Isaac and His Bride
Isaac is called the son of promise because he was born when Abraham and Sarah were too old to have children. Besides that they were barren all their lives, which made the birth of Isaac a true miracle. He was the son of promise, the beloved of his father. Abraham’s faith in God was solid, even when his circumstances seemed to prove otherwise.
A day came when God called on Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering to Him, but remembering that God said he would have a posterity in Isaac, he did not question His command and set out to mount Moriah to do as he was told. He actually believed God would raise Isaac from the dead because of that promise.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. (Hebrews 11:17-19)
Just as Abraham lifted his hand to kill Isaac, God spoke to him, telling him not to do it, saying, “For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (Genesis 22:12
God provided a ram for the offering instead. After that Abraham and his young men returned, but no mention is made of Isaac. He obviously accompanied his father, but it is not mentioned. The first time we read of Isaac after he was freed from a certain death is when he meets his bride. Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, went to find Isaac’s bride from his father’s family and brought her to him. Bride and groom never saw each other before their wedding.
What happened here was a prophetic rehearsal of a future event to be completed in Christ. God sacrificed His beloved Son when Jesus died on the cross for our sin. Then Jesus was taken out of sight as He went back to the Father, but He will appear again when He comes to receive His bride.
In the rehearsal Abraham played the role of God, Isaac the role of Jesus and Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, that of the Holy Spirit. The Father desires a bride for His Son because “it is not good for man to be alone,” (Genesis **) and He sends the Holy Spirit to seek out His bride from among His own people. Jesus will not marry any bride; she must be from God’s family. After the Holy Spirit found the bride by telling her about her future Husband, He gave her gifts and began the journey to introduce her to Him.
The apostle Peter refers to it in his epistle:
(Jesus) whom having not seen, you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory… (1 Peter 1:8)
Jesus will come to receive His bride, the church, and take her to be with Him always. Paul confirms this in Ephesians 5:22-32 where he compares the relationship between husband and wife in marriage to the relationship between Christ and the church. He repeats the words of Adam when he saw his bride for the first time:
For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:30-32)
We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones and the two shall become one flesh – speaking concerning Christ and the church!
Looking at the world we live in and the signs of the times, we understand that the “becoming one” is at hand. Jesus will appear to receive His bride that is without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17)
