The Bride Will Be The One Riding A Camel - Part 7
Writer Author Jerry Lee Kay Sr.
Christian Article
:
Bible Teaching
- Fiction No
I am teaching in Matthew 14...This is part 7
I have talked about the two previous words of Jesus "Taking" the bread and "Blessing" the bread that He may feed the multitude, now I want to talk about the third word of "Breaking" the bread.
Many will not want to hear what I will be saying in this part of these letters, however I stand firm on the statements to follow. This is another key word to the works and ways of God, I have a friend that always prayed, " Lord, take me, and break me, and make me, into the vessel that you will have me to be", He learned the secret of Matthew 14, and I might add, he over the years was used mightily by God. In order to bring us into the full making of the image of Christ and into vessels of service, there must first be the taking, blessing and then the breaking. The loaves never began to increase till the point where they were broken into pieces. I have many times over the years heard folks sing it, say it and even pray it, I am the clay and you are the potter mold me into the vessel you want me to be O' Lord, that is until He starts the actual process. And you can be sure that is exactly what He has in mind and He is going to do. Then suddenly they will cry out for mercy and some even flee from His presence. As He BROKE the bread the bread increased.
I often wonder why we are so long learning that this is the way God always deals in nature and in grace. A seed planted in the ground must first be broken, and have its shell rent, before it can yield a crop and be multiplied. The egg under the chicken must be broken, and have the shell shattered before it can grow into a living fowl to multiply itself in laying other eggs. The increase begins where the breaking ends, and if you stop the breaking you stop the multiplication. And so after Jesus had blessed the bread, He used the same precious hands to break the bread! Before the bread could be shared with others, it had to be broken! One time John Running Wolf applied for health insurance, and the agent routinely asked if he had had any accidents during the previous year. Wolf replied, "No. But I was bitten by a rattlesnake, and a horse kicked me in the ribs. That laid me up for a while." The agent said, "Weren't those accidents?" John said,” No, They did it on purpose." He realized that there are no such things as "accidents." How much more so should the Christian who understands the sovereignty of God have the same attitude?
One of the hardest truths for humans to grasp is the great truth that those God would use greatly He sometimes must hurt deeply! A period of brokenness always precedes a time of usefulness! You can see this principle at work even in the life of the Lord Jesus Himself. Before He could provide salvation to the world, He had to be broken on the cross! We love His blessings, but we shrink from His breakings! However, the breakings of the Lord are necessary! Jesus breaking that bread set forth a parable of His own death, and how He must break His own body, the true, divine loaf of bread, in order to distribute it and in order that that body might be multiplied in forming that larger mystical body Of saints who are to be one with Him forever and forever I have been around a long time folks and that is not meant to sound boastful nor to insinuate that I know everything about everything in the things of the workings of the Holy Spirit. What makes living this Christian life so exciting is that He is constantly taking us to another level of understanding and holiness and He is always, always, molding us into His image, God sent the Holy Spirit to find and prepare a Bride for His Son and His job is "That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be Holy and without blemish." John the Baptist made it clear. “He must increase, but I must decrease. “It is God's Word that gives the victory! Ours is but to divide the spoil when the defeated foe flees from before that almighty Word.
Psalms 68:13 "Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold”. "The pots" are possibly the brick kilns of Egypt. In contrast with the disgrace and indignity of their former slavery, the people of God are now sheltered by the wings of a dove. The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit. This is no ordinary dove, but a dove whose wings are covered with silver and gold. In Scripture, silver speaks of redemption and the gold may suggest divine glory as seen in the renewal of all nature. The verse looks far ahead to the glories of the coming golden age when both redemption and royalty in a renewed earth will be the overcomer's portion. What a change after being so long in the brick kilns of earth. It was Israel's heritage to know victory over her foes by the Word of the Lord. This is our spiritual heritage, also. Israel's victories were of an earthly, temporal nature; ours are heavenly and eternal.
