Chapter 21: The Bride of Isaac

Genesis 24  •  4 min. read  •  grade level: 6
Listen from:
Genesis 24
We know that Abraham was a stranger in the land of Canaan, so when Sarah died, Abraham had no place to bury her. Abraham talked with the people of the land, and bought a cave in a field from them, with all the trees. Though the Lord Jesus is God and also the King of Glory, yet when He was on earth He said, “The foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head” (Luke 9:5858And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. (Luke 9:58)). He was really poor. When He died His friend lent a grave to bury Him in. Like the grave of Sarah it was a cave, and it was in a garden: for God cared for His beloved Son.
God has not promised that all who believe on Him will be rich; but He tells us that we are strangers in the earth, because our home is in heaven, and that we shall have trials and suffering in this world.
Isaac was lonely after his mother died, so his father called his oldest servant who ruled over all his household, and told him to go far away to his own people to find a wife for his son Isaac. Long before, God had told Abram to leave his home. He obeyed and God had led him to Canaan. Now, because its people were bad, Abraham did not wish his son to have a wife from Canaan.
Think of it, the servant would go to a very far place to find a girl, call her to leave her own family, and travel the long way in the desert to marry a stranger. This is not easy. The honest servant said to Abraham that perhaps the woman would not want to follow him to Canaan; then should he bring his son back to his native land? Abraham said, “Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware 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 my oath: only bring not my son thither again” (Gen. 24:6-86And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. 7The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware 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. 8And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again. (Genesis 24:6‑8)). So the servant promised.
We see Abraham as a picture of the Heavenly Father, Isaac laid on the altar a picture of God’s Son in His death on the cross. When Isaac returned home, it is like the Lord Jesus being raised from the dead, and returning to Heaven. And the servant is like the Holy Spirit.
Isaac was lonely after his mother died. The Lord Jesus said, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John 12:24)). He spoke this about Himself, which means that if He stayed in heaven, or even if He just came to earth and did not die, He still would be alone. Just think, the Lord Jesus would be lonely in heaven if He does not have us. Wonderful! So He left His bright heavenly home, came to the earth, died, and was buried: then He rose again and went back to His heavenly home again. Then God sent the Holy Spirit to this earth, just as Abraham sent out his trusted servant.
Why did he send him? Because he wanted to find a wife to live with Isaac all her life. Why did God send the Holy Spirit? He wanted to find a bride, a companion, for the Lord Jesus to live with Him in heaven always. It is true, the Holy Spirit came to this earth long ago. He also invites us all to heaven together to form the bride for the Lord Jesus Christ. His bride is not just one person, but all believers in the Lord Jesus are, together, His one bride and will be His wife always with Him in heaven.