Sight Unseen

Jesus with face pixelated

One of the most powerful evidences of the divine inspiration of the Bible is the overwhelming depth of prophetic meaning behind every detail in its pages. As you read about characters and events in the Old Testament, it's almost difficult to miss the wealth of types and foreshadowings of New Testament characters and events, a fact which is expressed in the adage:

The New is in the Old concealed,
the Old is in the New revealed.

For example, I once wrote an article about Joseph, and in that article I discussed how the events of his life paralleled and foreshadowed the life and ministry of Jesus in a number of strikingly detailed ways. However, Joseph isn't the only Old Testament figure that portrays a type of Christ. Another is Joseph's grandfather Isaac.

Isaac's father Abraham obeyed God's explicit instructions and took his young son to Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem and was obedient to the point of being ready to sacrifice him on an altar, only to be stopped at the last moment by the angel of the LORD (Gen. 22). It was a dramatic foreshadowing of what God would do to His own Son on the exact same spot two thousand years later, and the scene is rich in prophetically significant details.

Christ isn't the only one foreshadowed in the Old Testament, however. What I want to do in this article is discuss the story of Rebekah, and how this Gentile woman who became Isaac's bride is a beautiful foreshadowing of the Church, the bride of Christ, and how the story of her decision to embark on an arduous journey with her granduncle's servant to marry Isaac sight unseen gives us insight into the nature and destiny of the Church.

The mission

The drama unfolds in Genesis 24, and let's meet the main actors before they take the stage:

Abraham represents God the Father. It is Abraham who sends his servant on a mission to find a bride for his son Isaac, just as God sent the Holy Spirit into the world on the day of Pentecost to begin indwelling believers in order to take a bride for His Son.

Abraham's servant (who is never named in the story) represents the Holy Spirit. In fact, in any story in the Bible in which someone represents the Holy Spirit, that character is always an unnamed servant. This is because the Holy Spirit never glorifies or speaks of Himself—He seeks to glorify Christ (John 15:13–14).

It's reasonably certain from previous references in Genesis that the servant's name is Eliezer (also spelled Eleazar), which means "the help of God" or "God is help," an appropriate appellation for the third Person of the Trinity who Jesus referred to as "the Helper" several times during the Upper Room Discourse at the Last Supper (John 13–17).

Isaac represents Jesus. Note that the mission to find him a bride comes after his father Abraham was prepared to offer him as a sacrifice on Mt. Moriah. This is significant, since the Church came into existence after the Crucifixion, the event that was foreshadowed by what happened on Mt. Moriah. At the time of the quest to find him a bride, Isaac is 40 years old (Gen. 25:20).

Rebekah represents the Church, the bride of Christ. She is a Gentile woman and is the granddaughter of Abraham's brother Nahor. She lives with her family about four to five hundred miles to the north in the general region where many of Abraham's relatives still lived at the time.

As we review the chapter, I'm not going to chase down every rabbit trail along the way. There are several points I want to focus on later in the article that relate to the Church, so there are a few details throughout the story that are interesting in and of themselves that I won't take time to explore in this particular article.

As the story opens in chapter 24, Abraham has already offered to sacrifice his son in chapter 22, and according to many timelines this occurred when Isaac was in his late teens or early twenties—a young man of military age. Also, Abraham's wife Sarah (who represents Israel in many ways) has died and is buried in chapter 23.

1Abraham was old, and well stricken in age. Yahweh had blessed Abraham in all things. 2Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all that he had, "Please put your hand under my thigh. 3I will make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live. 4But you shall go to my country, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac."

(Genesis 24:1–4)

Abraham makes his servant promise that he will not take a bride for Isaac from among the Canaanites (which represent the world and the sinful world system). Abraham insists that his servant take a bride for his son from among his own people back in Mesopotamia. Spiritually, all those who are grafted into the New Covenant through faith in Christ are the spiritual seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:29), and are no longer "of the world."

5The servant said to him, "What if the woman isn't willing to follow me to this land? Must I bring your son again to the land you came from?" 6Abraham said to him, "Beware that you don't bring my son there again. 7Yahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, 'I will give this land to your seed.' He will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8If the woman isn't willing to follow you, then you shall be clear from this my oath. Only you shall not bring my son there again." 9The servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

(Genesis 24:5–9)

"What if the woman isn't willing...?" Heads up to all Calvinists: Notice that even at this early juncture of the narrative, we already see an emphasis on the free-will decision on the part of Isaac's future bride (i.e., born-again believers). More on this later.