When there is repentance, there is a change of action coupled with a change of mind. It is not simply a new direction or an about-face. It is not education. It is not a religious experience. Did you know that being born again is not merely "asking Jesus into your heart"? If that happens without repentance, it will not bring regeneration and new life. Being born again is a radical change that takes place in a person's life whereby through repentance and a work of the Spirit he is given a new nature. (2 Cor.5) says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" And (2 Peter 1:4) adds, "so that... You may participate in the divine nature." Our Lord further explained this radical change. (John 3) "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit". The radical change is not something that can be accomplished by human energy. Along with repentance comes a work of the Spirit in the heart. These are the nonnegotiables of being born again.
Sometimes the wind of the Spirit is a raging power. Other times it blows gently so you can barely see it move a leaf. I have experienced the winds of the Spirit when they were roaring in my life, and times when they were gentle and sweet with the sweet aroma of Magnolia in summer.
The wind of the Spirit is at work in your life, that is not a question it is a definite. Perhaps it is gently blowing, soothing your soul. You feel affirmed. You are born again, and the Spirit of God has washed you clean so that you have a new nature. "The Spirit gives birth to spirit." there is no feeling like feeling and knowing His sweet Love.
Or possibly the wind of the Spirit is raging in your life right now. You clearly see the nonnegotiables. You see you have missed the mark and you are repenting. You desire the Spirit to rush into your life and make those changes. Beloved it's not fit for thee to kick against the pricks, I have known Christian Men and Women, prophets, evangelists, pastors, laymen and yes some millionaires that did, and witnessed as God by His Holy Spirit brought them to their knees. Even though God wants to bless His people and give them the abundant life, He will just as quickly take it all away. The Holy Spirit of God has tunnel vision; He has come to prepare a Bride for the Lamb of God. Amen!
Though the manner, in which the Divine Spirit affects this new birth, be incomprehensible to us, yet we must not, on this ground, suppose it to be impossible. The wind blows in a variety of directions—we hear its sound, perceive its operation in the motion of the trees, etc., and feel it on ourselves—but we cannot discern the air itself; we only know that it exists by the effects which it produces: so is every one who is born of the Spirit: the effects are as discernible and as sensible as those of the wind; even though we cannot see. But he who is born of God knows that he is thus born: the Spirit itself, the grand agent in this new birth, beareth witness with his spirit, that he is born of God, for, he that believeth hath the witness in himself, And so does this Spirit work in and by him that others, though they see not the principle, can easily discern the change produced; for whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world.
Someone told me a story of being out walking and looking across a field at a house. There beside the house was what looked like a man pumping furiously at one of those hand pumps. As he watched, the man continued to pump at a tremendous rate; he seemed absolutely tireless, pumping on and on, up and down, without ever slowing in the slightest, much less stopping.
Truly it was a remarkable sight, so he started to walk toward it. As he got closer, he could see it was not a man at the pump, but a wooden figure painted to look like a man. The arm that was pumping so rapidly was hinged at the elbow and the hand was wired to the pump handle. The water was pouring forth, but not because the figure was pumping it. You see, it was an artesian well, and the water was pumping the man!
When you see a Christian going through a lot of ups and downs never be critical, recognize that it is the Holy Spirit working in him, and His workings and breaking's will bring results. All he has to do—and all you have to do—is keep your hand on the handle.
The Holy Spirit lingers lovingly over every detail in Genesis chapter 24, the longest chapter in Genesis, for every detail speaks of Christ and His church. That is not surprising. After all, the Holy Spirit expressly tells us that marriage is intended to mirror that higher and holier relationship In Gen 22 we see Isaac going to Mount Moriah as the father's beloved son obedient unto death, even to the death of sacrifice. In Gen 23 we had the death of Sarah, a type of the sweeping changes that took place in Israel's status once the church was introduced into human affairs. In chapter 24 Rebekah, a type of the church as the bride of Isaac, is brought into Sarah's very tent. The whole chapter, while an interesting and instructive story full of local color and warmth, is at the same time a full-length study of the way in which the Father's beloved Son obtained His bride, the church.
"Abraham was old, and well stricken in age". The Jews divided old age into three stages. From sixty to seventy was what they called "the commencement of old age," from seventy to eighty was what they termed "hoary-headed age," after eighty a man was said to be "well-stricken in years." Abraham was about one hundred forty years of age at that time and Isaac was about forty. The time had come to seek out a bride for his son.
