One of the Shadows                                             Gen 24:1-21

You’ve heard me say several times that God shows us through the stories and accounts of the Old Testament what his plans for us are. Here in the first book of the Bible God is showing us his plan and it’s culmination with the coming of Jesus.

Abraham is looking for a wife for his son, the Bible tells us Abraham is very old and in verse 9 he is called ‘master’. He is wealthy and in control of everything in his life; servants, sheep, cattle, gold and silver. Abraham has a son Isaac born by his wife Sarah. Isaac is the son promised by God because of Abraham’s faith, born when God deemed it to be the right time.

Here is a shadow of Jesus. Abraham is described as very old; God is eternal, with no beginning              and no end. Abraham is in control of his estate, God is in control of all creation, everything in heaven and on earth. The son Isaac was born of Sarah. Jesus is also born of a woman, Mary. And when you look at the account of Isaac’s birth, Sarah was about ninety years old; Isaac was promised by God and conceived by the power of God. Jesus, the son and savior promised by God was born from a virgin solely by the power of God.

Isaac is Abraham’s heir; all that Abraham has will be given to him. Matthew 28:18, “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’”.

Our readings verse 3 and 4 say, “…you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites…but will go to my country and to my kindred and take a wife for my son Isaac.” another shadow that points us to Jesus. The savior of mankind doesn’t come from the Gentiles, he comes from God’s chosen people; the Israelites.

In a few lines we are told so much; God is in control of everything he created, God has a son, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a woman. He will be from the people God has a covenant with and God will bless him and give him control over everything he has.

This is just the beginning, there are more shadows here. Let’s look at Abraham’s messenger. Scholars believe he is Eliezer of Damascus and when he went to Aram Naharaim to find a bride for Isaac. He was going to Abraham’s original home and this fits with what we are told later in the Bible. God originally dwelt with his people on earth, he resided in the Holy of Holies in the Temple until we are told in Ezekiel 10, “Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the Temple.”

Abraham, who represents God in our reading, once lived in one place and then moved to another but he went back to his original home to find his son a wife. God once dwelled in the midst of the nation of Israel; he left yet sent his son back to Israel.

Looking at Eliezer we can see something else. In verse 8 Abraham tells him, “…you must not take my son back there.” In Matthew 25 Jesus tells the parable of the ten bridesmaids. The ten were waiting for the groom to come and take them away. The ten met the groom before and are waiting for his return, but the wait was long and some were careless. Matthew 25:10, “But while they were on their way to buy oil the bridegroom arrived. (Those who were ready went with him.)” And since Jesus is talking he couldn’t mean the first time he came he had to be referring to the second time he will come.

This story about Isaac and Abraham is pointing us to not only Jesus but to his second coming. The first time Jesus came he came as the Messiah-King. When he comes the second time he will come as the bridegroom to collect up his bride. John 3:29, John 14:3, Revelations 19:7 and 21:2; all call Jesus the bridegroom and mankind his bride. Jesus the bridegroom will come again to collect his church, the bride who loves and trusts him.

“…you must not take my son back there.” The son is not going to pick out his bride; the bride is coming to him. When Jesus returns he is not going to point his finger at those he wants to join him, those who believe are going to meet him. 1 Thessalonians 4:17, “Then we…will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…”

If we read a little farther in this chapter we will meet Rebekah and we see she is actually related to Isaac. She is the grand-daughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife Milcah. The bride and the bridegroom are related. And this is another shadow of the spiritual truth that will come with Christ.

Our redeemer Jesus is related to all of us. In the Book of Ruth the impoverished Ruth and Naomi are redeemed by the wealthy man Boez. Ruth 2:20, “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead…that man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian redeemers.” And in Matthews genealogy of Jesus the non-Jewish Moabite Ruth is one of Jesus ancestors. All the world, Jewish and Gentile are related by blood to our savior.

The New Testaments Letter to the Hebrews also talks of this in chapter 2,“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity…for this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way.” As believers we are God’s children. Romans 8:15, “…the Spirit you received brought about your sonship.”

Through the characters of Abraham, Isaac and Rebekah we are pointed to the truth that we are related by family to Christ Jesus; and we are the sons and daughters of the Most High God.

And one last time we are going to look at the messenger Eliezer. He didn’t go to Abraham’s homeland to act on his own behalf. He wasn’t there to speak for himself. He was sent there to convey the thoughts and wishes of the one that sent him.

Another shadow of Jesus. Jesus did not come on his own behalf but as the one sent by the Father; to speak for the Father and to fulfill the purpose of the Father. This is shown to us in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Ephesians 2 tells us, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loves us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” The Good News Bible translation puts it this way in John 6:29, “What God wants you to do is to believe in the one He has sent.

When I read the Old Testament I see its stories have duel meanings. They have a physical meaning and a spiritual meaning. And it’s the spiritual meaning that makes me say the Old Testament is a shadow of the New. Physically our reading tells the story of how Isaac and Rebekah met and came to be married. Spiritually these verses give us a glimpse into God’s plan that will come to completion in Jesus.

These verses show us who will come to us; Jesus, who will send him; God. That he will come as a man through a birth that can only happen by the power of the Holy Spirit. These verses show us we are family related by blood and spirit with not only our savior Christ but with God the Father.

Psalm 149:14 says, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” “Fearfully made” implies honor, reverence and respect for the one being talked of. To be fearfully made means you are awesomely made.

These Old Testament stories help us to understand God and how Jesus fulfilled his plan for us. These Old Testament stories show us the treads of doctrine that will be weaved into the tapestry that is the New Testament.

No matter what you may be going through keep God in your life. Trust him and rely on him. Always remember you are awesomely and wonderfully made. You are loved by the perfect, holy, Most High God and creator. You are blessed.

Amen