A Bride For The Son

A Bride For The Son

Ron Bailey

We arrive at Genesis 24. It is a long chapter, more than twice the length of most others we have read together. If we were justified in asking why the Bible gave a whole chapter to a burial perhaps we should ask the same question about a wedding? If you are ever able to acquire a long ‘out of print’ book by Brownlow North; “Wilt thou go with this man?” I would heartily recommend it. It is a sermon written on the basis of this chapter, and very moving.

Let’s remind ourselves of the chief characters in our story. Abraham means ‘the father of a multitude’ and in the later part of his life he begins, quite naturally, to reveal the character of God’s father-heart. The earlier chapter show the steps of his faith; the later chapters do the same but we see in Abraham thrilling pictures of God’s character and plan. Isaac, is the Father’s Laughter (His Joy) who has passed through sacrificial death at the father’s hand, and is now reunited with the father. Sarah’s lifeless body has been hidden from sight. The old has passed away, all things are becoming new. There is another character in this story who will become the main focus of our thoughts; it is Abraham’s ‘eldest steward’. It is likely that this is the same Eliezer of Damascus referred to in Genesis 15:2, but it is the servant’s role more than his specific identity which is our focus here. Perhaps there is a deeper significance in that the ‘servant’ remains anonymous. Then we shall meet too, the distant family of Abraham, and a particular young woman; Rebekah, whose name means either ‘captive’ or ‘captivating’; the words seem to come from ‘the loops of a cord’. We shall find that both derivations will suit our purpose.

The Father pronounces His decree. A bride must be sought for the Son who has passed through death and is alive. The nameless agent of the Father and the Son must travel into distant parts on His commission; a Bride for the Son. In the cultural pattern of the day the Bride Seeker swears a solemn oath to the Father. The Son must abide by his Father’s side, and wait the endeavours of the Bride-Seeker. Again the imagery is breath-taking. Sent from the side of the Father and the Son, the divine executive, the anonymous Holy Spirit begins His journey to seek and to find, to woo and to win, a Bride for the Son. In that last sentence our story is told; all we need to do is to fill in the details.

As Abraham receives the servant’s oath an unmentioned part of the story surfaces; 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. (Genesis 24:7 KJV)

At some time in Abraham’s walk with God their had been a conversation about Isaac’s bride. I wonder when this could have been? Abraham was crystal clear that Jehovah who had triggered Abraham’s pilgrimage and also spoken that Isaac’s bride must not be from the land in which Abraham was a sojourner.

Abraham’s understanding of this may be seen from his next words to his servant; 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 24:8 KJV) This is a remarkable statement when we consider the culture of the day in which every woman was ‘owned’ by someone; her father, her husband. The ‘woman’ had no say in her choice of Bridegroom; the woman just did as she was told. Others made all her significant decisions for her. Later on her promises and vows would only have validity if they were endorsed by the ‘man’ in her life. And yet here in the midst of that male dominated culture the Father insists that the Son’s partner must be consulted as to her ‘willingness’. 

If we follow the logic of Abraham’s statement we discover that the ‘woman’ has the final say in this matter. Theoretically, at least, this woman could frustrate the plans of the Father, Son and Holy Messenger. It will not be difficult to see where I stand on the Arminian/Calvinist divide in this; the most terrifying power that God ever placed into the hands of man, was the power to say ‘no’ to God. Irrespective of the father’s decree, and the son’s passage through sacrificial death to resurrection, and the Sent One’s most earnest entreaties, finally ‘the woman’ must make her choice. Of course she could never have chosen unless she had been given the opportunity. The ‘invitation’ originates with the Father and the Son, and is carried personally by the Sent One, but finally ‘the woman’ will choose.

Let’s pause over another word; “if the woman will not be willing to follow thee”. (Genesis 24:8) This woman in the far country cannot make her own way to Isaac’s side, she must be conducted step by step by the Sent One. She cannot come unless the Sent One brings her, but the Sent One will not overrule her choice. She will not come because she has made her choice but because the Sent One will conduct here safely to her Bridegroom’s side. What a beautiful balance we find here in this account. The Spirit will not coerce; but ‘the woman’ must consent. The ‘woman’ cannot make the journey, unless she is willing to ‘follow thee’. Oh that we would allow God to do His own work! She will not arrive at Isaac’s side because she has agreed to 4 spiritual laws, or because she has made a commitment, but because she allows the Sent One to bring her.

One thing is certain; Isaac must continue to ‘rest’ where he is. He has passed through death into resurrection life and abides at his father’s right hand; there is nothing more that the son can add to this process. The work now is in the hands of the Sent One.

The Sent One swears his oath and begins his journey. How can we express the relationship between the persons of the Godhead? It says, of God, “for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. “ (Psalm 138:2b KJV) The Son has been given a name that is above every name. When the Son speaks however he says; “My Father is greater than I”. He says that it is in expedient that He go so that the Spirit can come, but when the Spirit arrives He only exalts the Son. There is no pride in the Godhead but mutual honour in three persons. Twice in these few verses it tells us that the Sent One has all the Father’s wealth at His disposal (Gen 24:2, 9) but when He speaks He says “And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.” (Gen 24:36 KJV) There are really quite remarkable links here; “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” (John 16:14-15 KJV)

The Sent One begins His journey, and subsequently we shall discover what he has in his baggage. If this is Eliezer of Damascus we can't help but observe the absolute lack of self interest too. If Isaac had not been born all Abraham’s riches would have been his. (Genesis 15:3) Now he is taking the riches that might have been his as a betrothal gift for a son’s bride. As the crow flies, the distance between Beersheba and Haran is approximately 450 miles, but the Sent One was going by camel not by crow. This is a journey of several weeks through dangerous terrain, and perhaps months for the round journey. Meanwhile the Son waits by His Father’s side. He arrived just at the time of sunset and the day’s final visit to the local well.