Abraham makes it clear that his son Isaac is not to physically go back to Mesopotamia to get his bride, but that the bride is to be brought to Isaac. This speaks to the fact that at the Rapture, Christ doesn't return to earth to get us—we are caught up to be with Him in the clouds. He doesn't return to earth until the Second Coming. This dovetails perfectly with a pre-trib Rapture, whereas a post-trib Rapture breaks the type and leaves us scratching our interpretive heads. Not surprisingly, the post-trib crowd's best "solution" is a pointlessly impractical and scripturally inconsistent U-turn.

This also speaks to the separation of the Church from the world. So often the corporate Church today seeks to link Christ's name and the message of the gospel with all manner of social programs and worldly initiatives, effectively dragging Isaac back to Mesopotamia.

Christ doesn't come to the world to be with the Church.
The Church leaves the world to be with Christ.

Just as Abraham is determined to see his son honored with a suitable bride, one thing we should understand here is that the Father's counsel in regard to the Church is inextricably linked to honoring His Son. The ultimate purpose of the Church is to be an eternal display of His mercy and grace (Eph. 2:7), and to honor His Son who shed His blood to pay the bride price for us.

We also see this in the Parable of the Banquet (Luke 14:15–24), where a king has prepared a wedding banquet for his son and has invited many guests. However, one guest after another begs off for some reason until the angry king finally sends his servants out to the busy roads and intersections to compel anyone they can find to attend his son's banquet.

The bottom line is that God's Son will be honored, because He alone is worthy (Rev. 5:12).

10The servant took ten camels, of his master's camels, and departed, having a variety of good things of his master's with him. He arose, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. 11He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water. 12He said, "Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13Behold, I am standing by the spring of water. The daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14Let it happen, that the young lady to whom I will say, 'Please let down your pitcher, that I may drink,' and she will say, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink,'—let her be the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."

(Genesis 24:10–14)

There is a fascinating detail here that many people miss. Notice the servant is traveling with 10 camels, and so at least theoretically he would be able to return with a group of 10 people. In Jewish tradition, 10 is the minimum number of people needed to hold any type of public worship, because 10 is considered a legal congregation (in Hebrew, a minyan).

The idea of 10 forming a legal congregation comes from Genesis 18, where God is about to rain judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham (whose ne'er-do-well nephew Lot happened to live in Sodom) talks God all the way down to 10 as the number of righteous people required to spare the cities (Gen. 18:32).

The point is that the Holy Spirit is going to have a certified legal congregation of believers in tow at the Rapture.

The servant is also bringing a variety of "good things" with him to give to Isaac's new bride, which typify the gifts of the Spirit which are distributed among all believers.

The fact that it is time for the women to come to the well to gather water speaks to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the current Church Age. Note also that the servant depends completely on God's guidance to find a bride for Isaac. He prays for a very specific sign, and he doesn't have to wait long for his prayers to be answered.

15It happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16The young lady was very beautiful to look at, a virgin, neither had any man known her. She went down to the spring, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17The servant ran to meet her, and said, "Please give me a drink, a little water from your pitcher." 18She said, "Drink, my lord." She hurried, and let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him drink. 19When she had done giving him drink, she said, "I will also draw for your camels, until they have done drinking." 20She hurried, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw, and drew for all his camels. 21The man looked steadfastly at her, remaining silent, to know whether Yahweh had made his journey prosperous or not.

(Genesis 24:15–21)

When Rebekah comes along, her attitude and behavior are marked by charity and selfless devotion to others—a model all believers should attain to as we strive to manifest the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

Rebekah draws water

In verse 21, notice that the servant is watching Rebekah and is waiting to see if his journey would be successful or not. But wait a second...he's already prayed for and received God's guidance in identifying the woman who would be Isaac's bride, so the issue of whether Rebekah was the one or not has already been settled. He's got a positive ID on her.

So, hasn't his mission already succeeded? What's the deal?

Scripture is once again emphasizing the point that the Holy Spirit will not force us to come to Christ or obey God. God doesn't want automatons. He doesn't want mindless robots that have no choice but to do His bidding. He wants us to love Him and follow His ways out of a willing and grateful heart.

