Abraham—Called by God: INHERITING GRACE

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INHERITING GRACE

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.

Revelation 22:21

Through whom also we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.

Romans 5:2

By the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace unto me did not turn out to be in vain, but, on the contrary, I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I but the grace of God which is with me.

1 Corinthians 15:10

I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Galatians 2:20

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

2 Corinthians 13:14

We have pointed out in previous messages that, according to the experience of life, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are three parts of one complete person and that we should not consider them as three separate individuals. If we know the life in the book of Genesis, we shall see that, in the eyes of God, these three persons are one complete unit in the experience of life.

In this message we come to the second aspect of the experience of the called—the experience of Isaac (21:1—28:9; 35:28-29). It is not easy for Christians to understand the experience of Isaac. It is quite easy, on the contrary, to understand the three main aspects of Abraham’s experience: being called by God, living by faith in God, and living in fellowship with God. But what shall we say about Isaac? As we read the record of his life in chapters twenty-one through twenty-eight, what do we see of the experience of life? We do not see that he was called, lived by faith in God, or lived in fellowship with God. According to Genesis, we see how Isaac was born, was married, and begat two sons. But it is difficult to say what experience of life we find in the record of Isaac.

In the record of Isaac’s life the experience of grace is implied. What Isaac experienced was the inheriting of God’s grace. The grace of God was not as fully revealed in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament, because grace actually came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). After Christ came, there is a full and thorough revelation of grace, and in the New Testament the word grace is used again and again. The New Testament even closes with the mention of grace: “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen” (Rev. 22:21). The Bible begins in the Old Testament with the word, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” and it ends in the New Testament with the word, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints.” Although the record in Genesis concerning Isaac does not have the term grace, nevertheless such a thing is implied there. This is the reason that it is quite difficult for many to understand the Bible. In the Bible, there may be a certain thing but not the term to describe it. Although Isaac’s experience is recorded in Genesis, it is difficult to designate the experience he had as the experience of grace.

According to the New Testament revelation, as far as the experience of life is concerned, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob should not be considered as three separate individuals, but as aspects of one complete person’s experience of life. Abraham represents the aspect of being called, of living by faith in God, and of living in fellowship with God. Isaac represents the aspect of inheriting grace and enjoying the inheritance of grace. Jacob represents the aspect of being chosen, being dealt with by the Lord, and being transformed into a prince of God. In the experience of life, there is the aspect of enjoyment, the enjoyment of grace. Most of us have heard messages saying that the Christian life should be a suffering life, a life of bearing the cross and groaning in prayer. Have you not heard messages telling you that today is not the time of enjoyment but the time of suffering and of bearing the cross, and that our enjoyment will begin at the time of the Lord’s coming back? I do not say that this is wrong, but I do say that it is only one aspect of the Christian life. There is another aspect—the aspect of enjoyment.

In the biblical and experiential sense, grace means enjoyment. Grace is the enjoyment in our Christian life. Our Christian life has three aspects: the aspect of Abraham, the aspect of Isaac, and the aspect of Jacob. In the aspect of Abraham we cannot see much enjoyment. Although Abraham was blessed and was enlarged, he did not have very much enjoyment. He lost his father, and Lot became a grief to him. Eliezer, in whom he trusted, was rejected, and Ishmael, the son he begat by his own endeavor with his concubine, was cast out. After Isaac was born, God required that Abraham offer him up as a burnt offering. Not too long after Isaac was returned, Abraham lost his dear wife. Throughout his whole life we can see the aspect of loss. Although the Bible does not show that Abraham suffered very much, he lost almost everything. Is this all the Christian life is? If it is, then the Christian life is only a life of losses. The matter of loss is just one aspect of the Christian life. Romans 5:2 does not say, “We have access into this loss in which we stand.” No, it says, “We have the access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” God has no intention of keeping us in loss. His intention is to bring us into grace, into the enjoyment.

God wants to bring us into the enjoyment of grace, but there is a frustration to this grace—the self. We ourselves are the frustration. Although Christ has come and grace has come with Him, and although we have been brought into the grace in which we stand, the greatest frustration to this grace is you and I. Hence, before we can have the experience of Isaac, we need Abraham who represents the first aspect of the experience of life. Abraham’s life reveals that if we would enjoy God’s grace and have the full enjoyment of God’s riches, we must be dealt with, circumcised, and cut off. If Abraham had not been circumcised, Isaac would never have been born. Isaac came after Abraham’s circumcision. After Abraham was circumcised in Genesis 17, God told him that Isaac would be born (17:19). Eventually, in chapter twenty-one, Isaac was born. Isaac came with God’s visitation. He was born by God’s visitation. God’s visitation equals the birth of Isaac. God visited Sarah and that visitation became the birth of Isaac. This is grace.

God has come to be enjoyed by His called ones. But if we would have this enjoyment, the self must go. Once the self has gone, Isaac comes. This means that grace comes. It is not easy to lose the self. In order for the self to go, we must suffer loss. Are you willing to lose yourself? I do not believe that anyone is willing to lose himself. Nevertheless, we must lose ourselves before grace can come. To lose the self is to lose our face. When we keep our face we lose grace. If we want to receive grace, we must lose our face. Brothers, as you deal with your wife in your daily living, you must be prepared to lose yourself. If you do this, grace will come. After Abraham was circumcised, Isaac came. This is the principle. With us, the self must go and then grace will come. We must firstly be Abraham and then we become Isaac.

It was not easy for Abraham to lose himself. In a good sense, God forced him to lose himself. When God called Abraham, He did not say, “Abraham, you must lose yourself and then I will come in to be your grace and enjoyment.” No, when God called him, He promised to bless him. The blessing in the Old Testament somewhat equals the grace in the New Testament. What is the difference between blessing and grace? When God gives us something free, that is a blessing. But when this blessing is wrought into our being, it becomes grace. God promised Abraham that He would bless him. When the blessing was wrought into Abraham, it became grace. Abraham’s self and natural man were the strongest frustration to God’s blessing and forced God to deal with him.

The same is true in our experience. We all have been called, and God has given us the blessings in Christ (Eph. 1:3). However, after being called, we are still in ourselves and exercise our self-effort to obtain God’s blessing. When I was young, I realized that my flesh was not good. When I was told that the flesh had been crucified on the cross, I was very happy. Then I began to exercise my own effort to put the flesh on the cross. But in exercising my own effort, I frustrated God’s grace. The crossing out of the flesh had already been accomplished; it did not need the exercise of my effort. Yet I, the self, was trying to put my flesh on the cross. That self was the greatest frustration to God’s grace. It separated me from grace. If we consider our past experience, we shall see that after hearing the good news, we tried many times by ourselves to obtain the things we heard in the good news. Our self-effort has been a frustration to God’s grace. Because of this, God has been forced to deal with us.

Being called by God, living by faith in God, and living in fellowship with God are all for the enjoyment of God. We have been called to the enjoyment of God, we must learn to live by faith in God that we may have the enjoyment of God, and we need to live in fellowship with God that we may participate in all His riches. All this is for one thing—the enjoyment of God. But we do not see this enjoyment with Abraham; we see it with Isaac. We all have had at least some experience of being called by God, living by faith in God, living in fellowship with God, and suffering loss. We are real Abrahams today. But we can also testify that, much to our surprise, in the midst of our loss there has been some enjoyment. While we were suffering a loss, unconsciously we were enjoying something. Whenever we suffered a dealing from God, we simultaneously had some enjoyment. While we were the suffering Abraham, we were also the enjoying Isaac. For this reason, the record of Isaac does not immediately follow the record of Abraham. Rather, it is mingled with the record of Abraham’s life. While Abraham was still there, Isaac came in, for they were not two separate individuals in the experience of life, but two aspects of the experience of a complete person. We need the experiences of both Abraham and Isaac. Perhaps even today you had a certain experience and said, “I don’t know why this has happened to me.” But deep within you do know. In the midst of your loss, you gain and enjoy Christ. This is the experience of Isaac.

If we only had Abraham without Isaac, we would be very disappointed with Abraham’s record. We would say, “What is the good of being the father of faith if it is only a matter of suffering loss?” But once we see the experience of Isaac, we shall say, “Now I understand why Abraham suffered the loss of so much. All the negative experiences of Abraham were for the positive enjoyment with Isaac.” Abraham was for Isaac. Abraham acquired a great deal, having been blessed and having become enlarged, but he gave all that he had to Isaac (24:36; 25:5). Abraham suffered for Isaac’s gain. The more Abraham suffered, the more Isaac gained. I would say, “Poor Abraham, you are just a suffering person. All that you have gained through your suffering is not for you but for Isaac.” We all must realize that today we are not only Abrahams but also Isaacs. If you say to me, “Brother, you are a poor Abraham always suffering,” I would reply, “Don’t you know that I’m also an Isaac? I have suffered loss that I might gain. I lose as Abraham and I gain as Isaac. I’m not just Abraham. My name is Abraham-Isaac. On the loss side, I am Abraham; on the gain side, I am Isaac.”

