Good morning again. Let's open
our Bibles together to Genesis chapter 24. Genesis 24. Pray the Lord would enable me tell you
a love story this morning. Here in Genesis 24, we have the
account of Abraham sending his servant to seek a bride for his
son, Isaac. Now, time and time again, we're
reminded that no picture No picture is perfect. You know, the very
fact that although Almighty God uses parables
and the Lord Jesus Christ, He taught in parables. But the very
fact that we use flesh and blood in these stories is enough to
make them weak and imperfect. The fact that they occur in this
earth, which is filled with sin. But throughout the Word, Almighty
God uses earthly stories and people to illustrate heavenly
truths. The key to these things, the
key to these pictures, is finding Christ. is seeing Christ in him. I remember a story told once
of a young preacher and after the message he was anxious to
get to the back and get some feedback. And he asked one of
the elders or maybe the pastor, how'd that go? And he just kind
of shook his head. He said, I don't understand.
I had good notes. I had good illustrations. And
he said, son, what you were missing was Christ. We must see Him. We must see the Lord Jesus Christ. And here in Genesis 24, again,
we have the account of Abraham's servant being sent to seek that
bride for his son. And we see four people. Four
people in this account. We see Abraham. Abraham, who
represents Almighty God. Isaac, a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ, that servant, that servant that goes about a minister
of the gospel, one going forth preaching the gospel, and then
Rebekah, every true believer, the bride. Now, let's read together
here beginning in Genesis 24. Look beginning with verse 1.
Abraham was old and well stricken in age, and the Lord had blessed
Abraham in all things. 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." Now here
we see Abraham was, he said God had blessed him in all things.
Abraham was wealthy and his son Isaac would be heir to all that
he possessed. All that Abraham had. And Abraham
sends his, notice he sends his eldest servant. No doubt his
most trusted servant. That servant that had been with
him for many years. One he knew that he could obviously
depend on and count on to find a bride for Isaac. What a task. What a task to find that bride.
A bride who would share with Him all the riches and all the
glory of this kingdom. And the Lord Jesus Christ, the
only begotten of the Father, the only begotten Son of God's
love, He is heir of all things. All that the Father possesses,
He possesses. It says the Father hath given
all things into His hands. That's what John 35 says. John
3, 35. The Father loveth the Son and
hath given all things into His hands. Not just some of it, all
of it. All things. Turn with me to Colossians. The book of Colossians. Colossians 1, look beginning with verse 16
of Colossians 1. Here we read, for by him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible, those things
we can see, invisible, those things we do not see. Whether
they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,
all things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before
all things. And by Him, all things exist. He's the head of the body, the
church, who is the beginning. the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he might have preemptance. He's Lord, he's
King, by design, by decree, by his death. And the scriptures
declare that God has chosen. You hear that? He has chosen
out of every tribe, every nation, every kindred, people, of people
to be his son's bride. In John 13, verse 18, I speak
not of you all. I'm not talking about every,
every son of Adam. I know whom I have chosen, huh? An elect, an elect people. John 15, verse 16, you've not
chosen me, but I have chosen you. John 15 verse 19, he said,
you're the world. The world would love his own,
but because you're not of this world, how's that possible? I have chosen you out of this
world. A people chosen to be his bride,
a bride for his son. And as a bride, a joint heir
to all that he has. joint heirs with Him of all that
He purchased and all that He owns. Turn with me to Romans
chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. Look at verse 14 beginning with
our 14 as many as are led by the Spirit of God They are the
sons of God for you've not received the spirit of bondage again to
fear But you receive the spirit of adoption whereby we cry have
a father the spirit itself Beareth witness with our spirit that
we are the children of God and if children then heirs heirs
of God and joint heirs with Christ, if so that we suffer with Him,
that we may also be glorified together. By nature, we're the
children of wrath, but by His grace, children of God, joint
heirs. Think about it. Let that settle
in from joint heirs with Christ. And listen, as an heir, as a
true heir, all that we have, all that we receive is by virtue
of His relationship to us, our relationship to Him, an inheritance. Now think about it. On this earth,
Men and women, they receive an inheritance sometimes, right? If you don't upset somebody in
the family and get written out of the will, or maybe by the
time all the bills are paid, there's nothing left. The inheritance
of this earth is not much, is it? But listen to this inheritance. It's incorruptible. It's undefiled. It fadeth not away, and it's
reserved in heaven for us." He says, for you, for you. And listen, the Father Almighty
God, He calls and equips and He sends forth His servants,
those who preach the gospel, sends them forth out into the
world searching for that bride. Telling
about the Son, talking about Him. He sends them forth to His
sheep, His church, Christ's bride. He said this, He said, Go ye
into all the world and preach the gospel. Paul said, He sent
me not to baptize, not to get people on the church
roll, not to do things for me to glory,
he sent me to preach the gospel. We tell men, be ye reconciled
to God. Your sins have separated you
from God. Be ye reconciled. Now back to our text, back here
in Genesis 24. Listen to the servant's question. Genesis 24. He's got some questions
here to his master. Look beginning
with verse 5. And the servant said unto him,
Peradventure, the woman will not be willing to follow me unto
this land. Must thy needs bring thy son
again into the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said
unto him, Beware that thou bring not my son hither again. The
Lord God of heaven which took me out of my father's house and
from the land of my kindred and which spake unto me and swear
unto me saying unto thy seed will I give this land. He shall
send his angel before thee and thou shalt take a wife unto my
son from thence. And if the woman will not be
willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this
mine oath, only bring not my son thither again. And the servant
put his hand under the thigh of Abraham, his master, and swearing
to him concerning this matter." What if the woman is unwilling
to leave her home? What if she's not willing to
leave her family? What if she's unwilling to give
herself to love and marry a man She's never seen before, huh? You know, that sounds like a
reasonable question, doesn't it? What was Abraham's answer? Think
about this. Abraham was, was he 100 years
old when Isaac was born? He'd seen something happen that,
no explaining, right? Abraham saw God deliver Isaac. Remember when he offered him
up? Take thy son, offer him up. Abraham obeyed God, didn't he?
He saw God stop him. And there's that ram in the thicket. He brings him down there and
he offers him in the place of his son. Substitution. That which is impossible with
man is possible. All things are possible with
God. What was Abraham's answer? He said, The Lord God of heaven
that took me from my father's house and from the land of my
kindred, which spake unto me, that swearing to me, saying,
Unto thy seed will I give this land. He. That same God. That same God that's declared
throughout the scriptures, He, He shall send His angel before
thee. And then listen to what He says,
Thou shalt. There's no maybe, is there? There's
no if, there's no no. Thou shalt take a wife unto my
son from thence. God's true preachers do not go
into this world alone. We don't persuade men to love
Christ, to believe Christ, to come to Christ by logic or by
reason, by clear speech or any special powers of persuasion. No. The Spirit of God goes before
giving life. How else could we hear? A dead
man can't hear, right? How else could we hear except
the Spirit of God give life in a dead sinner? To give the sinner
a hearing ear for the gospel, to open our eyes and let us see
Christ, a heart, a heart to love, to love Him. These things aren't
accomplished by man's doing, huh? No, by the Spirit of God. By the Spirit of God. In Psalm
110.3 we read this, thy people shall be made willing when in
the day of thy power. Paul said, I planted, Apollos
watered, but God, Almighty God gave the increase. Listen, that
bride had been chosen, huh? We're bound to give thanks always,
at all times, to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you unto salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. The
bride had been chosen, the servant, he's going to journey and endure
all things. to tell that bride of her beloved. Paul said, I endure all things
for the elect's sake. And his elect, his bride, is
going to hear that message. Going to hear that message. She's
going to hear the message of her beloved through a sermon,
through the preaching of the word. Turn to John chapter 10. John chapter 10. We read a portion of this earlier
in our Sunday school. Look at verse 23 of John 10. Jesus walked in the temple in
Solomon's porch. And the Jews, then came the Jews
round about him and said unto him, how long dost thou make
us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. And Jesus answered
them, he said, I told you, I told you, and you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me, but you believe not, because
ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. But listen, my sheep,
they hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and
I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand, My Father which
gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." Listen,
that bride, his bride, let there be no doubt. She's going to come
to him. She's going to be drawn to him.
