A Match Made in Heaven

“A Match Made in Heaven”

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This is the longest chapter in the book of Genesis; God gives us 67 verses about how a man got his wife. It is a great story, but why does God give it so much space, 67 verses! This chapter is like the

Hallmark channel of the O.T. a long love story that goes on and on. There are only 31 verses given to the creation account in , and 67 verses are given to tell us how Rebekah became Isaac’s wife. WHY? For one thing, the chapter emphasizes the importance of marrying the right person! Abraham made it clear that Isaac was not to marry a Canaanite woman, V:3. Believers are not to marry unbelievers .

We do not use the same methods as Abraham's servant, the principles still apply: We must want God's will, we must pray and seek His guidance, and we must be willing to obey.

It is hilarious to see what some men will do to get a woman. One man was sitting on an airplane and a beautiful blonde sat down next to him. Well he thought he would try to make a move on her so he said, tell me, what kind of men are you interested in?

She said, "Well, I really like Indians because of their high cheekbones and strong features. OH, he said, that's wonderful. But I also like Jewish men because they are so brilliant and they seem to be so financially successful. Oh, he said, that's very interesting. She said, but I really like good ole boys from the south. There's just something about a southern boy that I really like. Oh, he said, that's fantastic. She said, By the way, what is your name? He said, my name is Geronimo Bernstein, but my friends call me Bubba.

Isaac got his wife the right way and the best way; He waited on God to bring her to him.

On the surface it looks like all Hallmark movies - boy meets girl - boy and girl fall in love - boy and girl get married - boy and girl live happily ever after.

Here’s how the story goes: Abraham sends out his servant to find a bride for Isaac. The servant finds the bride, brings her back to Isaac, they get married and live happily ever after.

But there's far more to the story than this, we saw in that Abraham is a type of God the Father, who offered His son on the Cross for our sins. Isaac is a picture of God the Son, who was sacrificed and raised from the dead.

And just as Abraham sought a bride for his son Isaac, Today God the Father is seeking a bride for His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rebekah is a picture of the bride of Christ, the church. In the New Testament the church is compared to a bride. ()

This is a beautiful illustration of how God the Father is calling out the church to be the bride for his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is a fourth character in the story, and that is the servant sent to bring back the bride to the son. The servant is a picture of God the Holy Spirit, who the Father has sent into the world to seek and save lost sinners, and make them a part of the bride of Christ, the church!

The factors involved in the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah are also involved in the marriage of Christ and His church. Factor #1is:

1. The Concern of the Father!

V:1-9.

Abraham is very old now, he is around 140 years old, and Isaac is around 40 years old. Abraham knows that for the promise of a great nation to come from him, Isaac must get married. In bible times it was the parents that were responsible for picking a mate for their child.

Abraham calls his servant that was in charge of all he had and gave him the assignment of going to Haran where his brother’s family was and seeking a bride for Isaac.

This was the #1 concern on the heart of the father, a bride for His son!! Abraham made his servant swear to three things:

(1) He would not choose a wife for Isaac from among the Canaanite women.

(2) He would choose her from Abraham's relatives.

(3) He would not take Isaac back to Abraham's former home.

The great desire on the father’s heart was a bride for His son.

The servant asked Abraham,V:50-“ what if the woman will not come with me”?

Abraham said to the servant, V:7-“The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spoke unto me, and that swore unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and you shall take a wife unto my son from there.

Just as Abraham’s concern was a bride for his son; so the great concern on God the father’s heart is a bride for His son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And God will have a bride for Jesus, we read about the bride in heaven in Revelation, so the desire for a bride will HAPPEN!! The gates of hell will not prevail, destroy are stop the bride of Christ, the church!

Jesus said in -“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king that made a marriage for his son

The kingdom of heaven is like… a father, who is a king, making a marriage for his son. God is concerned about the bride for His son.

The church is the father’s gift to the son;

-“Father, I will that they also, who you hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory”.

It is no mystery what God is doing today in this world; he is calling out a bride for His son; and if you want to be a part of the greatest activity on earth you ought to pray that God will make you a soul winner. Every time you bring a soul to Jesus Christ the bride gets that much closer to being complete and ready to be presented to the son.

No matter what else you may do if you're not witnessing for the Lord Jesus you're not concerned about what God is concerned about, people being saved and becoming a part of the bride of Christ!

I am burden and concerned that we are not witnessing and trying to win souls to Jesus like we ought to be!! We are not going after lost people to win them to Jesus!!

A little boy was talking to his English teacher about going on a field trip, and he said to her, I ain't going. She didn't like his English so she preceded to teach him; she said no Johnny that’s not good English, you should say, I am not going. You are not going. They are not going He said it looks to me like there ain't nobody going.

