again to Genesis chapter 24, and now we'll read verses 29 through 67. I invite you to stand as you're able out of respect for the reading of God's word. Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man to the spring. As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's arm and he heard the words of Rebekah, his sister, thus the man spoke to me. He went to the man and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. He said, come in, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels. So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels and gave straw and fodder to the camels. And there was water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, I will not eat until I have said what I have to say. He said, Speak on. So he said, I am Abraham's servant. The Lord has greatly blessed my master and he has become great. And he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. And Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master. when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has. My master made me swear, saying, you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell, but you shall go to my father's house and to my clan and take a wife for my son. I said to my master, perhaps the woman will not follow me, but he said to me, the Lord before whom I have walked will send his angel with you and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father's house, then you will be free from my oath. when you have come to my clan, and if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath. I came today to the spring and said, O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go, behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, please give me a little water from your jar to drink, and who will say to me, drink, and I will draw for your camels also. Let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master's son. Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebecca came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. And I said to her, Please let me drink. She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, Drink, and I will give your camels drink also. So I drank, and she gave the camel's drink also. Then I asked her, whose daughter are you? She said, the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, who Milcah bore to him. So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the way, the right way, to take the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son. Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me. And if not, tell me that I may turn to the right hand or to the left. Then Laban and Bethel answered and said, The thing that has come from the Lord. We cannot speak to you bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before you. Take her and go and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has spoken. When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the Lord. And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, of garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, Send me away to my master. Her brother and her mother said, let the young woman remain with us a while, at least 10 days after that she may go. But he said to them, do not delay me since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master. They said, let us call the young woman and ask her. And they called Rebecca and said to her, will you go with this man? She said, I will go. So they sent away Rebekah and her sister and her nurse and Abraham's servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, oh sister, may you become thousands and ten thousands and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate him. Then Rebekah and her young woman arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way. Now Isaac had returned from Beerlehi-Roy and was dwelling in the Negev. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward the evening. He lifted up his eyes and saw, behold, there were camels coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes. And when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel and said to the servant, who is that man walking in the field to meet us? The servant said, it is my master. So she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah, his mother, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God abides forever. Amen. You may be seated. The longest chapter in the book of Genesis is not covering creation. It's not about man's fall to sin either in Genesis chapter three. It's a romance. It's a love story right here in Genesis chapter four, 24. The longest chapter in the book of Genesis. Genesis chapter 24 gives us, in the best possible way, a sappy boy meets girl, happily ever after romance. Isaac and Rebecca's wedding is here to teach us that the story of the Bible is a love story, a love story that by God's grace, you and I get to be a part of. And it doesn't begin, does it, with the couple's love. It begins with the loving concern of a father and his desire to find a bride for his son. You can imagine how important this was for Abraham. God's promise was to Abraham through his offspring, through Isaac, shall your descendants be named. But here's the problem. Isaac is 40 years old. He's still a bachelor. If Isaac died without any kids, well, then all hope for this sinful world would die with him. The hope of the head crusher, the hope of Abraham's offspring through Isaac and through Isaac's descendants who would possess the gates of his enemies and destroy sin and crush Satan, all of that would be lost. So much depends upon Isaac finding a wife. So much depends