Genesis
24:1 ¶ And Abraham was old, and well
stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of
his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my
thigh: 3 And I will make thee swear by
the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take
a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and
to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. 5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure
the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring
thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? 6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that
thou bring not my son thither again. 7
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. 8 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. 9 And the servant put his
hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that
matter.
Abraham
was well-acquainted with the religious practices and the character of the
Canaanites. Ham’s grandson’s descendants were very carnal and impulsive, prone
to the most awful religious practices like temple prostitution with both female
prostitutes called whores and male
prostitutes called sodomites, a
reference to Sodom once under control of Babylon, and the source of that early
God-defying religion. The slang dog is
also used as a derogatory term for them.
Deuteronomy
23:17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a
sodomite of the sons of Israel.
18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God
for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
There
was also child sacrifice to Baal where, with trumpets blowing and drums
beating, the infant was thrown into the super-heated arms of a statue of this
devil. The noise was so that the screams of the infant could be muted because
it was not pleasing to this devil for parents to mourn. In this way, on one
occasion, 300 babies were slaughtered in the city of Carthage, a colony of
Phoenicia, much later in history during war, to appease Baal’s wrath.
Sex
with animals as evidenced even today on an Indian temple in carvings and other
sexual practices under the guise of religion and for any reason as banned by
the Law given to Moses were also common. It was a wicked world without even the
superficial layer of pretended morality we have today.
Abraham
wanted nothing of this world to have polluted the wife he desired for his son.
Unfortunately for Solomon, later king of Israel, he did not feel that way much
to his shame.
1Kings
11:4 For it came to pass, when Solomon
was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart
was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
Nehemiah
13:26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin
by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was
beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even
him did outlandish women cause to sin.
The
Christian is warned not to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever.
2Corinthians
6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
and what communion hath light with darkness? 15
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that
believeth with an infidel?
Many
marriages made by Christians with cynical unbelief have either turned out
unhappy or, even if physically happy, have borne no faith and a lack of regard
for God in both parents and children is the result. It is a terrible mistake to
encourage a son or daughter who has been a faithful Bible-believing young
person to marry someone who does not believe or trust in Christ, someone whom
they met in the public school you sent them to or the university you thought
they must attend.
There
are two things, two trends, in American history that have killed faith in later
generations. One of them is the hyper-Christianity, the self-righteousness of
conservatives and liberals who believed they were bringing in the kingdom of
Christ on earth without Him. The other is Christian youth marrying unbelievers
and creating confusion and then unbelief in their families.
Here
we see an odd custom of putting one’s hand under the upper leg of a person
superior in rank to swear an oath. The thigh in the Bible refers to the leg
down to the knee as in this description of breeches,
the underwear of the Hebrew priests.
Exodus
28:42 And thou shalt make them linen
breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they
shall reach:
This
steward the eldest servant of his house,
that ruled over all that he had is identified by name as Eliezer of
Damascus in 15:2. It has been said that if Abraham is a type of God the Father,
then Eliezer is a type of the Holy Ghost going into the world to gather the
church, the Bride of Christ, for Isaac, who is a type of Christ. Verse 8
underscores the free will nature of this church as God forces no one to follow
Him.
One
fact of God’s perfect will be completed in His way successfully is His angel,
or appearance, going before. When you are doing God’s will and in obedience to
Him He has already prepared the ground ahead of you, make no mistake of that.
Genesis
24:10 ¶ And the servant took ten camels
of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were
in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. 11 And he made his camels to kneel down without
the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that
women go out to draw water. 12 And he
said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this
day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water;
and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: 14 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. 15
And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah
came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s
brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. 16
And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man
known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
17 And the servant ran to meet her, and
said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. 18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted,
and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. 19 And when she had done giving him drink, she
said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.
