The gospel in Genesis
Warren A. Gage Rebekah's betrothal to Isaac foretells the circumstances of our own espousal to the Lord.
Tabletalk Magazine, January, 2007 Rebekah's engagement to Isaac constitutes one of the longest narratives in Genesis. It accounts for no less than 67 verses in the English Bible. In fact, Moses allocates twice as much space to his report of this romance as he did to the immensely important account of the creation. Why would he do this? There is a profound theology expressed in this remarkable allocation. Creation, for all its magnificence, is merely the work of God's "fingers" (Ps. 8:3). Redemption, however, is the labor of His arm, and the travail of His soul (Isa. 53:1, 11). The great picture of redemption in the Bible is the romance, as an earthly bride is chosen for the Son of heaven (Eph. 5:23; Rev. 21:2). If Isaac is a type of Jesus, then certainly Rebekah is a type of the church, the bride of Christ. How does this romance develop, and what may we learn about our own calling from the providence that directed Rebekah to give herself in love to a man she had never seen? What may we learn about our destiny from a bride who was promised to a groom in a far country and for whom she would have to leave everything?
The marriage of Isaac and Rebekah does not begin with the love of the couple, but with the choice of the father to secure a bride for his beloved son (Gen. 24:3–4). Trusting in the providence of God's covenant faithfulness, Abraham sent his servant away to a far country to secure a bride for Isaac. Once the servant had identified the chosen bride, a great price was paid to her family for her release (Gen. 24:53). She then left all her family to undertake a long pilgrimage to come to her betrothed in a land she would share with him as an inheritance (Gen. 24:61). Such was the marriage custom in the ancient Near East, and so is the pattern of the Gospel of grace. For our betrothal began with the sovereign choice of God the Father to take a bride for His beloved Son. Once we were chosen, a great price was paid for our particular redemption. And we, like Rebekah, were called to leave everything behind in order to persevere through the pilgrimage of this life to our own wedding, one day to be celebrated in a promised country. In order to appreciate just how Rebekah's betrothal to Isaac foretells the circumstances of our own espousal to the Lord, let's imagine for a moment a conversation Rebekah might have had with Abraham's servant, perhaps around a camp fire, as they made that long journey back to the land of promise and to the family of Abraham and Isaac. Surely Rebekah would have asked so kind and good a servant about the man whom she had consented to marry. We can imagine that Abraham's servant would have answered her something like this: "Rebekah, the young man who is to be your husband had a most remarkable birth. An angel of God announced that he was to be born, for this birth was nothing less than a miracle, his mother being both barren and beyond the years of child-bearing. But his birth was just as had been foretold by prophecy, and it was the occasion of great good-will, so much so that he was named Isaac, or "laughter," for all the joy he would bring. Dr. Warren A. Gage is associate professor of Old Testament at Knox Theological Seminary in Fort Lauderdale, Florida The law (17 USC 107) explicitly provides for the 'fair use' of copyrighted materials for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. These uses are deemed not to be infringements of the rights of copyright owners. This site may contain copyrighted material or links to copyrighted material, the use of which may not be explicitly authorized by the copyright owner. We assume implicit authorization by virtue of the availability of such material on the internet, and make this material available in an effort to advance understanding of biblical, cultural, political, and other issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in the US Copyright Law. The material on this site is made publicly available to those who express interest in the material by visiting this site. All information is provided without cost and is intended for research, educational or entertainment purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. with questions or concerns. |