He prays for God’s superintendence of events, and waits; “Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:” (Gen 24:13 KJV) His prayer is that God will make ‘His choice’ clear by causing ‘the woman’ to behave in a particular way. The story is well known and well loved. He is looking for features which attract the eye, but a certain behavior; “And 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 will 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 shewed kindness unto my master.” (Gen 24:14 KJV) He is looking for the woman whom God has appointed. There is mystery here; even the woman whom God had appointed would later have to give her consent to God’s plan.

The Sent One’s sign was to be a woman whose generous spirit would offer water for him and his 10 camels. The dromedary has been known to drink 27 gallons of water in ten minutes! Potentially, he is looking for a woman who will offer to draw almost 300 gallons of water for a complete stranger. What induced this woman to offer to behave in this way

“And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.” (Gen 24:19 KJV) “Until they have done drinking?” It is interesting how many strategic meetings in the Bible take place at wells. In the UK the place of general meeting was the village pump. I imagine the scene here. How many young women I wonder would have come to that place? But God’s appoint-ed had an appoint-ment although she was quite unaware of it. This first consciousness of meetings God’s messenger is something that she must have thought back over through the years. I would have loved to hear her testimony… of course I would have been there earlier but the goats had broken into the vegetable store… And through all the mundane and totally unimportant ingredients of the day, it just so happened, that she arrived there before the servant got to the ‘amen’ in his prayer. Synchronicity the hallmark of God at work.

So we see the wonderful sovereignty of God at work, making all things work together; synergising. Looking back Rebekah would have seen a thousand significances; so do we. “I don’t usually come home down that road… we don’t usually… but God.” And what was it in the sound of this man’s voice which caught her attention. After all he was just a man like any other wasn’t he? Wasn’t he? I can’t read this passage without another coming to mind. All the details are different; a different well, in a different country at a different time of the day, but just enough in common to make us pause in our journey to wonder a while… “And he must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.” (John 4:4-7 KJV) How different these characters are: Rebekah the beautiful virgin daughter of Bethuel and the multi-used, multi-abused, nameless hussy of Samaria. Both going about their ordinary business oblivious to the approaching ‘appointment’. 

Don’t fear little Samaritan outcast, the One Sent from the Father and the Son has drawn near. Though all his expert followers ostracise you and your secret shames haunt you, it was necessary for Him to choose this route to meet you. This is no accident; it’s not too late and its not too soon, it’s His appointment. If you will hear His voice, and will ‘follow’ Him you may yet discover a truth beyond your wildest dreams; the Father has plan for you, and if you will ‘follow’ the One who speaks to you, you too may become part of His Son’s virgin Bride.

A Nose Jewel and Two Bracelets

We are watching the unfolding of events pertaining to the father’s son; Isaac. If we continue with our analogy of The Father, Son and Holy Executive we see interesting patterns in this account. We see that this whole chapter is an unfolding of the father’s will in his determination to have a bride for his son; the son who passed through death and resurrection in the symbols of Moriah. We noted the strict admonition of Abraham that under no circumstances was Isaac to ‘go into the world’ to seek a bride. Isaac is the Heir to whom the Father has given “all that he hath”. Isaac must abide by his father’s side while another is sent, from the father and the son, into the world.

The whole passage, as we have seen, is rich in types and shadows. The stops and the steps are all recorded. Isaac makes no moves in this part of the chapter; the Servant moves and the bride will move, but Isaac must wait… ”But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting…” (Heb 10:12 KJV) The Hebrews quotation runs on to speak of Christ’s victory over His enemies, but in the language of the same book… “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

Meanwhile the Servant pursues his mission. Rebekah fulfils his prayer request and the servant lavished expensive gifts upon her; a nose-jewel and a pair of golden bracelets. Perhaps we can pause to consider Rebekah’s response to this gesture. A complete stranger makes a simple request for water. Rebekah waters both him and his camels. The stranger fills her hands with expensive gifts. There is something about Rebekah’s behaviour that is unrestrained, unguarded. What was it about the stranger’s demeanour which reassured her? Something in his manner must have made her sense that he only wished her well and had no ulterior motives. In the presence of this stranger something within her was unfettered; that’s what her name implies, ‘fettered’. But in the presence of this stranger she is ‘free’ to make her own generous gestures. We live in a dangerous world, “don’t take sweets from strangers”, and Rebekah’s world was just as dangerous, but somehow in the presence of this stranger her self-consciousness which would have ended any normal conversation abruptly is not allowed to ‘fetter’ her. She is amazingly free to respond to the Agent of the Father and the Son.

We learn to be suspicious at an early age; it is part of our survival strategy. It is sad to see a child with all his easy instinctive trust become guarded because he no longer trusts people. If you tease a child relentlessly and play tricks on him you will ‘fetter’ him permanently; you will teach him to trust no-one. To respond to Christ the Spirit must restore this childlike instinct; without it there can be no access to the kingdom. “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” (Mark 10:15 KJV)

Surely this is one of the first works of the Spirit in our lives; we find ourselves able to trust someone again. God knows this trust is vital; without it there can be no progress. It is instructive to see the way that the Lord dealt with men and women; always gaining their trust before insisting upon their commitment. “Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.” (John 1:38-39 KJV)

Somehow in our evangelism we have to make time for people to trust us, to ‘come and see’. The preaching of Paul and others was not the opening salvo of a naval barrage, but the careful laying of a foundation upon which further truths could be built. Did you ever notice the verse which describes the results of Paul’s labours at Mars Hill? “Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” (Act 17:34 KJV)

Did you notice the order? First they cleaved to Paul, then they believed. Something in the man captured them and from that place of trust they believed.