That's the way I feel when I look at the church sometimes, it just looks to me like a lot of us are not going; most of us are not witnessing, most of us are not bringing people to Jesus Christ. And many people are hungry to know Jesus. The great concern on the heart of God the father is people to be saved and become a part of the bride of Christ!! And that must be the main concern on our hearts as well!!

What concerns God is not buildings and budgets, but the bride.

Factor #2 is:

2. The Call of the Spirit!

V:10-27.

The servant has been given his assignment from the father, go and seek a bride for my son Isaac. This servant was obedient and devoted to Abraham and Isaac. We are not given the name of the servant, but we are told about Abraham servant over all his house in , and his name is Eliezer.

One of the names for God in the O.T. is EL:

Elohim- the almighty God.

EL-Shadia- the ever-present one.

The name Eliezer means-God’s helper; Eliezer is a perfect picture of the second person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in -"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever."

God desiring a bride for His Son has sent the Holy Spirit into the world to seek the bride. The present work of the Spirit is calling people to Jesus!!

The servant in this chapter does not speak of himself, he speaks of the father and the Son; his job was to call attention to the son. His job was to cause Rebekah to fall in love with Isaac; all he ever talked about was Isaac.

The same is true of the Holy Spirit.

- "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me." The Holy Spirit never calls attention to Himself. He never gets out in front of any parade. His main mission is to cause sinners to fall in love with Jesus. The main job of this church is not to cause people to fall in love with Crossway; not to cause people to fall in love with the pastor; not to cause people to fall in love with the Southern Baptist Convention, but to cause people to fall in love with Jesus!!

The Holy Spirit is at work in this world calling people to Jesus; and a spirit-filled church, and a spirit-filled Christian will be doing the same thing.

In Eliezer seeking a bride, I see the Holy Spirit’s work in seeking a bride for Christ, and I see myself when the Spirit is using me to lead someone to come to Jesus.

Picture him taking off toward Haran, he took 10 camels loaded down with all the riches to show the bride to be, OH the riches of Christ, the riches of His grace and love, mercy and salvation!!

He arrives in Haran, the city of his brother, Nahor, he stops at the well, he has his camels kneel down; we are told it is evening. This would be the time the young ladies would come to draw water,V:11.

He prays, V:12-15-Parphrase.

Notice the phrase, V:14-“let the girl you have appointed”

She was thought about by the father, and sought by the servant, and desired by the son, before she knew anything about what was going on!

That is an amazing picture of the salvation that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. For the bible tells us in -“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.

-“We love him because he loved us”.

We choose Him because he first chose us.

Tess loves me because I first loved her? That's true. I sat my eyes on Tess in the 8th grade. I saw her sitting at her desk, and I thought, WOW I need to find a way to talk to her! And I knew she went to my church, so I worked up the courage to start talking to her. Now, we didn't really get serious until the 10th grade, but I fell hard for Tess!!!

I didn't even kiss my wife before we were married; she wasn't my wife before we were married. But she loves me because I first loved her. We love God because he first loved us, and when we were not thinking about God are looking for God, He came looking for us!

Rebekah does everything Eliezer has prayed the right girl will do, he is watching all this in amazement, when she finishes watering all those camels, he gives her a earring, and 2 bracelets and then he ask her who she was. She tells him, she is the granddaughter of Abraham’s brother, and Eliezer,V:26-27-“And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. And he said, blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.

Eliezer goes to her house to begin the work of convincing her to leave her home and become Isaac’s bride.

The work of the Holy Spirit; He is a:

· Convincer.

Rebekah has never heard of Abraham, she has never heard of Isaac and so he begins to talk to her.

V:34-“And he said I am Abraham's servant and the Lord hath blessed by master greatly and he has become great and he hath given him flocks and herd and silver and gold and menservants and maidservants and camels and donkeys.

The one I represent is rich, powerful and mighty!!

Not only does he testify of the father but he also testifies of the son, V:36-“And Sarah, my mater's wife bear a son to my master when she was old.

He is a miracle baby, he is heir and joint-heir with the father. All that the father has belongs to the son, He is powerful, rich, He own it all, and He sent me to invite you to be his bride. All I am doing is testifying, of the father's riches, and the Sons love!

That is what the Holy Spirit does, and what we’re supposed to do, testify of the greatness of God, and the great love and salvation that is in the Son!!

Jesus said when he is come he, the Holy Spirit,

-“And when he is come, he will reprove, convict, convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment”.

The Holy Spirit convicted me of my sin, convinced me of Jesus righteousness and coming judgment.

What a convincer Eliezer was, and what a convincer the Holy Spirit is!!

I can hear him as he says to Rebekah, "Eye has not seen and ear has not heard what the Father has in store for the bride who will love His Son."

Only the Holy Spirit can convince a person that Jesus Christ is who He said He is. Only the Holy Spirit can cause a person to fall in love with Jesus.