The point is that although the servant knows Rebekah is the right one, he isn't going to force her to leave her home and her family and follow him to a distant land to marry someone she's never met. God's foreknowledge of her decision notwithstanding, it still has to be her choice—and that remains to be seen. Yes, she responds favorably and yields to the servant's entreaties, but she clearly does so of her own volition.

So it is with every single individual who has ever heard the message of the gospel, responded to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and believed in faith that Christ died and was raised from the dead to atone for their sin. Contrary to the doctrine espoused by Calvinists, the Bible makes it crystal clear that we have a free-will choice in spiritual matters—we have a personal responsibility to respond to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit and believe the gospel in faith. It's just that an omiscient God knew that we would do so.

22It happened, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold, 23and said, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there room in your father's house for us to lodge in?" 24She said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor." 25She said moreover to him, "We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in." 26The man bowed his head, and worshiped Yahweh. 27He said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his loving kindness and his truth toward my master. As for me, Yahweh has led me in the way to the house of my master's relatives."

(Genesis 24:22–27)

The servant politely asks if there is room for him to stay with them—he doesn't force himself on Rebekah's family. The Holy Spirit is above all things a gentleman—He doesn't force anyone to let Him into their hearts and lives. We must make room for Him. It is up to us to humbly invite Him in with an attitude of repentance and submission to His will for our lives.

Notice the constant worship and praise on the part of the servant. He has complete trust in God's help and is in constant communication with Him every step of the way.

28The young lady ran, and told her mother's house about these words. 29Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man, to the spring. 30It happened, when he saw the ring, and the bracelets on his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, "This is what the man said to me," that he came to the man. Behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. 31He said, "Come in, you blessed of Yahweh. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and room for the camels." 32The man came into the house, and he unloaded the camels. He gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33Food was set before him to eat, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told my message." He said, "Speak on."

(Genesis 24:28–33)

As soon as Rebekah learns about Isaac, she runs back to tell her family. She couldn't wait to share the good news—and that's exactly the attitude believers should have toward the gospel. We have the best news of all to share, and we should be anxious to share it.

Your best life now

Rebekah relates to her family just what the servant told her, and there's no indication that she embellished it or juiced it up to make it more appealing. She simply reports to them what the servant said, and I believe there is a lesson here for ministers of the gospel who massage God's Word into lukewarm pablum and water down, sugar coat, purée, mince and marinate the message of the cross of Christ to suit the fickle tastes of modern society (and bolster their own popularity).

All God wants us to do is tell others that His Son Jesus died and rose again so that they could be saved. That's our job.

The Holy Spirit will do the rest. That's His job.

Note also that the servant has a sense of urgency, refusing to take food until he has explained the purpose of his journey. Similarly, the salvation of people who are lost in sin and hurtling toward an eternity separated from a holy God who loves them is deadly serious business, and there is nothing lackadaisical or ho-hum about the Holy Spirit's efforts to draw men to Christ.

34He said, "I am Abraham's servant. 35Yahweh has blessed my master greatly. He has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master when she was old. He has given all that he has to him. 37My master made me swear, saying, 'You shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, 38but you shall go to my father's house, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.' 39I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not follow me?' 40He said to me, 'Yahweh, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you, and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son of my relatives, and of my father's house. 41Then will you be clear from my oath, when you come to my relatives. If they don't give her to you, you shall be clear from my oath.' 42I came this day to the spring, and said, 'Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, if now you do prosper my way which I go— 43behold, I am standing by this spring of water. Let it happen, that the maiden who comes forth to draw, to whom I will say, "Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink," 44and she will tell me, "Drink, and I will also draw for your camels,"—let her be the woman whom Yahweh has appointed for my master's son.'

45"Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder. She went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, 'Please let me drink.' 46She hurried and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink.' So I drank, and she also gave the camels a drink. 47I asked her, and said, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.' I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her hands. 48I bowed my head, and worshiped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. 49Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. If not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left."

50Then Laban and Bethuel answered, "The thing proceeds from Yahweh. We can't speak to you bad or good. 51Behold, Rebekah is before you. Take her, and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as Yahweh has spoken."

(Genesis 24:34–51)

The servant faithfully rehashes the particulars of his mission, and Rebekah's family wisely realizes that God is indeed behind the whole thing and they submit to God's will. Again, the servant doesn't push them into anything.