The old patriarch viewed with horror what he saw all about him in Canaan. The daughters of Canaan were a worldly, wicked, wanton crowd with no knowledge at all of the true and living God. They were snared in the most frightful forms of pagan idolatry. There could be no thought of Isaac marrying one of them.
The Bible gives definite instructions about the marriage of believers. There is to be no marriage with an unbeliever. John Wolf a very close friend, had a son that was deeply in love with a beautiful young lady and wanted to marry her, however she was not a Christian and had no intention of becoming one, John was a rancher and a Christian Cherokee and so is his whole family. John pleaded with the son not to marry the young woman, and he demonstrated to the son how his marriage would be if he carried out his plans. He hitched a horse and a burro to the same plough. The poor little burro had a terrible time of it. The horse obviously did not like being so closely tied to the burro and was showing it with a really bad attitude. And the poor little donkey had all the weight of the yoke chafing its shoulders. Neither one could get in step. Such an unequal yoke is forbidden by God, whether it be in business, religion, or marriage. The thought that Isaac might be thus unequally yoked was a nightmare to Abraham.
But where could he find a bride for his son? His thoughts turned back to far-off Haran where his own testimony, years before, had borne fruit. He may or may not have known Rebekah personally, but he certainly knew about her. Thus Abraham took the initiative and sent his servant forth to seek out a bride for his son. It was thus, in a past eternity, that the eternal God took counsel with Himself in regard to His Son. He would have a bride for His Son, one fit for Him, one capable of sharing the lofty position that was His. He would send the Holy Spirit into the world to find that bride—but not until Calvary had paved the way. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 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 servant is unnamed. We are told that he was Abraham's "eldest servant of his house that ruled over all that he had." We presume that the servant was Eliezer of Damascus, but the text does not say so. The silences of God are sometimes as significant as His sayings. Frequently in the Bible an unnamed man is used as a type of the Holy Spirit, whose delight it is to draw attention to the Son rather than to Himself. Certainly the type fits here. In God's purposes the execution of the divine will in the world is entrusted to the Spirit. It was He who came at Pentecost to begin the great work of seeking out for Christ His blood-bought bride, the church. In Gen.24 the servant always acted in accordance with the will of Abraham and with Isaac's interests in mind.
Charged with his great commission, the servant set forth on his long arduous and difficult task. "He arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor." Abraham was living near Hebron at the time, so the servant had a considerable journey before him. Northward he went up the Jordan valley and on past Damascus, then around the Fertile Crescent into "the eye of the East" until at length, crossing the Euphrates, he reached his destination. Those were no aimless wanderings, but a well-planned expedition. The servant knew what he was about.
When he arrived at his destination, the servant prayed. All must be done in fellowship with God in heaven. Then he proposed a practical test: as women came to the well he would ask for a drink, and the girl who offered to draw, not just for him but for his camels also, she would be the God-chosen one. It was no small test. A camel will drink about five gallons of water, and the servant had ten of them. To draw some fifty gallons of water from the well and empty them into the trough in the heat of that climate was a big undertaking. Such a woman would make a very good wife.
Presently Rebekah came along and, all unknown to her, met the conditions. The servant at once rewarded her for her willing spirit with a generous gift. Then he discovered that she was the daughter of Bethuel and the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham's brother. The rest of the story followed quickly and naturally. The servant was taken to Rebekah's home where he told about his great mission. He was abroad to find a bride for Isaac, Abraham's beloved son, and it was evident Rebekah was the chosen of God. It was all so artless, so natural and yet, at the same time, so evidently of God, the natural overlaid with the supernatural. Here was no chance meeting. Here was a meeting planned in heaven and now taking place on earth. As the servant presented the cause and claims of Isaac, Rebekah listened with all her heart and with wide-open eyes.
Woven into the warp and woof of the fabric of that very human story we see the golden threads of another and far greater story. We see the coming of the Spirit of God into the world with a great mission to win and woo a heart here and a heart there to heaven's Beloved. Only occasionally does He speak of Himself. His great work is to make much of the Son and to tell of the Father and His wondrous ways. His great task is to seek out those who will become the bride of Christ. How wonderfully He takes advantage of life's ordinary circumstances using them to further His quest. He never forces, never violates the human will, never overwhelms, and never uses weird and uncanny means to ravish the soul. Ordinary things happen; a visit here, a chance meeting there, an unexpected conversation, a book passed on by a friend—and all the time the Spirit of God is at work. Until, at last, the gospel is presented and the hour of decision dawns. It was the servant's way with Rebekah; it is the Spirit's way with a soul.
