‘Meanwhile, Isaac, whose home was in the Negev, had returned from Beer-lahai-roi. One evening as he was walking and meditating in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming. When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel. “Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” she asked the servant. And he replied, “It is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done. And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.’ Genesis 24:62-67(NLT)
‘You are beautiful, my darling, beautiful beyond words. Your eyes are like doves behind your veil. Your hair falls in waves, like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead. Your teeth are as white as sheep, recently shorn and freshly washed. Your smile is flawless, each tooth matched with its twin. Your lips are like scarlet ribbon; your mouth is inviting. Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates behind your veil. Your neck is as beautiful as the tower of David, jeweled with the shields of a thousand heroes. Your breasts are like two fawns, twin fawns of a gazelle grazing among the lilies. Before the dawn breezes blow and the night shadows flee, I will hurry to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense. You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way. Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Come down from Mount Amana, from the peaks of Senir and Hermon, where the lions have their dens and leopards live among the hills. You have captured my heart, my treasure, my bride. You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes, with a single jewel of your necklace. Your love delights me, my treasure, my bride. Your love is better than wine, your perfume more fragrant than spices. Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. Your clothes are scented like the cedars of Lebanon. You are my private garden, my treasure, my bride, a secluded spring, a hidden fountain. Your thighs shelter a paradise of pomegranates with rare spices— henna with nard, nard and saffron, fragrant calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes, and every other lovely spice. You are a garden fountain, a well of fresh water streaming down from Lebanon’s mountains. ‘ Song of Songs 4:1-15(NLT)
‘He escorts me to the banquet hall; it’s obvious how much he loves me.’ Song of Songs 2:4(NLT)
‘It was Moses’ practice to take the Tent of Meeting and set it up some distance from the camp. Everyone who wanted to make a request of the Lord would go to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the Tent of Meeting, all the people would get up and stand in the entrances of their own tents. They would all watch Moses until he disappeared inside. As he went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and hover at its entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. ‘ Exodus 33:7-9(NLT)
‘There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place. In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant. Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now. When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties. But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. ‘ Hebrews 9:2-7(NLT)
‘With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.’ Hebrews 9:12-15(NLT)
Let me catch you up to speed. Isaac and Rebekah are betrothed to be married, but they’ve never met. Talk about a leap of faith!
Isaac was also at a well: Beer Lahai Roi, which means “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.” God sees our needs and knows what’s best for us. It’s not a coincidence that the servant found Rebekah at a well and Isaac came from a well to meet her. God designed them for each other.
I love when they meet for the first time. It reminds me of the scene in the film Pride and Prejudice where Mr. Darcy walks toward Elizabeth Bennet in a beautiful field at twilight. It’s beyond romantic. If you haven’t seen it, please rent it today. You’re welcome.
Let’s switch gears now and explore the passage written by King Solomon to his bride. It paints a beautiful picture of what Isaac could have been thinking when he first met Rebekah. It also represents the promise that love is so much sweeter when you wait on God’s perfect timing.
Solomon’s seductive words of desire for his bride can still make a girl blush. He eagerly anticipates their wedding night. Who says the Bible is boring? This is racy stuff, people!
Back in Genesis, we see the second part of Isaac and Rebekah’s wedding process, which includes the marriage and consummation. Isaac was grieving the death of his mother Sarah. In His perfect timing, God comforted Isaac by bringing him his bride during this time of loss.
The Bible goes on to say that Isaac loved Rebekah. I love this. He didn’t just marry her to reproduce or to have a woman in his life. He really loved her. He cared for her. He desired her.
Song of Songs 2:4 gives us a beautiful picture of Christ’s love for us, His bride. He’s proud of us and shows the world that we belong to Him like a banner flying high. He proclaims His love for us like a flag over a nation.
Jesus brings us into his family and loves us, just as Isaac brought Rebekah into his tent and loved her. But what was the spiritual meaning of a tent?
In our reading today, we learned about the “Most Holy Place” in the tent of meeting. Only the “high priest” could enter it once a year to offer a blood sacrifice. God’s glory rested there, and no man could stand in His presence and survive without first being ceremonially cleansed.
In the New Testament, Jesus came as our high priest and through His blood sacrifice on the cross, the curtain that separated the “Most Holy Place” was torn, symbolizing that we can now enter into God’s presence on earth because Jesus makes us clean.
When we accept Jesus’ invitation to marriage, His spirit comes to dwell inside us. In other words, we become the sacred tent of meeting. One day, when He returns, we’ll step into the tent of His Kingdom to be joined to Him in marriage for eternity.
from Will You Marry Me?