We are both Abraham and Isaac. As Abraham, we have been called by God, have learned to live by faith in God, and have learned to live in fellowship with God. At the same time, as Isaac, we do nothing except enjoy all we have gained from Abraham’s experience. Which kind of experience do you appreciate more—Abraham’s or Isaac’s? Without Abraham’s experience we cannot have Isaac’s. God is dealing with us as He dealt with Abraham that we might have the experience of Isaac.

The matter of grace has been hidden, concealed, and veiled throughout the years. What is grace? Grace is something of God which is wrought into our being and which works in us and does things for us. It is nothing outward. Grace is God in Christ wrought into our being to live, work, and do things for us. In 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul says, “By the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace unto me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” This word is quite deep. Paul did not say, “By the grace of God I have what I have. I have a good car, a good job, and a good wife by the grace of God.” He did not even say, “By the grace of God I do what I do.” It is not a matter of doing, having, or working; it is absolutely a matter of being. Hence, Paul says, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” This means that the very grace of God had been wrought into his being, making him that kind of person. In Galatians 2:20 Paul says, “No longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” If we put this verse together with 1 Corinthians 15:10, we see that grace is simply Christ living in us. It is “not I, but the grace of God,” “no longer I, but Christ.” Grace is not outside of us or beside us. It is a divine Person, God Himself in Christ, wrought into our being to be the constituent of our being. Because of the lack of revelation, Christians have misunderstood and misinterpreted grace, thinking of it as something outside of them. But grace is just the Triune God wrought into our being to be what we should be and to live, work, and do things for us so that we may say, “I am what I am by the grace of God. It is not I, but the grace of God.”

We all have been taught to have good behavior and to love one another. As a result, we try to behave ourselves and to love others. But it does not matter whether we can love others or not, for God will never recognize our love. Abraham succeeded in bringing forth Ishmael, but God rejected him. God seemed to say, “No, Abraham, that is not what I want. I want something that has been wrought into you and worked out from you. You brought forth Ishmael without My visitation. I was in heaven and you were on earth bringing forth Ishmael. Because he was unrelated to Me and to My visitation, I will never recognize him. One day, I shall visit Sarah and My visitation will bring forth Isaac. I will recognize only him.” If we love others in ourselves, God will never recognize that love, because it does not come from His visitation. God wants to visit us, get into us, live for us, and even love others for us. He will only recognize that kind of love. Your love is an Ishmael; the love by God’s visitation is an Isaac. Whether you are humble or proud, crooked or straight, means nothing. God does not recognize anything which comes out of you apart from His visitation. Whatever is not of grace is not recognized, not counted, by God. We all must say, “O Lord, I will not do anything without Your visitation. Lord, if You will not visit me and work something through me and out of me, I will do nothing. I will neither hate nor love, be proud nor be humble. I want to be blank. Lord, without Your visitation, I am nothing.” God’s visitation is the practical grace. When I love others and am humble by God’s visitation, not by my self-effort, that is the enjoyment of grace.

As we have seen, God’s intention is to work Himself into a corporate man that He might have a corporate expression. This is the basic concept of the divine revelation in the Bible. This is God’s eternal purpose. God called Abraham with the purpose of working Himself into him, but Abraham had a strong self. This natural self was the strongest frustration to God’s purpose. The same is true with us today. God’s purpose is to work Himself into us to be our life and even to be our living, but our natural self frustrates this. Therefore, God must cut us and deal with us that He may get into us to be everything to us. God does not need us to love others and to be humble that society might be improved. If God wants a better society, He only needs to say, “Better society,” and it will come into being. He calls things not being as being (Rom. 4:17) and does not need our help. God wants to work Himself into us to be our humility and our everything. He wants us to say, “Lord, I am nothing and will not do anything. I just open up to You that You might come in, make Your home in me, live in me, and do everything for me. Lord, You live and I’ll enjoy Your living. Whenever You do something in me, I’ll say, ‘Praise You, Lord. This is wonderful! I am not the doer; I am an enjoyer, appreciating all You are doing for me.’”

God’s intention today is to deal with Abraham that Isaac may come. His intention is to deal with our natural being that we may have the full experience of Himself in Christ wrought into us as our enjoyment. I have been experiencing married life for close to fifty years, experiencing much enjoyment and much suffering. Before I was married, I truly loved the Lord, and I often told Him how much I loved Him. After I was married, I went to the Lord and assured Him, saying, “Lord because I love You, I want to be the best husband.” Eventually, I failed. I went to the Lord and confessed all my failures. After experiencing the anointing, I was happy and I made up my mind to try again to be the best husband. But I failed once more, and this experience of ups and downs was repeated again and again. Later, I even gave a message in which I said, “The Christian life has many nights and mornings. Never be disappointed over your failures. Just wait for several hours and you will be in the morning.” For years and years I went through days and nights, nights and days. One day, I received the revelation and said, “Stupid man, who told you to do so? Christ is here waiting to be your grace. You must say, ‘Lord, I am nothing and I can do nothing. Even if I could do something, it would never be recognized by You. Come, Lord, and do Your job and be the best husband for me. This is Your job, not mine. You charge me, and I return the charge to You and ask You to fulfill it. Lord, You be the best husband and I will praise You for it.’” Whenever I prayed like this, the Lord always did the best job. This is grace.

Grace is God working Himself into our being as our enjoyment. The very God today is not only God the Father, but also God the Son and God the Spirit. Moreover, God the Spirit is the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29), and this grace is the grace of life (1 Pet. 3:7), which is “the varied grace” (1 Pet. 4:10), the “all grace” (1 Pet. 5:10), and the “sufficient grace” (2 Cor. 12:9). The Triune God is such a grace, and this grace is now with our spirit (Gal. 6:18). Grace is the divine Person of the Triune God as the Spirit indwelling our spirit. It is the Spirit of grace indwelling our spirit to be our enjoyment that we may enjoy God as our life and our everything, even as our living. This is why every one of Paul’s Epistles ends with the words, “Grace be with you.” For example, 2 Corinthians 13:14 says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Grace is not outside of us; it is in us. Whatever we call it, the Spirit of grace or the grace of life, it is something living and divine in our spirit. We do have such a divine reality, the Triune God Himself, in our spirit as our grace and enjoyment. When He loves others through us, this love is our enjoyment. When He lives Himself out through us, this living is also our enjoyment. Day and night we may enjoy His living through us.

Why then do we suffer? Because the self, the ego, the natural man, is still here and must be dealt with. Praise Him that no dealing is in vain. Every dealing from God is a breaking of our natural man that we may enjoy more of Him as our grace. Thus, we have Abraham and Isaac; we have the suffering of the loss and the enjoyment of the gain. This gain is not the gain of outward things; it is the gain of the indwelling One, that is, the Spirit of grace and the grace of life. Again I say, whatever God gives as a gift outside of us is, at the most, a blessing. When this gift is wrought into our being, becoming the life element within us, it is grace. The blessing must become the grace. In the Old Testament, God gave many things to His people as blessings, but all those things were merely outward blessings. Before Christ came, none of those blessings had been wrought into God’s people. Christ came not only to die on the cross for us, but, after His death, to become the life-giving Spirit to enter into our being. Thus, in the New Testament, we have the terms “in Christ” and “Christ in you.” Now He is in us and we are in Him. Whatever God gives us in Christ has been wrought into our being and has become grace, our enjoyment. Now we are not merely under His blessing; we are in His grace and His grace is in us. What are you enjoying today—blessing or grace? The New Testament never says, “Blessing be with you.” Rather, it says repeatedly, “Grace be with you.”

Abraham—Called by God: HAVING NO MATURITY IN LIFE

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HAVING NO MATURITY IN LIFE

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bare him no children: and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.…And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

Genesis 16:1-2, 15

And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.

Genesis 21:1-3

Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.

Genesis 25:1-2

The Bible is a complete revelation. The content of this revelation is God’s eternal purpose. As we have pointed out many times, God’s eternal purpose is to work Himself into a corporate man so that He may have a corporate expression in the universe. If we would understand any portion of the Bible in a proper way, we must keep this matter in mind.

In this message we come to Genesis 25. Many years ago, I did not like the first part of this chapter. But since there are no wasted words in the Bible, this portion of Genesis 25 must be very significant. If we do not keep before us the purpose of the revelation in the holy Word, we shall be unable to see the significance of this part of Genesis 25. By His mercy, the Lord has shown us the depth of this portion of the Word.

In both Genesis and Romans we are told clearly that Abraham was very old when he begat Isaac. Romans 4:19 says that Abraham considered his body as good as dead. Yet, forty years after Isaac’s birth, Abraham married again (25:1), and when he became one hundred forty years of age, he still begat six sons (25:2). How can we explain this? If he was as old as a dead person when he was a hundred years of age, he certainly must have been more like a dead person when he remarried at the age of one hundred forty. In chapter twenty-three Sarah died and was buried, in chapter twenty-four Abraham obtained a wife for Isaac, and in chapter twenty-five he himself married again. What does this mean?