This is partly the reason why Paul is so conscious of the conscience in those who hear him. He will not overdrive them. He will not demand ‘leaps of faith’ but build his foundations brick by brick. “But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. “ (2 Corinthians 4:2 KJV) Our preaching must ‘commend ourselves’ to our hearers’ conscience in the sight of God. If they cannot trust us; they will never trust what we say. It is regrettable but much ‘evangelism’ is simply spiritual bullying.

We see it in the wonderful account of the woman at Sychar’s Well. Just watch how the prickles go down! It is an amazing journey from suspicion and downright hostility to faithful witness. It was not evangelistic technique which achieved this turn-around, but simply that He ‘won’ her confidence. He did so by talking and listening. He did so too because in spite of all indications to the contrary He knew that under the hurt and the prickles was a hungry heart. We need to remember this in our evangelism. We would do well to remember this simple but profound word; ”He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:40-42 KJV) Interesting too that we are back to drinking.

Does Christ have a desire to drink from us? We usually put the question the other way around, but has he come to our well ready to receive something from us. The hardliner here says ‘no, there’s nothing that he wants from you’. It is not true. If you can read this and not stumble at the images, He wants you to drink from Him, and He wants to drink from you. He desires you; the real you. Not the ‘you’ as we usually regard it, sin-cursed’ and rebellious, but the ‘you’ that still exists under all that debris. I spent my childhood in the most derelict area of the UK, or so the Governments statistics reckoned. My home town had more derelict land and spoil tips, proportionately to any other part of the country; the nearest tree was a full mile away in a local park! About a hundred yards from my home was a thing called a ‘shraff tip’ or ‘shordruck’ in the dialect of the Potteries. Hundreds of thousands of tons of the refuse of the pottery industry had been dumped there; Plaster of paris moulds, lumps of hardened clay, broken cups and saucers, half used barrels of chemicals, broken packing cases. Year on year had compressed it and now it was as solid as bedrock and at least 50 feet thick, and from its base there trickled a little crystal stream, gently oozing from underneath the pollution and filth of generations. We easily become overwhelmed with the weight of all that we have become; the ‘shordruck’ fills our horizons. But there is one who has His eye on the little stream, and who says “Give me to drink”. Sometimes we are determined to deal with all the rubbish, and He says “Give me to drink”. “But, but, but…” says the heart. “Give me to drink”, comes the reply.

How was it possible for Rebekah to respond to this request? Surely it was the special presence of the stranger, and she knew she could trust him. When we begin to respond to the Lord His response is lavish; a small fortune rests in Rebekah’s hands. “He has ascended on high” says Ephesians 4 “… and gave gifts to men”. This is a quotation from Psalm 68, Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. (Psalm 68:18 KJV) For the rebellious also? Has He something for the rebellious? Yes, as long as you begin to open up to Him, you will find He has gifts for the rebellious also. I have quoted this poem before I think, but it will bear repetition:

Love bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lacked anything.

A guest, I answered, worthy to be here:
Love said, You shall be he.
I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,
I cannot look on thee.
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
Who made the eyes but I?

Truth, Lord, but I have marr'd them: let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.
And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame?
My dear, then I will serve.
You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:
So I did sit and eat.

George Herbert, The Temple, 1633

It is important to understand that Rebekah did not earn her gifts by her offer of water. The offer of the water is just an indication of the openness of her heart. These simple responses of Rebekah to the servant are vital steps in her destiny. When we respond to Him and are willing to receive from Him, we ‘enable’ Him to bless us in ever greater ways. There is a little question and answer sequence in Psalm 116, What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people. (Psa 116:12-14 KJV) ”What shall I give?” is his familiar question. “I will receive” is his answer. The only thing I have to give is this need into which God can pour all his gracious provision. There is nothing to ‘pay’ until ‘I have taken’. I can come as a ‘rebel’ and as long as I come He has gifts for the rebellious also. I really can come, “just as I am”... of course, I can’t stay, “just as I am”, but that’s the next part of the story…

Will You Go With This Man?
It is wonderful how clearly characters are captured in just a few words in the this story. We see the mercenary streak in Rebekah’s brother Laban; And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well. And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well. And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels. (Gen 24:29-31 KJV) This instant character study of Laban is borne out in his subsequent dealings with Jacob. It puts me in mind of Simon in Samaria; “when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands…”.

The Servant repeats his commission to Laban. It is curious that he never mentions Isaac by name but always by relationship; My master’s son. When he had prayed he referred to Isaac by name (Genesis 24:14) and had referred to him as “thy servant Isaac”, but to the household of Laban he is just ‘my master’s son’. Both Abraham and Isaac are called servants of God. It is a title which has fallen out of favour; servants. Men are ever conscious of power and authority but the distinctive character of Abraham and Isaac is the servant heart. It is not possession but relationship which comes to the surface here, and it was not by power that Abraham and Isaac received the promise to be a blessing to the nations, but because of the unbroken relationship of master and servant. They are channels not reservoirs.

Laban cannot but recognise the authority of God in the Servant’s story and refuses to grant or withhold permission for the marriage; Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken. (Gen 24:50-51 KJV)

The servant bows in worship and opens up the treasures carried on his 10 camels; gifts for Rebekah, for Laban, for Bethuel, Rebekah’s mother, and then the celebration begins. The following morning however Laban tries to delay the process. It is the familiar short term compromise of the worlding; not yet. Why did Laban do this? I suspect he had his eyes on the remainder of the camel’s panniers. The wordling is always ready to bargain; Lot and his plea to be allowed to remain in Zoar; it is a little city. Now Laban; not today, next week or the week after. This is the sublety of the world; it seldom comes full face and says ‘no’ but wheels and deals, what difference will a day or two make?