Praise God for the convicting, convincing work of the Holy Spirit!

He is speaking to someone’s heart today, about how wonderful Jesus is, how he wants to forgive your sin, save your souls and change your life!!

There is a 3rd factor:

3. The Choice of the Bride!

V:57-58-“And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.

The time for a decision had come. Rebekah was being asked to leave the visible and to love the invisible.

, "Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory."

I love Jesus who I have not seen more than I love anybody that I have seen. Because God's servant, the dear Holy Spirit, has borne witness to my heart that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Rebekah says the only words that servant had travelled three hundred miles to hear. "I will go." It only takes two words to become a part of the family of God - "I will," for "whosoever will, may come."

Can you picture that scene in your mind's eye? Rebekah bids a tearful goodbye to mother and father.

She gets on the camel forever to leave home and to travel to a land she had never been to, to meet a man she had never met. As that camel begins that slow walk to her new home I can just hear Rebekah say:

· I wonder if I have made the right decision.

· I don’t even know the way.

· I wonder if I will make it through the desert to meet Him.

The answer to all those questions is yes!! Because the servant who had called her, and convinced her, would comfort her, and guide her, and protect her, until she saw the groom face-to-face!!

Listen Child of God, the Holy Spirit that convicted you, convinced you, and converted you, will take care of you on the journey through this world to meet Jesus!!

V:61-“ The servant took Rebekah, and went his way”

He didn't send her to Isaac, he brought her to Isaac; she is secure in his hands, the eternal security of the believer. The Holy Spirit will keep you to the day of redemption, and have you over to Jesus, safe and secure! -Read.

Someone has said that an undertaker will be "the last one who will let you down."

Well, I promise you the Holy Spirit will never let you down. His job is to make sure that the bride will be brought to the Son just as the servant did. The servant did not fail and neither will the Holy Spirit. As they travelled to meet Isaac, I can imagine Eliezer telling Rebekah all about Isaac as he guides her to her new home. That is what the Holy Spirit does, he guides us, and he teaches us about Jesus as we read the word of God. If she gets discouraged he comforts her, he encourages her. Remember the 10 camels that he took with him when he went to seek her. Abraham was one of the wealthiest men of all history, the servant has all the riches of Abraham at his disposal to comfort and encourage Rebekah.

Use a little imagination, they're riding along and she begins to thinking I wonder, if Abraham is really that rich. And Isaac, is he really that handsome? And he'd look over at her and see she looks discouraged, unsure, and afraid. And He reaches into the saddle bags and pulls out a treasure and gives it to her and says, Isaac wanted you to have this; He loves you and has you on His mind.

You'll love Isaac; a little while later he slips a ring on her finger, that's from Isaac. All along the journey he would be sharing the treasure from the riches of his master. That’s what the Holy Spirit does for us.

When we have fears, and difficult and discouragement comes the heavenly Eleazar, comes to us with comfort and encouragement. He reminds us of Jesus, and who he is and what he has done for us, and all that is waiting for us at the end of the journey!! As we journey through this life, we are not alone, the Holy Spirit is our guide and comfort, and He is our protector, we are as sure to make it to meet Jesus, as it we were already there!! And one of these days, we will see Jesus face-to-face!!

There is a 4th factor:

4. The Coming of the Son!

V:63-“And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.

What do you think Isaac was thinking about, I tell you what I would be thinking about; his bride who was coming to meet him!!

He's out there at the edge of the field in the evening and he is meditating, and he lifted up his eyes and saw the camels were coming. This is one of the most the most exciting verses, most powerful pictures, and most beautiful encounters in all of the bible.

Isaac has been praying, he’s been longing, he’s been looking, and he’s been waiting to meet his bride.

She has been anticipating, she's been learning, she been longing, she’s been looking to meet her groom; and now that amazing moment comes when they meet face to face. I believe that we are living in the evening, the day is far spend and the Lord Jesus is soon to come for His bride, the Church.

Rebekah lifted up her eyes when she saw Isaac and when she saw Isaac she lighted off the camel. The camel is was to slow for her, she want to be with Isaac; Eliezer had done a good job, she was eager to meet Isaac. Isaac and Rebekah get married, and live happily ever after! This is a picture of what is ahead for the church, one of these days, Jesus is coming walking on the clouds to meet His bride, and we will go to heaven and live happily ever after.

Friend this is no fairy tale, this is going to happen! Rebekah had to come to Isaac; even though Abraham chose Rebekah for Isaac, Rebekah still had to choose Isaac for herself. She still had to make a decision and so do you. The Holy Spirit right now is putting before you a choice: the world or Jesus. He wants to call you out of this world and bring you to Jesus.

- "The Spirit and the bride says 'come!'"

Will you say today, "I will go?"

Will you leave your sin and your seat and come today and receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord?