Gifts for Life and Godliness

Gifts for Life and Godliness

>>>>Gen. 24:53<<<<

I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness.  As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.            Isaiah 61:10

 

Rebekah perceived, in Abraham's servant, the impact of God and His blessing upon Abraham and his son. She learned how the servant was led directly to her doorstep, and that she had been chosen to become the bride of Abraham's son. Affection for the son had been kindled in her heart – but would she leave everything behind to travel across the desert to become his bride? We know that she does, but first she must be made ready. Is there something she must do before she can qualify for this great honor? She cannot qualify herself to be Isaac's bride, but there is one thing she must do – she must receive the gifts the servant brought for her.

 

The real-life gifts that Rebekah received are pictures of the spiritual riches that we have received in the Lord and continue to count upon throughout our entire lives as Christians. Rebekah must travel across a desert to reach her groom. The desert represents the earthly life of the Christian as he journeys toward his eternal home. During his time in the desert, the Christian is no longer a part of the world (symbolized by Mesopotamia) and he has not yet reached his eternal home. He has left behind the comfort and ease of worldliness and has taken on the trials associated with knowing Christ. Of course, the Lord does not expect the Christian to traverse the desert without spiritual resources. As the servant bestowed tangible gifts upon Rebekah to set her apart as one belonging to Isaac, the Spirit of God has set us apart to Christ through divine     provision.  There is spiritual significance in each item the servant presented to Rebekah.

 

The servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah.     Gen. 24:53

 

Jesus Himself is our precious silver jewel – for silver speaks of redemption and grace and security. Silver was used in the foundation upon which the tabernacle rested (Exod. 26:19-25) – the tabernacle is a type of the believer and the silver beneath represents the foundation upon which our salvation rests. In addition, Silver is mentioned throughout the Bible as a ransom price – even the thirty pieces of silver to betray Christ was an unwitting price for the redemption of sinners. The Psalmist, David, tells us that when a sinner sees his own desperate need, the Lord says, "I will set him in the safety for which he longs." David describes the words of the Lord as "pure words, as silver tried in a furnace… You O Lord will keep them." (Ps 12:5-7)  The grace of God secures His every promise for salvation and security, which He provides for us when we are redeemed by His Son.

 

The golden gift of Christ to us is the gift of His righteousness. He has not only paid the price for our redemption from sin and to God, He has imputed His own righteousness to us, and this is symbolized by gold. It is not enough that our sin has been paid for and that we are spared from God's judgment – that does not make us a suitable bride for the Son of Glory. Christ's bride must have a righteousness equal to His own, for there is no entrance into God's presence without it. From the golden utensils, furniture, overlays and accents in the tabernacle, to the golden bowls full of God's wrath in Revelation – gold is symbolic of God's righteousness. The articles of gold given to Rebekah speak of the righteousness of Christ credited to believers the moment they receive Christ as Savior (Rom. 5:18). 

 

The servant in our story also provided the garments Rebekah would need to wear when she meets Isaac. Christ's Bride must be clothed appropriately for the wedding, but she has no part in designing her garment. The theme of garments, or "covering," runs throughout the Scripture. In every instance, it is God Himself who provides the covering needed for mankind to enter into His presence. Adam and Eve, in the garden, received an acceptable garment from the Lord to replace the one they had made for themselves. Priests serving in the tabernacle were required to wear garments made exactly to God's specifications. Even the prodigal son received a robe from his father when he was welcomed home. The covering that God provides is set before us in contrast to the works that our human nature offers up to Him. Human works may clothe me in the sight of my fellow sinners, but they have no significance in the sight of God.

 

The Holy Spirit has come to appropriately clothe us for God's presence – our bridal garment is Christ Himself, "for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Gal. 3:27).  In our Genesis 24 picture, Rebekah will set off across the desert, accompanied by the faithful servant, and enriched by the gifts she has freely received from the father of the groom. In the spiritual reality of our individual lives, the Holy Spirit is the Official Administrator of everything we need for the journey across our own desert, which is the world of corruption in which we live.  As the representative of the Father and the Son, the Spirit delivers everything we need to be an acceptable Bride for the Son of God.  The gold, the silver and the garments are set before us – our only responsibility is to receive them. When these gifts become ours, we gain the assurance of His constant presence and faithful support as we make our way home.

 

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.      2Peter 1:2-4