Rebekah: The Bride of Christ in the Beauty of Holiness

Rebekah: The Bride of Christ in the Beauty of Holiness

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Several biblical symbols represent the church. Among them is the church's calling as the holy, radiant, spotless Bride of Christ, the Lamb of God. Many times women in scripture picture the attributes of the church as that Bride. None is flawless, but each is beloved. Even so, the church, the Bride of the Lamb, though not without flaw, is dearly loved of our Lord.

After the death of his wife Sarah, Abraham sent his servant to hand Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor, Abraham’s brother.  The purpose of the journey was to acquire a bride for Abraham’s son Issac. 

The servant asked God for a specific sign to guide his choice of the intended bride.  ^“Then he said, "O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham.  Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, 'Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink'--let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master."  (Genesis 24:12-14 NKJV)
 

Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah, the daughter of Nabor came to the well.  When the servant asked her for water, she fulfilled the request by offering to water the camels as well.  ^“Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up.” (Genesis 24:16 NKJV)

In this short passage, we see Rebekah demonstrating several qualities of a mature Christian:  beauty, purity, servanthood, and hospitality.

▪ beauty:  We are to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.  (1 Chronicles 16:29, 2 Chronicals 20:21, Psalm 29:2, and Psalm 96:9) Pretty is superficial.  Beauty emanates from within, from holiness.

▪ purity:  “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8 NKJV) It is in purity of heart that we are able to discern the heart and hand of God.   

 ▪ servanthood: “But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all" (Mark 9:34-35 NKJV).  We are called to serve not to be served.  Everything we do for the Lord has value in the Kingdom of God.  God’s blessings are on those who clean the toilets the same as on those who stand in the pulpit.

▪ hospitality: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels” (Hebrews 13:2 NKJV).  Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”(Matthew 11:28 NKJV). We, too, are to offer rest and comfort to those in need.

Later in Rebekah’s life, out of her favoritism for her son Jacob, she stepped out of the beauty of holiness and sought to fulfill the promises of God in her own time.  She brought strife and dissension into her family.  What a powerful warning this is for the church!  Christians too often seek to fulfill the promises of God through selfish ambition and political intrigue both in the secular world and in the congregation and the domination.  We, too, can move out of the beauty of holiness and into selfish desires.  It happened to Eve when she ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  It happened to Sarah when she offered Hagar to Abraham as a wife.  “Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 29:2 NKJV).