Sometimes it makes the difference between death and life; Wherefore, even as the Holy Spirit saith, To-day if ye shall hear his voice, (Hebrews 3:7 ASV)

But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:13 KJV)

(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:2 KJV)

Since the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, the date on God’s invitation is always ‘today’. The Servant will not tolerate this compromise; ‘hinder me not’.

Laban’s solution is to let the young woman make the decision; “wilt thou go with this man?” This is the all important question; “will you?” The old Anglican marriage service has lots of hidden treasures. Some people choose it for its beauty but sometimes the beauty can obscure the truth it holds. Most will have seen something similar but let's go to the original. The first part of the traditional service of matrimony was the establishing of the eligibility of both persons. In formal civil weddings this sometimes has to be stated publicly. This eligibility is then confirmed; I require and charge you both, as ye will answer at the dreadful day of judgement when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, that if either of you know any impediment, why ye may not be lawfully joined together in Matrimony, ye do now confess it. For be ye well assured, that so many as are coupled together otherwise than God's Word doth allow are not joined together by God; neither is their Matrimony lawful.

The wedding cannot continue unless both parties are free of all other bonds of this nature. No man can serve two master and in the perfect picture no man can have two wives, or woman have two husbands. This is an exclusive relationship. It was a sad comment of Diana, Princess of Wales, that their marriage had become ‘crowded’. The persons are about to give the assent to oaths which demand exclusivity and such would never be possible if prior relationships were still operating. This is why God brought Israel out of Egypt to be joined to him in matrimony. The nation could not be Pharaoh’s servants and God’s at the same time. The Sinai Covenant, of course was a wedding; Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou becamest mine. Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with sealskin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and covered thee with silk. And I decked thee with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a ring upon thy nose, and ear-rings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head. (Ezekiel 16:8-12 ASV) With the same wedding tokens as the Servant had given to Rebekah.

Back to our Anglican wedding… When the eligibility has been established the other questions begin;

If no impediment be alleged, then shall the Curate say unto the Man, Isaac, wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live? The Man shall answer, I will.

This first question in addressed to the bridegroom. The cross is our Heavenly Isaac’s great ‘I will’ to this question. These are the terms of a covenant. Will he keep faithful to his bride? Will he fellowship with her in intimate relation? Will he love her? Will he comfort (strengthen) her? Will he guard her in good times and bad? Will he, forsaking all other, keep himself ‘only unto her’ for life? The cross says ‘I will’. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: (Eph 5:25-29 KJV)

Rebekah is a good picture of the church in its virgin purity, but there is a much more rugged one earlier in that Ezekiel passage; And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live. I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine. Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.(Ezekiel 16:6-9 KJV)

Here the bride is a foundling, blood spattered and abandoned. There is note here not to be missed. He wraps her in his love before He washed her clean. If we could keep this clear we would not make sanctification a ‘condition of acceptance’ but what it is in reality; ‘the privilege of love’.

If any who reads this has any doubt let his cry ring down the centuries. “I will, be thou clean”. (Matthew 8:2,3)

The officiating minister then turns to the woman;

Then shall the Priest say unto the Woman,
Rebekah, wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou obey him, and serve him, love, honour, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live? The Woman shall answer, I will.

These are not questions about your present state. They do not ask ‘do you obey him, and serve him, love, honour, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?’ but ‘will you’. To ask ‘do you’ would be to demand qualifications, to ask ‘will you’ demands a choice. We have no qualifications to fit us as His bride, but when He asks the question ‘will you?’ we can choose. And we must for our whole future destiny depends upon it.

I wonder, did someone explain to you when you first responded that this was a covenant and that you had some responsibilities in it? Did they tell you that it was conditional upon your being willing to ‘have this heavenly Isaac, as your lord and head?’ Did they tell you that you were promising to ‘obey him, and serve him?’ Did they tell you that you were promising to love him, and honour him in the good times and the bad?’ Did they tell you that you were opting into a life long exclusive relationship? Or did they tell you to invite Jesus into your heart?

The traditional service of matrimony now moves on. The two parties have declared their willingness, surely that’s it they are married now? No they are not! Now they must carry out their decisions. It is recorded of the prodigal son that he said; I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father… (Luke 15:18-20a KJV)

His decision is recorded in verses 18 and 19; his salvation is recorded in verse 20. Without the ‘getting up and moving towards his father’ his fine decision would have left him in the pigsty.

The declaration of mutual willingness is not enough.

Then shall they give their troth to each other in this manner. The Minister, receiving the Woman at her father's or friend's hands, shall cause the Man with his right hand to take the Woman by her right hand, and to say after him as followeth.

I Isaac, take thee Rebekah. to my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth.

Then shall they loose their hands; and the Woman, with her right hand taking the Man by his right hand, shall likewise say after the Minister,

I Rebekah, take thee Isaac, to my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I give thee my troth. It’s become the fuel for jokes, ‘plighting my troth’. It simple means ‘I pledge my word’, but notice the orientation of this part of the service. The first part was a conversation between each individual and the one asking the questions. Now it becomes a conversation between the two partners. They are talking to each other, for the first time in the service of matrimony.

Do you hear the question in your heart? Will you follow this representative of the Father and the Son? I don’t ask how you feel or what your experience has been, only ‘will you go?’ If you do He will lead you into the presence of a heavenly Isaac, and in that moment of personal encounter you can talk to each other, and give and receive each other’s pledged word.

