The Spirit and the Bride

The Spirit and the Bride

>>>>Genesis 24:16-25<<<<

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.   2Cor2:9-10

 

God the Father not only desires to have a Bride for His Son, He takes every necessary action to acquire her. To frame that in a more personal way: God the Father not only wants to love and bless you for all eternity, He does everything necessary to make it happen. We get a glimpse of how He does this in the details of Rebekah's meeting with Abraham's servant.  God leads the servant to the well where the young woman goes to draw water . . . and she comes right to him. This seems like a predictable, insignificant detail; however, every component of the story is included in order to illustrate the type.  Like the woman at the well in Samaria (John 4), Rebekah is seeking refreshment from the well – she has a thirst to be quenched. She is a picture of a person who desires to know the Lord.  Rebekah has come to the well to quench her own thirst, little does she realize that she is on the verge of drinking deeply from the cup of God's blessings.

 

The servant watches Rebekah carefully, looking for signs that she is the one whom the angel has prepared (made thirsty!) to hear his testimony about Isaac.  It is not his job to force her to go back with him, or even to convince her to do so – his mission is to bear witness to Abraham's intention, to the blessing of Isaac's inheritance and to the fact that Isaac's bride will share in every aspect of his blessing. The servant's task is to speak of Isaac in such a way that Rebekah will choose to be his bride because it is the desire of her heart.

 

This servant clearly understands his assignment – he has not traveled to a far away land in order to reform the godless culture of Mesopotamia. His job is not to build a better religious system or to alleviate pain and suffering. He does not interfere with the religious, social or governmental conditions of Mesopotamia in any way.  His only responsibility is to obtain a suitable bride for Isaac. What a perfect picture of the Spirit's work in this age! He has come to earth to reveal the Son so that we would fall in love with Him and would desire to spend eternity with Him (Acts 15:14). We will not see all the intricate ways the Spirit works in the believer's life in this story – this story is about the general mission of the Holy Spirit. God the Father sent Him to secure the Bride and then take her back to the waiting Groom.   

 

Once the servant saw that Rebekah was receptive and gracious, he gave her a gold ring and two gold bracelets. Although she did not know it at the time, these gifts were a symbol of the abundance she would enjoy in her new home when she became Isaac's wife – a pledge as to what was to come. What a beautiful picture of the way God seals His promise and provides a taste of the heavenly life that awaits us – for we are given a foretaste of life with our groom through the blessings provided by the indwelling Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 1:21-22).

 

The servant, prompted by Rebekah's graciousness, asked, "is there room for us to lodge in your father's house?"  Her answer, "We have both straw and feed, and room to lodge in," offers further evidence that the servant has found a woman who is ready to hear what he has to say. This reminds me of another story in our Bible – the account of Mary and Joseph who needed lodging in Bethlehem but could not find a suitable place to stay. The Bethlehem story (indeed, the Gospel account of Christ's life) pictures a world that has no room for Christ; but in Rebekah we have a picture of the Church – responsive, eager to know Him, making room for Him.

 

 God the Father desires a Bride for His beloved Son; it is the Spirit's job take her out of the sin ravaged world and bring her to the Son.  His method is to testify about the character of the Son (John 15:26) so that those who have ears to hear will listen and respond – for He is taking out a people for His name (Acts 15:4).  The Spirit of God has not come to judge the world or make it a better place for Christians to live. The earth will be judged after the Church has been taken up to meet her Groom; when the judgment is completed, Christ will reign in perfect peace over His earthly kingdom – we, His cherished Bride, will reign with Him. Right now He is searching for the thirsty souls who will respond to His call, and when they do He puts His seal upon them.  They have made room for the things of God and they will find satisfaction in Christ; they shall never thirst again because they have found the well of water springing up to eternal life (John 4:14).

 

Rebekah's story focuses our attention on the Spirit's mission in our day – it is the heartbeat of the other types we will look at in our study. The things which God has prepared for us can only be revealed through the Word by the Spirit of God. We must understand the purpose of God and the way He carries it out if we are to live in the world, yet escape the corruption that constantly draws us in (2 Peter 1:4).

 

The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.   John 4:14