In view of how imminent the Rapture of the overcoming church appears, I would like to repost two letters on Isaac and Rebekah and the Rapture. The first is below.
Rebekah and Isaac - a Rapture Love Story
Song of Solomon 8:14 (Amplified) [Joyfully the radiant bride turned to him, the one altogether lovely, the chief among ten thousand to her soul, and with unconcealed eagerness to begin her life of sweet companionship with him, she answered] Make haste, my beloved, and come quickly, like a gazelle or a young hart [and take me to our waiting home] upon the mountains of spices!
For encouragement in our expectant wait for the Rapture, I want to share some musings about Genesis 24: Rebekah and Isaac - a Rapture Love Story. In some respects this could be reflective thoughts, but as the remnant church, an expectant bride, we look forward eagerly to the ecstatic joy and love of the Rapture!
Interestingly, there is only one direct reference to Rebekah (Rebecca) in the New Testament, in Romans 9:10. This is a vital and highly relevant chapter for God’s purposes for Israel, where the Apostle Paul opens his heart of love for his people (verses 2 and 3):
2 That I have bitter grief and incessant anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off and banished from Christ for the sake of my brethren and instead of them, my natural kinsmen and my fellow countrymen.
It is also the chapter where, in verse 28, God says that towards the end He will do a quick work on the Earth ( For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth (NKJ).
Most of the comments (dot points) on Genesis 24 below are my own thoughts, but I enjoyed listening to an (old) tape from Derek Prince on the Spirit and the Bride. I have included excerpts from his outline at the end of the ;letter.
The Holy Spirit Seeks a Bride for Isaac - Genesis 24 (Amplified)
The Mission (Im)Possible - Servant Sent to Find Bride Willing to Come Immediately!
24 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 And Abraham said to the eldest servant of his house [Eliezer of Damascus], who ruled over all that he had. 4 But you shall go to my country and to my relatives and take a wife for my son Isaac.
The servant is not named in most translations, but we know from Genesis15:2 that he is Eliezer. More importantly, the servant is a type of the Holy Spirit who today is urgently seeking a bride for Jesus Christ! The Holy Spirit is given authority over all that the Heavenly Father has!
5 The servant said to him, But perhaps the woman will not be willing to come along after me to this country. Must I take your son to the country from which you came? 6 Abraham said to him. See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, Who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, To your offspring I will give this land - He will send His Angel before you.
Abraham, as a type of the Heavenly Father, stated strongly that his son was not to go back there (to the world that had crucified Him!). The bride was to be brought to where Isaac was (Jesus is) - His home. His Angel speaks of God’s supernatural workings, through the unseen Christ and the (mainly unseen) ministry of angels.
The Gifts, the Journey and the Well at Twilight!
10 And the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking some of all his master’s treasures with him. 11 And he made his camels to kneel down outside the city by a well of water at the time of the evening (twilight) when women go out to draw water.
Rebekah came to the well in the evening, or at twilight – this is the time that we are in prophetically: the darkness is getting darker, but the (light of) the Day of the Lord is about to dawn!
14 And let it so be that the girl to whom I say, I pray you, let down your jar that I may drink, and she replies, Drink, and I will give your camels drink also - let her be the one whom You have selected for Your servant Isaac. 15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, out came Rebekah. 16 And the girl was very beautiful and attractive, chaste and modest, and unmarried. And she went down to the well, filled her water jar, and came up.
How quickly the servant’s prayer was answered! We may have been on a long journey with Jesus, but the time is approaching when He will accelerate the answers to our prayers, and the fulfilment of visions and words of prophecy given to us. Not just a woman, but a very beautiful, pure (and available) young woman!
Water for the Camels - Heart of the Servant
17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, I pray you, let me drink a little water from your water jar. 18 And she said, Drink, my lord; and she quickly let down her jar onto her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had given him a drink, she said, I will draw water for your camels also, until they finish drinking.
Rebekah was beautiful within- she had the heart of a servant. Providing water for ten camels, with her water jar and as the day was closing in was a huge task - and she ran in eagerness to serve! The servant just admired the young woman in silence, for he knew then that his mission would be successful!
22 And when the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold earring or nose ring of half a shekel in weight, and for her hands two bracelets of ten shekels in weight in gold.
The servant took gifts and adorned the bride to be with gifts of gold. Rebekah had not asked for any gifts, they were freely given to a woman with the heart of a servant. These gifts were given without an explanation - that came later.
25 She said also to him, We have both straw and provender (fodder) enough, and also room in which to lodge. 26 The man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord.
