Vs.16-
“ And the damsel was very fair to look
upon,”- Rebekah was a very good looking young lady.
“a virgin, neither had any man known her:”- Rebekah was pure. She had kept herself and been chaste.
“and she went down to the well, and filled
her pitcher, and came up.”- Apparently they had to
descend to get to the well. It was down
in a low spot. The Bible tells us that
she went down to the well, quickly filled her pitcher with water for her family’s
needs, and then ascended back up from the well and started back home. Rebekah did not stop to commune with the
other ladies drawing water, but she was diligent about her business.
One-Line Explanation-
Rebekah, a beautiful virgin, gets water from the well.
Lesson: We see a few characteristics of Rebekah in this verse. We can apply these characteristics two
ways. i.) Practically.
What characteristics should I look for in a potential mate? ii.) Picturesquely. Rebekah, the bride, is a picture of the bride
of Christ, the church. 1.) Beauty.
A.) Rebekah’s name means ‘ensnared
by beauty.’ In this verse she is said to
be very fair to look upon. We understand
that beauty isn’t everything and this is not the only characteristic or the
main characteristic that a person should look for in a potential mate. Pro.31:30-
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:
but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Many people marry on the basis of beauty
alone and this is dangerous, however, I don’t believe it’s unspiritual to
desire to be attracted to your lifelong mate.
The book Song of Solomon is about the relationship a man and a
woman should have in marriage. Over and
over again in that book they praise each other’s beauty. They were attracted to one another. Psa.37:4- Delight
thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. I believe that God will give you a marriage
partner that you are attracted to. We
don’t need to make an important decision of who to marry based on beauty alone,
but it is not necessarily wrong to desire to be attracted to the one you will
marry. You will have to wake up to that
individual for the rest of your life! I
have learned that people are different and different people are attracted to
different things. Some people really don’t
care about looks and beauty at all. God
knows what we need and I believe He will lead us to the perfect partner for
marriage if we will delight in Him.
I had many different people trying to ‘hook me
up’ throughout my college years. I was
told that I was too picky. Finally one
of my preacher friends asked, “What are you looking for a Sunday school super
model?” After Kim and I were engaged, I
introduced her to this particular preacher friend. He said to me, “Well, I didn’t think you
could pull it off, but you found her.
You found your Sunday School super model.” I wasn’t just looking for a beautiful woman,
but it was a characteristic on my list! I would tell people that I was looking for
the holy trinity of courting. We all
have a body, soul, and spirit. The body
is the physical part of us, the soul is the mind, will, and emotions, and the
spirit is the part of us that communes with God. I was looking for a woman that was strong in
all three areas. I wanted her to be
attractive (body), to be intelligent and able to carry on a good conversation
(soul), and to be saved and love the Lord (spirit). B.)
The bride of Christ is a beautiful thing. Eph.5:25-27- Husbands, love your wives, even
as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (Vs.26) That he might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (Vs.27)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. The Bride of Christ is a glorious
church that doesn’t have any spot, wrinkle, or blemish. She is a very beautiful bride to look upon
indeed! The church is a local assembly
of born again baptized believers. One
day all of the believers will be assembled together in what the Bible calls a
glorious church. This church is made up
of all of the believers of all ages. We
as believers were once wretched and vile in our sins. We were polluted in our own blood and our
righteousnesses were as filthy rags in God’s sight, but now through the
cleansing of His blood and His Word we are made beautiful and without blemish.
2.) Purity. She was a virgin that had not known man. A.) A
very vital characteristic in searching for a life-long partner is this
characteristic of purity. It is very
important that young people are taught and encouraged to stay pure until the
day they make their marriage vows. We
are told in our day and time that it is impossible for young people to stay
pure so we need to encourage them to be safe.
Safe sex is not the message; abstinence until marriage is the
message. It is not abnormal or
impossible for a young person to keep themselves until marriage. Parents can promote this in many ways. i.)