Genesis 25 also includes a record of the birth of Jacob and Esau. Why is such a wonderful record included in the same chapter which names the six sons of Abraham’s concubine? The record of Abraham’s six sons is negative, whereas the record of the birth of Jacob and Esau is positive. If you were composing this chapter, would you put these two records together? None of us would have written this chapter in such a way. Nevertheless, according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it must be very significant.

HAVING NO MATURITY IN LIFE

If we consider all these matters, deep in our spirit we shall realize that the Holy Spirit’s intention in this chapter is to show that Abraham was not a person matured in life. Although he was old in his physical life, he was not matured in his spiritual life.

As we have seen, God’s purpose is to work Himself into a corporate person that He might have a corporate expression. In order to accomplish this, God created the heavens, the earth, and man with a spirit as his receiving organ (Zech. 12:1). This man was created in God’s image to express Him and with His dominion to represent Him in His authority. In Genesis 3 we see that Satan injected himself into man, and man became fallen. In chapters three through eleven man had at least four falls. After the fourth fall, God came in to call Abraham out of the fallen race and establish him as the father of the called race. God’s intention in making Abraham the father of the called race was to work Himself into that race for the fulfillment of His purpose. Although God did not have the opportunity to work Himself into the created race, the Adamic race, He now had an opportunity to work Himself into the called race, the Abrahamic race. The record from the last half of chapter eleven through the first part of chapter twenty-five shows how much God worked with this person. However, when we come to the end of the record of Abraham’s life, do we see a person who was matured in life and who expressed God in every way? No. Abraham was not yet such a person.

Many Christians appreciate Abraham too much. Although I respect Abraham and I do not belittle him, I must point out that, as the record of Genesis indicates, he was not matured in the divine life. Chapter twenty-four is wonderful, but it is not wonderful with respect to Abraham’s life but with respect to his activity. Abraham did a wonderful thing in choosing a proper wife for his son; yet, immediately after this, he remarried. Genesis 25 does not say, “After Abraham had found a good wife for Isaac, he lived with them in the presence of the Lord for more than thirty years. One day, he called Isaac and Rebekah to him, laid his hands upon them, blessed them, and then went to be with the Lord.” If the record were like this, we would all appreciate it, saying, “Here is a saint who was matured in life.” What is the proof of the maturity in life? It is blessing others. When we are young, we receive blessings from others. But when we are mature, we pass on blessings to others. Although Abraham was old, he did not bless anyone. This proves that he did not have the maturity in life.

MARRYING KETURAH AFTER SARAH DIED • The record in Genesis 25 is not a record of blessing; rather, it is a record of remarriage. Abraham married Keturah after Sarah died. Is remarriage a sign of the maturity in life? Certainly not!

BEGETTING ANOTHER SIX SONS AFTER ISAAC • Abraham’s life may be divided into three sections: the section with Ishmael, the section with Isaac, and the section with the six sons. Ishmael was produced by Abraham’s flesh, and Isaac was produced by God’s grace. What about the six sons? They were produced by even more flesh. After the birth of Ishmael, Abraham’s flesh was dealt with, and grace came in to replace it. But after the birth and growth of Isaac, Abraham’s flesh became active again. In the first section, the section with Ishmael, Abraham’s flesh was onefold, but in the third section, the section with the six sons, his flesh was sixfold, having been intensified six times. While the younger flesh produced one Ishmael, the older flesh produced six sons.

The Bible is honest, telling us that Abraham married Keturah and begat six sons by her. But Abraham knew God’s will. Verse 5 says, “Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.” Isaac was the unique heir, the heir chosen, designated, and established by God. None of the other sons were reckoned as heirs (v. 6), for they were all sons of the concubine and, like Ishmael, were rejected by God. Abraham had two concubines. The first gave birth to Ishmael, and the second gave birth to six sons. But God did not want any of them. Both before and after the birth of Isaac, Abraham did something which God did not want. How can we say that such a life is mature?

DIED WITHOUT MATURITY IN LIFE • The intention of Genesis 25 is to show that Abraham did not have the maturity in life. He died without this, for as we have seen, he died without blessing anyone. Although Abraham was good, he was not mature in the divine life. It is right that we appreciate him, but we must realize that he had a great lack. He was called, had faith, and lived in fellowship with God, but, to use a New Testament term, he did not have sufficient transformation.

What is transformation? Once again I would like to use the example of petrified wood. As water flows through the wood, the element of wood is carried away and the elements of minerals are added in its place. As the mineral elements are wrought into the wood, the wood is transformed into stone. This is petrification. We are wood, and the flow of living water must carry away our natural element and bring into our being all the divine, heavenly, holy, and spiritual elements. In this way we are transformed.

If you read chapters twenty-three through twenty-five again, you will see that Abraham was not a fully transformed person. He was a man who lived in fellowship with God and who acted according to His leading, but he was not transformed in full. Rather, he remarried and exercised the flesh which had been dealt with by God to bring forth six more “Ishmaels.” Although we must be like Abraham, we need to see that in himself he was not a complete pattern.

BURIED WITH SARAH IN THE CAVE OF MACHPELAH • Undoubtedly Abraham died in faith. His two sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah (vv. 9-10), which he had obtained for Sarah in chapter twenty-three. It must be that his sons buried him according to his desire.

NEEDING JACOB AND ISAAC FOR HIS COMPLETION

Although Abraham was good, he was not complete. He had to be completed and perfected by the lives of Jacob and Isaac. According to the implication of the divine record, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not three separate individuals. In like manner, their God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, is not three gods but the one Triune God. In Abraham, we see God the Father; in Isaac, we see God the Son; and in Jacob, we see God the Spirit. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit, the three-in-one, are the unique Triune God. In the same principle, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are a triune person. Being three-in-one, they are a complete person in the experience of life.

JACOB’S BEING CHOSEN • In Abraham’s record we see the matter of calling. According to the divine revelation, however, calling is not the first item. God’s selection comes before God’s calling. When Abraham was in Chaldea worshipping idols, that was the time of God’s calling, not the time of His selection. The time of God’s selection was before the foundation of the world. In eternity past Abraham was chosen, and in Chaldea he was called. But where is the record of Abraham’s selection? It is in Genesis 25 in the record of Jacob’s selection. In himself, Abraham had no selection; his selection was in Jacob’s selection. Abraham’s life had neither a full beginning nor a complete ending, for he had neither selection nor maturity in life, both of which are with Jacob. In other words, as far as the experience of life is concerned, by himself Abraham cannot stand as a complete person in the eyes of God. He needs Jacob and Isaac. These three persons, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, represent the spiritual experience of a complete man. In the record of Jacob’s life, there is no mention of being called. Where and when was Jacob called? He was called with Abraham in Genesis 11, just as Abraham was selected in Jacob. In Abraham we clearly see God’s calling, but we do not see selection nor the maturity in life.

In Genesis 25 we have three genealogies: the genealogy of the children of Keturah (vv. 2-4), the genealogy of the sons of Ishmael (vv. 13-16), and the genealogy of Isaac (vv. 19-26). In the first two genealogies no one is selected by God. None of the sons of Keturah nor the sons of Ishmael were chosen by Him. Even Esau, one born of Isaac, was not chosen. Of all those named in this chapter, only one is chosen—Jacob. These three genealogies are put together in one chapter for a definite purpose—to show the kind of person God rejects and the kind of person He chooses. God chose the most naughty one, Jacob, whose name means a supplanter, a heel holder. If we were God, we would never have chosen such a naughty, supplanting one. Nevertheless, Jacob was God’s choice. We see in this chapter that what Abraham produced was not what God wanted. None of his six sons was God’s choice. In producing them, all he did was in vain. Likewise, none of Ishmael’s descendants were chosen by God. After Isaac had been married for twenty years, he “entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived” (v. 21). Rebekah gave birth to twins, the second of whom was God’s choice. Of the more than twenty births recorded in this chapter, all were in vain except one. In this chapter God seemed to be saying to Abraham, “You have brought forth many children by your flesh, but all is in vain. Not one who is the result of your flesh is My choice.”

This chapter reveals that the life which lacks maturity will always labor in vain. If we are not matured in life, although we may be quite active, doing many things, all our labor will be in vain. None of it is according to God’s selection. Abraham was a dear saint with a very good life, but his life was not mature and he did much which was in vain. Nothing that came out of his flesh was God’s choice. Do you want to have a life like this? By the record of Abraham’s life we see that he was not complete. He needed Jacob and Isaac to complete and perfect him. As this chapter reveals, for his completion and perfection he needed Jacob’s being chosen.

JACOB’S MATURITY IN LIFE • Abraham also needed Jacob’s maturity in life. According to the book of Genesis, the first person to bless others was Melchisedec (14:18-19). As the book of Hebrews reveals, Melchisedec was a type of Christ. But even when Abraham was very old, much older than Jacob lived to be, he never blessed anyone. Although he received the blessing, he never passed on blessings to others. After Melchisedec, the next person to bless others was Isaac. But Isaac blessed blindly; he was cheated and did not bless in a clear way. Rather, he blessed the wrong person, giving the birthright to Jacob instead of to Esau (ch. 27). However, as the record at the end of Genesis reveals, Jacob, although he could not see well, blessed in a very clear way. After Jacob became mature, he blessed whomever he met. Wherever he went, he did nothing except bless others. When Jacob was brought before Pharaoh, the first thing he did was bless him (47:7). After talking a while with Pharaoh, Jacob blessed him again (47:10). Jacob was not only a blessed person; he was also a blessing person.

