, because he is of it already. It is a matter of his establishing his right, that he washes his robes. The person has a right. We do not confer it upon him. It is a matter of what is his.
ABP Does it not emphasise the greatness of the matter, that there are spiritual indications that the Lord has committed Himself to the person? I thought it added to the greatness of the matter that these cases have come up, and we should not be behind in what God is doing.
JT So that the servant brings God into it here.
LES Do you think there is a point reached at the Supper, where the assembly fills the place vacated by Israel, and in that setting we have a peculiar sense of the Lord’s love, as it says here, “he loved her”? It would be in that setting.
JT I think that is the way it stands. Israel, so to say, is dead. It is not Israel rejected here. Sarah is a great person. The assembly is coming into Israel’s place without saying anything against Israel. The apostle speaks of Israel and says “Of whom ... is the Christ, who is over all, God blessed for ever”. At that time, when it was Jew first, and gentile afterwards, there was no word about discrediting Israel, but in Thessalonians, he says they are under judgment. Here Sarah is an honourable woman, and Rebecca is coming into a great place, coming into that tent. Is she going to grace it, and make it better than it ever was? I think she did.
LES I was wondering if Romans 9: 4 would not answer to Sarah’s tent? “Whose is ... the promises”.
JT That is the point Paul makes there, because he brings in Israel’s greatness, and it is coming up again. “All Israel shall be saved”. Sarah’s greatness is in mind, Israel’s grandmother. It is Sarah’s tent, and I think Rebecca makes it greater than it ever was. After it is fully graced by Rebecca, she shines more than Isaac does at the end in chapter 27. It is to bring out the quality of the assembly, and how concerned she was about mixed marriages, about Esau going to Canaan for his wives. Rebecca’s exercises lead to the revival of family status in chapter 28. Jacob must go to Laban, her brother — the point was where was he to get his wife. “And Rebecca said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good should my life do me?” (chapter 27: 46). That is assembly language. They are just the bane of the saints, these mixed marriages, doing violence to God, and to the Spirit, and to Christ. We want to be here on our own terms, whereas we should be concerned about Christ’s terms. It says in regard of Rebecca, “Thou art our sister; mayest thou become thousands of tens of thousands; and may thy seed possess the gate of their enemies!” (chapter 24: 60). That is a real wife, and the real kind of progeny. “And Isaac called Jacob”, that is to say we have the position restored, “and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father, and take a wife thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother” (chapter 28: 1, 2). We have come back now to the great line of sister and brotherhood, established according to God, coming down from Terah.
JHE Would this bring in the thought, “Jerusalem above ... which is our mother”?
JT Quite so. The father and mother — the two thoughts run together. Now to bring out the position in Jacob, and then in Joseph; in Jacob we have two wives, but the line is established. They must be of the proper sisterhood which God provides; that is in the Lord. So that when we come to Acts, Rachel is the Jew. Israel is the first love, but the last received. That is, the truth comes out in Jacob. Israel is on a lower level than the assembly, but they are both in mind. Israel is loved first, and Paul was not behind in that. He had great affection for Israel, and that was expressive of God’s love and election.
AR Would the two wives represent that they are both of the right seed whether it is Israel or the assembly?
JT They are both the right seed; they are according to God, only it is a question of time, one coming in after the other. Rachel was first loved, but received last. Well, all that is typical. Christ has come into the assembly now, composed of those who are gentiles. You might say that the assembly as God brought it in is most delightful, and so is what comes down from God out of heaven, and it is seen ultimately as the acme of perfection and [p. 324] excellence; but still Jacob loved Rachel more than he loved Leah. That is a suggestion to us, so that we should not be wise in our conceits. It is a public matter that is in mind, and as to the whole Gentile position it is to be pointed out that it is not permanent, whereas the Jewish position is to be thoroughly established, for they are not all Israel who are Jews. It is a question of the counsels of God. That is what Romans 9 - Romans 11 brings out.
ABP This view that we have of Leah would be in her public position in the testimony.