20 And she hasted, and emptied her
pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew
for all his camels. 21 And the man
wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey
prosperous or not. 22 And it came to
pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of
half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of
gold; 23 And said, Whose daughter art
thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge
in? 24 And she said unto him, I am the
daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. 25 She said moreover unto him, We have both
straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. 26 And the man bowed down his head, and
worshipped the LORD. 27 And he said,
Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my
master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the
house of my master’s brethren. 28 And
the damsel ran, and told them of her mother’s house these things.
Much
can be said about the significance of the Eliezer, a type of the Holy Ghost,
bringing ten camels. There are many sermons to be had out of this passage
exhorting people to believe on Christ. For one example
of prophetic interpretation, the phrase And
God said is repeated ten times in the first chapter of Genesis. Perhaps, in
symbolic, typology these ten camels, brought by a type of the Holy Ghost to a
type of God’s church represent God’s word in Abraham, a type of God the Father,
sending the Holy Ghost to gather His church for Christ, who in type is Isaac,
already sacrificed in type and resurrected in type, based on how the church
responds to the words of God. What is happening here is then telling us in
shadow what has happened in the spiritual world since before creation.
Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
The part played by the bride-to-be
for Isaac, the church for Christ, is laid out by the servant of Abraham, or the
Holy Ghost, as one who when approached by the Holy Ghost, responds. The Holy
Ghost makes the truth of the gospel brought by the Holy Ghost on ten camels, in
a manner of speaking, representing what God has said, apparent and the
bride-to-be responds. The bride for Isaac waters the camels as the church
glorifies the gospel of Christ by its response to that gospel, confirming that
the church is indeed chosen, but chosen by her response. Below, Paul expresses
his wish to present the church as pure to Christ as His bride.
2Corinthians 11:2 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.
And this marriage will be complete at
the end of human history.
Revelation 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they
which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me,
These are the true sayings of God.
Verse
16 defines a virgin; a virgin, neither
had any man known her. This will be important in talking about the miracle
of Mary carrying Jesus in the gospels. Verse 22 gives us an important point
about understanding the Bible. Bracelets, which go around wrists, are said to
be for hands, which clearly includes the wrist. So, an earring is said to go on
one’s face in the next passage.
Genesis
24:29 ¶ And Rebekah had a brother, and
his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well. 30 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. 31
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. 32 And the man came into the house: and he
ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to
wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him.
Laban’s
excitement is obvious as this stranger has dispensed some valuable items to his
sister. This must be someone important. When Laban invites Eliezer into his
house we see the practice of former times when the shelter for the animals was
part of the house. People in the ancient world up through the Middle Ages
generally shared part of their home with animals which were provided shelter
and in return provided heat at night and in the winter.[1] This is acknowledged in
several authorities who study the history of shelter. At one time and for
several thousand years herding peoples shared their dwellings with at least
some animals. Modern people prefer a more sanitary existence apart from nature
so even any sight of a bug sends some into a fit and while a cat, dog, or bird
are welcome companions they are often cast aside if their care becomes too much
of a chore for inside dwellers. I think it is important to understand that
these people were much different than we are in their manner of living.
Genesis
24:33 And there was set meat before him
to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he
said, Speak on. 34 And he said, I am
Abraham’s servant. 35 And the LORD hath
blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him
flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and
camels, and asses. 36 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. 37 And my master
made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of
the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: 38
But thou shalt go unto my father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a
wife unto my son. 39 And I said unto my
master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. 40 And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I
walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a
wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house: 41 Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath,
when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be
clear from my oath. 42 And I came this
day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do
prosper my way which I go: 43 Behold, I
stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin
cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little
water of thy pitcher to drink; 44 And
she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the
same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master’s son. 45 And before I had done speaking in mine heart,
behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down
unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.
46 And she made haste, and let down her
pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink
also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. 47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art
thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto
him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.
48 And I bowed down my head, and
worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had
led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son.
49 And now if ye will deal kindly and
truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the
right hand, or to the left. 50 Then
Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we
cannot speak unto thee bad or good. 51
Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy
master’s son’s wife, as the LORD hath spoken. 52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s
servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.
53 And the servant brought forth jewels
of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave
also to her brother and to her mother precious things.