While it is easy to receive a blessing, it is not easy to bless others. A grandson cannot bless his grandfather, because the grandson lacks the maturity in life. Because Jacob was mature, he blessed everyone he met, including Pharaoh, who was an unbeliever, a Gentile king. Jacob did not feel that he had to do anything for anyone. His burden was simply to bless others.

Consider the case of Jacob’s blessing the two sons of Joseph (48:8-20). When Jacob laid his right hand upon Ephraim instead of upon Manasseh, the firstborn, Joseph was displeased and attempted to move his father’s right hand to Manasseh’s head, saying, “Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head” (48:18). But Jacob refused and said, “I know it, my son, I know it” (48:19). Jacob seemed to be saying, “I may be blind physically, but I am very clear spiritually. You don’t know what I am doing, but I know.” Here we see that Jacob blessed Joseph’s two sons with a clear, full, and rich blessing.

Jacob also blessed his twelve sons in a very clear way. These blessings are the foundation of the basic prophecies in the Bible. If we would know the prophecies in the Bible, we must go back to their foundation, to their basic elements, as seen in the blessings rendered by Jacob to his twelve sons. Jacob could bless his sons in a way that was full of divine revelation because he was fully matured in the divine life. He was born a Jacob, but he was transformed into Israel. He was born a supplanter, a heel-holder, but he was transformed into a prince of God. He had become so clear and full of life. When we are clear and full of life, we can do nothing but bless. This is a sign of maturity.

As we have seen, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob form one complete person in the experience of life. Abraham did not bless, because he did not have the maturity in life. Isaac, having some maturity but lacking the richness of the maturity of life, blessed in a blind way. Jacob, who was mature in life, blessed in a full and clear way. Whatever he spoke was the divine word, and whatever he blessed was a prophecy concerning God’s economy with all His children. Eventually, Jacob became Israel, the expression of God.

If we have the light from the Scriptures as a whole, we shall see that the book of Genesis is a miniature of the complete revelation of the entire Bible. At the end of Genesis we see a man called Israel, a transformed person who is transparent, clear, and full of life. The transformed Israel is a seed, a miniature, of the New Jerusalem. At the beginning of Genesis we have man created in God’s image. At the end of Genesis we have a transformed person, a man not only outwardly in the image of God, but a man in whom God has wrought Himself, making him His expression. Although many Christians appreciate Abraham, his life was not high enough. Israel’s life was much higher.

ISAAC’S ENJOYMENT OF THE INHERITANCE • For his completion, Abraham also needed Isaac’s enjoyment of the inheritance (24:36; 25:5). From the day Abraham was called by God, God began to rob him of things. Firstly, God took away his brother and then his father. Later, God rejected Eliezer, commanded Abraham to cast out Ishmael, and told him to offer Isaac on the altar. After Isaac had been returned, Sarah died. Abraham’s life was not a life of enjoyment; it was a life of being robbed. Isaac’s life, on the contrary, was a life full of enjoyment. Isaac did not do anything; he simply inherited all his father had.

In our Christian life we have the experiences of both Abraham and Isaac. On one hand we are always being robbed. God rejects whatever we have. He seems to say, “You like it, but I don’t like it. You want to give it, but I won’t take it. You want to preserve it, but I reject it.” In a very good sense, God always acts contrary to our wishes and intentions. Abraham wanted to take his father with him, but the father was taken away. He wanted to have Lot, but Lot separated from him. He wanted Eliezer to be his heir, but Eliezer was rejected. He wanted to keep Ishmael, but God commanded him to cast out the son of the bondwoman. Abraham loved his son Isaac, but God required that he be offered to Him upon the altar. A while later, Sarah, Abraham’s dear wife, was taken. I doubt that Abraham had much time for enjoyment.

But there is another side to our Christian life. While we are suffering the robbing, we are enjoying our inheritance. This is why the records of Abraham and Isaac overlap, whereas the records of those who preceded them, such as Abel, Enoch, and Noah, do not. The record of Isaac is mixed together with that of Abraham. While Abraham was suffering, Isaac was enjoying. While Abraham was weeping, Isaac was rejoicing. This indicates that our Christian life is a life of night and morning. Night is at our left hand and morning is at our right hand. In the Christian life, night and morning go together. Many times I have been unable to determine whether I was in the night or in the morning. While I was in the morning I was in the night, and while I was in the night, I was in the morning. On the one hand, I was Abraham being robbed of everything, and on the other hand, I was Isaac enjoying the inheritance.

We all have been selected with Jacob and have been called and have believed with Abraham. As we have been robbed with Abraham and have been enjoying with Isaac, one day we all shall be matured with Jacob. We should not say that a certain brother is a Jacob or Abraham or Isaac. We should call him a Jacob-Abraham-Isaac. He is Jacob at the beginning and at the ending, and he is Abraham with Isaac in the middle. These three are one complete person. As we have seen, the maturity in life is neither with Abraham nor Isaac but with Jacob.

The sign of the maturity of life is blessing. I have seen thousands of Christians. Nearly every one has been either supplanting or complaining. Some saints complain about the elders, the brothers, and all the churches. It seems that the only church they like is the New Jerusalem. Complaining is a sign of immaturity. When you have matured, you will not complain; you will bless, saying, “O God, bless all the brothers and all the churches.” For the one who is matured in life, the supplanting hand has become the blessing hand. The more mature you are, the more you will bless others. You will not only bless the good ones, but the bad ones and even the worst ones.

Abraham’s life was wonderful and has been appreciated by Christians throughout the centuries. But, as we have seen, he was not mature in the divine life. Our God is not only God the Father, but also God the Son and God the Spirit. He is not only the God of Abraham, but also the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. May we all see that we need all three aspects, the life of Abraham plus the lives of Isaac and Jacob. The Triune God is working within us as the Father, the Son, and the Spirit to make us the full expression of Himself. He is the Triune God, and we must be a person of three aspects in the spiritual experiences of the divine life. We need to be transformed in full. When we have been fully transformed, God will have the fulfillment of His purpose.

Abraham—Called by God: LIVING IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD THE MARRIAGE OF ISAAC A TYPE OF CHRIST MARRYING THE CHURCH

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LIVING IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD THE MARRIAGE OF ISAAC A TYPE OF CHRIST MARRYING THE CHURCH

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. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

Genesis 24:63-64

Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.

Revelation 19:7

The Bible is a divine book composed with the divine concepts. Because of this, it contains many wonderful records, of which Genesis 24 is one. This chapter not only unfolds a living in oneness with God; it also implies something deeper than human living. This is the reason that it is difficult for the human mind to fathom the depths of the Bible. On the surface of Genesis 24, we have a record of human living, but in its depths there lies something divine. Although it is easy to view the surface, it is difficult to probe into the depths.

In Genesis 24 we see a marriage which is a type of Christ marrying the church. In the New Testament we cannot find a verse which says that this marriage is a type of Christ marrying the church. However, the New Testament clearly reveals that Isaac, the son of Abraham, was a type of Christ being Abraham’s unique seed (Gal. 3:16). Based upon the fact that Isaac was a type of Christ, we may infer that Isaac’s marriage was a type of the marriage of Christ.

Because the Bible is a divine book composed with the divine concepts, we can see these concepts in the various biblical records. For example, we are all familiar with the story of Joseph. Although there is no word in the New Testament saying that Joseph was a type of Christ, any reader of the Bible can recognize that Joseph’s story closely resembles that of Christ. Some Bible teachers say that we should not allegorize anything in the Scriptures unless the New Testament indicates that it is an allegory or a type of certain spiritual things. But we should not insist on this, for although the New Testament does not say that Joseph was a type of Christ, every Bible teacher recognizes that Joseph was an excellent type of Christ. As we read the story of Joseph, we see that it depicts the life of Christ. Many incidents in Joseph’s life, such as his betrayal, are similar to those in the life of Christ. In the same principle, because Isaac is a type of Christ and because the marriage of Isaac resembles the marriage of Christ, we may say that the marriage recorded in Genesis 24 is a type of the marriage of Christ.

In Genesis 24 we have four main persons: the father, the son, the servant, and the bride. This is very meaningful. As we come to the New Testament, we see that the Triune God is working together to obtain a bride for the Son. What is the subject of the New Testament? If you say that the subject of the New Testament is just Jesus as our Savior, I would say that this is good, but that it is not all-inclusive. The subject of the New Testament is the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, working together to obtain the bride for the Son. The Father made the plan, the Spirit carries out the Father’s plan, and the Son enjoys what the Father has planned and what the Spirit carries out. Who is the bride? The bride is a part of the human race which will marry the Son and become His counterpart. Matthew 28:19 speaks of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In the Acts and Epistles we see how the Spirit works according to the Father’s plan to obtain the bride for the Son. At the end of the New Testament, in the book of Revelation, we see the bride. Revelation 19:7 says, “The marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has made herself ready.” Ultimately, the whole New Jerusalem, a city-lady, will be the bride (Rev. 21:2, 9-10). Although such a term as city-lady may sound strange, there is nothing wrong with using it, because the New Jerusalem will be a female, the wife of the Lamb, the counterpart of the Son of God. The entire New Testament is simply a record of the Triune God working together to gain a part of the human race to be the bride, the counterpart, of the Son.