Although her brother Laban tells the servant to go ahead and take Rebekah, notice what happens next:

52It happened that when Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the earth to Yahweh. 53The servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and her mother. 54They ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and stayed all night. They rose up in the morning, and he said, "Send me away to my master." 55Her brother and her mother said, "Let the young lady stay with us a few days, at least ten. After that she will go." 56He said to them, "Don't hinder me, since Yahweh has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master." 57They said, "We will call the young lady, and ask her." 58They called Rebekah, and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She said, "I will go." 59They sent away Rebekah, their sister, with her nurse, Abraham's servant, and his men.

60They blessed Rebekah, and said to her, "Our sister, may you be the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let your seed possess the gate of those who hate them."

61Rebekah arose with her ladies. They rode on the camels, and followed the man. The servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

(Genesis 24:52–61)

Back in verse 51, her brother Laban tells the servant to take Rebekah. But then in verse 55, he wants her to stay behind for at least another 10 days.

Without getting into any deep musings about the symbolism of the number 10 here, at face value this could be seen as a picture of how the world will always try to hold us back from following the Lord. Rebekah's brother is reminiscent of old friends and family members who innocently try to pull us back into our old ways and our old lifestyle because they fail to understand that something has changed—that we've changed after we've been spiritually regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Christians don't fit in

They don't get it. They can't, because the gospel is so much foolishness to them (1 Cor. 1:18). All they know is that we don't enjoy some of the same activities the way we used to. We are beginning to be drawn to things of the Spirit, and our taste for the things of the world seems to be waning. They don't understand that we're just not the same anymore. We just don't fit in the way we used to. They may even want to "help" us get back to "normal."

Although maturing in our walk with the Lord is a lifelong process, it begins the moment we believe the gospel in faith and the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our spirit.

And don't miss the most important question of all from Rebekah's family:

"Will you go with this man?"

...and the response that seals her destiny:

"I will go."

That was four thousand years ago, and today the Holy Spirit convicts men of sin and draws them to Christ, and asks:

"Will you come?"

And as He waits for an answer, my dear Calvinist friends are free to stick that in their predestination pipes and smoke it for awhile.

62Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he lived in the land of the South. 63Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the evening. He lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, there were camels coming. 64Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel. 65She said to the servant, "Who is the man who is walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." She took her veil, and covered herself. 66The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife. He loved her. Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

(Genesis 24:62–67)

Note that this last verse can be a bit misleading if read out of context, because when it says Isaac brought Rebekah "into his mother Sarah's tent," it makes it sound as if Sarah were still living. In fact, Sarah had already been dead for three or four years according to most timelines (Gen. 23).

The fact that Sarah is out of the picture is significant because she is a type of Israel, and so this paints a picture of the Church not being formed until after Israel had been hardened and temporarily set aside following their rejection of their Messiah (Rom. 11:25).

And here's a little tidbit for the supersessionist folks who stubbornly cling to the error of replacement theology, and who wrongly suppose that the Church has replaced Israel. Throughout the story, Isaac's mother Sarah and his bride Rebekah are obviously two distinctly different people. When Isaac takes Rebekah into his mother's tent, it is a picture of the Church being grafted into the New Covenant through faith in Christ. Rebekah (the Church) didn't replace Sarah (Israel), but was brought in to be a new part of Isaac's family after Sarah (Israel) is taken out of the picture temporarily.

Rebekah came to be his bride, not to replace his mother!

The servant and Rebekah arrive at evening, which speaks to the fact that Jesus will take His bride at the end of the current Church Age. Note that Isaac only comes a short distance out into the field to meet her, which is a picture of the Lord descending from heaven and us being caught up to meet him in the air (1 Thess. 4:16–17).

Finally, in verse 67, notice that when Isaac marries Rebekah, he is "comforted after his mother's death." Sometimes it's easy for us to forget how much Jesus loves each and every member of His Church! When Christ came the first time, He came to offer Israel (His Father's wife) the kingdom—and they rejected Him and His offer and had Him nailed to a cross. The Father wants to "comfort" His Son by giving Him a bride, and He's not going to lose a single one of us:

27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand.

(John 10:27–29 / emphasis added)

As much as we think of Jesus comforting us, it's humbling to think that we bring Him comfort as well.

45Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

(Matthew 13:45–46)

We know the predominantly Gentile Church is that pearl, because pearls come from clams and clams are unclean for Jews. And Jesus paid the highest price imaginable for us—His life.

1Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

(Hebrews 12:1–2 / emphasis added)

It just blows me away when I stop and think that an eternity with us, His bride, is at least part of what helped Christ endure the cross.

Digging a little deeper

I want to elaborate a bit on a couple of details in the story of Rebekah's journey, because there are insights here about the nature and destiny of the Church that lie just below the surface.

First of all, it is clear that Rebekah's journey to Isaac's home represents the Church Age—the bride of Christ is called out from the world and responds in faith to ultimately be with the One the Holy Spirit has drawn us to.

Note that there is no mention of any major disasters on Rebekah's journey to Isaac. Nobody gets lost in a sandstorm. Nobody dies of thirst. Nobody gets waylaid by bloodthirsty bandits or sold into slavery.

And nobody is beheaded for refusing to take the mark of the beast.

The Church Age is characterized here as containing nothing more than the usual troubles and trials we can all expect in this world as believers in the gospel. This is what the Church can expect to endure, because we are told that all who seek to live godly lives in Christ will suffer persecution (2 Tim. 3:12).

"So," one might innocently inquire, "what am I missing here?"

In this seven-verse
synopsis of the Church
Age, there isn't so
much as a whisper
about the Tribulation.

The Tribulation. That's what we're missing here. What we're missing is any mention of anything that could be construed as being representative of the Tribulation. Daniel's 70th Week. The time of Jacob's trouble. You know, that prophesied period of time devoted to the national redemption of Israel and the judgment of the Christ-rejecting nations of the world that post-tribbers believe the bride of Christ will endure for some unspecified (and unscriptural) reasons.

The servant leaves with Rebekah and her maids in verse 61 (the Church is birthed by the Holy Spirit), and Isaac has met her (the Rapture) and has married her by verse 67, and note one thing: In this seven-verse synopsis of the Church Age, there isn't so much as a whisper about the Tribulation.

At the risk of belaboring the obvious, this is certainly consistent with a pre-tribulation Rapture.

Feast and famine: Although the Tribulation isn't mentioned in the story of Isaac, it figures prominently in the story of his grandson Joseph. In Genesis 41, Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dream about seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine, and as a result is honored and given a position of authority second only to Pharaoh himself. At the same time, Joseph takes a Gentile bride, another type of the Church. Then come the seven years of plenty, followed by the seven years of famine—one of the clearest foreshadowings of the Tribulation in the entire Old Testament.

And you'd be hard-pressed to find anything in the Old Testament that paints a clearer picture of a pre-trib Rapture.

Not only is there no mention of the Tribulation proper, but notice how often the hardships of their journey are mentioned (uh, never). Notice how often Rebekah complains about having to ride on the back of a stinky camel day after day through the hot, dry desert (ditto). Note how often Scripture talks about how Rebekah starts whining and is ready to give up, turn around, and head back to Mesopotamia (same deal—not once).

Of course, the journey was not an easy, comfortable one. On my list of Things I Hope I Never Have To Do, traveling five hundred miles through the desert on the back of a camel ranks right up there near the top. But the hardships she experienced aren't even mentioned because...they aren't worth mentioning:

16Therefore we don't faint, but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. 17For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; 18while we don't look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

(2 Corinthians 4:16–18)

The troubles and trials we suffer in this world are utterly inconsequential when compared to the glory we will experience knowing and being with Christ for eternity. And just as the prospect of a new life with Isaac motivated Rebekah to leave her home and endure the journey, it is this hope that should motivate born-again believers to crucify the flesh and put aside everything that hinders us in our walk with the Lord.

Finally, note that verse 62 says that Isaac came from Beer Lahai Roi. In Hebrew, the word beer means "well," and the whole name means "the well of the One who lives and sees me," or "the well of the living One who sees me."

The well was so named as a result of the experience of Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian handmaid. In Genesis 16, we read that Sarah is unable to conceive, and out of desperation has her husband use Hagar as a surrogate to bear a child. But when Hagar actually conceives, she begins to treat Sarah with contempt and the tension between them comes to a head. An exasperated Sarah finally tells her husband that she wants the Lord to judge in the matter, and Abraham basically says "Hey, she's your servant...do whatever you want with her."

