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Both Sarah and Rebekah came from the idolatrous land of Chaldea (Gen. 11:31; 24:4) to the place of God’s promise. One became the mother-in-law and symbolizes the new covenant of grace; the other became the daughter-in-law and symbolizes the church of the New Testament.
Sarah, Abraham’s wife, and Hagar, Abraham’s concubine, symbolize two covenants (Gal. 4:24). Hagar symbolizes the old covenant of law, and Sarah, the new covenant of grace. That is, Sarah symbolizes grace, which originally was to be given to man by God (Rom. 5:15); Hagar symbolizes the law, which was added later (Rom. 5:20). Those who desire to keep the law by themselves are brought under slavery by the law (Gal. 4:24b; 5:3). Those who inherit grace by faith (Gal. 4:23b, 30b) are made sons of freedom by grace. The old covenant, symbolized by Hagar, is from Mount Sinai, which belongs to the law and brings forth children unto slavery. The new covenant, symbolized by Sarah, is from the Jerusalem above, which is free and belongs to grace, and which brings forth children of God that they might be His heirs. She is the mother of the New Testament believers. We are not children of the maidservant, Hagar, who symbolizes the old covenant, and we are not under the slavery of law. Rather, we are children of the free woman, Sarah, who symbolizes the new covenant, and we enjoy all the riches of Christ in grace.
Sarah symbolizes the new covenant of grace; that is, she symbolizes the heavenly Jerusalem, the Jerusalem above, as the mother of the believers (Gal. 4:26). Thus, this woman Sarah, as the wife, symbolizes the new covenant and grace, the content of the new covenant; she also symbolizes the Jerusalem above, and our mother. The wife, like the New Jerusalem, which is the wife of the Lamb (Rev. 21:2, 9), is the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22). This heavenly Jerusalem, the Jerusalem above, is our mother, the grace through which we were born. This grace is the content of the new covenant (just as the law is the content of the old covenant—John 1:17). And this new covenant is the woman. Therefore, these six items—the woman, the wife, the new covenant, the grace of the new covenant, the Jerusalem above, and our mother—are all matters of the spiritual life that pertain to the union of the Triune God with man to produce the believers for the constituting of the church.
Sarah is a positive, spiritual model in the matter of submitting to her husband. When Abraham went down to Egypt because of the famine, he said to Sarah, his wife, “Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee” (Gen. 12:11-13). A weak Abraham lied by telling the truth (Gen. 20:11-13), sacrificing his wife in order to save his own life. And yet Sarah accepted his idea, completely obeying and submitting herself to her husband. Later, Abraham repeated his old failure of sacrificing his wife in order to save himself. Sarah again obeyed and submitted herself to him and did not complain at all (Gen. 20:1-2).
Sarah obeyed and submitted herself to her husband with a meek and quiet spirit (1 Pet. 3:4). She not only obeyed Abraham but also submitted herself to him, even calling him “my lord” (Gen. 18:12). Thus she became a positive, spiritual model. Therefore, the holy women who hope in God and who submit themselves to their husbands are her daughters (1 Pet. 3:5-6).
However, Sarah, who submitted herself to her husband, is a negative model in the matter of proposing that her husband take Hagar as a concubine (Gen. 16:1-3). God had repeatedly promised Abraham that he would have a seed and that he would personally bring forth a son (Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 15:4-5), yet Sarah was not able to bear children. Because of this, she proposed to Abraham that he should go in to her maid, Hagar, to have a son through her (Gen. 16:2). This was altogether a proposal of the flesh. Eventually, Abraham accepted Sarah’s proposal, took Hagar as his concubine, and begot Ishmael through her (Gen. 16:15). This is a warning to all women who hope in God, namely, that they should not make any proposals according to the flesh to their husbands; and it is a warning to the husbands also, namely, that they should not listen to the fleshly proposals of their wives. Otherwise, they will produce “Ishmaels” out of their flesh, who will lust against the “Isaacs” born of God’s promise. This is to sow according to the flesh and reap corruption of the flesh; for whatever a man sows, this he shall also reap (7, Gal. 6:8).
Sarah symbolizes grace, which produces the believers for the constituting of the church, whereas Rebekah symbolizes the church, which is produced by grace. Grace comes out of God the Father (2 Tim. 1:9), and the church belongs to Christ (1 Cor. 3:23) and is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). In Rebekah we can see that the church, symbolized by Rebekah, has the following four characteristics.