JT I think so. Not that she is unreal, but that she is tender-eyed. The eye is the vehicle of beauty. She was tender and beautiful eyed as David was.
AR If we take church history and the history of Israel, Israel has always been greater publicly than the assembly here on earth.
JT Quite so. She has a place on earth finally, which the assembly does not have. The assembly comes from heaven. That is another thing altogether.
WGT Temporarily, it would be that Rachel is left barren and Leah becomes very fruitful. Levi and Judah both sprang out of her.
JT That is right. That is the history. We have now to touch on Asnath. There is nothing said as to her qualities or appearance. The point is that she is given to Joseph by the Supreme. God determines who Christ’s bride is to be. Joseph is Christ among the gentiles, now, away from the Jews. So that he says, “For God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house”. It is a question of what God has done. Peter, in Acts 11, says, “Who indeed was I to be able to forbid God?”. God is doing this, and so it is a question now, of what God has done and these two sons. Christ finds joy in these new circumstances that God has put Him into. God’s provision for man is abundant. It is the Lord Jesus, speaking in this way, and, of course, we should all speak this way. “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction”. God has done all this. If we let God do things for us, He can do much better than we can.
LES Would Colossians 1: 27 answer to this? “To whom God would make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you the hope of glory”.
JT Very good. The allusion is to this; Joseph in Egypt. Christ among the gentiles. Do we value Him? What has the gentile done with Him? That is the solemn question that is raised in the book of Revelation — how Christ was treated, and what the consequences are.
WB-w Would it be right to make the distinction that Rebecca is the wife of a heavenly Christ, while Asnath is the wife of a glorified Christ?
JT It is Christ among the gentiles, glorified among the gentiles. The Lord did intend to go away among the gentiles, and they did receive the kingdom of God, so that He has been glorified among the gentiles. That the gentiles will yet be cut off because of unbelief is most solemn.
SMcC In the day of display, in the millennium, will the assembly take precedence of Israel?
JT The assembly is ever viewed as heavenly in the ultimate ways of God. Sarah’s tent represents Israel’s place, and it is to be resumed, as Sarah’s tent, according to the chapters in Romans, that we have been speaking of, and that is the final thought in the millennium that Israel has first place in the earth, and the nations are subordinate. It is a question of what God has done for them. The heavenly city comes out of heaven. It has never been anywhere else. It is the mystery. It does not belong to the ways of God on earth at all. It comes into Sarah’s tent, but that is only temporary. Its place is [p. 326] above. It is a secret before the world was, and Eve represents that side.
ABP In assembly service, is it proper in speaking to the Lord, to bring in this thought of what He has lost in the loss of Israel?
JT I think it is. It is quite right. The Lord comes in — ‘Christ among you’. It is Christ among us here today in America, and elsewhere among the gentiles, but what is He among us for? Not to establish us down here, but as the hope of glory.
WB-w Referring to Sarah’s tent again, when Israel was rejected in the Acts, was Sarah’s tent vacated to make way for the assembly?
JT It is carried on in a public way. Peter confirmed that “God first visited to take out of the nations a people for his name”. That is a public thing.
WB-w Paul made it known that salvation had come to the Gentiles.
JT I think that is our public position. We are occupying the place of testimony until Israel is restored. Our place is mysterious. We slip out of the way when the Lord comes. What will men say when the saints are all gone? We do not know. The mystery covers all that. We will come out presently “with Him”.
AEH Rebecca veils herself before she is taken into Sarah’s tent. Does that refer to the secret or the mystery side of things? We understand what is not publicly understood; we are for Christ, and ever the concern of God thus. We enter into the assembly service now before we come out publicly. We are, in the ways of God, in Sarah’s tent.
JT He knows who she is. She is veiled. It is a mystery, but she is in the place, and is loved. The Lord says later to Philadelphia, “That they ... shall know that I have loved thee”. We consider the Cushite that Moses married, that was his matter.
[p. 327] Aaron and Miriam complained bitterly, but that was Moses’ matter, and this is Christ’s matter. She is veiled, and who knows who she is?