upon him having godly offspring with his future spouse. And so, as a good father does, Abraham looks for a wife for his son. And no ordinary bride would do. I mean, it's true, Abraham could have found any woman among the Canaanites and said, here, here's a, here's a good looking woman. Why don't you take her as your wife, Isaac? But he can't do that. That's not an option. Why? Because those girls worshiped false gods. And so what, Abraham says is, I'm going to send my servant, and he's going to go all the way to the place of my ancestors. And there, from amongst God's chosen people, I'm going to seek a wife for my son. So that my son, after the death of his mother, might have someone to love, someone to know, someone to have, someone to hold. And yes, someone to have godly offspring with in hopes that God will be true to his promises even after I'm dead. Abraham's concern was for Isaac to find a godly bride. So Abraham sends his servants on this matchmaking mission to find a wife for his son from God's chosen people. Let me just pause here. We already have rich applications for us, for today, for our own relationships. I need to start by addressing our parents. Parents, do you have this godly concern, this concern of Abraham's? Is this a burden on your heart, a prayer upon your heart? Teach your kids from an early age about the goodness of marriage, but also make sure they understand the purpose of marriage, to carry forward the promise of God in a wicked world. Marriage isn't just about finding that person who makes you happy and makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. No, it is about finding someone who can join you in advancing God's kingdom. And so it's very important to teach your children, make sure they understand that they are to marry a fellow believer. I'm not making this up. We see it here, we also see it in 1 Corinthians 7.39, that the single person is free to marry, but only in the Lord. And there's more. Parents, you can give your kids an example to follow. Show them through your own life, through your own interactions with your spouse, that it is so important for them to be looking for someone to marry who loves the Lord. Young men and women, you're not off the hook. Yes, this story begins with a godly concern of a father, of a parent, but it also has something instructive for our children, especially in today's day and age. We tend to think that who we decide to marry is a completely private matter. It's like there's a sign hanging over our bedrooms, no parents allowed. And no parents allowed in the area of matchmaking, stay away. Now I'm not suggesting we go back to arranged marriages. But the Christian family has an invested interest in seeing godly marriages take shape. Isaac was 40 years old when his dad helped him find a spouse. Why is it today that 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 year old say, mom and dad, you don't have any say over this. You don't have any place to tell me to weigh in on the decision of who I marry. We have an example here in the scriptures. of what it would look like for godly children, godly young men and women to say, you know what? I'm gonna sacrifice my pride and I'm gonna listen to what my Christian parents have to say about a potential spouse. I am willing to allow people older and wiser than me to advise me on one of the most important decisions of my life. Young men and women. Let the godly concerns of those older and wiser than you, especially your parents, guide your relationship decisions. Because matchmaking, because love here in Genesis chapter four, the great love story of Isaac and Rebecca begins with the prayers, with the hopes, with the desires, with the matchmaking of a godly father. But who is the real matchmaker here? Is it Abraham? Is it Abraham's wise servant? No. Behind the scenes, working with this beautiful providential control is the true matchmaker who is God. God. God's providence is written all over the pages of this love story. Never does the passage say, and God did this, but everywhere we see God working to bring together this match made in heaven. It starts at the well where the young women come to draw water. Now, Abraham's servant is there. He's been commissioned with this precious duty to find a wife for Isaac from amongst the people of God. And he's there and what is he doing? He's praying. He's saying, God, I'm seeing the young women come out to the well to draw water. Help me make this match. I can't do this, Lord. And notice what happens before he even finishes praying while he's still speaking to God in his heart, a beautiful But this is a wise servant. He knows that outward beauty can deceive. And so the servant puts this young woman to the test. He says, would you please serve me some water? Now, the servant has set up a little test with God's help. And we know about this test. What is the test? That the woman who will marry Isaac will not only offer him a drink, but she'll also offer a drink to his camels. She'll say, and I'll feed your camels as well. Why? Is this some random test, just, you know, the guy hoping that somehow God will make abundantly clear exactly who it is? Here's what this is. The woman who does these things, the woman who not only offers to serve this traveler a drink, but also to feed his camels, is not only beautiful, but also kind, generous, and industrious. It was hard work feeding camels. To feed 10 camels was probably 25 buckets of water that you draw up and put before them and watch them drink the water and then give them more. It's a lot of work. This is a woman whose arms are strong to