THE FATHER’S PLAN

Firstly, we have the Father’s plan. According to the King James Version, Ephesians 3:11 speaks of “the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The word purpose is an archaic term for the modern word plan. When we speak of God’s plan we are referring to God’s purpose. In eternity past God made a plan, a plan to have the church for Christ (Eph. 3:8-11). God’s plan is not just to have a group of sinners, nor to have a group of redeemed ones. Such a concept is too low. God’s plan is to have a bride for His Son.

We have heard time and time again that Christ came to save sinners. But have you ever heard a message telling you that Christ came to have the bride? John 3:29 says, “He who has the bride is the bridegroom.” In the four Gospels the Lord Jesus told His disciples that He was the Bridegroom (Matt. 9:15). He came not only to save sinners but to have the bride. Are we still sinners? No, we are the bride! Praise the Lord that we are no longer sinners—we are the bride! Should we still come to God confessing our sins in a begging way? No, we must come to Him joyfully, saying, “Praise the Lord! I am so happy that I am no longer a sinner. I’m a part of the bride!” Christ came not merely to be our Savior and Redeemer; He also came to be the Bridegroom. God did not plan to save a group of poor sinners and bring them all into heaven. God planned to take a part of the human race and make them the counterpart of His dear Son. Eventually, in the new heaven and the new earth, we shall not have a group of pitiful sinners; we shall have the bride, the New Jerusalem, the wife of the Lamb.

As we have seen, God the Father planned to take a bride for His Son out of the human race. Abraham, a type of the Father, charged his servant, a type of the Holy Spirit, not to take a wife for his son from the daughters of the Canaanites but from Abraham’s kindred (24:4, 7). In typology, this indicates that the counterpart of Christ must come from Christ’s race, not from the angels nor from any other creatures. Since Christ was incarnated as a man, humanity has become His race. Do not always think of humanity as being so poor. Humanity is not poor. Because humanity is the race of Christ, it is dear and precious to God. Only out of humanity can God obtain the counterpart for His Son. Therefore, we all must be proud of being a part of humanity and must say, “Praise the Lord that I am a man! Thank Him that I was not created as a part of the angelic race but as part of the human race.”

In Genesis 2 we see that God brought the living creatures to Adam to be named by him. Adam said, “This is a dog, and this is a cat. This is a monkey, and this is a donkey.” As he looked at all those creatures, he did not find his counterpart among them. Thus, God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, took one of his ribs, and built it into a woman as his counterpart (2:21-22). Hence, Adam and Eve were of the same race. This indicates that Christ’s counterpart must come from His race, the human race. We all have been created as the human race, and as a part of the human race we all have been reborn. Only the human race is qualified to be the counterpart of Christ.

THE SPIRIT’S ERRAND

While the father had a plan, the servant received a commission, an errand (v. 33). Abraham commissioned him to go to his race and take a wife for his son. This signifies that God the Father has commissioned God the Spirit. The New Testament reveals such a divine commission.

TO REACH THE CHOSEN BRIDE • As Abraham commissioned his servant to reach the chosen bride (vv. 10-21), so God the Father commissioned God the Spirit to reach the human race. We all can testify that at a certain time the Spirit of God came to us. Perhaps you would say, “I didn’t realize that God the Spirit came to me. I only know that someone preached the gospel to me.” As that person was preaching the gospel to you, you were attracted by what he said and were willing to receive it. Although you did not understand everything he was saying, something deep within you was responding. In our mentality, many of us said, “I don’t like this,” but deep within our spirit we said, “This is very good.” In my early ministry in China I did a great deal of gospel preaching. When the learned Chinese, who thought of Christianity as a foreign religion, heard our preaching, they said in their mentality, “This is a foreign religion; I don’t like it.” But, as many of them later testified, while they were saying this, something deep within them said, “This is what I need.” What was it that caused them to respond in this way deep within? It was the Holy Spirit reaching them.

Rebekah never dreamed that she would be selected to be Isaac’s wife. According to the custom of the time, she simply went to draw water late in the afternoon. But on this day something special happened. Before she came to the well, Abraham’s servant was already there. This indicates the Spirit’s coming to the human race (v. 10). Before we ever heard the preaching of the gospel or came to a gospel meeting, the Holy Spirit was already there waiting.

In Genesis 24, Abraham’s servant, who had come to a well (v. 11), asked a woman to give him a drink of water (v. 17). In John 4, the Lord Jesus, who had come to Jacob’s well (John 4:6), also asked a woman for a drink. Preachers often say that we are thirsty and need the living water to quench our thirst. But have you ever heard that the Holy Spirit is thirsty and needs you to quench His thirst? In Genesis 24 we see a servant who was thirsty after his long journey, and in John 4 we see a Savior who was thirsty after His tiring journey. Who was more thirsty in Genesis 24, the servant or Rebekah? The servant was. Likewise, who was more thirsty in John 4, the Lord Jesus or the Samaritan woman? The Lord Jesus was. Hence, as we preach the gospel, we must tell people that the Father, Son, and Spirit are thirsty for them.

Rebekah did not have the sense that she was thirsty; neither did she feel the need for a husband. It was the servant who was thirsty. By the time he had reached the city of Nahor, he was thirsty both physically and spiritually, thirsting for the woman who would be the proper wife for his master’s son. In John 4, the Lord Jesus also was thirsty both physically and spiritually. As you are reading this message, the Holy Spirit is even now thirsty for you. Will you give Him a drink and quench His thirst?

When we heard the preaching of the gospel in the past, we did not realize that the Holy Spirit was thirsty for us. We might have thought, “Why is this preacher so ambitious to convince me?” But that was not the ambition of the preacher; it was the thirst of the Spirit. As you were listening to the preaching of the gospel, did you not sense that someone was desirous of having you? At the time you were saved, you felt that someone was chasing you. On the one hand, you said, “I don’t like this”; on the other hand, something deep within you said, “You cannot run away.”

As Rebekah went to draw water from the well that day, she was completely innocent, having no idea of what was to happen to her. She did not realize that by giving a man a drink of water and by drawing water for his camels she would be caught. But the father far away had made a plan to take a woman from her race as the wife for his son and had commissioned his servant to carry out this plan. Thus, the servant came to the city of Nahor and purposely waited there by the well. He was a real hunter hunting for a wife for Isaac. If Rebekah had never spoken to the servant, she would not have been caught. But, as we have seen, what happened did not depend on her. The servant had already prayed that the Lord would give him success, saying, “Let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master” (v. 14). While he was still speaking in this way, Rebekah came. When he asked her for a drink of water, she not only gave him a drink, but said, “I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking” (vv. 18-19). Although Rebekah did not realize it, in doing this, she was caught.

Many of us can testify that, at the beginning, we did not think well of Christ. But at a certain time something deep within began to love Him. When I was a youth, I did not understand very much about Christ, but I did love Him. Although I could not explain it then, I simply began to love Him. But now I know the reason: in eternity, the Father had planned to catch me. Although I am just a little man, I am more than worthy of being caught by God. We all have been caught by Him according to His plan. Let me ask you, did you desire to be saved or to be a Christian? None of us did. But one day we heard the name of Jesus and responded to it in love. This is the sign that we have been chosen. Who brought the servant to the city of Nahor where Rebekah dwelt? And who brought Rebekah to the well where the servant was waiting? Undoubtedly, it was the Spirit of God. Our being saved did not depend on us. It was the result of the Father’s plan and the Spirit’s commission.

Abraham’s servant eventually reached Rebekah through the satisfying water (v. 14). God’s chosen ones are the satisfying water to the Holy Spirit. Today the Holy Spirit comes to seek God’s chosen ones as Christ did at the well of Sychar (John 4:7). If anyone responds to Him and satisfies His desire, this is a sign that he is one of those chosen for Christ and that he will be gained by the Holy Spirit for Christ.

TO BRING THE RICHES OF CHRIST TO THE BRIDE • The Spirit also brings the riches of Christ to the bride (vv. 10, 22, 47, 53). After the camels had finished drinking, the servant put a golden ring on Rebekah’s nose and two bracelets upon her hands (v. 22, Heb.). The best way to catch a person is to catch his nose. That Rebekah had a ring on her nose and bracelets upon her hands meant that she had been caught. After giving her these things, the servant asked her, “Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in?” (v. 23). Once the servant was brought into Rebekah’s home, he testified of Isaac’s riches. After Rebekah’s brother Laban and father Bethuel accepted the servant’s proposal, he gave Rebekah more of Isaac’s riches, articles of silver, articles of gold, and raiment (v. 53). He also gave precious things to her brother and her mother. This is exactly what John 16:13-15 reveals concerning the Spirit. In these verses, the Lord Jesus said that the Spirit will not speak of Himself, but that He will glorify the Son. All that the Father has is His, and the Spirit receives of His and discloses it to the disciples. Suppose Abraham’s servant had said to Laban, “It is difficult for Abraham to earn a living in Canaan, and his son Isaac is not healthy. I have been sent to get a helper for him.” Do you think that after hearing such a thing Rebekah would have said, “I will go”? No, she would have run away instead. But the testimony of Abraham’s servant was not poor; rather, it was very rich. The servant said that the Lord had blessed his master Abraham, that he had become great, that he had given all things to his son Isaac, and that his master had charged him to find a wife for his son. As Rebekah was listening to this testimony, she was attracted to Isaac and was willing to go to him.