Rebekah arose… and followed the man

The prodigal ‘arose and came to his father’; Rebekah arises and ‘follows the man’ whose responsibility is much like that that Paul expressed; For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2 KJV) He will now watch over her with scrupulous vigilance until he can place her in the care of her betrothed husband. As a consequence we shall be able to see some links between the history of Isaac’s bride and Christ’s. There is a Psalm and a whole Bible book which will help us to make the connections. The Psalm is 45, the book the Song of Songs. Just a word of caution before we begin; the ‘Bride of Christ’ is a phrase never used of individuals or local churches, but always of the whole body of Christ. Isn’t this confusing the pictures to speak of brides and bodies in the same breath? Not if we recall that Adam’s bride was ‘bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh’.

Charles Wesley wrote a wonderful hymn capturing all this rich imagery;

See there the quickening Cause of all
Who live the life of grace beneath!
God caused on Him the sleep to fall,
And lo, His eyes are closed in death!

He sleeps: and from His open side
The mingled blood and water flow;
They both give being to His bride,
And wash His church as white as snow.

We cannot pause to pursue the theme here.

Psalm 45 has the title ‘a Song of Loves’; note the plural. It is a song of two loves; the love of the Bride for her Bridegroom, and the love of the Bridegroom for His Bride. The Bride has eyes only for Her Bridegroom; and He for her. The first half of the psalm describes the Bridegroom whose garments have a unique perfume; you would scent Him before you saw Him. The odour is unmistakably His. His person evokes the scent, and His scent evokes the person. It is the opening theme of the Song of Songs; Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. (Song of Solomon 1:3 KJV)

The man and his sweet savour were one and the same. To speak his name was to smell the familiar scents of a hundred encounters. Perfumes have the power to evoke memories; some memories have the power to evoke perfumes.

The Bridegroom of Psalm 45 is a King; He has entered into His inheritance. His reign is settled and secure. It is an image of Him who has ascended to His Father’s throne and the writer to the Hebrews uses the language of this psalm to confirm the truth; But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: (Hebrews 1:8-10 KJV)

Christ has received His High-Priestly anointing and is now Priest-King forever, after the pattern of Melchizedek; the sweet smell of the anointing oil pervades the Temple-Palace. All the images begin to blend together, as another wonderful hymnwriter expressed it;

1. Join all the glorious names
Of wisdom, love, and power,
That ever mortals knew,
That angels ever bore:
All are too mean to speak His worth,
To poor to set my Savior forth.

8. Jesus, my great High Priest,
Offered His blood, and died;
My guilty conscience seeks
No sacrifice beside:
His powerful blood did once atone,
And now it pleads before the throne.

9. My Advocate appears
For my defense on high;
The Father bows his ears,
And lays his thunder by:
Not all that hell or sin can say
Shall turn his heart, his love away.

10. My dear almighty Lord,
My Conqueror and my King,
Thy scepter and Thy sword,
Thy reigning grace I sing:
Thine is the power; behold I sit
In willing bonds beneath Thy feet.

There are 12 verses to this hymn. If your church sings 6 you are being short-changed! No one image can set forth all that there is to be said, but at times the images blend wonderfully.

The Bridegroom begins to speak to His Bride;

Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; (Psalm 45:10 KJV)

The Bride must turn her back on all the past and its associations. Like the man, the woman too, must leave and cleave. Rebekah can never be the Bride if she remains in her old country and among her own people.

The Bride of Christ is a people that has left all the old ways; And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; (Revelation 5:9 KJV)

This is the Greek word ‘ek’ or ‘ex’. Did you know that the Church of Christ is made up of ‘ex-es’? ex-kindred/tribe/clan, ex-language groups, ex-people groups, ex-nationals/ethnics. They were ‘no-people’ who have become the ‘people of God’. Rebekah, the Bride of Psalm 45, the Church of Christ must all put their people and their father’s house behind them. Behold, all things are made new. It does not mean that we will not retain an affection for our ‘roots’ but it can never take precedence over the new roots, and all the old relationships must fade into insignificance in the light of this new relationship; If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26 KJV)

I wonder how many natural marriages have foundered because one partner refused to ‘leave’ when they ‘cleaved’? They bring into their marriage, mothers, or sisters, or old memories, and in effect, do not ‘forsake all others’; three is one too many in any marriage.

So And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. (Genesis 24:61 KJV) She followed and He took her; what a lovely picture of separate but interdependent action. So Rebekah retraces the steps of Abraham all those years before who obeyed the word. Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: (Genesis 12:1 KJV)

There can be no continuing link between the old and the new; Abraham must leave it, Isaac must never return to it, and now Rebekah must ‘leave’ too, before she can ‘cleave’. Every step brings her closer to her Bridegroom, and every step takes her farther away from all her yesterdays. Old things have passed away, behold, all things are become new. If we will only ‘follow’, He will ‘take us’.

The Bride of Psalm 45 is not only richly dressed, she is also ‘glorious within’. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25-27 KJV)

This is the work of the Spirit today, to prepare a Bride for the Lamb, and it is the work of those who understand God’s purposes; Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. (Colossians 1:25-29 KJV)

The Servant brings Rebekah to her Bridegroom at just the moment when the Bridegroom is walking in the fields ‘to meet us’. I cannot read the verse without hearing Paul’s words; For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:16-17 KJV) Oh with what longing our heavenly Isaac awaits this moment. As soon as Rebekah sees him and knows him she dismounts, replaces her veil and walks towards him; it is one of the most romantic moments in the Bible, but not as romantic as 1 Thess. 4:16,17 above. Servant and the Father’s Son speak of the journey; what a journey it has been, thousands of years… and Isaac takes her and brings her into the privacy of his mother’s tent; it becomes their Bridal chamber, and we can follow them no further. The tent door flaps shut and Bride and Bridegroom vanish from our curious eyes. … the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee. (Song of Solomon 1:4b KJV) She has lost everything, Rebekah. All she has is simply the result of her unique relationship to the Father’s Son. Listen to a Bride; “My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.” (Song of Solomon 2:16-17 KJV)

Treasures, cities, thrones, powers, inheritance, they all pale into insignificance; "My beloved is mine, and I am His".