the task. This is a woman who opens her hands and helps the poor. This is a woman who is ready. This is the woman who fits the Proverbs 31 checklist. And this is the true beauty of woman. Not outward adornment only, but the beauty of her Christian character. Hint, hint, young man. What are you looking for? Look for this. So it must have been music to the servant's ears when beautiful Rebecca said, let me pour you some water and let me, let me feed your camels too. It's all coming into place, isn't it? A beautiful woman, a noble woman, but there's something that Abraham above all emphasized that's so important. Is she from the people of God? And so he dares to ask the question, who are you and what does Rebecca say? I am. the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's relative, which means what? We have a match. She's from the people of God. She's from that land. She's Abraham's distant relative. She fits all the criteria. Here's the point. Nothing about this scene was a coincidence, nothing. The Lord will provide. Isn't that what Abraham said on top of the mountain to Isaac when he spared Isaac from the knife and put in his place a lamb? God provided a lamb for Isaac, now he's provided a wife for Isaac. What do you need that the Lord will not provide? There's a lesson for us here. We can do all the planning and matchmaking we like. We can labor and toil over relationships, but there comes a point where we must learn that God is in control. He's in control of our relationships and we are not. And it is his providence that brings together two people in marriage. And sometimes it's just so unexpected. You say, I would never have put those two together, but it kind of works, doesn't it? I would never would have thought of it, but I guess God did. The uncanny and unexpected ways, maybe some of you who are married, have been married for a long time, can think back to all the surprising ways that he brought you to the one who now shares the rest of your life with you. Sometimes God brings a guy or a gal into our lives in a way we didn't expect. He or she is not who we expected for ourselves, for our children. And there are times where we must sacrifice the fairy tale story in our minds to embrace the love which God is forming right in front of us. Letting go of control is hard. It's like letting go of an idol. It is letting go of an idol. Saying God, May I trust you in what you're doing. If true love, if Christian love before me. Other times we struggle because God hasn't yet provided us with a godly spouse. Hello? What about me? Where's my Isaac? Where's my Rebecca? Some of you are thinking that this morning. Why am I still waiting? Why do I have to read about love stories in the Bible and God's perfect matchmaking and I've been waiting here for years and years and years and years? I don't have an easy answer for this. I don't have an answer that will take away the suffering that one experiences where they're single and desire deeply to be married. But I do know this, that God doesn't make mistakes in his choices for his loved ones, for his children. He will provide precisely what you truly need in exactly the timing you need it. In the meantime, let me counsel you. Don't turn to shortcuts. Don't take the quick routes. Don't turn to the Canaanites. Don't seek relationship with those who do not love the Lord, who do not walk according to his ways. That is off limits. Instead, look for a spouse amongst the people of God. And don't forget to commit the entire matter of your relationships to prayer. Because it was before the servant had finished praying, while prayer was still on his heart. that God was bringing together this match, imperceptibly but behind the scenes. A father's concern and God's control have found a bride for Isaac. And now, isn't it beautiful how she leaves everything behind to begin a new life with her groom? Will you go? Her family says, and she says, I will go. I will go right now. She doesn't even know that. She doesn't know what he looks like. She doesn't know what he acts like. But on the testimony of this servant and with great, amazing faith in God, the same faith that guided Sarah to follow her husband to the promised land, that same faith guides Rebecca to this daring adventure to say, I'll go. I'll go to marry him. I'll do it today. And then comes the moment where she finally meets her groom. Isn't it beautiful? Isn't it romantic? Like something out of a scene from the Princess Bride. Isaac is out in the field praying, and suddenly there are camels on the horizon. He sees his servants, but then there's someone else with him. She's pretty. Could it be? Could this be the woman? Could this be the one that his father has sought for him? Yes. And when his eyes meet her, her eyes meet him, and she gets off of the camel she's riding, and she looks, and she asks the servant, is this my groom? Could this be him? Yes, and they both realize at the same time, this is my bride and this is my groom. And Rebecca veils her face to signify to Isaac from a distance, yes, it's me, I'm your bride. Yes, I'm ready to take your hand in marriage, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, from this day forward till death do us part. The marriage happened right away. Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah, his mother, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. Isaac is the only one of the patriarchs who gets one thing incredibly right. He only has one wife. The others took others, but Isaac was so full of love for Rebekah. She's it for a life. And isn't this, everything we're seeing here, isn't the beautiful ideal for marriage that scripture gives to us? One woman, one man, leaving their father and mother with blessing, and they're joined in intimate companionship for life. A wife is man's best friend and his partner in life. She's not just one who gives the camel something to drink. She is treasured and loved to be by his side, to be his best counselor, to be his friend, his helper. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate. And as we think here of the honor of marriage, as we seek in our own marriages to dignify this by tending to the garden of marriage, by dignifying it, by keeping it pure and holy, by loving our spouse as well, by sacrificing ourselves for them. As this all comes to our mind's eye and we see Isaac and Rebecca walking together into the sunset, There's one more thing that ought to come to our mind here. And that is the remarkable way in which Isaac and Rebecca are a beautiful picture of Christ and his church. Like any good marriage, what marriage points to, Ephesians 5 tells us this, it's Christ and his church. It's Christ and his bride. And I want you to notice the remarkable way in which the pictures come together. Our betrothal to Christ, his church's betrothal to its bridegroom began with the sovereign choice of God the Father to choose a bride for his beloved son. He won this bride with costly gifts. The gifts of his grace, the gift of his son's life for our sins. Isaac's servant wooed Rebecca with gold and jewels, but God's helper, the Holy Spirit, wooed us with the irresistible sweet gifts of the gospel. And we, like Rebecca, have been called to leave everything behind, to persevere through the journey of this life, all the way to our wedding day, that day when we will see the bridegroom face-to-face. We will stand before him as a beautiful bride, adorned with good works. Revelation 19.7 says that on that final day, the day in which we see Jesus face-to-face, all of us, his church, will be what? Clothed with fine white linen, like a wedding dress. And that fine white linen will be what? The righteous deeds of the saints. The character that Christ has formed in us from afar. Yes, like any good marriage, Isaac and Rebecca are a picture for us of Christ and his church. Rebecca said, I will go. What do you say to your bridegroom, your savior? Christ says to his church, will you leave this world behind to follow me? Will you leave behind everything you hold dear? And come to a place that I've prepared for you. And come to me, to the marriage supper of the lamb. By faith we will say with Rebecca, Heavenly Father, we thank you for what a rich picture of the gospel you have embedded in marriage and in the marriage of this text. We pray that we would dignify marriage so that we speak of it well, so that we teach our children well about it, so that we model it before our children with great grace and dignity. But Lord, we know we live in a sinful world where our marriages are often broken. Lord, you are powerful to overcome even these obstacles, so that even through these things, we might be an example and a witness to you. Give us the grace we need. Help us to persevere, for we fix our eyes not on worldly things, but on our bridegroom in heaven, on Christ, and on the place he has prepared for us there. We pray all this in Christ's name, amen. We do come to the time of the Lord's Supper, and I invite our two pastors here to come and help serve. Well, I'm complicating things. Mr. Jones and Mr. Pepa, thank you. The Lord's Supper is a picture and a pledge of our fellowship with Christ at the marriage supper of the lamb. The scriptures tell us that there will be a day where we sit with Christ and we feast with him. Face to face, church will behold him and he will behold his church as he has made her to be. That day will be like a great wedding feast. But notice how along the way he gives us this picture and pledge that that's where we're going. And he gives it to us in such a way that we never forget the costly gifts that purchased that place, that purchased that wedding. It was Christ's very life, his body broken, his blood poured out. This is what he had to do to win his bride. And now he invites us to his feast saying, Will you go? Will you come to be with me? And by faith, will you be drawn closer to me by meditating on my death, my resurrection? I invite you to take of this. meal, which is a picture and pledge of God's grace towards sinners, how he sought them out from afar. You are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you've been baptized and you profess that you have professed Christ before men, you've been joined and accountable to a church that preaches the gospel. Then this meal which Christ has given to his church is for you. But if this does not yet describe you or further, if you are walking presently in unrepentant sin, not willing to turn from your sin, to go to the Savior, then I caution you to not take of the meal, but instead to come and talk to the leaders of the church so that you might see the clear route to go to the Savior. And partake of Him, my faith. For this meal is for sinners, but it's sinners who are seeking the Savior. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, teach us this very hour to love you all the more, and to be caught up in the great love story of the scripture, love of Christ for his church and his people, his church for him. I pray all this in Jesus' name, amen. On the night in which Christ was betrayed, he took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and he said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. I love you Oh.