She's going to be brought to him. All that the Father hath
given me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out. I came down from heaven not to
do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me, and this
is the will of him that sent me. And all which he hath given
me, I'll lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day. Turn back to our text, Genesis
24. We're beginning with verse 10. Genesis 24, verse 10. The servant
took ten camels to the camels of his master and departed, and
all the goods of his master were in his hand. He arose and went
to Mesopotamia under the city of Nahor. He made his camels
to kneel down without the city by the well of water at the time
of the evening. even at the time that the women
go out to draw water. And he said, listen to this prayer,
O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed
this day and show 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. 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'll 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. Abraham's servant
went to the place where the women came to draw water. And knowing
something of the great responsibility before him and the impossibility,
humanly speaking, the impossibility of this task, truly who is sufficient? Who
is sufficient for these things? He seeks divine help. He goes
to the Lord in prayer, seeking His will, seeking His direction. And listen, the opening of the
heart, the resurrection of the spiritually dead, the conviction
of sin, repentance toward God, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
These things are impossible with man, but with God, all things are
possible. We preach, but the Spirit of
God must reveal Christ to the heart. We teach to the head, but only God can open the heart. All who come to Christ and receive
him must be born of Almighty God. True repentance and saving
faith are not, listen, those aren't things to be exercised
by men. They're not the works of men.
They're the gift of Almighty God. For by grace are you saved. Through faith and that not of
yourselves is the gift of God. Not of works. lest any man should
boast." And we would, wouldn't we? Look at verse 51 of our text
here, Genesis 24. We're going to skip down a little
bit here. Look at verse 51. Behold, Rebekah is before thee. Take her and go. And let her
be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken." Now, Abraham's
servant, he was welcomed into Rebekah's home. But the message
still had to be declared, didn't it? He's not there to partake
in their comforts and in their hospitality. And in the same
manner, Christ's servants are to be taken up with the comforts
and honors of this world. No, we're to be taken up with
declaring Him. That's what He was sent to do,
wasn't it? To carry that message, to find
the bride. Paul said this in 1 Corinthians
2. He said, I determine not to do
anything among you, not to know anything among you, save Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. And this servant declared to
Rebecca and her family, Oh, wouldn't you have loved to have heard
that story? Listen, all the glory of Isaac
and his master, his master's house. We're able to hear that today,
aren't we? You all come here every week.
and hear that same message of the Lord Jesus Christ, of His
glory, of His Master's house. And listen, the people, they're
not taking up with the servant or anything about Him. Only Christ. Only Christ and Christ alone. I think it's kind of interesting
That he, this is, think about this, this is, this is Abraham's
eldest servant. I would think everybody knew
who Abraham's eldest servant was, but you know we don't even
read his name in scripture. That's not important, is it?
No, no, the message he declares, that's, that's what's important,
that's what's worth, his, his eldest servant's name isn't worth
nothing. All but the one he speaks of is worth knowing. He speaks of Isaac and his fathers. And listen, we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus our Lord. And listen, we are but just servants,
servants for Christ's sake. Let's read on in Genesis 24 here. Look over at verse 56. And he
said, unto them, hinder me not, hinder
me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way, send me away,
that I may go to my master. And they said, We'll call the
damsel, and we'll inquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah,
and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? I love that. I love that. But
this is what I love even more. And she said, I will go. I will go. That's the question to the bride.
Will you go? Think about, listen, she'd never
seen Isaac. Her eyes, she'd never seen Isaac.
She'd only heard what the servant had spoke of him. What the servant had said of
his master's son. Wilt thou go with him? And listen,
that can be translated, that phrase. Wilt thou go with him? It means this. Will you go with
him? Will you live with him? Will you die with him? That's commitment, isn't it?