RRT As in Sarah’s tent she comes under Isaac’s influence now. Rebecca followed the man, but then she comes to Isaac. As we come under the Spirit’s leading, we finally come to a point where it is Christ. “Isaac led her” (verse 67).
JT It is a mysterious state of things. You cannot follow the history as you follow the Jewish history. The assembly has come into Israel’s place, and has graced the position beyond what Israel could do, but she will be taken away mysteriously. It is no question of previous history on earth at all. The assembly is always a mystery.
ANW She veiled herself. She must have done it with design.
JT I would think so. She would retain her beauty for Isaac, and all that enters into the mystery of the Christ which includes the assembly. It is for Him. He is pleased to have her in Sarah’s tent for a while. It may be for a month or a year, but it has been centuries, but that is the Lord’s matter, and we can look at the public result. That is the point. What public results there are in the testimony, beyond anything that Israel could have produced. So that the mystery is still the mystery. You cannot tell the history of this wonderful bride that comes down adorned for her husband. The world cannot tell. It is a mystery.
LES So the time afforded to Christ personally after the Supper is partaken of, is a great moment for what it leads to.
JT I think the brethren are coming to see that. It is a question of His Person. He is great to His own. “He is thy Lord, and worship thou Him”.
AL Have you any thought as to why there is no conversation recorded between Isaac and [p. 328] Rebecca?
JT It is a question of mystery. We are not to cast our pearls before swine. The mystery implies that we keep things secretive. The Lord would say, Do not tell anybody what has taken place. It is a mystery, and it is to continue to be a mystery. This is involved in the sheet coming down from heaven.
AR The sheet that came down from heaven never stayed down. It went back up again when Peter was on the housetop.
JT Yes. It is indigenous to heaven even as Christ is.
FNW Would the expression, “The mystery of God” in Revelation 10, extend wider than the assembly?
JT Certainly. The mystery of God goes wider. Every scripture has to be taken in its context. The mystery of God has many other features, but the mystery of the assembly is that in which are hid the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. That is what the apostle is combating about, in order that the saints at Colosse might know the mystery; and that we might know.
WB-w Would you say that the expression, “She became his wife, and he loved her” would be evident in Paul’s ministry in the Acts. It is not a future thing here?
JT That is the thought of “Christ also loved the assembly, and has delivered himself up for it”, as Paul says. Paul understood perfectly what had taken Israel’s place in the testimony for just a little while. “He that comes ... will not delay”, he said to the Jewish christians. That is the thought.
FHL Does the mystery go back to Genesis 2. “It is not good that Man should be alone”?
JT Yes, I think that is part of it; it is what is in the heart of God about it.
Rem The veiling of this woman indicates that she comes definitely under headship as she is brought [p. 329] to Isaac. Would there be a waiting for the word, “Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice”, Song of Songs 2: 14?
JT Quite so. The Lord would say that to her. The point is, I think, that it intimates she was for Christ. What is the assembly’s measure here? Rebecca was a discriminating woman, especially in regard to her children. God revealed things to her. She really exceeds her husband. It is to bring out what the assembly is in this relation.
JRH Is Isaac one with the servant? Isaac saw the camels were coming, and then the servant tells Isaac all things that he had done. These features are the common concern of Christ and the Spirit.
JT I think the Lord is honouring the brethren because they have gone back to first principles. Rebecca committed herself to these principles, and the Lord is bringing us back to them, and so he says to Philadelphia, “That they ... shall know that I have loved thee” — a precious thought.
WB-w Referring to Joseph and Asnath again and the two sons, is sonship linked with Joseph and Asnath more than with Isaac and Rebecca?
JT That is what comes out there. Jacob elevates the sons. Another line of thought comes in with those two boys Manasseh and Ephraim. They are elevated in sonship. They are acquired under gentile conditions. They get an equal position with Reuben and Simeon. Galatians, of course, opens that up; “ye are all God’s sons by faith in Christ Jesus”.