CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BRIDE
FOR ISAAC: “The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her”
FOR CHRIST: “and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.”
FOR ISAAC: She was chosen before she knew about it: “May it be that when I say to a girl, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’– let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”
FOR CHRIST: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
FOR ISAAC: She was necessary for the completion of God’s purpose: “And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.”
FOR CHRIST: God’s purpose fulfilled: “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
FOR ISAAC: She is called to share the “glory” of the bridegroom: “My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns.”
CHRIST: The Church will share Christ’s glory: “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
ISAAC: She expressed and showed love to the bridegroom before she saw him: ” So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she said.
CHRIST: “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy”
ISAAC: She travelled, being guided by the servant. to meet the bridegroom: “Then Rebekah and her maids got ready and mounted their camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.”
CHRIST:“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade– kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith– of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire– may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
ISAAC: She is loved by, and finally united with the bridegroom: “Now Isaac …. went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself. Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her……”
CHRIST: “to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” (Eph.5:26-27 NIV> “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.”