LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Major Marriage
Few stories are as representative of Christ as that of Isaac. And within his story, one of the most beautiful facts is his marriage to Rebekah. There we see Isaac as the preferred and only object of his father's affections, and as heir to everything. However, he is incomplete, for he has no wife. Therefore, Abraham prepares to celebrate his son's marriage. So also God prepares the marriage of his Son, who is the preferential object of his attention.
Abraham, then, sends his chief servant, Eliezer, to his land and to his kindred. There he finds Rebekah, after piously holding her embassy before God. Eliezer (type of the Holy Spirit) conquers Rebekah's heart by telling her about Isaac. So also does the Holy Spirit with respect to Christ. He bears witness to Christ by causing all eyes to rest on him. The Father's revelation of the Son by the Holy Spirit is the foundation of all spiritual experience.
Rebecca falls in love with him, and not only because of Eliezer's testimony, but also because of the signs of his wealth. (Does not the church today enjoy the riches of Christ in advance?). By Eliezer's testimony Rebekah's heart takes hold of Isaac and is detached from her family affections. Rebekah's heart is now in Canaan and no longer in Haran. Eliezer has done his work well. Thus the Holy Spirit, when He speaks of Christ, conquers forever the heart of the believer.
As soon as Eliezer has Rebekah's consent to join Isaac, he leaves. His journey has no other reason for being but to honor Isaac and fulfill his commission. The Holy Spirit does not focus his attention on the gifts, but on the Lord of the gifts. Eliezer, going with Rebekah, is a representation of the Holy Spirit being taken out of the world. Rebekah would not have done well to settle for the gifts. She longed to see her beloved, who had sent her such rich gifts (Is our heart now willing to depart to be with Christ?).
Isaac, being so rich and noble, was not complete without Rebekah. So also, Christ, though he is who he is, is not complete without the church. Scripture accounts for this when it says that "the woman is the glory of the man" (1 Cor. 11:7) and that the church is "the fullness (or complement) of Him who fills all in all" (Eph. 1:23).
Then Isaac "took Rebekah to wife, and loved her" (24:67). He had nothing to do with the choice, because he trusted his father completely. So also the Father chooses those whom he wills and brings them to Jesus, who receives them, loves them, and raises them to his own glory.
All that belonged to Isaac became Rebekah's property, because Isaac belonged to her. Unlike other patriarchs, Isaac never had concubines, so truly everything he had was also hers. Isaac was faithful to his one wife, as Christ is to the church.