A Layman Looks at the Word: Isaac's Wife and the Bride of Jesus Christ

Road to Emmaus

Lk 24:13 ¶ And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.

14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.

16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?

19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:

20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;

23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.

24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:

26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.

29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.

30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.

31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,

34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.

35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

So we see here that Jesus while in Divine disguise, opened the scriptures to these two concerning Himself. This is the first day of the resurrection, so there was no New Testament; in other words, all the scriptures were from the Old Testament.

Jesus is in every book of the Bible, but there are some very powerful representations or types in Genesis.

· Noah’s Ark

Here we see the benevolence of God to save the righteous. The Ark is a symbol or type of Jesus. When God called Noah and his family into the Ark, he said "Come into the Ark", for God was already inside. The door in the side is another type of the spear that pierced Jesus' side and out came blood and water, which is our redeeming Salvation and the Holy Ghost.

Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac

Here we see the type of God offering His only Son Jesus for the world. Isaac was Abraham's son of promise from Sarah and Abraham had the blood covenant with God.

Joseph Prince of Egypt

Joseph was a type of Jesus as well. Sold for 20 pieces of silver as a slave and taken to Egypt when he knew that God had told him in dreams that he would be a person of great power. Jesus was sold to the Sanhedrin for 30 pieces of silver. Joseph ended up interpreting Pharaoh's dream and being exalted to the 2nd highest ruler in Egypt. His wisdom given by God saved the ancient world. Jesus was given to bear the iniquity of the world and save all mankind.

All of these historical happenings have Jesus hidden within them. You can read my other blogs concerning each one.

But, the longest chapter in Genesis is 24, which is the story of Abraham sending his servant to find a bride for his son, Isaac. Joseph Prince does an excellent study of this story which is a type of the Holy Spirit sent by God to gather the Church for Jesus.

Types in chapter 24 are: Abraham = God, Servant (unnamed) = Holy Spirit; Isaac = Jesus; Rebekah = Church; Laban = carnal Christians

This was no doubt one of the things that Jesus revealed to Cloepas and the disciple with him on the road to Emmaus.

Gn 24:1 ¶ And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

*All things: youth renewed, wealth, health, prosperity, inheritor of the promises of the world.

Rm 4: 13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

*Circumcision, the covenant of God was like the Bible of the time. The hand under the thigh is in close proximity to the covenant mark. This would be like us laying our hand on the Bible to swear.

3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

*The bride picked from the believers, those who would follow God, not the world.

5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?

6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.

*Jesus will not return to heaven without planting the Spirit to find His bride. This took place on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.

7 The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

*Spoken in faith, which is how God made everything. He trusts in God to perform His will. Abraham, like God, calls things that are not as though they were:

Ro 4:17 (as it is written, A father of many nations have I made thee) before him whom he believed, even God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were.

8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.

9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.

*The servant is obedient and trustworthy. The Holy Spirit is God but subservient to God the Father.

10 ¶ And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.

*The trusted servant we know from earlier in Genesis is Eliezar. However, as a type of the Holy Ghost, he is not named in this chapter.

Ten camels carried an abundance of goods. Plus he had his guard and helpers also with him.This was about a 600 mile journey from Canaan to Mesopotamia, and would take over a month.

11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.

12 And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.

*Good speed is as Godspeed, the way of prosperity. Kindness is Grace, in Hebew, hesed.

13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:

14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.

*The idea of right happening…not luck but providence, spoken by faith.

15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.

18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.

19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.

*Very Beautiful…like the church without spot our wrinkle, as Paul describes the Church of Christ made beautiful by the Grace of God through Jesus, Eph 5:27.

20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.

*Ten camels would drink up to 100 gallons…several trips down to the well. These wells were dug into the ground with a stairway that led down to a platform where the water could be dipped out.

Rebekah was willing to help a stranger with his needs while putting her own needs aside until she was finished.

21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.

*This is the 1^st mention of prosperous. Prosperous is a journey in life, blessed by the Holy Spirit. Of the 7 times that this word is used in Genesis, 4 of them are in this chapter. Rebekah was of a beautiful countenance inside and out.

22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;

*Goodness was shown from the heart of Rebekah before any gifts. The gifts are symbols and types of the gifts of the spirit given to the believer who is filled with the Spirit: 1 Cor 12; earrings= vocal gifts: tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy; bracelets are power gifts: miracles, faith, healing; nose jewels revelation gifts: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits.

*Earrings were some times attached to the nose as well, face jewelry. In India they still use this as well.

23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in?

24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.

*Descendents of Godly folk. The Spirit dwells deeply within families. The chance of one knowing God at a young age is much better when raised in a believer’s home. The Bible tells us that even a child is known by their doings, good or bad. There is children of the devil as well as Children of God.

2 Tim 1: 5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. (Paul speaking to Timothy)

25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.

26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.

*This is the 1^st mention of bowing you head to worship the LORD. 1^st mention of bowing head in New Testament was Jesus bowing His head before giving up His Spirit, Jn 19:30.

Piety, reverence, and thanksgiving are shown in this servant. The Holy Ghost is always at prayer and communication with the Father, and the Son; for all are one God.

