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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And Abraham was old, and advanced in age; and Jehovah had blessed Abraham in all things. |
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| 2 And Abraham said to his servant, the eldest of his house, who ruled over all that he had, Put thy hand, I pray thee, under my thigh, |
And Abraham – Type of Jehovah. F170; R4476:2, R4516:2, R5187:3, R5533:5
His eldest servant – Eliezer, type of the holy Spirit. F171; R4476:2, R4516:2, R5187:3
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| 3 and I will make thee swear by Jehovah, the God of the heavens and the God of the earth, that thou take not a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am dwelling; |
A wife – Type of the Church. F170; R4476:2
My son – Type of Jesus. F170; R4476:2
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| 4 but thou shalt go to my land and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac. |
Go unto my country – Representing the household of faith. R3953:2, R5187:3
To my kindred – Those already in relationship to God through faith. SM204:2
Unto my son Isaac – Type of Christ. F170
Who was at this time 40 years old. Isaac's submission typified Christ's submission to Jehovah. R2861:2, R5178:3
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| 5 And the servant said to him, Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land: must I, then, bring thy son again in any case to the land from which thou hast removed? |
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| 6 And Abraham said to him, Beware that thou bring not my son thither again. |
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| 7 Jehovah the God of the heavens, who took me out of my father's house, and out of the land of my nativity, and who has spoken to me, and who has sworn to me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land--he will send his angel before thee, that thou mayest take a wife for my son thence. |
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| 8 And if the woman be not willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be quit of this my oath: only, bring not my son thither again. |
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| 9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore unto him concerning that matter. |
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| 10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; now all the treasure of his master was under his hand; and he arose and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. |
The servant – Represented the work of the holy Spirit in calling the Church. PD23/34
Took ten camels – Representing the Word of God. The camels bore the servant and the presents to Rebekah. R161:2[R161]
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| 11 And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water, at the time of the evening, when the women came out to draw water2. |
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| 12 And he said, Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, meet me, I pray thee, with thy blessing this day, and deal kindly with my master Abraham. |
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| 13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water. |
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| 14 And let it come to pass, that the maiden to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink, and who will say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also, be she whom thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and hereby I shall know that thou hast dealt kindly with my master. |
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| 15 And it came to pass before he had ended speaking, that behold, Rebecca came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother; and she had her pitcher upon her shoulder. |
Behold, Rebekah – Type of the Church, the Bride of Christ. F170; R5533:5
Milcah – One of Haran's daughters whom Nahor married; grandmother of Rebekah. R5177:6
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| 16 And the maiden was very fair in countenance; a virgin, and no man had known her. And she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. |
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| 17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, sip a little water out of thy pitcher. |
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| 18 And she said, Drink, my lord! And she hasted and let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him to drink. |
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| 19 And when she had given him enough to drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have drunk enough. |
I will draw – The spirit of generosity, of service. R5187:6
For thy camels also – The spirit does not communicate to us the things of our high calling in Christ until we entertain the Word as well as the spirit. R161:3
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| 20 And she hasted and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw water; and she drew for all his camels. |
For all his camels – Illustrating her hospitable, kindly disposition. Only those who have something of generosity and amiability in their characters are invited to be of the Bride class. R3953:1
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| 21 And the man was astonished at her, remaining silent, to know whether Jehovah had made his journey prosperous or not. |
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| 22 And it came to pass when the camels had drunk enough, that the man took a gold ring, of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands, ten shekels weight of gold, |
A golden earring – Representing the blessed effect of hearing the call to be of the Bride of Christ. R1386:5; SM206:2
And two bracelets – Representing the blessed effect of the divine call upon our doings after we hear the call. R1386:5
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| 23 and said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee. Is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge? |
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| 24 And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor. |
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| 25 And she said to him, There is straw, and also much provender with us; also room to lodge. |
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| 26 And the man stooped, and bowed down before Jehovah, |
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| 27 and said, Blessed be Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, who has not withdrawn his loving-kindness and his faithfulness from my master; I being in the way, Jehovah has led me to the house of my master's brethren. |
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| 28 And the maiden ran and told these things to her mother's house. |
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| 29 And Rebecca had a brother, named Laban; and Laban ran out to the man, to the well. |
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| 30 And it came to pass when he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's hand, and when he heard the words of Rebecca his sister, saying, Thus spoke the man to me--that he came to the man, and behold, he was standing by the camels, by the well. |
Earring and bracelets – Symbolic of spiritual blessings. R5187:6
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| 31 And he said, Come in, blessed of Jehovah! why standest thou outside? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels. |
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| 32 And the man came into the house; and he ungirded the camels, and gave the camels straw and provender, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men who were with him. |
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| 33 And there was set meat before him to eat; but he said, I will not eat until I have made known my business. And he said, Speak on. |
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| 34 And he said, I am Abraham's servant. |
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| 35 And Jehovah has blessed my master greatly, and he is become great; and he has given him sheep and cattle, and silver and gold, and bondmen and bondwomen, and camels and asses. |
Blessed my master – The great riches of God are illustrated in Abraham. SM204:3
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| 36 And Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master after she had grown old; and unto him has he given all that he has. |