Rebekah had a brother, and what a scheming, grasping person he was. The first thing Rebekah did when the servant's initial gifts were bestowed upon her was to run home and share the wondrous news. "And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban; and Laban ran out to the man, unto the well".
Look well at Laban. The thing that impressed him was not the wonderful story or even the accompanying signs. The thing that counted with Laban was the gifts. He was not particularly interested in the father, the son, or the servant. He was interested in the gifts. He longed to get his hands on the rich gifts the unnamed servant brought. "And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and the bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah... that he came unto the man". The earrings and the bracelets—those came first with Laban.
But Laban had to hear the whole story, whether he would or no. The servant's work was to speak of Isaac, but all the while that worldly man's eyes were on the gifts. Later on in Genesis Laban would appear again, and his true character was to be seen. He would be revealed for what he was, a man quite able to use a believer just so long as he could make money out of him. Laban remained an unregenerate man to the end, quite willing to pay lip service to God but without any real interest in the spiritual dimensions of life. Rebekah was absorbed in the story; Laban was taken up with the gifts. Initial gifts were given to Laban, too, by the servant, but he thereupon set about trying to hinder the servant in his primary work.
Laban was given something. We are not told what it was, but we do observe that it did nothing to warm his worldly heart. He manifested no interest either in the father or the son. He remained a worldly sinner to the end of his days. Subsequent exposure to the ultimate truths of God's Word did not do him the slightest good. He had the coveted gifts but, no doubt, those soon lost their power to attract and hold his heart. It is only Christ who can fill the heart, and Laban remained cold and indifferent to that which spoke of Him.
With Rebekah it was quite different. Her heart warmed at once to what she saw and heard. There was something about the story of Isaac that kindled a response in her heart. She had never seen him, had come to know of him indeed solely by the word of the servant, but already she felt that she knew him. Already she gave him her heart.
At length the great question was faced: "Wilt thou go with this man?". In His sovereignty and grace God manipulates all the circumstances of time and space to bring a person to the place of decision, but He will never force the issue. He never pushes a person over the line, does not decide for us. The servant took every advantage of the unfolding circumstances that opened up before him, but he made no attempt at all to coerce or force a decision. He used no high-pressure appeals. He presented the simple facts of the case, told the story of Isaac and of his own mission, and invited Rebekah to give herself to the unseen man dwelling afar off with the father. Then it was up to her.
No doubt Rebekah could have invented a hundred reasons why she should say no to the invitation. She might have said, "How do I know your story is true?" or, "I do not want to give up my present life-style. I'm quite happy where I am." But there were no excuses, just as there was no coercion. She instantly gave in and gave her heart to the unseen Isaac.
Then came the long journey to meet the one to whom she had now given herself. What a journey it must have been as she, and those influenced by her, "rode upon the camels and followed the man." Here again the golden strands of that greater story can be seen woven into the fabric of a very human tale. The servant was there to guard and to guide. He knew the way. Rebekah was not left to stumble along as best she could. Every provision had been made to bring her safely to her new home. Just so, the Holy Spirit at once begins to guide those who commit themselves to Christ, and it is He who undertakes to see us safely home.
We think of Rebekah learning of Isaac. She had a hundred questions to ask. "Is he tall, dark, and handsome? How old is he? What is his occupation? Is he very rich? What is he really like? Is he a happy man? Is he kind and thoughtful? Why did he send so far for a wife?" It is astonishing how little we really know of Christ when first we give ourselves to Him. The Christian life is one long learning experience under the tutorship of the Holy Spirit, who delights to talk to us about Christ.
Imagine the delight with which the servant spoke to the eager young woman about the man she was going to meet. He would tell her about the father and his love for Isaac, how Isaac was heir to all things, how all the plans and purposes of God centered in him. He might tell her that every mile of the road they were now traveling had been given by God to Isaac. He would tell of Ishmael's mockery. And, above all, he would tell of Mount Moriah and how father and son had gone together to that dread place and how Isaac had returned, as it were, from the dead. She learned of Isaac. That was the servant's work, to speak of him.
