Thank you for stopping by and taking to time to watch, listen, or read this week’s message, The Church in Preparation.
I hope you are encouraged in your faith in Jesus, and maybe even learn something new along the way 🙂
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Recap
The last few weeks we have been looking at women of the bible and how they foreshadow the Church of God.
- Eve foreshadowed the perfection of the Church from God’s viewpoint.
- Sarah foreshadowed the restored Church of Christ.
- Today we are looking at Rebekah, in Genesis 24, who foreshadows the Church in preparation.
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Abraham sends his servant in search for a wife for his son, Isaac. Genesis 24 recounts the journey of the servant and the success he had on his trip. This chapter gives an account that parallels the work of God in the Church today.
1. Let’s take a look at THE CAST and what they represent…
ABRAHAM – he portrays God the Father.
ISAAC – he is a picture of Jesus, the Son
- Jesus and Isaac are the only two people in all of scripture who are referred to as “the only begotten son”.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3.16
By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son – Hebrews 11.17
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- Both Isaac and Jesus are referred to as “the promised seed.”
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” – Luke 1.31-33
And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. – Hebrews 11.11
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- Both have a rich father.
For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. – Psalm 50.10
And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. – Genesis 13.2
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- Both had a miraculous birth.
An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). – Matthew 1.20-23
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Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” – Genesis 21.1-7
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- Both were obedient unto death.
In terms of Jesus’ sacrifice, His crucifixion was indeed the greatest act of sacrifice in the history of the world, a perfect demonstration of His own teaching in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” His supreme offering of His sinless life paid the terrible cost of all of mankind’s sins for all time.
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood – Genesis 22.9
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- Both were offered as a sacrifice by their fathers on a mountain.
When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. – Luke 23.33-34
Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” – Genesis 22.10-12
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- Both inherit all things from their fathers.
And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. – Ephesians 1.22-23
Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. – Genesis 25.5
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REBEKAH – she is the image of the Bride of Christ
- She is absolutely beautiful.
The bride of Christ is beautiful in the eyes of the Spirit and the Son – she is without spot, wrinkle, blemish, or any such thing (Ephesians 5.27).
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- She is a virgin.
She isn’t flirting with other lovers, nor is she chasing other gods.
The bride of Jesus is undefiled. She is pure, betrothed only to Christ (2 Corinthians 11.2-3)
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- She is kind, generous, and diligent.
Rebekah drew water for Abraham’s servant plus his ten camels. A camel can drink forty gallons of water at one time. Rebekah does not have a water faucet to use, but must draw the water out of the well manually.
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- She opened her heart to the servant.
The servant was welcomed and allowed him to stay in her home.
In the same way, the bride of Christ welcomes the Holy Spirit into her life.
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The SERVANT – he represents the Holy Spirit
The Spirit was sent to earth by God the Father. In the same way, the servant was invested with all the authority of Abraham. He was sent in the name of Abraham to reveal his son to his newly found bride.
Throughout the story of Genesis 24, the servant is never named. Throughout the story, the servant never speaks of himself. From his first meeting with Rebekah, he tells her where he is from, why he is there, and then all he does is talk about Isaac and Abraham.
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In short, the servant’s job was simply to tell the bride all about the bridegroom, not about himself.
In the same way, the Holy Spirit does not speak of Himself. He instead magnifies the Bridegroom and His Father. He also guides and woos the bride to the Bridegroom.
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When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. – John 15.26
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own, but will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. – John 16.13-14
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2. Knowing the cast, let’s now look at Abraham’s CRITERIA for a bride…
Abraham recognizes that it is not good for his son to be alone. So he sends his servant to find a companion for him. Abraham gives the servant three standards by which to find a suitable bride for Isaac:
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- She had to be from Abraham’s Family
She cannot be related to the Canaanites. Instead, she must come from Abraham’s family. The word Canaan means low country. God cursed Canaan, the grandson of Noah. Those who are part of the low country, this fallen race, are not qualified to be part of the bride of Christ.
Paul says in Galatians 3.29, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed.” Therefore, her origins must be from above. She must be born a second time, begotten of the Father. She must be kin to God, His own child. (Rebekah was actually Abraham’s grandniece.)
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- She had to be willing to leave her homeland
She must be willing to leave her homeland, which was Chaldea. The other name for Chaldea is Babylon. A war has raged for centuries between Babylon and Jerusalem. It runs like an unbroken thread from Genesis to Revelation.
Nevertheless, God’s word to those living in Babylon has always been, “Come out.” So the bride of Christ must leave Babylon, just as Abraham and Rebekah did.
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Notice that it was those closest to Rebekah who were the ones who sought to hinder her the most. The same is true for us. When the Holy Spirit of God says, “Come, follow Me all the way,” the choice becomes ours. But expect to be hindered.
Rebekah had to pay a price in following the servant. She left all that was familiar to her. And she allowed the servant to take her to a place that she had never before seen.
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- She had to be willing to follow the servant
She must be willing to follow the servant. The servant will guide Isaac’s bride to a place where she has never before been. And the bride must be willing to follow him there.
Her willingness to go to a foreign place will be a sign that she is the woman who Isaac is supposed to marry.
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8.14)
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3. Finally, let’s consider THE CALL upon Rebekah and ourselves…
There are many questions Rebekah had to ask herself after her interaction with the servant. We, also, should ask ourselves the same questions in reference to God’s call on our lives.
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- Will we leave behind what is comfortable if it is asked of us?
We all get into a rhythm in life, and it becomes difficult to step out of our comfort zone. If God were to ask us to uproot our lives to go where He is leading us, would we give up the comfortable for Him?
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- Will we leave behind what is familiar?
Like the comfortable, we live lives of familiarity. We have our favorite places to go, people to be with, and activities to do. Most people like the way things are and fight against any kind of change. Again, if God were to lead us into unfamiliar territory, would we be willing to give up the familiar for Him?
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- Would we be willing to leave all behind to follow the leading of the Spirit?
Jesus makes a bold claim in Luke 14.26-27 when He said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
Basically, He was saying that if we loved our family and even our own lives more that we loved Him, then we cannot be His disciple. So, would we be willing to leave everything for Him?
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- Will we allow the Spirit of God to take us to a place we have never before seen?
Most people like to know their destination before heading out on a trip. However, with God, He just wants us to move ahead. When God called Abraham, He told Him to leave everything and go without knowing where he would end up. That is the kind of faith God wants us to have with Him.
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- Are we willing to abandon everything we know to follow the Spirit to meet our Lord?
To meet the Lord means letting go of our agenda to follow the Spirit’s leading. Again, it is a matter of complete trust of the One who is calling us to Himself. Do we trust the Spirit within us to lead us to our Lord?
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- Are we listening to the testimony of the Spirit through the Word of God and the voice of the Spirit?
The Spirit is always testifying to the greatness of Jesus through the Word of God and by His voice within us. Are we taking the time to allow the Word to speak to us? Are we listening to the Spirit that indwells all who call on the name of Jesus?
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- Is the Spirit’s testimony convincing us to fall in love with the One we have yet to meet face-to-face?
The Word of God and the Spirit of God are continually working together to reveal the person of Jesus Christ. Through them we can see and experience Him in ways that will show His love for us, in turn causing us to fall in love with Him.
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- As the story of Isaac and Rebekah foreshadow the Church in preparation, are we preparing ourselves for the day we enter into His presence for all of eternity?
We are in a state of preparation until the day we meet Jesus face-to-face. Are we being attentive to the Spirit as He leads us in paths of righteousness for His name sake?
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Next Week… a look at Rachel, the wife of Jacob, in Genesis 29
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Have a Great Day!