A WIFE UNTO MY SON
Genesis 22:20 ¶ And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; 23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
Genesis 23:1 ¶ And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
Genesis 24:1 ¶ And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 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: 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. 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. 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. 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.
Due to the ‘soul winning’ occult spirit that has dominated religion for many years, the Lord God has now only been narrowly viewed as ‘Saviour.’ But let us consider just how he sets forth his identity. Isaiah 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
And for the revelation of the church to John, the angel reveals to him, the Lamb’s wife! Revelation 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. 10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, (And to see this city descending from heaven, read Acts 2:1-4.)
Then the Apostle Paul, when speaking of the marriage of the man and wife, states to us that he is actually revealing a great mystery, for he was referring to Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:31,32). And this understanding of the Lord God as Husband must be recovered in order to have entrance, especially into this portion of the Scriptures.
For Abraham, picturing God-granted faith, has entered into Sarah, who is a picture of the covenant of saving grace, and a supernatural birth has taken place! Isaac, the child of promise is born!
And carefully considering Genesis 21:1 causes one to see that Sarah’s conception with this child is on the same level of the supernatural as was the virgin Mary’s. The difference being that with Sarah’s conception, the Lord God used Abraham! Genesis 21:1 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. With Mary, of course, there was no seed of man involved. For our Lord Jesus Christ was conceived entirely by the Holy Spirit! Matthew 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Therefore both birth’s were supernatural. The difference between Isaac’s and the Lord Jesus Christ’s birth is that the Lord God used Abraham to cause Sarah to conceive. But the Holy Spirit was solely responsible for the conception of the virgin. For she knew not a man. (Luke 1:34).
For just as Abraham and Isaac went up on the mount for the offering up of the son, so did God the Father and Son upon the same mount at the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. Yet Abraham was not allowed to complete the sacrifice. Only Christ could die for the sins of the Lord’s peoples!
Even so, Abraham was also allowed to act out God’s part in picturing the birth of God’s promised son. But again, only up to a point! For included, but not allowed to proceed without God’s effectual work, Abraham provided the male part, but the LORD did unto Sarah thereby! The power of the Lord ‘resurrected’ that barren, dead womb in order for natural procreation to occur! 1 Corinthians 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
For that birth of Isaac was the beginning of the line to bring in Messiah! Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Let us see where Isaac now is and what has brought him there. He was of a supernatural birth. He was weaned, mocked and circumcised. Representing the most glorious supernatural birth, we see in him the Eternal Son of God, weaned from all earthly support. Isaiah 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground:…
He was mocked by those without spiritual birth! 1 Corinthians 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. Galatians 4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
And Isaac is circumcised. The fleshliness was cut off and separated from him. Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Colossians 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Then Isaac was offered up on the mount, returning again to picture a resurrection from the dead. Now, like Christ, his mother is taken from him just at that time of his offering! John 19:26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! 27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. Matthew 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Luke 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.
Therefore, hungering for fulfillment, which even his mother cannot now supply, we now find Isaac by Hagar’s well. Genesis 24:62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country. (See also Genesis 16:13,14). He, as representative of sonship, has gravitated towards a mother’s well of life-giving water. For the woman, as with the void earth, brings forth from water. When her water breaks, the birth comes. Genesis 1:2 And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Then the child is cast back upon the mother’s breast for her life giving milk.
Isaac has yet to be comforted and emotionally weaned from his mother, who was now gone from the earth. For he must picture the Lord Jesus Christ in leaving his mother relationship, (see John19:26,27 above), in order to cling to his bride, representing the church. Genesis 24:67 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. Or simply, “after his mother!” That word death is in italics in the King James Bible, showing it was added by the translators.
And as Isaac’s thirst caused him to linger by a mother’s well, we understand that his thirst for godly companionship was as great as the ten camel’s was for water, who came to get Rebekah. Therefore Rebekah is one who supplies water to such a degree that not only are the ten camel’s thirst satisfied, but so is Abraham’s servant and all his men! Therefore Isaac’s wife is more than enough to supply ample water, as a fountain and not just a well! No more lingering at an absent mother’s well! Isaac, like Christ, shall know the fulness of his oneness with his bride! Ephesians 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
Eve is said to be the mother of all living. (Genesis 3:20). Sarah is said to be the mother of all godly wives. See 1 Peter 3:1,6. But the Lamb’s wife is the mother of us all! Galatians 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. And, as has been shown, that city is the Lamb’s wife! Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
And we should take notice in verse 6 of that Revelation 21 passage the giving forth of the waters of life. Revelation 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. So in Isaac we go from the mother – son relationship in Sarah, to the husband – wife relationship in Rebekah. Which is the relationship of Christ and the church!
This is the exact same way that Moses received a wife! Exodus 2:15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
And it was in this same way that our Heavenly Husband brought one of the members of his bride unto him. John 4:4 And he must needs go through Samaria. 5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. 7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
John 4:28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
And just what was the issue which he brought up with her? John 4:16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. And what did he tell her concerning himself? John 4:10 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: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever 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 be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
So we see again just how the matter of marriage and the quenching of the thirst for companionship go together throughout the Scriptures. Truly it is a great mystery, the matter of God’s holy revelation concerning his union with the church – his Bride! For he left his Father in heaven and his mother on earth, to die to all former relationship conditions in order to be united to His Bride! Ephesians 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
And just as the nameless servant brings jewels, gold and raiment to Rebekah, to fit her for union with Isaac. So our Lord has sent the Holy Spirit, who shall not speak of himself, to fit us with holiness for union with Christ forever! Revelation 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Pastor Gene Breed
February 5, 2016