We can pray with the Holy Ghost we allow Him to use our mouth by speaking in tongues. Rm 8 and 1 Cor 14. This is also known as your prayer language. It is always in the will of the Father, because it is the Holy Ghost praying with your mouth. You will not understand with your mind, unless the Holy Spirit interprets, again this is one of the gifts.

27 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.

*Answered just as he had prayed in faith. As the Holy Spirit never acts without the direction and will of the Father.

28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother’s house these things.

29 ¶ And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.

30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.

31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.

*The sight of the gifts caused a reaction of the flesh in Laban. This is a type of carnal Christian. Rebekah was kind and charitable before she saw the gold presents.

32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him.

33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.

*The Holy Ghost will not rest until His mission is accomplished…then He can bask in the Omni powerful Presence of Jehovah.

34 And he said, I am Abraham’s servant.

35 And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.

36 And Sarah my master’s wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.

*God has entrusted Jesus with all. He is the King of the Universe.

37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:

38 But thou shalt go unto my father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.

39 And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.

40 And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house:

*Abraham knew that God would send His angel to prosper this quest. The angels also help the Holy Ghost in His gathering the Bride of Christ. We are all given guardian angels as a child, but if one is not aware of this, the age of accountability, the angel is not effective because of unbelief. If we are taught and live in thanksgiving to God for the angels, then our angel can move, because they act according to the Word of God.

41 Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.

42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:

43 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;

44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master’s son.

45 And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.

*Jesus told the woman at the well to give Him a drink.

Jn 4: 7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.

8 For his disciples were gone away into the city to buy food.

9 The Samaritan woman therefore saith unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, who am a Samaritan woman? (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: whence then hast thou that living water?

12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his sons, and his cattle?

13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

14 but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life.

46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.

*Ruth 2:3 And she went and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz… This was not by chance, but by the right happening of the providence of God. Those who belong to God have favor in their lives.

47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.

*Here again we see “face” jewelry. Remember the gold jewelry gifts represent the gifts of the Spirit of God to the Church as listed in 1 Cor 12.

48 And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son.

49 And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.

*At some point one has to make the decision when drawn by the Holy Ghost, whether to go with it and accept Christ as Lord and Saviour, or reject Him.

50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the LORD hath spoken.

*Accepting the power of the Holy Ghost as the Word of God.

52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.

*Totally reverent, and thankful to Jehovah. As I said earlier, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is constantly in communion with the Father (and the Son as well).

53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.

*All the Church can receive gifts.

1Cor 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

54 ¶ And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.

55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.

*Carnality will hinder the gifts and the Church from accepting the Grace of Jesus…even presented by the Holy Ghost and the Spirit of Christ.

56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.

57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.

58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.

*Faith of the new Christian to follow the Spirit and seek Jesus is represented here.

59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.

60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

*Mt 16:18 And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

*Rebekah is a symbol of God’s Church and Bride, and we can see that she is living in prosperity. She has a personal nurse and handmaidens.

*The true Church will follow the Spirit. This journey took a while, and while camped and night, no doubt Rebekah asked to hear about the story of the son of Abraham. We love to hear about the story of Jesus, we love Him in whom we have rested in Salvation, even though we have not seen Him.

*The camels are the ships of the desert and can go a few days without water. They would all be bedded down when camp is set up.

62 ¶ And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country.

*Well of the Living One Seeing Me.

63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.

*Jesus meditates for His Church and to God always. He prays for us always.

Ro 8:34 who is he that condemneth? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

*She was overwhelmed and fell off the camel…as we will be when we see the Lord Jesus… we will be raptured into his presence…we will see Him as He is and be swept off of our feet.

Peter babbled when he saw Jesus transfigured and wanted to build tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Then God covered them with a cloud and when it lifted, only Jesus was there and God said “This is My Beloved Son, hear Him.”

65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.

66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.

*The Holy Spirit will report all about the Bride to the Lord Jesus.

67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

This wedding is a type and if you will a rehearsal of the wedding of Jesus to His Bride.

This is the 2^nd mention of love in the Bible. The 1^st was when God was speaking to Abraham about Isaac, his only son, Gn 22:2. So 1^st was the Son, and 2^nd was the Church.

Jesus is comforted in the Church, because His mother, Israel, had rejected Him as the Messiah of God. However all of Israel will be saved:

Ro 11:26 and so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Zec 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.

This will take place in the tribulation when the 144,000 Jewish evangelists will be on the earth preaching the Gospel, with Angels also preaching from the sky, and the two witnesses in Jerusalem (Enoch, Elijah). We the Church (all of those who have been born again in Christ) will be in heaven at the wedding feast of the Lamb.

The embrace of Isaac and Rebekah is a shadow of us, the Bride being wed to our Lord Jesus;

who is the Lion from the Tribe of Judah.

Rebekah will have twin boys who will both become great. Esau will become Edom. Jacob will become Israel.

Abraham will be so glad to have his grand children in his old age.

The love of Isaac and Rebekah will bring 13 grand children from Jacob and 4 women. The 12 boys will become the 12 tribes of Israel. But for now they will just relish one another.