Don’t allow your children to date until they are ready to marry. Why do we encourage our children to date when
they are still in High School? Do they
have a job? Are they ready to provide for
a wife? They don’t need to be dating or
courting (whatever word you want to use) until they are ready to marry. A young person that is not ready to marry is
also not mature. An immature person does
not need to be dating. There is a reason
that a young person has to be a certain age before they can drive. It is dangerous to put someone behind the
wheel that is too young and immature. It
is just as dangerous to their spiritual well-being and to their future to allow
them to date when they are not old enough and mature enough. Ii.) Chaperone
the date. Don’t allow your unmarried
child to go on dates alone. You are
putting them in a position to feed their flesh.
The Bible says not to make provision for the flesh. We don’t need to put our young people in a position
that will be tempting to them. Just go
along for the ride and the temptation will be removed. Iii.)
Educate your children. I stayed
pure because of obedience to my parents and love for my Lord, but also because
of fear. STD’s are God’s judgment upon
those who live in immorality. A lesson
on AIDS and herpes will go a long way in keeping your child pure. More important than a lesson on the repercussions
of sin is simply a lesson on what God’s Word says about the issue. Teach your children over and over again what
God says about the issue. This subject
needs to be hammered into the minds of our young people on a consistent basis. Let your children know that you are teaching
them these principles because you love them and it is in their best interest to
wait until marriage. Iv.) Encourage purity. Many fathers will give their daughters a
purity ring or a purity bracelet. It is
a special event between a father and a daughter where the dad will present this
ring to his daughter and take her out for a special dinner. He will explain to her that she is to wear
that ring and stay pure until she is given away in marriage. The only time she is allowed to take off that
ring is when her wedding ring replaces it.
She is to stay pure until the purity ring is exchanged for a wedding
ring. B.) The Church is to be pure as well. i.)
The Church is pure positionally. The church is a called out assembly of
born again, baptized believers. The
church is made up of those that have been washed from their sins and are in
Christ. They are pure and clean in God’s
sight. Rev.21:27- And there shall in no wise
enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of
life. Heaven is a
perfect place and it is going to be inhabited by God’s pure and perfect
church. We are only pure through the
shed blood of Jesus Christ. ii.) The church is to be pure practically. In a Jewish wedding the young man prepared a Ketubah, (Kit to
bah) or marriage contract (or covenant) which he presented to the intended
bride and her father. A price was paid which was appropriate in that society to compensate the young woman's
parents for the cost of raising her, as well as being an expression of his love
for her. (Jesus paid a price for His Bride!) To see if the proposal was
accepted, the young man would pour a cup of wine for his beloved and wait to
see if she drank it. This cup represents a blood covenant. If she drank the cup
she would have accepted the proposal and they would be betrothed. (We must
accept the shed blood of Christ for our sins.)
The young man would then give gifts to his beloved, and then take his
leave. (We were given the gift of the Holy Spirit) The young woman would have to wait for him to
return and collect her. The betrothal
was binding and could only be undone unless by a divorce with proper grounds,
such as the bride being found not to be pure, (see Joseph and Mary - Matt
1:18-19) Before leaving the young man
would announce, " I am going to prepare a place for you ", and
"I will return for you when it is ready". (Jesus said He was going to
prepare a place for us.) The usual
practice was for the young man to return to his father's house and build a
honeymoon room there. This is what is symbolized by the chuppah or canopy which
is characteristic of Jewish weddings. He was not allowed to skimp on the work
and had to get his father's approval before he could consider it ready for his
bride. If asked the date of his wedding he would have to reply, "Only my
father knows." Typically it would be a year before he came for his bride. Meanwhile the bride would be making herself
ready so that she would be pure and beautiful for her bridegroom. During this
time she would wear a veil when she went, out to show she was spoken for (she
has been bought with a price) It was the custom for a bride to keep a lamp, her
veil and her other things beside her bed. (Pictured in the parable of the ten
virgins.) Her bridesmaids were also
waiting and had to have oil ready for their lamps. When the groom came, usually
at night, they would light their lamps and begin a parade through town. They would party for normally 7 days
(Marriage supper of the Lamb). At the
end of the feast the marriage would be consummated.