Think too of Rebekah longing for Isaac. The more she learned about him, the more her heart yearned. At first he was just a name, but gradually he began to form in her mind and heart and she came to love him more and more. She loved him now, not just for the gifts he had bestowed through the servant—they were mere trinkets after all, but for himself, for who he was and for what he had done. She would dream of him at night. She would tell her companions all that she had learned of Isaac. She began to long for him.
As the journey wore on, Isaac became more and more real to her. He was less and less a shadowy person and more and more a living, real, vital, wonderful man to whom she had given her heart. As the past began to recede in her mind, so the future loomed ever bigger and more important—a future filled with Isaac.
That is what the Holy Spirit is after in our own hearts—to fill them with longing for the Lord Jesus until, like the psalmist, we cry from the depths of our heart: "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God". The Spirit of God would have us think less and less about the world and its ways and more and more about Christ. Our hearts, like the hearts of those two disciples on the Emmaus road, must begin to burn within us with longing for our Lord.
Think also of Rebekah looking for Isaac. "And Rebekah," we read, "lifted up her eyes... and... She said unto the servant, what man is this that walketh in the field to meet us?” She learned that Isaac would be coming for her, and that was the most precious truth of all. Isaac was as eager to meet her, as she was to meet him. So she would begin looking for him as the end of the journey drew near.
And all the time Isaac was waiting. He had been to Moriah. His work was done. The calling of the bride was the work of another. His task now was to wait in the father's presence, until the appointed time when he could go forth to meet his bride. The time must have seemed long, but finally the great day dawned and Isaac went to meet his bride and escort her home. "And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife: and he loved her."
Rebekah was not Sarah, but a different person entirely. The church is not Israel. However, it has been brought into the position formerly occupied by Israel. Both Abraham and Isaac had been affected by the death of Sarah; Isaac's comfort is, described in chapter 24, Abraham's in chapter 25.
The church has been brought into the place of spiritual privilege presently vacated by Israel. The Lord Jesus finds all His joy in the church, His blood-bought Bride. Israel is never regarded as the bride of Christ; she is the wife of Jehovah and, in a coming day, is to be restored to her lost position as Gen.25 intimates. But right now the focus is on Christ and His church.
Beloved many have ask me why did you title this teaching like this? This is my answer, A man once lived, a preacher of the Gospel, my biggest critic, the man that when I started these letters said, "you don't know why or how God works in the life of a believer and until you do, you will never have the ministry God wants you to have". Needless to say he was my mentor and I loved him with an undying love! We were over in the Middle East, and he wanted me to ride a camel. I have been around horses all my life, rode some of the best and some of the worse, but dear friend Poppa has never rode anything like a camel. That had to be the roughest most horrific ride I ever took in my life, it was what I call an O'Me ride. While we were bouncing along he looked over at me and said, "My Brother, this reminds me of the Holy Spirit, rougher than a corn cob at times". And I thought of Rebecca! The Holy Spirit is bringing us and making us ready to be the Bride of Christ, and even as She had to make that long trip as rough as it was at times, she knew that is what it would take to become the Bride of Isaac.
Today, the Lord Jesus is waiting at God's right hand. His work is done and there He sits, in communion with the Father, His thoughts filled with the work the Holy Spirit is doing in the world. One of these days the time of waiting will be over and He will arise and go forth to meet His bride. Then the cry will ring out, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!" What a day it shall be!
"And Issac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide; and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming"
God Bless You
Poppa
Jerry Lee Kay sr.
Editor's Comment:
About the Writer Author
State:
Texas
Country:
United States
Email:
jerryleekay@suddenlink.net
Website:
www.jerryleekay.net
Profile:
Click here!
|
|
Most Recent From This Writer
Inspired Still - Designs by LaVellaK
Design Challenged? No worries! Among many design services I offer, I'll gladly design hats, t-shirts and more for you or your organized Special Event. Email me at justask@worthfinding.com for details!
Photgraphy & Design by LaVella Kraft
|
Select Article or Story
|