Turn with me to Genesis chapter
24. Genesis 24. Title of the message this evening is,
Take a Wife Unto My Son. Take a Wife Unto My Son. Here in this passage, we have
the account of Abraham sending his servant to find a bride for
his son. And there are four people, four
main people in this passage. We have Abraham, who represents
God the Father. Isaac, a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Third, there's servant. It's
Abraham's most faithful servant. And this servant's a picture
of the minister, the preacher of the gospel. And then last,
we have Rebecca. Rebecca, who is a picture of
every true believer, a picture of the bride. In Genesis 24.1,
look there with me, it says, Abraham was old and well stricken
in age, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his eldest
servant, the eldest servant of his house that ruled over all
that he had, he said, I pray thee, put thy hand under my thigh
and swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, the God of 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, unto my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. Abraham sends his servant, 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 depend
on, one that he knew would follow
his order and go and find a wife, a bride for his son. What a task. What an amazing
task this would be to just, that was the command, just go find
the bride for my son. A bride who would share all the
riches and all the glory of his kingdom. And the Lord Jesus Christ,
the only begotten of the Father, the only begotten of the Son's
love, He is heir of all things. All that the Father has, He has. All that the Father possesses,
He possesses. Scripture says this, the Father
hath given all things into His hands. What do we reckon that
means? Just what it says, He's given
all things into His hands. That's what John 3.5 says, the
Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. Not just some of it, but all
of it. And it's all His. He is Lord
of all. Not because any man made Him
Lord. No. He's the Lord by God's decree. He's king of kings. He's Lord
of lords by God's design, by God's decree, by his own death. Scripture says, the Lord thy
God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all
the people that are upon the face of the earth. He is elect. his bride. John 15, 16 says,
you've not chosen me, but I have chosen you. In John 15, verse
19, he says, if you were of the world, the world would love his
own, but because you're not of this world, but I've chosen you. God has chosen a people unto
himself out of this world. And he says, therefore the world
hateth you. I've chosen you. A people chosen
to be his bride. A bride for his son. And as a bride, joint heirs of
all that he has, of all that he purchased, of all that he
owns. In Romans 8, God's word declares
that We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. By nature, we're children of
wrath, even as others, but by His grace, children of God, joint
heirs with Christ. We could be an heir of many things,
But to be joint heirs with Christ, well, that truly means something,
doesn't it? What does he have? He has all
things. He has a perfect righteousness.
And it's his people in Christ. As an heir, as a true heir, we
have all things by virtue of our relationship with him, his
relationship with us. And listen, this inheritance,
there's some things we could inherit on this earth, but those
things are gonna pass with time. This is an inheritance that is
incorruptible. It's undefiled, it fadeth not
away. And he says it's reserved in
heaven for you. Who's this inheritance for? It's
for his bride, it's for his people. And Abraham, he sends his servant
with just one mission, with just one purpose. Find that bride
for my son. Look back to our text again in
Genesis 24. Listen to the servant's question. He's been given this task and
he has some questions for his master. Look beginning with verse
five. Servant said to him, Peradventure,
the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land. Must thy needs bring thy son
again to the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said,
beware. Don't bring 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, you'll 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 he swore to him
concerning this matter." What if the woman is unwilling
to leave her home? That seems like a fair question,
doesn't it? What if she's not willing to
leave her family? What if she's unwilling to give
herself and to love a man that she's never seen before? Think
about that. The only thing that this woman
is going to know about Isaac is what that servant speaks to
her concerning him. What if she's unwilling to leave
those that she loves? What if she's unwilling to leave
everything she knows and follow him? Abraham's answer. And I want
you to think about this. Think about what Abraham had
seen. You know, Abraham was 75 years
old when God called him. when he called him out of idolatry,
75 years old. He was 100 years, and he said,
he followed, didn't he? He didn't think anything about
anything. He left his father's house, his
father's land, and he went. At 100 years old, his son Isaac
was born. He'd seen something happen there
that had absolutely no earthly explanation, just in the birth
of his son. He seen more than that though,
didn't he? Think about this, when he saw God deliver Isaac,
when he saw him deliver his son, remember that when he offered
him up, Remember those words spoken,
take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, and get
thee into the land of Moriah, and you offer him there for a
burnt offering upon the mountain, which I'm going to show you,
I'll tell you of. And what did Abraham do? He obeyed
God. He rose up early the next morning. He saw God deliver his son. Remember that when he was raising
that knife to slay his son? And just look over there. And
there's a ram caught in the thicket. That ram that would be taken
and offered up in the place of his son. Substitution. one to die in the
place of his son. Listen, that which is impossible
with man is possible with God. All things are possible with
God. So when that question was asked,
what if she's not willing to follow me into the land? Listen
to Abraham's answer. He said, look at Genesis 24 verse
7. 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 declared throughout the scriptures, he shall send
his angel before thee. And then listen to what he says.