As a
part of the bride of Christ, I have accepted Christ’s proposal for eternal life
and have been saved. Jesus has gone to
prepare a place for me and will come again.
We do not know the day or the hour when He will return. Until the time of His return, it is my
responsibility to stay pure. I am bought
with a price, I am engaged to Christ; I have no business flirting with the
world. Paul said in .) 2 Cor.11:2-
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one
husband, that I may present you as
a chaste virgin to Christ. The
church is to stay pure in multiple ways.
a.) Doctrinally pure. The church is the pillar and ground of the
truth. We are told in the book of Jude
to earnestly contend for the faith. In
dealing with the 7 churches of Asia, Jesus rebukes the church of Pergamos for
promoting the doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. It has become popular in our day of
ecumenicalism to just accept anything and anyone that claims the name of Jesus
no matter what their doctrinal stance is.
In fact a person who takes a stand on doctrine is seen as hateful and
divisive in modern Christendom. It is
important that our churches stay doctrinally pure. b.)
Morally pure. We are to let our
light shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father
which is in heaven. Those that preach
the Gospel should live of the Gospel.
God’s will is our sanctification that we would abstain from
fornication. The church has become so
worldly and ungodly. We must reach the
world, but not by becoming worldly. Our
churches are not only tolerating sin and worldliness in our day, but are
actually promoting it! We, as
Christians, need to live holy and righteous lives. We should not flirt with the world when we
are espoused to Christ! It is a shameful
thing for a married man or a married woman to flirt with or have relations with
an individual that is not their spouse.
Notice how James puts it in Jas.4:4- Ye adulterers and
adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. The church needs to keep herself pure and
quit using the world’s music, the world’s style, the world’s language, the world’s
philosophy’s, etc. If you are a part of
the bride then you need to be divorced from the world!!! It is a shame to see so many pastors being
exposed for sex perversion, fraud, deceit, scandals, etc. We need a revival of holiness, decency,
character, and morality in our churches.
3.) Diligence.
A.) Rebekah’s diligence is seen
in how she goes about doing her chores. It
was her responsibility, as it was with most women in that culture, to draw the
water from the well for her family. This
was an important job that was entrusted to her and she was diligent in her
responsibility. Notice what the Bible
says of a virtuous woman in Pro. 31:13-18-
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. (Vs.14) She is like the merchants' ships; she
bringeth her food from afar. (Vs.15) She riseth also while it is yet night, and
giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. (Vs.16) She
considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a
vineyard. (Vs.17) She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her
arms. (Vs.18) She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. A virtuous woman
is characterized as a woman who works hard, is diligent in her business and responsibilities
to the family, and industrious. When
looking for a potential life partner you do not want someone who is lazy and
slothful. Ladies, if you want to be on welfare
for the rest of your life then just marry a lazy man. Our generation is filled with lazy men who
sit around on the couch eating potato chips and cashing welfare checks while
they play video games all day. If a man
doesn’t work neither should he eat. If
an individual is healthy and able to work then he needs to get his backside off
of the couch and start filling out job applications. I don’t understand how some of these women
have any respect for their husbands. In
many situations the woman is working two jobs while the man is conquering
Zelda! Ladies, you don’t want a lazy
man. If he’s lazy and doesn’t have a job
and won’t pick up after himself then just look the other way. The same applies to men looking for a lady to
marry. Men, you don’t want to marry a
lazy woman. I believe in women being
keepers at home. Men, if you want a
dirty house and neglected children, unwashed clothes, and a sink full of dishes
then just marry a lazy woman. A virtuous
woman is diligent in taking care of the business of the family. Rebekah is a virtuous woman. She fulfilled her duties and did them quickly
and efficiently. B.) The church should be diligent in its duties
and responsibilities. God has given us a
job to do. We have been given a
commission. We have been given the
ministry of reconciliation. We are to go
and teach all nations, baptizing them, and discipling them. Our Lord has placed responsibility in our
hands and there will be a day of reckoning.
Jesus will return and we will be judged as Christians by what we have or
haven’t done with the commission He has given to us. Let’s be diligent today to give out the
Gospel!
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