This is the end of our story. The next chapter ties up a few ends, and Abraham’s death is followed by the simple account of his burial. Faithful Abraham, like David after him, “served his generation by the will of God and fell asleep”. His body sleeps where it was planted but Abraham has found his city, and when faith comes and we discover that we have already come, not to a smoking mountain… But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24 KJV) ...we discover the spirits of just men made perfect. Abraham was not left behind; he is home.

Did I say this was the end of our story? Surely not, it is only the end of time’s story; the next chapters belong to the Son and His Bride. This is only the end of the beginning. Thou dost seek a Bride all pure and holy;

Those who now belong to Thee alone.
Those who give thee all their hearts’ affection;
Of Thyself, a part; bone of Thy bone.

Lord, we answer to Thy heart’s deep longing,
Even so, come quickly” Lord we say.
In our hearts we have the blessed answer;
Rise My love, my fair one. Come away.

Drawn from every nation, tribe and kindred
By Thy Spirit’s mighty power.
Finding rest in Thee, God’s great salvation,
Waits Thy Bride, for Thine appointed hour.

Sharing with Thee, in this world’s rejection.
Putting on the death to gain a crown
By thy Blood and Word, they’re overcomers
With Thee, in Thy Throne, they shall sit down.

Abraham, My Friend (Number 3)

Abraham, My Friend (Number 3)

Ron Bailey

3. Known unto God

In British War Cemeteries throughout the world you often come across the words ‘Known unto God’ engraved on tombstones. It signifies that the person whose remains lie in this spot cannot be identified. At one and the same time, it is a bleak comment on the lonely anonymous sacrifice of so many and a reminder that, in truth, we are never alone. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. [Matthew 10:29] Modern translators feel an urge to complete this sentence and add words like ‘without your Father’s will’ or ‘without your Father’s knowledge’ or ‘without your Father’s permission’. It is better to leave it just as it is ‘nothing happens without your Father’ and then think about the implications; He cannot be excluded.

An old story is told about an atheist shoemaker. He was visited by his grand-daughter and he decided to make use of the time by sowing his atheism while she was young. He wrote out the sentence ‘God is nowhere’ and got her to copy it onto her slate while he went back to his shoemaking. He returned expecting to find the sentence copied out several times and engraved on her mind. However the slate was too narrow for a child’s large letters so she had found it necessary to break up the largest word to make it fit. The shoemaker looked down on the slate and found a sentence repeated several times; it read ‘God is now here’.

There are no ‘God-forsaken’ places and God is at work in them all. Christ’s own testimony was And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. [John 12:32]. He was lifted up and He is drawing all men to Himself. Contrary to the impression given by some modern Christian choruses this statement has nothing to do with our praise but is a simple statement of fact. as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: This is not to say that all will cooperate with His ‘drawings’, but in every place and every soul the ‘drawing’ is at work. (God) now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: [Acts 17:30]

Abraham’s home-town of Ur of the Chaldees (10 miles west of modern Nasiriyeh, Iraq) could never have been called ‘God-forsaken’. If anything, it was god-infested. It is impossible to be completely accurate with dates but the Bible record and the lifestyle details of Abraham indicate that his story begins approximately 2000 BC. (as a ‘rule of thumb’ we can work on Abraham c2000 BC, Moses c1500 BC, David c1000BC, the rebuilding of Jerusalem c500 BC) Room 56 in the British Museum is full of fascinating artefacts from the Royal Tombs of Ur (c2600) right through to the time of Abraham.

Ur was a capital city for much of this time. The delicate skills of its craftsman were amazing. Working in gold, silver, lapis lazuli, ivory, and bronze they have left us an eloquent description of life between the rivers (Mesopotamia). They had four-ass-powered, four-wheel chariots with replaceable wheels where the warrior had an armoury of throwing spears and his own driver. They had a written language and law-codes and highly regulated patterns of life. Ur’s position on the Euphrates gave it ready access to exotic imports through Basra, where the Euphrates meets the Tigris, and the Persian Gulf. Its merchants traded in precious stones and metals and its agriculturists worked complicated irrigation systems which guaranteed them rich harvests. And they built enormous temple mounds, including the famous Great Ziggurat of Ur (a kind of step-pyramid which stood over 60' tall and more than 200' wide) which would have dominated the skyline for all of Abraham’s growing years. They worshipped and propitiated a pantheon of gods, both heavenly and from the underworld, and developed an elaborate priestcraft. There are many fascinating legal seals which show aspects of Ur religion. One shows a supreme god seated and approached by two goddesses with right hands raised; the symbol of allegiance and supplication. The goddesses are leading a man into the presence of the greater god. Archaeologists sometimes call these minor goddesses ‘intercessors’; by their actions they bring men into the presence of god. It is an interesting insight into a role that one day Abraham would fulfil, not by pagan ritual but because he became ‘Abraham, My Friend’.

