Article 2015-10 - Seeking a Bride
Chapter 13: Seeking a Bride
Introduction
In this lesson we see that Abraham, once sent himself, now becomes a sender himself. He sent his servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for his son. Eliezer, guided by the Lord, was successful in his mission. From Isaac, the son of promise and his barren wife Rebecca, two peoples came forth.
Scripture reference
He said to the chief servant in his household …’I want you to swear by the Lord … that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites … but will go to my country … and get a wife for my son Isaac’ (Gen. 24:2-4)
The story
Years passed and Sarah died. Abraham aged and Isaac grew up to be a mature and thoughtful man, who loved to spend time in the fields. Even old Eliezer was still around. One day Abraham called his servant, to send him on an important mission. This had been on Abraham’s heart for some time. He explained that his son was forty still unmarried. He didn’t want Isaac to marry one of the local girls; he remembered all too well what happened to Lot. ‘Instead I would like you to go to Haran, where my relatives live and find Isaac a wife from there. Promise me under oath that you will pursue this to the best of your abilities. Take many gifts with you, but insist on the girl’s voluntary coming. Go in peace my friend, and my blessing will accompany you. If you do not find a girl who wants to marry my son, I will discharge you from this oath.’
Eliezer went on his way. After some time they reached Haran. Outside the city he sat down by the wells, at the end of the afternoon. Eliezer had prayed that the girl of God’s choice would come to the well, give him a drink and his camels too. His prayer was answered literally. A pretty shepherdess and her colleagues came to the well to water their flocks for the night. She offered Eliezer water for himself and for his camels. They introduced themselves and Rebecca, brought the stranger into her father’s house to spend the night. The man happened to be another nephew of Abraham’s, by the name of Bethuel. Eliezer was welcomed in the latter’s house, especially by Rebecca’s brother Laban, who was quite impressed by all the gifts Eliezer brought. Just on first meeting her, the stranger had given his sister already such expensive pieces of jewelry. Even before dinner Eliezer insisted to explain the reason for his visit. All agreed that the meeting had been arranged by the Lord through clear guidance. When her family wanted to delay Rebecca before she would travel, she indicated that she would be more than happy to go with Abraham’s servant at once. With great joy the man took the young future bride for his master’s son and rode back to Canaan. Isaac married her and enjoyed her comfort after his mother’s death.
Scripture reference
Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The Lord answered … and his wife Rebecca became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her … Isaac was sixty years old when Rebecca gave birth to them (Gen. 25:21,22,26)
The couple stayed childless for over twenty years and Isaac prayed for his wife. Finally the Lord opened her womb and she bore twins, who struggled together, even before birth. This disquieted Rebecca and she prayed about it. The Lord then explained to her that two nations would come forth from her, that one would be stronger than the other and that the older would serve the younger. And so Esau and Jacob were born. Abraham saw the boys grow up until they were fifteen and then died at the age of 175. The patriarchal promises God had given him now applied to Isaac, his son of promise, who would later pass them on to Jacob.
Comment
This story shows us the beautiful picture of a reality, well-known to us. Like Abraham sent his servant Eliezer to find a wife for his son, so God the Father sent the Holy Spirit to find a Wife for His Son. Becoming the partner-for-life of the Son applies first of all individually. The Spirit was sent to offer the love of the Son to each of us personally. Similarly, all of us who have accepted His love, now form His Body, called His Bride. No force was exerted by Eliezer to bring Rebecca to Isaac. Neither does the Holy Spirit force anybody to join the Son and serve His Father.
We then see that Abraham, who started his spiritual ‘career’ as being sent by God to leave his country and enter the one promised to him, now becomes a sender himself. First he was sent on a mission by God, now he himself sent someone else on a mission. We need to understand that the task of a missionary will never be ready as long as he is a sent one only; the task will only be completed by becoming a sender himself. Missionaries who perform their task of evangelization only do half the job, if they fail to train disciples and send them into other unreached areas of the world.
As with Sarah, whose barren womb the Lord needed to open in order to bear the new generation’s son of promise, so it happened to Rebecca. She brought forth two sons, the younger of which was destined by God in advance to be the next generation’s son of promise. From Jacob another (almost youngest) son came forth, Joseph, on whom the promises of God rested for his generation.
From Abraham two nations came forth, one via Ishmael and one via Isaac. Another pair of nations came from Lot, the Moabites and the Ammonites, two half-brothers, conceived through incest. From Isaac a third group of two nations sprouted, the Edomites via Esau and the Israelites via Jacob. Later we see the significance of this. Suffice it to say for now, that missionaries come forth from the line of the sons of promise, conceived by divine will instead of by human initiative. Godly revelation takes place to make them aware of their heavenly calling, just like God appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – and to many others in later centuries.
Discussion & dialogue
- Give another biblical example of how a sent on becomes a sender himself
- Discuss how the ‘two-nation concept’ – as seen in Esau and Jacob – applies to individual believers.
- How do you think this concept applies to the church worldwide? Which two of the ten themes reoccur in this story? Describe how they do. (Answers are in the Teacher’s Guide)
