Rebekah, The bride

Gen.24:57-58, ‘So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.” ⁵⁸ Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”’

After Sarah died, Abraham’s next concern was to find a bride for Isaac, his only son. He spoke about it with his servant, Eliezer of Damascus. He trusted his servant and sent him with this great commission. He gave him all the necessary guidelines. Gen.24:4, ‘⁴ but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”’  Abraham drew certain firm lines which his servant had to adhere. The girl for Isaac should be from Abraham’s family and she should be willing to come to Canan, where Isaac dwelt and not vice versa. Eliezer was made to swear concerning all the conditions which his master had laid before him.

Now the great commission was on the shoulders of the faithful servant of Abraham. Eliezer did not have a clue how to find out the girl who would match exactly the desires of his master. Hence he lifted up his eyes to the master of heaven and earth and prayed a specific prayer. It’s interesting to see how the issue is approached by two men who trusted God. Abraham laid down the broader boundary, while the prayer of Eliezer drew a specific and well targeted point. In other words, he specified the exact qualities of the girl who would be the bride for his master’s son. Both these men of God drew two areas of God’s will. Abraham drew the broader permissive will of the Lord i.e. there would have been other girls in Abraham’s family and country. Eliezer could have chosen any one of them. But Eliezer drew the perfect will of God. He saw that all that he mentioned in prayer perfectly matched in case of Rebekah.

Outside the body of Christ, the redeemed souls represent the narrow way while the ones who have chosen the ways of the world represents the wide way. And within the body of Christ, the permissive will of God represents the wide way while the perfect will represents the narrow way.  Rebekah was found in the perfect will of God. Similarly, those who walk in the perfect will of God will be ones who will join Christ, the bridegroom. Being in the perfect will of God is being led by the Holy Spirit in each and every aspect of life. This qualifies the lives to be the bride of Christ.

Rebekah was found in the perfect will of the Lord. Rebekah represents the body of Christ, while Isaac represents Christ himself. Abraham represents God, the Father while Eliezer represents the Holy Spirit. Today the Holy Spirit is preparing the church, the body of Christ for the great day, when the adorned bride will be presented to the Lamb of God (Rev.21). Let’s learn from Rebekah, the qualities which qualified and sanctified her to be chosen as the bride for Isaac.

• 24:3-4, ‘…. that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; ⁴ but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” Abraham pointed to a girl who was not a daughter of Canaanite. Instead, she would be from his country and his family. Canaanites were idol worshippers and they were heathen people. While the family of Abraham i.e. his brothers and their family worshipped the true God, whom Abraham served. Our Lordship sanctifies us from the rest of the world. If our Lord is the Lord of our lives, He will be the Lord of our thoughts, words, actions, emotions and everything that is concerning us. Our Lordship of Christ Jesus qualifies us to be His bride.
• 24:6-7, ‘But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. ⁷ The LordGod of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your ^[b]descendants I give this land,’ …This was Abraham’s answer when Eliezer asked if he could take Isaac to the country of Abraham, if the girl would not be  willing to come to Canaan.  Willing to leave one’s own country and parents to cleave to the bridegroom is the attitude that separates the bride from others. In order to cleave to our Lord, we ought to be willing to leave all that would be an obstacle to this cleaving. Deut.4:4, ‘But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.’ Cleaving to the Lord and his Word is the only way to sustain spiritually. And only such lives will be considered as bride of Christ.

• 24:16, ‘Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. ‘Rebekah was a virgin and had not known any man. This resembles the holiness of the body of Christ. The Word says ‘Without holiness, we cannot see God’ (Hebr.12:14). Holiness is the crown of the bride. 

• 24:13-14, ‘Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”’ Eliezer prayed to God for a specific sign to spot the girl in the perfect will of God. We see this sign come to pass in v 18 to 20. The sign which Eliezer asked was unusual i.e. a girl drawing water to give drink not only to the thirsty servant, but also to the 10 thirsty camels after a long journey. Such a camel usually drinks 25 gallons of water i.e. Rebekah drew out at least 250 gallons of water. This was the outflow of the great love she had for others, including strangers and travelers and the contentment of Eliezer and all the ten camels was her focus. Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him more than all else before giving him the great ministry of feeding the lambs (Jn.21). Service is the outcome of love. And spiritual contentment of the souls whom we minister should be the aim of our ministry. Rebekah was focused on the ones who needed the water desperately, more than her own time and energy which she spent so generously and cheerfully. If we as a body of Christ focus on serving the living water to the innumerable thirsty souls all around us with unconditional love, we will be empowered with unusual divine power and attitude to do the same. In Rev.2:4, the Lord warned the church of Ephesus of losing the first love for Christ, inspite of the fact that this church was doing many things for the Lord. Anything not done in love is not a ministry or service. Rather it’s just a work. And works demand directly or indirectly wages of recognition, fame and power. On the other hand, service empowered with the unconditional love of Christ depicts humbleness, which qualifies one to be the bride of Christ. 

• Eliezer wondered at Rebekah and was assured of God’s perfect will for his master’s son. He worshipped the Lord. He then met and talked to the girl’s family. Things were settled and finalized. The next day, Eliezer prepared to set his journey back. Before that, he asked the family, who requested ten days’ time for the girl to stay with her family. As Eliezer persisted, they asked Rebekah, who immediately became willing to go with the man to join her awaiting bridegroom. 24:57-58, ‘So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.” ⁵⁸ Then -they: called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”’ She had already left her own family who had raised her up so lovingly and her heart had already cleaved to Isaac, whom she had never seen. This is the attitude of the bride, the body of Christ i.e. eager to join Christ, whom we have not yet seen with physical eyes and eager to leave the worldly attachments and passion, which we are always seeing with our physical eyes. Rebekah was ready to leave with the man whom she knew only for one day to meet the person to whom her heart had cleaved. This steps of faith finally carried her as a bride to her awaiting bridegroom. Do we really believe with all our heart that we will see our Lord in glory one day? if so, all the other qualifications will adorn our lives as precious ornaments and jewels, qualifying us to be His bride.

• In all this, we see Isaac silent. His only role was to accept the perfect will of God with a humble and eager heart of love. When we accept the perfect will of God in our lives with all our heart, we qualify ourselves to be His bride.

Its high time dear friends to look into our lives deeply and see for ourselves if we indeed qualify to be the bride of Christ. Rev.21:2, ‘Then I, ^[a]John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.’ May none of us miss His glorious return.

God bless us all

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