Around the time that Abraham was born Ur of the Chaldees fell under violent incursions from nomadic Amorites. The empire of Ur-Nammu collapsed and for the next 200 years Ur was the centre of turbulent times as other cities vied for supremacy. Terah raised his family in Ur at this time and at the ripe age of 130 he fathered Abraham, his youngest son. Terah was an Ur-ite through and through. He had seen Ur-Nammu (2112-2095 BC) arrive, had watched the development of his dynasty, empire and religion and had outlasted him, but now the city was in turmoil (2004 BC). At some point during his time in Ur his eldest son, Haran (Lot’s father), had died in his father’s presence. What tragedy lies behind this simple statement? Was this one of the factors which ‘unsettled’ Terah? Did he leave Ur for the safety of his remaining family? We have no answers to these questions other than to say all the answers were ‘Known unto God’. God was not excluded from the ebbing and flowing of empires, nor was He missing when Haran died in his father’s presence in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

We often hear of Abraham’s faith, and we will come to that soon, but the first account of Abraham’s departure from Ur is contained in the words And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. [Gen 11:31] Terah took them; this makes Terah the prime mover in these events. Now this raises a further question; can God be at work in the decision of an idol-worshipping head of a family whose decisions are based on fear and who has no knowledge of the true God?

My old preacher friend once said “When you are newly Christian you will marvel at the way that God intervenes in answer to your prayers; when you get older you will see that God’s grace is even more evident in His providence.” Have you been nicely settled in ‘Ur’ enjoying its sophistication and predictability? It may be that God will have to loosen your ropes with events that disturb and bring pain. It may be that He will unfold His will through the actions of someone who doesn’t even know Him. Sometimes He speaks through your enemies. As Josiah discovered to his loss, sometimes your worst enemy’s words are from the mouth of God. [2 Chron 20-23]

Don’t be too quick to shake off the dictates of secular or family authority. God knew what He was doing when He placed you there. Even though you are ‘born-again’ and have insights that your parents lack this may be a time when you are to be subject to them; though they understood not the saying which He spake unto them. And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them; for another 18 years! The circumstance that chafes so persistently may yet be God’s unique provision for you. In terms of providence we learn very little in prospect, a little more in context, but most of all in retrospect. And best of all we discover that while we were fretting and wondering what we should do next it was already ‘Known unto God’. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

Don’t fret little bird, trapped in your narrow cage, He knows what He will do. Empires will rise and fall but in the midst of all the fog of war He is silently planning for you, in love. And He will use their rise and fall to do things in you that will last forever. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. [1 John 2:17]

Abraham, My Friend (Number 2)

Abraham, My Friend (Number 2)

Ron Bailey

2. In the beginning God…

Every Christian biography should begin with the words “In the beginning God..” Our Bible begins with these words and, on reflection, it could begin with no others. How else would anything ‘begin’? The gospel according to John mirrors Genesis and expands it; In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. [John 1:1-3] …” It is the only explanation for everything; without Him there is nothing. It is the only explanation for anything; without him was not anything. That’s a question that atheistic cosmologists refuse to ask; ‘why is there anything?’ It was said of such cosmologists, by a fellow cosmologist, that they are “often in error but never in doubt”. Ask them ‘how?’ and you will hear the most extraordinary explanations of quantum theory and oscillating super-strings expressed with absolute certainty. Ask them ‘why?’ and there is no answer. Their calculations take us to the first micro-seconds of the cosmos but only revelation can take us back to the beginning where God already was.

For the child of God this truth is both humbling and exhilarating. In comparison to the vastnesses of the cosmos the human race is totally insignificant; if those cosmologists are right, just star-litter. Sometimes our confident knowledge blinds us to more profound realities. 3000 years ago a shepherd boy lay on his back and looked up; When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. [Ps 8:3-5]

The Bible’s timeline too is overwhelming. God’s ‘mindfulness’ of man is not some sudden thought pressed upon Him by the pains of the human race. Before anything was we were in His thoughts. The Bible captures this sense sometimes in plain words and sometimes in amazing imagery. The book of Proverbs takes us back to the beginnings and we hear the ‘testimony of Jesus which is the spirit of prophecy’. He is conscious that He belongs to His Father, before any creative acts have occurred; the LORD possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. [Prov 8:22] The extraordinary testimony continues as the creation is about to be brought into being; then I was beside him, like a master workman; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, [Prov 8:30] What a wonderful picture this is of Father and Son ‘daily, delighting in each other’s company’ and ‘eternity ringing with joy’; Father and Son in perfect fellowship. God, the only self-sufficient Being, needing nothing outside Himself; needing no heaven, no creation. Perfectly at home and fulfilled in Himself.

Consider then the wonder of this continuing testimony; and my delights were with the sons of men. [Prov 8:31] That is to say that Before ever the earth was, when there were no depths, no fountains abounding with water, no mountains… while as yet he had not made the earth… his delights were with the sons of men. He loved us long before He made us. He delighted over us; can you hear the excited anticipation? Oh, what a heart-break we have been to Him. What glorious plans He had for us; what a bitter disappointment we have been. This is no isolated text, John captures another for us in his record of Christ’s prayer; (thou) hast loved them, as thou hast loved me… thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. [John 17:23,24]. As they say, “do the math(s)”. If ‘He has loved us as He loved Him’, and ‘He has loved Him from before the foundation of the world’, how long has He loved us?

Our failures have not taken Him by surprise nor changed His love for us. The Old Testament comes to the end of its record of failure after failure with a simple word of testimony from God to His own people; I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet you say… [Mal 1:2] His world has conspired together against Him and against His Christ. [Ps 2:2] and yet His testimony is unchanged; I have loved you.

It is from this unchanged and unchanging love that all those ‘agains’ come. To a prodigal world God has reached out again and again. The book is full of them. The word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time… [Jonah 3:1] So He made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. [Jer 18:4] And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward [2 Kings 19:30] And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God. [2 Chronicles 33:13] and we hear it again in the words of those who have His love shed abroad in their hearts; My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. [Gal 4:19] While there is God there is hope, because where there is God there exists the possibility of a new beginning.