This is a picture of how the Holy Spirit comes to us testifying of the riches of Christ. Today Christ is the One appointed to inherit all the riches of the Father. We know this because the Spirit has told us of it through the Scriptures. Because of the Spirit’s testimony, we have all been attracted to Christ. Every saved one who loves and seeks the Lord has been attracted in this way. We do not care for the things that the worldlings are seeking. We enjoy coming to the church meetings and telling the Lord Jesus how much we love Him. Oh, we love Him, we seek Him, and we praise Him! Over and over we say, “Lord Jesus, I love You.”

Rebekah realized the riches of Isaac through the gifts which Abraham’s servant brought forth to her. Today we realize the riches of Christ, which He has received of the Father, through the gifts that the Spirit has dispensed to us. Before Rebekah met Isaac in the good land, she had participated in and enjoyed Isaac’s inheritance. It is the same with us in partaking of Christ’s inheritance. Before we meet Him, we enjoy the gifts of the Spirit as a foretaste of the full taste of His riches.

TO CONVINCE THE BRIDE • The Spirit also convinces the bride (vv. 54-58). After the servant, typifying the Spirit, brought Rebekah the riches, she was convinced and was willing to marry Isaac. Although her relatives wanted her to linger, Rebekah, upon hearing the servant’s testimony of Isaac, said, “I will go” (v. 58). She was willing to go to Isaac in the land of Canaan. Likewise, we are willing to go to Christ. Although we have never seen Him, we have been attracted by Him and we love Him (1 Pet. 1:8). Although Rebekah had never met Isaac, she loved him. When she heard about him, she simply loved him and wanted to go to a land far off to be with him. As long as we have the willingness to go to Christ, it is a sign that we are the chosen Rebekah. As I have watched the young people loving Jesus, I have said, “What are all these young people doing here? Why don’t they seek the things of the world?” But deep within, I know the reason. We have all been convinced that Christ is the wonderful One. He is the most lovable One in the whole universe. How we love Him! As Rebekah was riding on the camel to be with Isaac, she must have said many times, “Isaac, I love you! Isaac, I want to see you and be with you!” It is the same with us today. As we are traveling on our long journey, we say over and over again, “Jesus, I love You. Jesus, I long to meet You and be in Your presence.”

TO BRING THE BRIDE TO CHRIST • Eventually, the servant brought Rebekah to Isaac (vv. 51, 61-67). Although it was a long journey, he brought her through and presented her to Isaac as his bride. The Holy Spirit has convinced us and now He is bringing us to Christ. Although it is a long journey, eventually He will bring us through and present us to Christ as His lovely bride.

THE CHURCH’S RESPONSE

Now we must see the church’s response. As we have seen, Rebekah responded immediately, being willing to go with the servant to Isaac. Although there is within our old, fallen nature a reluctance to follow the Lord immediately, we cannot deny that there is also within us the willingness to follow Him. Although we are still in this old nature, it is nevertheless easy for us to follow the Lord. It is much easier to follow Him than not to follow Him. Do not believe the lie of the enemy that you can easily be frustrated in following the Lord. Tell the enemy, “Nothing can frustrate my desire to follow the Lord. Deep within me there is the longing to follow Him.” Satan is a liar. Sometimes he even lies to us through preachers who speak negative things and tell us that we cannot love the Lord Jesus. Do not believe the lies, but declare, “No! I can and I do love the Lord Jesus!” We may even lie to ourselves, saying, “I’m so weak. I just can’t follow the Lord. I’d better turn around and go back.” We must reject this lie and say, “I will never go back. I will follow the Lord Jesus.” Never believe the lie that you do not love the Lord. Tell the enemy, “I love the Lord Jesus. My loving Him does not depend upon my ability to love. It depends on His being so lovable. Because He is lovable, I cannot help loving Him.” If I gave you a pair of old shoes, you would reject them, saying, “I don’t care for those!” But if I gave you some diamonds, you would easily love them, not because you have the ability to love but because the diamonds are lovable. Likewise, we do not love the Lord Jesus because we are able to love; we love Him because He is so lovable. In Genesis 24, it was not Rebekah who was able to love Isaac and respond to him; it was Isaac who was lovable.

DOING WHAT THE SPIRIT EXPECTS • Our response to the Holy Spirit is that we always do what He expects. Abraham’s servant expected that Rebekah would give him a drink of water and then draw water for his ten camels, and Rebekah did exactly what he expected (vv. 18-20), satisfying the servant’s thirst. Often we have unconsciously done what the Holy Spirit expected, satisfying His desire, doing it without knowing what He expected. Our doing this was a sign that we were under the moving of the Spirit.

RECEIVING THE GIFTS • After doing what the servant expected, Rebekah received the gifts. Firstly, the servant put a golden ring on her nose. Although ladies today like to put rings on their ears, here the ring is put on Rebekah’s nose. In reading the Song of Songs, I was surprised to see that the Lord does not appraise the ears of the seeking one. Instead, He appraises her nose, saying, “Thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus,” and, “The smell of thy nose like apples” (7:4, 8). In Song of Songs 2:3, the seeker says, “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.” Because she had been enjoying the apples, her nose had the smell of apples. What is the significance of this? The function of the nose is to smell. Putting a golden ring on Rebekah’s nose meant that her smelling function had been caught by the divine nature. Once we have this ring on our nose, we have the divine smell and taste. As the book of Hebrews says, we have tasted of the heavenly gift, the good word of God, and the works of power of the coming age (Heb. 6:4-6). Before I was saved, I had a particular taste. However, after I received the Lord, my taste changed. I had received the divine taste. Is there a golden ring on your nose? Is your nose like the high tower of Lebanon? According to Leviticus 21:18, no one with a flat nose could serve as a priest. We all must have a high nose, not a flat one.

We, the saved ones, have the divine smelling function with the divine taste. Since we have this taste, there are many things in the department stores which we cannot buy. What tells us not to buy these things? The golden ring on our nose. By our nose with the golden ring we smell that something is wrong with certain items in the stores. Because we have such a nose, we do not need others to tell us what to do or what not to do. The function of our smelling and tasting organ tells us what matches God’s taste and what does not. We must have a high-tower nose and a nose with the smell of apples. Our spiritual nose must be a high tower in the Spirit. Our spiritual nose must be with the smell of Christ. The more we enjoy Christ as the apple tree, the more we have a nose full of His apple smell.

The servant also put two bracelets on Rebekah’s hands (vv. 22, 47). In a sense, she was handcuffed. According to the New Testament concept, this means that we have received the divine function (Rom. 12:4). The more we are handcuffed by the Spirit, the more gift we receive of Him. We have not only received the divine taste; we have also acquired the divine function. The two bracelets given to Rebekah were ten shekels in weight and thus could fulfill the requirements of God’s commandments. The weight of the golden ring on her nose, on the contrary, was just a half shekel. This half shekel signifies the first taste, the foretaste. The half we have tasted indicates that another half, the full taste, is coming. While the taste is only in part, the functions are in full. Do not say that you have only half a function. No, your function, your talent, is complete. Everyone has at least one full talent. The taste which we have received of the Holy Spirit is only partial, but the divine function which we have received of Him is complete.

Rebekah also received articles of silver, articles of gold, and raiment (v. 53), all of which indicate the riches of Christ. At first, Rebekah received a golden ring on her nose and two bracelets on her hands. After the acceptance of the servant’s errand, more riches were brought forth. Likewise, after we came into the church life and accepted the Spirit’s commission, the riches of Christ, the articles of silver, the articles of gold, and the raiment, were brought forth for our enjoyment.

By all these details we can realize that the record in Genesis 24 is altogether divine and implies the divine concept. This is not my allegorization; it is recorded in this way. Why was the golden ring just half a shekel and not three quarters of a shekel? Why were the bracelets ten shekels and not nine or eleven shekels? Why did the servant not bring forth all the other riches until his errand had been accepted? All this matches the revelation in the New Testament. Today we are not only enjoying the golden ring on our nose and the bracelets on our hands; we are also enjoying the articles of silver and of gold and the raiment. In the church life all the riches of Christ are ours.