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| 37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanite, in whose land I am dwelling; |
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| 38 but thou shalt by all means go to my father's house and to my family, and take a wife for my son. |
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| 39 And I said to my master, Perhaps the woman will not follow me? |
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| 40 And he said to me, Jehovah, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way, that thou mayest take a wife for my son of my family, and out of my father's house. |
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| 41 Then shalt thou be quit of my oath, when thou shalt have come to my family. And if they give thee not one, thou shalt be quit of my oath. |
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| 42 And I came this day to the well, and said, Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, if now thou wilt prosper my way on which I go, |
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| 43 behold, I stand by the well of water, and let it come to pass that the damsel who cometh forth to draw water, and to whom I shall say, Give me, I pray thee, a little water out of thy pitcher to drink, |
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| 44 and she shall say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels--that she should be the woman whom Jehovah hath appointed for my master's son. |
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| 45 Before I ended speaking in my heart, behold, Rebecca came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder, and went down to the well, and drew water; and I said to her, Give me, I pray thee, to drink. |
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| 46 And she hasted and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also. And I drank; and she gave the camels drink also. |
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| 47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him. And I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her hands. |
Milcah bare unto him – Children are of the father, by the mother, as illustrated in the human birth of Christ. E99
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| 48 And I stooped, and bowed down before Jehovah; and I blessed Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, who has led me the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. |
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| 49 And now, if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me; and I will turn to the right hand or to the left. |
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| 50 And Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceeds from Jehovah: we cannot speak to thee bad or good. |
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| 51 Behold, Rebecca is before thee: take her, and go away; and let her be wife of thy master's son, as Jehovah has said. |
Take her, and go – The acceptance of the call to be of the Bride of Christ could not be possible if it were with hesitancy: it must be prompt and hearty. R3953:3
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| 52 And it came to pass, when Abraham's servant heard their words, that he bowed down to the earth before Jehovah. |
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| 53 And the servant brought forth silver articles, and gold articles, and clothing, and he gave them to Rebecca; and he gave to her brother, and to her mother, precious things. |
Jewels of sliver – Symbolizing truths. R1386:5
Jewels of gold – Symbolizing additional treasures of the holy Spirit which we receive after our betrothal to Christ. R3953:3, R4516:3, R5188:2; SM206:2
And raiment – Symbolizing the Church's newness of life and relationship to the Father and the Son whose call she has accepted. R1386:5
Gave also – Showing that others of the household of faith receive spiritual blessings through the betrothed class. R1386:5
Brother and to her mother – Typifying the sympathizing ones of the household of faith, justified but not fully sanctified. R1386:5
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| 54 And they ate and drank, he and the men that were with him, and lodged. And they rose up in the morning; and he said, Send me away to my master. |
In the morning – This day and the day previous represent the two thousand-year days in which the Bride of Christ receives the call. R2310:4
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| 55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the maiden abide with us some days, or say ten; after that she shall go. |
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| 56 And he said to them, Do not hinder me, seeing Jehovah has prospered my way: send me away, and I will go to my master. |
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| 57 And they said, Let us call the maiden and inquire at her mouth. |
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| 58 And they called Rebecca and said to her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. |
Rebekah – Type of those who become members of the Bride, the Lamb's wife. R5188:2
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| 59 And they sent away Rebecca their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. |
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| 60 And they blessed Rebecca, and said to her, Thou art our sister; mayest thou become thousands of tens of thousands; and may thy seed possess the gate of their enemies! |
Be thou the mother – The Bride will become the mother of thousands of millions of humanity. R5188:5; SM207:1; PD27/38
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| 61 And Rebecca arose, and her maids, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man. And the servant took Rebecca, and went away. |
Rebekah arose – Typifying the personal consecration of each one who, led of the spirit, accepts the invitation to joint-heirship with Christ. SM206:2
And her damsels – Maids, representing the Great Company. Q584:6; SM205:1, 3; F171
Upon the camels – Representing the Scriptures, by which the faithful are borne along. R5188:4
Followed the man – Representing our individual experiences as we follow the guidance of the holy Spirit; and also the experiences of the Church as a whole, covering the past 18 centuries. R3953:3; PD23/34
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| 62 And Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi; for he was dwelling in the south country. |
And Isaac came – Typifying the second advent of Christ. R3953:3
Lahai-roi – The place where Hagar talked with the Lord without seeing him; thus teaching that at the second advent Christ will be invisible to the natural eye. R161:6
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| 63 And Isaac had gone out to meditate in the fields toward the beginning of evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, camels were coming. |
In the field – "The field is the world." (Matt.13:38) R1387:6
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| 64 And Rebecca lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac, and she sprang off the camel. |
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| 65 And she had said to the servant, Who is the man that is walking in the fields to meet us? And the servant said, That is my master! Then she took the veil, and covered herself. |
Unto the servant – Typifying the spirit of the truth. R1387:6
She took a vail – Representing the passing of the Church beyond the vail. R3953:3
In the resurrection the Church will no longer need the guidance of the holy Spirit through the Scriptures. SM206:3
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| 66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. |
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| 67 And Isaac led her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebecca, and she became his wife, and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after the death of his mother. |
Isaac brought her – Typifies Christ receiving the Church at the end of her journey. R4371:6; Q169:5
His mother Sarah – Type of the Abrahamic covenant. F170
Rebekah – Type of the Bride of Christ. OV320:5; R4387:1
Grand-daughter of Milcah. and great grand-daughter of Haran, Abraham's brother. R5177:6
Became his wife – Sarah had died; Rebekah became her successor. So, the glorified Church will replace the Sarah covenant as a channel of blessing. SM207:1
Isaac had but one wife; Christ has but one Bride. R3953:3
The figure of Isaac and Rebekah as types of Christ and the Church ends here where the twain are made one. R1388:3
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