A commitment. Rebecca, will, and listen, the
question's not to anyone else in that house. It's to her. Will you go? And she said, I'll go. Rebecca, will you leave family? Will you leave all that you know
for him? I will go. I will go. Faith in
Christ. Salvation in Christ. Listen. That's an individual thing. It's a personal thing. And listen,
it's a commitment. It's a commitment to Him. Resting
in Him. I think Henry used to say, lock,
stock and barrel. Knowing the true God of the Bible
and Jesus Christ, it's a personal experience. As God is pleased
to reveal Himself to his bride. Paul, in Galatians 1.15, he said,
Please God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called
me by His grace to reveal His Son in me. Rebecca said, I'll go. I will
go. You still have Genesis 24. Look
at verse 64. Somewhere, somewhere along this
journey, look here at verse 64, somewhere along this journey
we read that, look, Rebekah lifted up her eyes and when she saw
Isaac, she lighted off her camel when she saw him. I imagine along that journey
they probably passed Many, you know, maybe men working out in
the field did. Is that him? When she saw him, there was no
question, was there? She said she lighted off her
candle. Well, how did she know it was him? How could she be
so sure? Because of what the servant had
told her, what had been revealed to her. She'd been given eyes
to see him. Isaac was revealed to her. I
can't help but wonder, was she thinking the same thing that
the Queen of Sheba said over there in 1 Kings? Remember when
she saw Solomon in all his glory? And she said this, she said,
the half, the half wasn't even told. We look now by eyes of
faith. Oh, but when we see Him, The
half, it won't even be half, will it? In our text, we read that Rebecca
covered her face with a veil. Now that's some type of, I believe,
tradition. But she covered her face, maybe
out of modesty, maybe out of subjection to Him. In Isaiah
6, we read in the Scriptures that in the presence of the Lord,
the seraphims, They covered their faces in modesty and humility. Listen,
in something of our unworthiness to stand before Him. Now quickly, look with me at
the last verse of Genesis 24. I told you this was a love story.
Look there at verse 67. Isaac brought her. brought Rebecca
into his mother's tent and took Rebecca and she became his wife
and he loved her. Isaac was comforted after his
mother's death. He loved her. Now listen, we
would do well We would do well to love our wives. That's clear.
That's clear in the scriptures. Clear in God's word. A love that's,
listen, a strong affection, providing all things necessary, protecting
them, concealing their faults, promoting their spiritual good,
a love that's evident, listen, not just in public, but in private
as well. A love that exceeds that for
our friends, our neighbors, even our parents. The scriptures say
that so shall a man leave his mother and father and cleave
to his wife. The only thing it does not exceed
is our love for God, our love for Christ. They're a helpmate,
a companion, their own flesh. There's a union there. But listen,
let's not stop there. Remember, listen, this is a picture
of Christ and His Church. That's what Paul said. He said,
I speak concerning Christ and His Church. Christ loved the
Church. Let me give you quickly just
five things here about this love. The Scriptures declare He loved
His Church with an everlasting love. In Jeremiah 31.3, the Word
declares, Yea, have I loved thee with an everlasting love. He loves his church with a sacrificial
love. Paul writing to the Galatians,
he said this of Christ, He who loved me and he gave himself
for me. Greater love hath no man than
he And He laid down His life for His friends. Almighty God
sent forth His Son who suffered and died on the cross, burying
our sin, dying on the cross in the room instead of His people. A sacrificial love. Third, it's a particular love. Isaac's love wasn't for all women. It was for Rebecca. It was for his bride. What do
we read there? He loved her. He loved us. He gave himself
for us. Fourth, he presents his bride
to himself. Listen to how she's described. I think, I just think it's horrible
the way, and men and women both do this, but
to speak ill of their spouse, even in jest. Listen, it says
this, how does he present his bride? A glorious church, not
having, could he find fault? Oh, easily, couldn't he? A glorious church, not having
spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and
without blemish. His bride's perfect. Fifth, this love is in eternal
love, in which we are eternally secure. Paul, writing to the
Romans, he said this, nothing, nothing shall separate
us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Now that's true love, isn't it? And just as Abraham sent his
servant in search of the bride for his son, he continues to
send forth his servants today with one message, one message
concerning his son. He sends forth his spirit to
give life to dead sinners and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And like Rebecca of old, when
his church, when his bride hears his voice, that irresistible
call of the gospel, there's one response. I will
go. And forsaking all, they cling
to him. And He, He loves them. Listen, that's our hope, isn't
it? That He loved us and gave Himself for us. Greater love,
truly greater love hath no man than he lay down his life for
his friends. And listen, rest assured of this,
if we love Him, it's because He loved us first. I pray the Lord would enable
us to rest and be comforted through his word this morning.