03.04. "For this cause"
"For this cause"
"And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." — Genesis 2:18.
"And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man." — Genesis 2:23.
"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh." — Ephesians 5:31. The Deep Sleep, — The Help Meet.
If we are to understand God’s purposes we must not neglect any part of His Word. The Holy Scriptures are not so many loose fragments gathered together in a haphazard way, but one complete whole. "No Scripture is of private interpretation," which means that no Scripture stands alone; each part has its connection with every other part. The beginning of Genesis finds its answer at the end of Revelation, and in the building of a help-meet for Adam there was foreshadowed the great purpose that was in the heart of God for the glory and joy of His beloved Son. Adam was made in the image and likeness of God, and was set in dominion over this lower creation to represent God to it. The greatness of his mind was proved in that when God brought the animals to him he was able to give each a name that described its character. God had crowned him with glory and honour and set him over the works of His hands. But he had a heart as well as a mind, and none of the animals nor all the power and glory with which he was crowned in Eden could satisfy his heart. Nothing could do this but a companion who could understand his love and reciprocate it. Hence God said, "It is not good for man to be alone, I will make a help-meet for him." And with this in view God casts him into a deep sleep and took a rib from his side, and with it He built the woman, and when Adam awoke he said, "This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh." She was taken out of himself and she satisfied his heart. The New Testament tells us that Adam was a figure of Him that was to come, even Christ. He is to have universal dominion, for He has been set far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come. In that place of glory and power He must have His help-meet, who shall be more to Him than all the glory, one who shall satisfy His heart for evermore. "For this cause," says the Word of God, "shall a man leave his father and mother and be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh." For this cause, that He might have the church for Himself, and one with Himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, Christ went down into death, so great was His love: —
"Down beneath those sunless waters,
He from heaven has passed;
He has found His heart’s desire,
Found His pearl at last."
"For this cause He died dishonoured,
As a felon dies;
For His church, the pearl all priceless,
In the Saviour’s eyes."
There was no other way by which He could secure His church for Himself, for the power of death had to be broken that His loved ones might be free. As Eve was taken out of Adam when he was thrown into the deep sleep, so the church has sprung out of the death of Christ. "This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." The Father’s Purpose "And Abraham rose up early in the morning . . . and Isaac . . ." — Genesis 22:1-24. The Early Morning: The Father and the Son. — The Heat of the Day: The Faithful Servant. — The Eventide: The Meeting of the Bridegroom and the Bride. THE EARLY MORNING The first time that LOVE is mentioned in the Bible is here: "Take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest." It is the love of the father to the son, and it typifies for us the first and the greatest of all loves, and the source from which all true love has flowed, the love of God the Father for His Son. This is a most wonderful theme, and we must consider it, for we should never have been brought into these most blessed relations to the Lord in which we now stand, and are yet to stand, apart from it. I believe that we may justly say, that all the grace that has come to us, as those who are espoused to Christ, and all the glory that we hope for, as those who are to be part of His bride, find their spring in this, "the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand" (John 3:35). This love is shown to us very clearly in John’s Gospel where Jesus is called "the only-begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father," and where, when speaking to His Father, He said, "Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:1-26). He was worthy to be loved by the Father, and this was surely what the Father meant when twice He declared from the excellent glory, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Out of this love of the Father to the Son has sprung up this great purpose for the joy and glory of the loved One, which we are considering, and for the fulfilment of this purpose God had to awaken into activity, if we may be permitted with the greatest reverence to use such an expression in regard to Him. This is set before us in figure when Abraham rose up early in the morning, to lead his only son, Isaac, whom he loved, to the place of sacrifice. THE EARLY MORNING is the beginning of the day’s work AND THE EVENTIDE sees its completion or failure. The day of God’s work for the fulfilment of His great purpose began when His beloved Son, the Word, "became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth." John, the forerunner, knew what this coming of the beloved Son meant, for he said to his disciples, "I am sent before Him. He that hath the bride is the Bridegroom: but the friend of the Bridegroom, which standeth and heareth Him, rejoiceth greatly because of the Bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, I must decrease." John may not have looked beyond Israel when he spoke, but we may take up His words and read them in the light of the full revelation of the truth.