Genesis
24:54 ¶ And they did eat and drink, he
and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the
morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master. 55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the
damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. 56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing
the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.
57 And they said, We will call the
damsel, and enquire at her mouth. 58 And
they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she
said, I will go. 59 And they sent away
Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.
60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said
unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and
let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. 61 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.
Eliezer
insisted upon relating his mission before he would eat and there is an attempt
to delay him. Perhaps they were hoping for even more bounty to be given to the
family than was given. In the end everyone acknowledges that it is Rebekah’s
decision to make and she chooses to leave with Abraham’s servant. It is curious
that she is given a choice in that culture but that is important typology
considering the importance of choice in salvation. Here is the blessing also
from her mother and brother wishing her to be the mother of billions of people.
On a literal level this would mean that the Jews, the name that we now call the
Hebrews, will grow in numbers on this earth much, much greater than the 15
million or so that now exist. Rather than go on speculation about Gentiles who
may be descended from Jews or follow a metaphor of how the Christian faith
sprang from the faith of the people of Moses therefore accounting for billions
of descendants I am first taking this passage literally as it stands for
Rebekah to be the literal mother of billions who self-identify today and in the
future as Jews, descendants of Abraham through Isaac. This also predicts their
eventual victory over the peoples of the earth who hated, despised, and
persecuted them. There are many prophecies concerning God’s restoration of them
to a special place. From a literal perspective, not denying metaphor but
focusing just on the literal words, Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 25 is one
example of how nations who have
despised the Jews will suffer in the end.
But
there are always at least two applications of any Bible passage; the literal as
to whom it is speaking to or about directly in that context and the spiritual
which can be prophecy or involve a greater, more enduring meaning such as
Ezekiel’s description of the kings of Tyre and Babylon also describing Satan. One
explanation is literal and one is spiritual with a deeper meaning. Spiritually
it is easy to equate this huge number with the Christians who choose to believe
and follow God as the spiritual descendants of Abraham although they are
accounted as being born of Christ. The following verse from the Psalm that
Christ begins from the Cross is very important.
Psalm 22:30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be
accounted to the Lord for a generation.
Understand
that a generation can be a class, a distinct group of people in history, and
not just a group of individuals physically being born and physically dying in a
specific time frame issuing from a biological father and mother. This will help
us understand the following words of Christ.
First,
this generation as a group of people living and dying in a timeframe, of the
same or similar ethnicity and culture. This is a reference to the destruction
of the temple by the Romans in 70AD, with generation including the religious
leaders of Christ’s day.
Matthew 23:13 ¶ But woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of
heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves,
neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer:
therefore ye shall receive the greater
damnation. 15 Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one
proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than
yourselves. 16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever
shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold
of the temple, he is a debtor! 17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is
greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it
is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the
altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth
by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22
And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by
him that sitteth thereon. 23 Woe unto
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and
cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters
of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to
leave the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, which
strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they
are full of
extortion and excess. 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first
that which is within the cup
and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear
beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous
unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the
sepulchres of the righteous, 30 And say,
If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers
with them in the blood of the prophets. 31
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of
them which killed the prophets. 32 Fill
ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye
escape the damnation of hell?
34 ¶ Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets,
and wise men, and scribes: and some
of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some
of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35 That upon you may come all the righteous
blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of
Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36
Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and
stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy
children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see
me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
24:1 ¶ And Jesus went out, and departed from the
temple: and his disciples came to him
for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2
And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto
you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be
thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the
mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when
shall these things be? and what shall
be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 ¶
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive
you. 5 For many shall come in my name,
saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6
And ye
shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not
troubled: for all these things
must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and
there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and
ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall
betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall
deceive many. 12 And because iniquity
shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the
same shall be saved.
Then, Jesus goes on to the end of history in Revelation unless you
believe He returned physically in 70AD, which would be a disturbing thought
and, I believe, an error.