FOLLOWING THE SPIRIT • After receiving and enjoying all these riches, Rebekah followed the servant, traveling through the desert on a camel until she met Isaac (vv. 58, 61-65). Likewise, we are following the Spirit, traveling a long journey on a “camel.” When we meet Christ, we shall dismount from our “camel.” All the modern conveniences, such as telephones, automobiles, etc., are our “camels” today. Rebekah traveled through the desert on top of a camel, and we are traveling through the desert on today’s modern “camels.” According to Leviticus 11, a camel is unclean; yet it is useful. Many of today’s conveniences are not clean in the eyes of God. Nevertheless, they enable us to travel through the desert. When we meet Him, we shall leave the “camels.”

THE SON’S MARRIAGE

In a good sense, the son, Isaac, did nothing. This indicates that everything is planned by the Father and carried out by the Spirit. All the Son does is receive the bride.

Isaac received Rebekah at eventide (vv. 63-64). This implies that the marriage of Christ will be at the eventide of the age. At the close of this age, Christ will come to meet His bride.

Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent and loved her (v. 67). As we have seen, Sarah typifies grace. Hence, this means that Christ will meet us in grace as well as in love.

This chapter ends with the words, “Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” If I had been the writer, I would have said that Rebekah was comforted after her long journey. But the Bible does not say this. Do not consider your comfort, your satisfaction; rather, consider Christ’s comfort, Christ’s satisfaction. If Christ has no comfort and satisfaction, we cannot have any comfort and satisfaction either. Our satisfaction depends on His. Our comfort is His comfort, and His satisfaction is ours. Christ is now waiting for His comfort. When will He have it? On the day of His marriage. That day will come.

Abraham—Called by God: LIVING IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD THE MARRIAGE OF ISAAC A PRACTICAL LIVING IN ONENESS WITH THE LORD

24

LIVING IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD THE MARRIAGE OF ISAAC A PRACTICAL LIVING IN ONENESS WITH THE LORD

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: 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: but thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

Genesis 24:2-4

The Bible reveals that God’s eternal purpose is to express Himself through a corporate Body and that this purpose is fulfilled by the divine life. If we would probe into the depths of the book of Genesis, we must see these two things. In Genesis 1:26 we see that man was made in God’s image. The man here is not an individual man but a corporate man. We may say that it is mankind, a corporate Body that can express God’s image. In Genesis 2 we see that for the fulfillment of God’s purpose we must have the divine life signified by the tree of life. In these two chapters we have two crucial words—image and life. Image reveals God’s eternal purpose, and life unfolds God’s way of fulfilling His purpose. Never consider Genesis as merely the record of God’s creation and the history of some patriarchs. This view is too superficial. When we plunge into the depths of this book, we see that it is not merely a record of creation and history, but that it is a revelation of God’s eternal purpose and His way of fulfilling it.

With these two points in mind, let us now come to Genesis 24. Everyone who reads Genesis thinks of this chapter as the record of a marriage. However, the important thing here is not the marriage but what the marriage indicates, implies, and typifies. When we were on Genesis 1 and 2, we saw that those chapters are not only a record of God’s creation but a record of life. Everything found in those chapters is related to life. Anything that is not related to life is excluded. If you read those chapters carefully, you will see that many aspects of God’s creation are omitted because they are not related to life. In the same principle, only those aspects of Abraham’s history which are related to life are recorded in chapters twenty-one through twenty-four.

The entire book of Genesis, a book of only fifty chapters, covers over twenty-three hundred years, the first twenty-three centuries of human history. If Genesis were a record of history, it would need hundreds of chapters to cover this span of time. The fact that such a long period is covered in just fifty chapters proves that Genesis is not a record of history. I say again that although Genesis apparently is a record of history, it actually is a record showing God’s eternal purpose and the way of fulfilling it by life. Anything which is not related to God’s purpose and its fulfillment by life is not recorded in this book.

Chapters twenty-one through twenty-four, covering forty years (25:20), mention five main things: the birth of Isaac, the growth of Isaac, the offering of Isaac, the death and burial of Sarah, and the marriage of Isaac. Although this record is brief, it is very meaningful. Here we see a proper birth and the proper growth. This birth and growth produced a burnt offering for God’s satisfaction. After the birth and growth in chapter twenty-one, we have the burnt offering in chapter twenty-two. Then, as we have seen, in chapter twenty-three we have the death of Sarah and a detailed account of her burial. Following this, in chapter twenty-four, we see a wonderful marriage. But this chapter is not merely the record of a marriage; it is a story which has a deep meaning and significance in life.

According to the common understanding of most Christians, the main point of this chapter is that Isaac is a type of Christ as the Bridegroom and that Rebekah is a type of the church as the bride. However, this is not the main point. The primary point is the practical living in oneness with the Lord for the fulfilling of God’s purpose. We should not understand the Bible according to our common knowledge or tradition, but come back to the pure Word. Whenever we read any portion of the Scriptures, we must forget all we have learned in the past and look to the Lord for something new. Fifty years ago I read Genesis 24 carefully, doing my best to remember every point. Nevertheless, when I come to this chapter now, I do not care for what I had in the past. I like to come to this portion of the Word as if I were reading it for the first time. I can testify that just recently I have seen something new in this chapter.

Have you ever realized that in Genesis 24 we can see a practical living in oneness with the Lord? As we have seen, God has a purpose, and the way to fulfill His purpose is by life. These are the two governing points in understanding the Bible. If we would understand Genesis 24, we must apply these two governing points. Why does Genesis 24 give us such a record of Isaac’s marriage? If we only read chapter twenty-four we cannot see the purpose of this record. In order to answer this question we must read the three foregoing chapters. Genesis 21:12 says, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called.” God called Abraham with a purpose. For the fulfillment of this purpose, God promised to give Abraham the good land and the seed which would inherit the land. God’s eternal purpose is to express Himself in a corporate way. In order to have this corporate expression, God must have a people. This people is the seed of Abraham. Furthermore, in order to have the people to express God corporately there is the need of the land. What then is the purpose of the marriage in Genesis 24? Is it simply that a single man might have a happy, comfortable life? No. If you consider the Bible as a whole, you will see that Isaac’s marriage was altogether for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose. Without marriage, how could Isaac have brought forth the seed? If this single man was to have seed for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose, he had to get married. After Abraham had been tested in chapter twenty-two, God said, “In blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (22:17-18). Here we also have the seed for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. Thus, Isaac’s marriage was not common nor merely for his human living; it was for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose.

ABRAHAM

Abraham’s living was a practical living in oneness with the Lord. Abraham did not suddenly have a vision in which God told him that He had a high purpose to carry out on earth, that He needed him, and that Isaac had to be married in order for God’s purpose to be fulfilled. There is no such vision in chapter twenty-four. Rather, the record in Genesis is common and human. According to this record, a man had a son in his old age. When this son was thirty-seven years old, the wife and mother died, and the father buried her in a very meaningful way. The father and the son, both of whom were now unmarried, were left alone, living together in that sad condition for three years. The son might have said, “Father, where is my mother?” and the father might have replied, “Son, where is your wife?” The father was burdened to take care of his son. Perhaps he said, “I have lost my wife, and my son is now forty years of age. This surely is the right time for him to get married. But we are surrounded by Canaanites, none of whom would ever be accepted by God.” There is no record that God said, “Abraham, let Me charge you to send someone to your own country to get a wife for Isaac. I will never allow you to take a Canaanite woman as a wife for your son.” Although there is no record of God’s saying this, Abraham did have this understanding. From where did he derive it? It came from his living in accordance with God’s concept.

Abraham was a man who lived in oneness with God. If I live in oneness with a certain brother day after day, there will be no need for him to tell me of many things. I will already know what he likes and what he does not like, what pleases him and what offends him. If I love him and live in oneness with him, whatever I say and do will be in accordance with his likes or dislikes. I am sorry to say that many Christians do not live in oneness with God. When important matters arise, they kneel down and pray, “O Lord, what is Your will?” Eventually, they do not follow God’s will but their own concept. We do not know God’s will by praying in such a way. If we would know God’s will, we must live in oneness with Him. If we live in oneness with Him, He will not need to tell us what He desires, because we shall already know it by being one with Him.

Although Abraham was desperate to take care of his son’s marriage, he would not accept a Canaanite as Isaac’s wife. If we had been Abraham, we might have taken the easy way and said, “There are many girls here in the land of Canaan. Why can’t I choose one of them as the wife for my son? There may be one very nearby.” Abraham did not think this way, but sent his oldest servant far away, back to the country from where he came, to find a wife for Isaac. Although God never told Abraham to do this, what Abraham did was according to God’s inner will and concept. As we have seen, Abraham knew God’s will and mind because he was living in practical oneness with Him.

Abraham was not the only person who had such a living. All those mentioned in this chapter were living in an atmosphere of oneness with God. Abraham, the oldest servant, Rebekah, Laban, Bethuel, and Isaac were all living in oneness with God. I hope that everyone in the churches will see that we need such a living for the fulfillment of God’s purpose today. We do not need to pray and seek after God’s will; we need to live in oneness with God. When we live in oneness with Him, we shall share His concept, and whatever we think and do will be in accordance with His feeling. God will not need to say anything, for we shall sense what He senses, knowing His inner feeling because we live in oneness with Him.

