This chapter primarily reveals the practical living of God’s people in oneness with God for the accomplishing of His eternal purpose. The marriage of Isaac was not merely for his human living; it was altogether for the producing of a people, the seed of Abraham, for the fulfillment of God’s purpose (Gen. 22:17). Thus, in the gaining of a wife for Isaac, everything was done according to God’s economy to bring forth Christ for the producing of the kingdom of God.

This chapter also presents a rich type of the marriage of Christ, typified by Isaac, and the church, typified by Rebekah.

In this account of the marriage of Isaac, Abraham typifies God the Father, the servant typifies God the Spirit, Isaac typifies God the Son, and Rebekah typifies the chosen people of God, who will marry the Son and become His counterpart. The entire New Testament is 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 (John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25-32; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2, 9-10). In eternity past God the Father had an eternal purpose and made an eternal plan to gain the church as a bride for His Son out of the human race (Eph. 3:8-11). Then, in time, God the Father commissioned God the Spirit to carry out His plan by going to contact the chosen bride and bring her to God the Son to be His counterpart, His wife.

There is no record that God told Abraham not to take a wife for his son from among the Canaanite women (cf. Deut. 7:1-4). Because Abraham lived in oneness with God (v. 40a), he knew God’s will and mind and acted in accordance with God’s inner feeling (cf. 1 Cor. 7:25 and note 1 Cor. 7:25¹; 2 Cor. 2:10 and note 2 Cor. 2:10³; Phil. 1:8 and note Phil. 1:8^1c).

In typology, the fact that Isaac’s bride was taken from Abraham’s relatives indicates that the counterpart of Christ must come from Christ’s race, not from the angels or from any other creatures (Gen. 2:18-23 and notes). Since Christ was incarnated to be a man (Heb. 2:14a), humanity has become His race.

Abraham’s word to his servant in vv. 6-8 and v. 40 indicates that he lived by faith in the sovereign Lord for the carrying out of His economy in the land of God’s promise.

Meaning Aram of the two rivers; i.e., Mesopotamia.

The servant’s prayer here indicates that he followed in Abraham’s footsteps, trusting in the Lord for the carrying out of his responsibility (vv. 21, 42).

Rebekah was chaste, kind, and diligent. She was also absolute in her decision to take Isaac as her husband (vv. 57-58, 61) and was submissive to Isaac (vv. 64-65). As such, she is an excellent type of the church as the bride, the wife, of Christ.

These gifts, sent from Isaac and given by the servant of Abraham, the father, signify the riches of Christ given by the Spirit of God to the bride for the accomplishing of God’s purpose. These gifts relate to the function of the believers. Gold signifies the divine nature, and a ring signifies the initial gift of the Spirit (Acts 2:38), which is the Spirit Himself as a seal and a pledge, a foretaste of God as our eternal portion (Eph. 1:13-14; cf. Luke 15:22). The function of the nose is to smell. The putting of the nose-ring upon Rebekah’s nose (v. 47) signifies, spiritually, that her “smelling” function had been caught by the divine nature (cf. 2 Cor. 2:14-16; Heb. 6:4-6; 1 Pet. 2:2-3; 2 Pet. 1:4). Hands are for working (see note 1 Tim. 2:8^3b). The putting of the bracelets on Rebekah’s hands signifies the receiving of the divine function for the service in the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:4).

The half shekel signifies the first taste, the foretaste, of the Spirit, which guarantees that the full taste is coming (Rom. 8:23; 2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13-14). The ten shekels, ten signifying fullness, or completeness (e.g., the Ten Commandments, which express God’s demand in full), indicate that the divine function we have received of the Spirit is complete, not partial (1 Cor. 12:4-11).

Lit., he.

The gold nose-ring and bracelets (v. 22), the silver and gold jewelry, and the clothing given to Rebekah, along with the precious things given to her brother and her mother, symbolize the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8). The servant testified to Rebekah concerning Isaac’s riches, which he inherited from his father (vv. 35-36), and gave some of these riches to Rebekah as a foretaste. This caused Rebekah to be attracted to Isaac and made her willing to leave her father’s house to be his wife (v. 58) even though she had never seen him. In the same manner the Spirit comes to Christ’s believers and testifies to them of the riches of Christ, which He has received from the Father (John 16:13-15), causing them to be attracted to Christ and to love Him, to forsake the world, and to leave their natural relations in the flesh to be joined to Christ (Matt. 19:29), even though they have never seen Him (1 Pet. 1:8). Before Rebekah met Isaac in the good land, she had participated in and enjoyed Isaac’s inheritance through the servant’s gifts. Likewise, before we meet Christ, we enjoy the gifts of the Spirit as a foretaste of the full taste of His riches (Heb. 6:4; Rom. 8:23).

Lit., from her mouth.

Or, him.

Meaning well of the living One who sees me, or well of the One who reveals Himself.

Isaac, Abraham’s son, did nothing but receive his bride. This signifies that everything is planned by the Father and accomplished by the Spirit. The Son only receives the bride.

Isaac received Rebekah in the evening (v. 63), signifying that the marriage of Christ will be at the evening, the close, of this age. Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent of Sarah, his mother, and loved Rebekah, signifying that Christ will receive His bride in grace (typified by Sarah) as well as in love. After marrying Rebekah, Isaac was comforted, satisfied; likewise, Christ will be satisfied on the day of His marriage.