24:14 And this gospel of
the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;
and then shall the end come. 15 When ye
therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the
prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into
the mountains: 17 Let him which is on
the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return
back to take his clothes. 19 And woe
unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20 But pray ye that your flight be not
in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning
of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened,
there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be
shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say
unto you, Lo, here is Christ,
or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs,
and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive
the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told
you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall
say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe
it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east,
and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there
will the eagles be gathered together. 29
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of
man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall
see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a
great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the
four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Then
comes a reference to a generation that must refer to the Elect of God.
32 ¶ Now learn a parable of
the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know
that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these
things, know that it is near, even
at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall
not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my
words shall not pass away. 36 But of
that day and hour knoweth no man,
no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the
Son of man be. 38 For as in the days
that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving
in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took
them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall
be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill;
the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth
come. 43 But know this,
that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come,
he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in
such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom
his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so
doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he
shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48
But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth
his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and
drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of
that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not
aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder,
and appoint him his portion
with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
One might ask, why in Matthew 23 and 24 would there be two
different definitions of generation? Well,
Christ had already done that with two definitions of Master in one passage.
Matthew 23:8 But be not ye
called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even
Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And
call no man your father upon
the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your
Master, even Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be
your servant. 12 And whosoever shall
exalt himself shall be
abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
One definition of Master
in this same passage is Rabbi or
teacher. (see a contrast between teacher and student in Malachi 2:12) The other
definition is lord or superior in the
context.
As far as objections to a split prophecy in the same passage
regarding events thousands of years apart starting in Matthew 24:14 from the
time before that verse, Jesus already did this in Luke 4:18-21 where he quoted
Isaiah 61:1,2 with a gap between acceptable
year of the LORD, and and of at
least two thousand years.
Isaiah 61:1 ¶ The Spirit of
the Lord GOD is upon me;
because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath
sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and
the opening of the prison to them that
are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance
of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Luke 4:17 And there was
delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the
book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to
set at liberty them that are bruised, 19
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat
down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This
day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Regardless
of interpretation, spiritual or physical, Rebekah’s offspring, as a group, will
now play an important role in God’s ministry of reconciliation for mankind and
will not be forgotten by God no matter what their failings.
Her
spiritual descendants will stand before God in Heaven.
Revelation 7:9 After this I
beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations,
and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the
Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation
to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Genesis
24:62 ¶ And Isaac came from the way of
the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country. 63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field
at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels
were coming. 64 And Rebekah lifted up
her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. 65 For she had said unto the servant, What man
is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is
my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he
had done. 67 And Isaac brought her into
his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he
loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
According
to Strong’s dictionary Lahairoi is
the well of the “Living One seeing me.” Isaac spent time in the evening in
meditation. Now, meditation is not that of emptying one’s mind in this sense
but filling it. He is meditating on something. It is good for us to meditate on
the Bible.
Joshua
1:8 This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that
thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then
thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Covering
one’s face with a veil is mentioned outside of the Bible later than this
incident, in around 1300BC, as scholars guess. It is found in an Assyrian legal
text that restricts its use to noble women and forbids prostitutes and common
women from using it, although noble women were not punished for not wearing a
veil while prostitutes and common women were punished for wearing one.[2] This reference, of course,
in the Bible, comes from a few hundred years before that, in the time of the
patriarchs, before the Hebrews entry into Egypt.
There
is no mention here made of the wedding feast that we see later with Jacob. One
possible sermon that could be made out of the literal events is how the
servant, representing the Holy Ghost, brings the bride to Christ, and I am sure
there are many more possibilities from this.
Finally,
becoming a wife or a husband is a matter of intent and commitment before God,
not of ritual. The ritual wedding celebration of any country is meaningless if
there is no intention to unite as one for life. It becomes simply another party
to celebrate in one’s life and there may be several such celebrations without
God having anything to do with them.
[1]
Tim Lambert, “A Brief History of Houses,” http://www.localhistories.org/houses.html.
(revised 2016).
[2]
David Graeber, Debt: The First 5000 Years
(New York: Melville House Publishing, 2011), 184.
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