Hagar and the angel of the LORD

Sarah promptly kicks a pregnant Hagar out of the house and sends her packing. In the desert, the angel of the LORD* appears to Hagar and asks her where she came from and where she's going, and she tells him she is fleeing from her mistress Sarah. The angel tells her to go back to Sarah and submit to her, and also informs her that she will have a son who is to be called Ishmael, and that he will have countless descendants.

(*Note: Artistic conceptions notwithstanding, I agree with many Bible scholars who believe such Old Testament references to "the angel of the LORD" or "the angel of Yahweh" are in fact appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ.)

Hagar recognizes that she has been visited by the angel of the LORD, and is overwhelmed by the fact that God sees her and knows her predicament.

Although unseen, God sees.

So when Rebekah first meets Isaac in the field that evening, she is finally face to face with the One who lives and sees her. This is a beautiful picture of the nature of the Church's relationship with Christ during our earthly lives and what we will experience at the Rapture, when our faith in what we cannot see will find its complete fulfillment and we will see and be with Him for eternity.

And we will finally understand He has been watching over us all along.

Not seeing is believing

Recall in John 20 that Christ appears to His disciples on the evening of Resurrection Sunday. Thomas is absent, and refuses to believe the others when they tell him they have seen the Lord. Eight days later, Jesus appears to them again and Thomas is there, sees the scars, and believes.

And in one sentence, Jesus gives us the most profound characterization of the Church found anywhere in the entire New Testament:

29Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

(John 20:29b AKJV)

Rebekah believed the servant's report about Isaac and traveled far to be with him sight unseen, never seeing him face to face until she finally met him at the end of her journey. We have believed the Holy Spirit's report about Christ and what He did for us and are traveling far to be with Him sight unseen, and we won't see Him face to face until the Rapture.

The servant told Rebekah all about Isaac and how his father Abraham had given him all things—so, what does the Holy Spirit tell us about Jesus and God the Father in Scripture?

The Holy Spirit tells us God loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die to pay the penalty for our sin that separates us from Him.

And we believe.

The Holy Spirit tells us He will forgive our sins and impute His Son's perfect righteousness to us if we ask in faith.

And we believe.

The Holy Spirit tells us Jesus rose from death to eternal life, and so will we if we place our faith in Him.

And we believe.

We haven't seen Him, but we believe. We may not see Him, but He sees us. The Lord may not intervene in our earthly lives in an overt manner, but just as the servant reported to Isaac all the details of everything that had transpired (v. 66), Jesus sees and is aware of every detail of our situations at all times, and is able to do whatever is needed at any moment to sustain us, provide for us, and carry us through.

We haven't seen Him, but that will change soon enough—and what a day that will be! We will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and in our new glorified bodies we will be able to see Him the way He really is because we will be like Him:

2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

(1 John 3:2 AKJV / emphasis added)

Don't miss the next verse, however:

3And every man that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure.

(1 John 3:3 AKJV)

So rather than waste time bickering about when we'll see Him, believers would do well to focus on the fact that we will. Only then can the hope of seeing Him do what it was intended to do—and that's motivate us to purify our lives, obey His Word, and live in a manner pleasing to Him so that we're not ashamed when we meet Him face to face.

And we will soon enough. And when we do, Jesus will no longer be the Lord of our lives that we serve sight unseen, but we will see Him as He is.

And it can't happen soon enough for me.

Greg Lauer — MAY '16

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Credits for Graphics (in order of appearance):
1. Adapted from Sunset Over Grass Field © AOosthuizen at Can Stock Photo
2. Adapted from Leonardo da Vinci – Last Supper (copy) – WGA12732 by anonymous (author unknown, but believed to be Andrea di Bartoli Solari), marked as public domain [PD], more details on Wikimedia Commons
3. Rebecca et Eliézer (Rebecca and Eliezer) by Alexandre Cabanel creator QS:P170,Q310437, marked as public domain [PD], more details on Wikimedia Commons
4. Adapted from Blank Church Sign © cfarmer at Adobe Stock
5. Conceptual Image of Teamwork © dileep at Can Stock Photo
6. Agar în deşert (Hagar in the Desert) by Gheorghe Tattarescu creator QS:P170,Q2441977, marked as public domain [PD], more details on Wikimedia Commons

Scripture Quotations:
All Scripture is taken from the World English Bible, unless specifically annotated as the King James Version (KJV) or the American King James Version (AKJV).