Thou shalt. Thou shalt take a wife unto my
son from thence. God sends forth his preachers
to go into this world and he does the saving. God does
the saving. I'm so thankful I'm so thankful
that's the case. Listen, we persuade men. We persuade
men to love Christ. We persuade men to believe Christ. We persuade men to come to Christ. But by no means of our own. We have no power to persuade
men to do anything. The Spirit of God must go before
giving life. Only He can. Only the Spirit
of God can breathe life into a dead sinner. How else? How else could we ever hear? These things aren't accomplished
by man's doing, but only by the power of the Spirit of God. David wrote this in Psalm 110.
He said, Thy people shall be willing. When? in the day of
thy power. Paul said, I planted, Apollos
watered, but God, but God gave the increase. Second Thessalonians
2.13, we're bound to give thanks always to who? To God. For you, brethren, beloved of
the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. That bride, she'd already been
chosen. That servant, he's gonna journey,
he's gonna endure all things for this purpose, to tell the
bride. of the beloved. Paul said, I
endure all things for the elect's sake. And his elect, his bride,
is going to hear that message. She's going to hear it from that
servant. And God's people will hear that
word through the preaching of his gospel. In the 10th chapter
of John, The Lord walked into the temple there of Solomon's
porch, and the Jews came round about him, and they said this
to him, how long do you make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ,
tell us plainly. And our Lord answered, he said,
I told you, but you, you believe not. The works that I do in my
father's name, they bear witness of me, but you believe not, and
this is why, because you're not my sheep. I say unto you, my
sheep, they hear. What do they hear? They hear,
he said, they hear my voice. My sheep hear my voice. Listen, there's a bunch of goats
that are never They're never going to hear. But his sheep
will. His sheep will hear his voice. Isn't that what he's saying here?
You go. You go. She's going to hear. She's going to hear. My sheep
hear my voice. I know them. And they follow
me. And I give 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. What if she's not willing to
follow me? She will. All that the Father
hath given me shall come to me. Well, again, Genesis 24, look
at verse 10. The servant took 10 camels of
his master and departed, and all the goods of his master were
in his hand, and he arose and went to Mesopotamia under the
city of Nahor. And he made his camels 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 his prayer
here. He said, oh 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, the damsel to whom I shall
say, let down thy pitcher, I pray thee that I may drink, that she
shall say, drink, and I'll give drink to thy camels also. Let
the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac,
and thereby shall I know that thou has shown kindness unto
my master. Abraham's servant went to the
place where the women came to draw water. And he must have known something
of the great responsibility before him, because the first thing
he did was he kneeled down and prayed to the Lord. The impossibility of this task,
humanly speaking, Who's sufficient? Who's sufficient for these things?
And he goes to the Lord in prayer, seeking his will, seeking his
direction. And rightly so. You know, the
opening of the heart, the raising of the dead to life, the conviction
of sin, repentance toward God, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
These things are all impossible with men, but with God. 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, only God can reach the heart. Only God can give
a new heart. All who come to Christ and receive
Him must be born again. of Almighty God, it's all of
Him. True repentance, saving faith,
those aren't things exercised by men. Listen, they're not by
the works of men, they're the gift of God. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. What is it? It's the gift, the
gift of Almighty God, not of works. not of works lest any
man should boast." Well, I need to move along here. He finds
the bride. He's led to the bride. The bride
is led to him. Look at Genesis 24, 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." Abraham's
servant, he was welcomed into Rebekah's home, but the message
still has to be declared. What's the command? Preach the
word. That's what he was sent to do,
to tell of the master's son, to tell of his master, to carry
that message to the bride. Paul, writing to the Corinthians,
he said, I determined not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and him crucified. There's just one message. There's
just one Savior. One thing, one thing is needful,
and this servant declares unto Rebekah and her family all the
glory of Isaac, all the glory of his master's house. He speaks
of Isaac and his father. Genesis 24, look over at verse
56. He says, he said unto them, hinder
me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way, send me away
that I may go to my master. And they said, call the damsel.
and we will inquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah and they
said unto her, wilt thou go with this man?" I love that, huh? Will you go? You've heard of
him. You've heard everything there
is to know about him. Will you go? That's the question to the bride.
Will you go? Think about this again. Listen,
she'd never seen Isaac. She'd never laid eyes on him. Only heard what the servant spoke.
