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 Gen. 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 Gen. 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 Gen. 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'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.
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.
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.
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.
Abraham'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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
Isaac's marriage eventually fulfilled the purpose of God (Gen. 21:12b; Gen. 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.