So we will discover it with Abraham. And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him…[Joshua 24:2,3] Not a very promising background is it? Far off in a pagan land, serving other gods; many of us had our beginnings in such places, and God took us and led us… Perhaps, as you read, you feel yourself to be in such a place now, with nothing to offer and under the rule of alien powers. You feel that God may do something with others but not with you. The English have a pessimistic old saying “you can’t make a silk purse out of a pig’s ear”. Don’t be discouraged; God can! From your impossible situation, God can take you and lead you. Your future is not determined by your past experiences but by today’s response to God. Where God is, there is always scope for a new beginning.

They say that every journey must begin with a first step, but the pilgrim does not mark the beginning of his journey with his own first step. In one way or another he senses a divine imperative. He may not use the exact words but, if you look under the skin, his testimony will always start at the same point.. “In the beginning God..”

Abraham, My Friend (Number 1)

Abraham, My Friend
The Making of a Praying Man

By Ron Bailey

1. Preface:

Every story has a purpose and my re-telling of this story has its purpose revealed in our sub-title. Abraham’s life is rich in illustration of the purposes of God and the daily incidents of a pilgrim but our ultimate goal will be to identify elements in the life of Abraham which made possible this amazing testimony from God Himself; Abraham, My Friend. (Isaiah 41:8)

There are many wonderful ways in which God describes His relationship with men and woman but this must be one of the most extraordinary; Abraham, My Friend. If Abraham had referred to God as ‘my friend’ we might have thought that he was guilty of ‘name-dropping’; the way in which some folk try to derive significance by association. If I were to refer to ‘Abraham, my friend’ I might lay myself open to that same accusation, but why should God refer to this man as ‘My Friend’?

Perhaps there is an indication in the New Testament. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. (John 15:15) Friends become the carriers of unique, intimate, knowledge because they can be trusted. It almost takes the breath away to say it but it is a regular testimony of scripture that God trusted Abraham. Abraham himself is the archetype of the man who trusts God but Abraham, My Friend, is an indication of God’s reliance upon Abraham. It brings to mind many another scripture; I sought for a man… …to stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. (Ezekiel 22:30) Oh, what would He do if He could only find the right man? EM Bounds famous book, Power through Prayer, begins with the statement that the “Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.” In turn, that brings to mind the comment of Paul Billheimer “Who knows what God would do for His servants if He dared?”

In Abraham, God found the kind of man He had looked for, a man who would become My Friend. He became God’s trusted agent, ‘our man on earth’ through whom God would further His purpose. Not in ignorance, as some kind of automaton blindly following an instruction, but as My Friend. What God accomplishes on earth He will accomplish through His Friends. Christians love to say that God accomplishes wonderful things ‘in spite of’ His servants. There is a truth in this statement but it ought not to blind us to the opposite and equally true statement that He accomplishes even more ‘because of His servants’. He will accomplish more through one trusted Friend than through a billion super-efficient tools. “Men are God’s method.”

Prayer, of course, functions at many levels; it usually begins with a sense of dependence and need. The man or woman who does not pray is an ‘atheist’ no matter what theology he subscribes to. He is also a ‘fool’; a word reserved, biblically, for those who leave God out of their reckoning. But prayer that remains at the level of personal need is still-born. The unique glory of the pray-er is that he has more than one friend; he has two. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? (Luke 11:5,6) That’s not one friend, but two. The pray-er is the living link between the Resource and the Need. If this chain is broken at either end the Resource and the Need remain separated; he must maintain living contact with both. There is valuable insight here. The pray-er is conscious of his own lack and inadequacy. He has nothing to set before him but the wonder is that he has access to another friend who has all necessary resources. Only by maintaining our links with both friends can be the channel of the blessing.

It took the Quakers to remind us that ‘Friends’ is a New Testament description of believers gathered in a local church. But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. [3 John 1:14] As we regard the settings where God has placed us, how well are we functioning as Friends? The Church comes under a lot a legitimate criticism but we would be using our unique role to better purpose if we prayed for our Friends. If we know that they lack resources, we know where we can go to find an answer. It would doubtless have many spin-off blessings; double portions even. It is recorded that the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. (Job 42:10) Perhaps if we are seeking release and blessing our best route is to pray for our friends.

The Greek word for ‘friend’ (gk: philos) is a word of tenderness and companionship. It is a word which speaks of fellowship. The original Hebrew word for ‘friend’ has another mood, (hb: ahab) it is the word for ‘Lover’. The Septuagint translators translated it not by ‘philos’ but ‘agapE’ giving something like ‘Abraham, My Lover’. It shocks us to read it. God’s love is not marked by faithful duty and companionship only, but by passion and exclusive personal commitment.

We begin to sense the personal relationship that blossomed between God and man. If Abraham is a man characterised by his faith, his faith is characterised by his love; this is authentic faith, faith that worketh by love (Galatians 5:6). It was not from isolated experiences that Abraham was designated as Abraham, My Friend but from a continuing relationship that grew throughout a lifetime. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. It came not primarily from enormous crisis experiences characterised by giant leaps into the dark, but through the single ‘steps of that faith of our father Abraham’. (Romans 4:12)

So it is with Abraham’s children, we grow not by big bangs and heroic set-piece triumphs, but by daily obediences of love. Not by stage-managed performances in the public arena but in the secret places where only God is witness. For those who measure success by visible effects it is often a weary plodding existence, but for those who genuinely seek only to be approved unto God it holds the prospect that in some secret place, one day, God will say this is ‘Abraham, My Friend’