MOVING IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD’S ECONOMY • Abraham moved in accordance with God’s economy (vv. 3-8). What he did in obtaining a wife for Isaac was for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose. We long to see that all the marriages in the churches will be for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. This kind of marriage requires a daily living in oneness with God. Young brothers, if everything you do is in accordance with God’s economy, even your marriage will be the carrying out of His economy. You need to say, “Lord, what I am doing here today must be in accordance with Your economy. I am single now, but one day I will be married. May my marriage be for Your economy.” This is the main revelation in Genesis 24. The primary thing in this chapter is not that Isaac is a type of Christ as the Bridegroom and that Rebekah is a type of the church as the bride. I say again that the primary thing revealed here is the practical living in accordance with God’s economy for the carrying out of His eternal purpose. We need a life which resembles that of Abraham. His motive, action, and everything he did were in accordance with God’s economy.

I doubt that Abraham was as clear about God’s economy as we are today. Nevertheless, he told his servant that God had called him, had promised to give the land to his seed, and that the servant had to go to his country to find a wife for Isaac. In the light of the whole Bible, we can see that this was the carrying out of God’s economy. How we need such a life today! Our motive, action, and all we do must be the carrying out of God’s economy. This does not simply require that we know God’s will and then do certain things. No, we need a daily living that is in oneness with God. We must be this kind of person. If we are such a person, whatever we say will be God’s expression, and whatever we do will be for the fulfillment of His purpose. This is the life that we need for the church life today. Do not say, “Oh, I don’t know the Lord’s will concerning my marriage or my schooling. I must fast and pray for three days and nights.” Let me tell you honestly that although I tried this for years, it never worked very well.

Consider the example of Abraham, the first of God’s called ones. Since he was the first called one, we see in his case the principle of the first mention. Abraham did not act in today’s traditional, religious way, fasting and praying to seek the Lord’s will. He did not suddenly have a dream in which he saw Rebekah in the land of Chaldea waiting for Abraham’s servant. As verse 40 indicates, Abraham walked before the Lord. As a person walking in the presence of the Lord, he did not need to fast or pray in order to know God’s will. Since he walked in the Lord’s presence, whatever he did was God’s will and according to God’s economy.

CHARGING HIS SERVANT WITH THE LORD • Abraham did not charge his servant to be faithful, honest, or to do a good work; he charged him with and by the Lord (vv. 2-3, 9, 40-41). Here we see that the atmosphere in which Abraham lived was the Lord Himself. By charging his servant with the Lord, he brought him deep into the Lord. Likewise, we should not charge people with our wisdom or even with our love, but with the Lord.

BELIEVING IN THE SOVEREIGN LORD • Abraham believed in the sovereign Lord, telling his servant that the Lord would send His angel with him and prosper his way (v. 40). Abraham seemed to be saying, “God will send His angel before you. Although I am sending you to do the job, I believe in God. In a sense, I don’t believe that you can accomplish this work, but I trust in the living God. You don’t need to be burdened or to worry. Just go and do the job, for my God will send His angel to do the work for you.” What a life Abraham had! If we had been Abraham, we might have said, “My servant, you must realize that I have passed through many experiences. Let me now give you a map and tell you of the people and their customs.” Abraham did not do this. Rather, he only charged his servant to serve by the Lord, assuring him that God would send His angel before him and prosper his way. Here we see Abraham’s living faith.

THE OLDEST SERVANT

FAITHFUL IN RESPONSIBILITYFAbraham’s oldest servant was faithful in responsibility (vv. 5, 9, 33, 54, 56). He followed Abraham’s footsteps in being faithful. I believe that he was infused by and with Abraham’s life, seeing how Abraham did everything by trusting in the Lord. As a result, the servant also trusted in Him.

TRUSTING IN THE LORD FOR HIS RESPONSIBILITY • Abraham’s servant trusted in the Lord for his responsibility (vv. 12, 21, 42). He prayed to the Lord in a clear, humble, yet simple way. Everyone who truly believes in God is simple. When he came to the well near the city of Nahor, he prayed, saying, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good success this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: and let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also; let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master” (vv. 12-14, Heb.). His prayer was answered immediately. Before he had even finished speaking, Rebekah came with her pitcher upon her shoulder. When he asked her for a drink, she not only gave him a drink but also drew water for all his camels. After she had done this, the servant was clear that Rebekah was the one and he gave her a ring and two bracelets.

LOOKING FOR THE LORD’S LEADING IN THE ENVIRONMENT • The servant knew the Lord’s will by looking for His leading in the environment (vv. 13-21, 26-27, 48-49). We also can see God’s sovereignty in our environment. No one told the servant to go to the city of Nahor, the city of Abraham’s brother. He just went there and at the well he met Rebekah, Nahor’s granddaughter. Nothing was accidental; everything was ordained before the foundation of the world and was carried out through Abraham’s servant, a man who trusted in God.

REBEKAH

CHASTE, KIND, AND DILIGENT • In verse 16 we are told that Rebekah was “very fair to look upon, a virgin.” Rebekah was chaste and pure. She was also kind and diligent (vv. 18-20). When Abraham’s servant asked for a drink, she immediately gave it to him. She also drew water for his camels. It was hard work for a young woman to draw water out of the well and pour it into the trough for ten camels to drink, but she did it. If the young sisters want to be under God’s sovereignty, especially with respect to their marriage, they need to be kind and diligent. Any young woman who is unkind and sloppy should remain single. When people ask you to do one thing, you must do two things for them. And the second thing should far surpass the first thing. You should not only give a man water to drink, but should also draw water for his ten camels. If you do this, you will be qualified to obtain your husband, your Isaac. This is some advice to all the young single sisters.

ABSOLUTE • Rebekah was absolute (vv. 57-58, 61). Although Rebekah had never seen Isaac, she was willing to go to him without hesitation. She did not say to her mother, “Mother, I have never seen Isaac. Perhaps I should correspond with him first and afterward have him pay us a visit. Then I could decide whether or not to marry him.” Rebekah did not talk in this way. Although her brother and mother were hesitating, wanting her to stay for at least ten days, she said, “I will go.” She was absolute.

During the past forty years, I have seen a number of young sisters who developed mental problems as a result of considering marriage. Some spent days, weeks, months, and even years considering whether a particular brother was the one whom God had prepared for them. When such sisters came to me, I said, with a rebuking tone, “If you feel he is the brother, marry him blindly. But if he is not the one, forget about him and don’t talk about it. The more you consider, the more you bother God, yourself, and me. How can I tell you yes or no? If I say yes, you will say that I do not know him well. If I say no, you will feel unhappy because you have already fallen in love with him. Don’t think about it anymore. Either marry him or forget about him.” I was serious in telling them this. Young sisters, if you want to be married, you must learn to be kind, diligent, and absolute.

SUBMISSIVE • Rebekah was also submissive (vv. 64-65). When she saw Isaac and realized who he was, “she took a veil, and covered herself.” Sisters, do not put a piece of cloth on your head as a decoration or ornament. It must be a sign of your submission. Once you are married, you are no longer your own head. Your husband is your head, and your head must be covered. This is the true meaning of marriage.

LABAN AND BETHUEL

Laban and Bethuel were in the fear of the Lord (vv. 29-31). They were also very hospitable (vv. 31-33). Hospitality often brings in the greatest blessing. For Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel and the sister of Laban, to become Isaac’s wife was a great blessing. That blessing was secured by their being hospitable. If they had not been hospitable but rather had rejected Abraham’s servant, that wonderful marriage would never have taken place. Furthermore, they accepted the Lord’s sovereignty, saying, “The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good” (vv. 50-51, 55-60). Laban and Bethuel recognized that this was the Lord’s doing and that they had no right to say anything about it. Here we see the atmosphere of their life, a life in oneness with God.

ISAAC

Isaac was not a man of activity, for he did not do anything. He simply dwelt by a well, by a place of living water. Verse 63 says, “Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide.” Translators of the Bible are bothered about the rendering of the Hebrew in this verse. Some versions interpret it as meaning that Isaac went to the field to pray, and others say that he went to the field to worship. It might have been that Isaac was meditating in the presence of the Lord, possibly considering his marriage. He had lost his mother, did not have a wife, and the most trustworthy servant had gone on a journey. Isaac did not know if the servant would ever come back. The family had no safety or security, and he was in a desperate situation. Hence, he went out to the field to seek the Lord and meditate before God. While he was meditating, Rebekah came. After the servant had told Isaac all that had happened, Isaac took what his father had done for him and married Rebekah (vv. 66-67). His marriage was an inheritance, not a strife. He did not strive for a wife; he inherited what his father had done for him. He did not do a thing to get a wife. He only took what the father had secured for him. Acting in this way, he was one with the Lord that the purpose of God might be fulfilled in him. He had a real and solid marriage without a wedding ceremony.

FULFILLING THE PURPOSE OF GOD

Isaac’s marriage eventually fulfilled the purpose of God (21:12b; 22:17-18). The life of those in this chapter was not merely for their own human living; it was a life that issued in the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose, a life which brought forth Christ and produced the kingdom of God for God’s economy.