What the servant said of his master's son. Will you go with
him? And listen, that question, it
can be interpreted several ways. Listen to this. It means this.
Will you go with him? Will you? Will you live with
him? The third one, will you die with
him? That's serious, isn't it? That's
commitment, isn't it? Rebecca, will you go? And listen
to her reply. What was her reply? I will go. Rebecca, will you leave your
family? Will you leave all that you know for him? What'd she say? I will go. That's faith, isn't it? That's
true of the believer as well. Faith in Christ. Salvation in
Christ. And listen, this is an individual
thing. This is a personal thing. He
wasn't inviting the whole family to go. He looks at her and says,
will you go? She's committed to him, isn't
she? She's going to rest in him. Paul said this in Galatians 1
15, he said, it pleased God who separated me from my father's
womb and called me by his grace to reveal his son in me. I'll go. I'll go. Do you still have Genesis 24?
Look at verse 64. Somewhere along that journey. Look at verse 64, Rebecca lifted
up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, you see that? She saw
Isaac. How'd she know it was him? When
she saw Isaac, she lighted off her camel, and when she saw him,
I guess she just wanted to double check with that servant, but
she said to the servant, What man is this that walketh in the
field to meet us? What joy must have filled her
heart when the servant said, it is my master. This is the one I've been telling
you about. I'm sure it filled her heart
with joy and I'm sure it filled that servant's heart with joy. The servant had told her all
about him and she had been given eyes to see him. Isaac was revealed to her. And then we read that Rebecca
covered her face with a veil, maybe some type of tradition
Maybe she covered her face out of modesty, maybe out of subjection
to Him. In Isaiah 6, we read this in
the Scriptures, that in the presence of the Lord, the seraphims, they
covered their faces. I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy
to stand before Him. Well, quickly, look with me at
the last verse of Genesis 24. This is a love story, isn't it? Look at verse 67. Isaac brought
Rebekah into his mother's tent and took Rebekah and she became
his wife and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after
his mother's death. He loved her. You know, we would do well we
would do well to love our wives. That's clear in scripture. To
have a strong affection for them, to provide for them, to provide
everything for them, those things necessary, protecting them, and
listen, concealing their faults, promoting their good physically
and spiritually, a love that's evident. Listen, not just in
public, but in private as well. A love that exceeds that of our
friends, of our neighbors, even our parents. Scripture says that,
so shall a man leave his mother and father and cleave to his
wife. You know the only thing it does
not exceed is a love for Christ? A love for God. They're a helpmate. They're a companion. And there's
a union there. But listen, let's not stop there. Remember, this is a picture of
Christ and His church. There's no perfect picture on
this earth. But this is a picture of Christ
and His church. Paul talked about marriage. We read that. He said,
I speak concerning Christ and His church. He loved her. Let me just quickly,
five things here about this love, this love for Christ, for His
church. It's an everlasting love. He loved his church with an everlasting
love. Jeremiah 31, three, the word
declares just that. Yea, have I loved thee with an
everlasting love. Second, he loves his church with
a sacrificial love. In the book of Galatians, he
said this of Christ. He said, he who loved me, and
he gave himself for me. Greater love hath no man than
this, that he lay down his life for his friends. Almighty God
sent forth his son who suffered and died on the cross for his bride. He died on the cross. He put
away our sin. a sacrificial love. Listen, it's
a particular, a particular love. Isaac's love, one bride. It wasn't for all
women, it was for Rebecca, his bride. He loved her. Christ loved us. And he gave
himself for us. Fourth, he presents this bride
to himself. Listen to how she's described
here. And I'll say this. Naturally speaking, to find fault
with each other, that's a low-hanging fruit. to find fault with one
another. Marriage is a picture of Christ
and his church. And you listen to how he presents
his bride. Think about how he could present
his bride. Think about what, we know much
about ourselves, don't we? Think about what he could say
about his bride. A glorious church without spot,
without wrinkle. No fault. No fault. A glorious church not having
spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but it should be holy and without
blemish. How does he describe his bride?
She's perfect. And what would she say of her
husband? Oh, he's all together lovely.
There's none fairer than him. That's good instruction for us,
isn't it? Well, fifth, what's said about this love? It's an
eternal love. His love for his bride is an
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. That's true love, isn't it? And just as Abraham sent his
servant in search of his bride, a bride for his son, he continues
to do so today. He continues to send forth his
servant with one message. A message concerning his son. And he sends forth his spirit
to give life to dead sinners, to give 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 is but one reply. I'll go. I will go. And forsaking all, they cling
to him and him alone. The amazing thing, he loves them. He loves them. All right. Isaac,
come lead us in a close.