Rebekah willingly provided a (temporary) home/lodging for the servant, and the camels! The servant could but worship the God Who had gone before him.
33 A meal was set before him, but he said, I will not eat until I have told of my errand. And [Laban] said, Speak on. 34 And he said, I am Abraham’s servant. 48 And I bowed down my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, Who had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter to his son.
Of all the women who could have been at the well at that evening time, Rebekah the daughter of Abraham’s brother was the one sovereignly led to be there. God’s perfection! God’s provision!
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered, The thing comes forth from the Lord; we cannot speak bad or good to you. 51 Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has said.
Rebekah’s life changes in a matter of just hours - that special day she had been waiting for. Her family accepted that the Lord was in this, and gave her their blessing to leave with the servant.
53 And the servant brought out jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and garments and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and her mother. 54 Then they ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and stayed there all night. And in the morning they arose, and he said. Send me away to my master.
The first gifts given to Rebekah were for her adornment, now she is given wealth (silver and gold jewels), as well as garments! The servant stayed the night - the minimum time to achieve his purpose!
56 But [the servant] said to them, Do not hinder and delay me, seeing that the Lord has caused me to go prosperously on my way. Send me away, that I may go to my master. 57 And they said, We will call the girl and ask her [what is] her desire. 58 So they called Rebekah and said to her, Will you go with this man? And she said, I will go!
The brother and mother wanted Rebekah to stay ten days, but there was to be no delay! Rebekah was ready to go to an unknown man at once! Just one night to prepare for a life changing event!
60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, You are our sister; may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let your posterity possess the gate of their enemies.
This is a remarkable blessing - that Rebekah would be the mother of tens of millions, a promise to be fulfilled through the Church and also through Israel!
62 Now Isaac had returned from going to the well Beer-lahai-roi (the Living One Who Sees Me!). 63 And Isaac went out to meditate and bow down [in prayer] in the open country in the evening; and he looked up and saw that, behold, the camels were coming.
What a great name for a well - the Living One Who sees us! From a natural perspective, Isaac had no idea what (or who) was in store for him. He spent the evening time in prayer, in the open and this special day he saw the camels on the horizon! His hope was that the servant’s mission was successful, and his bride would soon be revealed to him.
64 And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel. 65 For she [had] said to the servant, Who is that man walking across the field to meet us? And the servant [had] said, He is my master. So she took a veil and concealed herself with it.
Rebekah looked up and saw the man who was walking across the field, just as Jesus had walked across the Earth! The servant acknowledged Isaac as his master (not just the servant of Abraham - type of the Heavenly Father), but of the Son (Isaac as a type of Jesus Christ). The servant (type of the Holy Spirit) was utterly selfless! Rebekah hid her face behind a veil, so as to wait for the moment of ecstasy and intimacy – see Isaac face to face!
66 And the servant told Isaac everything that he had done. 67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
Love at first sight, love blossoms! Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother’s tent. This happened soon after Sarah’s death, and Rebekah’s love provided comfort and strength to Isaac. A woman who had left all for this new life!
The Spirit and the Bride: Derek Prince - Outline of Genesis 24 (excerpts)
A. Persons in the parable
1. Abraham typifies God the Father
2. Isaac typifies Christ the Son
3. Rebecca, the chosen bride, typifies the Church
4. The unnamed servant is the Holy Spirit’s self-portrait
B. Points from the Parable
1. v. 2, 10 The servant ruled over all the goods of his master
2. v. 12–14 The servant prays for the chosen woman to be identified
3. v. 17–20 Rebecca’s response: water both for the servant and for his camels
4. v. 22 Rebecca receives the first gifts
5. v. 25 Rebecca offers room both for the servant and for his camels
6. v. 31 The room is prepared
7. v. 53 The servant gives more precious gifts to Rebecca and to her family
8. v. 58 Rebecca’s decision: “I will go”
9. v. 60 Rebecca’s prophesied destiny and fruitfulness (to be fulfilled in the Church)
C. Application
1. Rebecca’s response to the servant determined her destiny
2. Rebecca drew water for the servant and the camels (faith plus works)
3. The servant’s gifts marked Rebecca out as the chosen bride
4. Rebecca made room for the servant and his camels
5. By receiving the servant, Rebecca brought blessing to her whole family
6. The servant was Rebecca’s only source of knowledge about the Father, the
Son, and the inheritance
7. Rebecca had no map. She was led by the servant
8. Rebecca went to meet the bridegroom wearing his gifts
© 1975 — Derek Prince Ministries–International