Rebekah was chosen to be the wife of Isaac by the old servant, who was sent forth by Isaac’s father, Abraham, to the land where Abraham was called by God (Gen. 24:1-4). When Abraham was old and well advanced in age, he said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.” Here Abraham typifies God the Father, the old servant typifies the Holy Spirit, Isaac typifies Christ, and Abraham’s country and kindred indicate the place of fallen men and the fallen human race, respectively. Therefore, Abraham’s finding a wife for his son signifies that the church is chosen for Christ out of the fallen people by the Holy Spirit, who was sent by God the Father to the place of fallen men.
As the old servant had hoped, Rebekah gave him a drink and also drew water for his ten camels. So the old servant took a golden ring and two golden bracelets and gave them to Rebekah (Gen. 24:17-22). Afterward, when the old servant went to her house, he brought forth more articles of silver and of gold, and raiment, and gave them to her (Gen. 24:53). The golden ring of half a shekel typifies the Holy Spirit as our foretaste. The two golden bracelets of ten shekels put on her hands typify that the gift of life that we have received of the Holy Spirit can fulfill the requirements of God’s commandments and fully carry out the divine function. And the articles of silver, the articles of gold, and the raiment signify the riches of Christ. Therefore, Rebekah’s receiving of the golden ring, the golden bracelets, and more articles of silver and of gold, and raiment, signify the church’s receiving of the Holy Spirit and the gift of life from the Holy Spirit, and its enjoyment of the riches of Christ.
After Rebekah received and enjoyed the riches, the old servant wanted to go back immediately to his master’s place. Rebekah’s brother and mother considered keeping them there for a few more days, but Rebekah was willing to leave her father’s house and her country immediately and go forth to the land of God’s promise to be Isaac’s wife. So they sent her and Abraham’s servant and his men away (Gen. 24:54-59). This signifies the church’s willingness to be separated from its relatives in the flesh and from the world.
Rebekah was given to Isaac and became one flesh with him (cf. Gen. 2:24). Thus, Isaac was comforted (Gen. 24:67), and Rebekah enjoyed all the riches that Isaac inherited from his father (Gen. 25:5). This signifies that the church is given to Christ and becomes one with Christ to be His counterpart, bringing satisfaction to Him and enjoying all the riches that He has inherited from God the Father (John 16:15).
Rebekah gave birth to twins. The older one, Esau, was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, and the younger one, Jacob, was a quiet man who dwelt in tents (Gen. 25:27, lit.). Rebekah’s love was partial toward Jacob (Gen. 25:28). Thus, when Isaac was about to bless the firstborn son, she taught Jacob how to cheat his father (Gen. 27:1-17) in order to obtain the blessing. This sowed the seed of hatred between Jacob and his brother, Esau. Eventually, Rebekah had no alternative but to send away the son whom she loved in partiality, that he might flee to her brother’s place (Gen. 27:41-45). For this she found an excuse and manipulated her husband, asking him to send Jacob to the place where she came from, that he might take a woman for his wife (Gen. 27:46—28:2). She probably never saw her beloved son again for the remainder of her life. All these things constitute a negative model. This model shows that the sisters who are mothers should not have a partial love toward their children or teach them to cheat their fathers in order to obtain blessings, thus bringing discord to the family life. It shows also that sisters who are wives should not try to find an excuse to manipulate their husbands; such manipulating might cause the children to leave home and wander about.
Both Sarah and Rebekah came from the idolatrous land of Chaldea to the place of God’s promise. One became the mother-in-law and symbolizes the new covenant of grace; the other became the daughter-in-law and symbolizes the church of the New Testament. Sarah, Abraham’s wife, and Hagar, Abraham’s concubine, symbolize two covenants. Hagar symbolizes the old covenant of law, which brings forth children unto slavery; Sarah symbolizes the new covenant of grace, which is free and which brings forth children of God that they might be His heirs. This woman, Sarah, as the wife, symbolizes the new covenant, the grace of the new covenant, the Jerusalem above, and our mother. These six items are all matters of the spiritual life relating to the union of the Triune God with man to produce the believers for the constituting of the church. Sarah is a positive, spiritual model in the matter of submitting to her husband, but she is a model on the negative side in the matter of proposing that her husband take Hagar as a concubine. Rebekah symbolizes the church, which is produced by grace. In her we can see that the church, which she symbolizes, has the following four characteristics: the church was chosen for Christ out of the fallen people through God the Father’s sending of the Holy Spirit to the place of fallen men; the church receives the Holy Spirit and the gift of life from the Holy Spirit and enjoys the riches of Christ; the church is willing to be separated from its relatives in the flesh and from the world; and the church is given to Christ to be His counterpart, bringing satisfaction to Him and enjoying all the riches that He has inherited from God the Father. In her partial love toward Jacob, in teaching him to cheat his father in order to obtain the blessing, and in finding an excuse to manipulate her husband, asking him to send Jacob to the place where she came from, Rebekah is a model on the negative side.