How bright was the dawning of that day! The true light then shone in its gracious fulness for every man. How the hearts of men ought to have thrilled to it! What expectations ought to have awakened within them! Alas, the darkness did not comprehend the light, and the world did not know its Maker, but that did not turn the Father from His purpose. The day of His great work had begun, and He could do no other than work while it was day. The Father and the Son had risen up and started forth on the journey that led to the place of sacrifice — Golgotha, for judgment and death and Satan’s power lay between the morning and the eventide. We learn as we read John’s Gospel, how the Father and the Son "went both of them together," in an absolute and indivisible oneness of purpose. This oneness is seen in the Lord’s words, "My Father worketh hitherto and I work. . . . What things soever the Father doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise, for the Father loveth the Son, and showeth Him all things that He Himself doeth" (John 5:1-47). The time came in the journey of Abraham and Isaac to the land of Moriah when the young men were left behind, and the wood for the burnt offering was laid upon Isaac; and as we read the story we are reminded of the words of Jesus to His disciples, "Behold the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave Me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the FATHER IS WITH ME" (John 16:32); and then "He, bearing His cross, went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha." (John 19:1). We who are parents may have some conception of what Abraham’s feelings must have been as he walked with Isaac to the place of sacrifice, and as they communed together on the way, but what heart of man can conceive what it cost the Father, when in obedience to His will, His well-beloved went forth unflinchingly to death; and when in their communings together on the way the Son said to the Father, "Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say, Father, save Me from this hour? but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name." There was an instant answer to that cry, not that the Lord Himself needed it, for His confidence in His Father’s love was absolute, but for the people’s sake, that they might know that that lonely Man whom they hated was heard and beloved by the Father in heaven.
Isaac was delivered from the uplifted knife and there suffered in his stead the ram caught by its horns in the thicket, but no substitute was found for God’s beloved Son; it was impossible that He could be delivered from the stroke of death. God’s purpose must be realized and there was only way by which it could be, the Lamb of God must die, if ever the marriage of the Lamb was to take place; and Jesus, the Son of God, was the Lamb of God.
We believe that we are right in saying that it was not far from the place to which Abraham led Isaac that Jesus suffered, and Abraham called that place Jehovah-Jireh — the mount of the Lord who sees and provides. The place was well and truly named, for we see at Golgotha how God, who saw the end from the beginning, provided a Lamb for Himself, and by the death of His Lamb laid an immovable foundation for eternal peace and joy and glory, and the fulfilment of all His will.
How wonderfully the purpose of God unfolds in this story. Abraham had said to the young men, "I and the lad will go yonder . . . and come again to you." He knew that He would not come back alone; his faith laid hold upon God and he knew that He was able to raise up his son even from the dead, "from whence also he received him in a figure." How blessed it is for us to know that the fact infinitely exceeds the figure, and the fact is that, "Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father" (Romans 6:4), and as the risen Son of God He could send His disciples that triumphant message, "I ascend to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God." Beyond the suffering of death and the darkness of the grave we see the Father and Son moving on together to the great end that the Father has in view. THE HEAT OF THE DAY "Thou shalt go unto my country and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac." — Genesis 24:4. This brings us to Genesis 24:1-67, where Abraham declared what was in his heart for Isaac’s joy; it was that he should have a bride worthy of his love to share all his wealth. She had to be brought from a far country, and a servant who could be trusted had to be sent to fetch her. In Abraham’s own household there was such a servant, who, without any thought of himself, would carry out all Abraham’s desire. I am not stretching the Scripture unduly when I say that this devoted, unselfish servant is a figure of the Holy Ghost: indeed, nothing could be clearer. The story teaches us the Father’s purpose for the joy and glory of His beloved Son, the Risen Man, Christ Jesus, which will be brought to full realization by the work and power of the Holy Ghost. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost all have their part in this great matter.
It is an enthralling story. How well Abraham’s servant carried out his mission, journeying through the heat of the day on his great quest; how well and wisely he spoke of his master’s son; how charming was the grace of Rebekah, and how ready was her response to the servant’s appeal. All these features in the figure are found in the great antitype of it. The Holy Ghost has come from the Father to bear witness to the blessedness and unsearchable riches of Christ, and to win hearts for Him. He has come to take of His things, and show them to us, and to glorify Him, as John 14:15-16 shows us. He works within us to produce a response in our hearts to the attractiveness of God’s beloved Son, that just as Rebekah was willing to leave her father’s house and her own land and to go to Isaac whom she had not seen, so we may be made willing to turn from the world and choose Christ instead of it, and say in response to the demand, "Wilt thou go with this man?" "I will go." And thus it comes to pass that we are espoused to one husband that we may be presented as a chaste virgin to Christ. Happy indeed it is for us if this work of the Holy Ghost has been effectual in us, and if it can be said of us in regard to the Lord, "Whom having not seen, ye love, in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8). THE EVENTIDE
The meeting of the Bridegroom and the Bride.
"And Isaac went forth to meditate in the field at eventide, and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and behold, the camels were coming, and REBEKAH. . . ." — Genesis 24:63. The day of these divine activities is drawing to its close, we are surely very near the eventide when the Lamb will meet His bride. And that hour fills His thoughts. The place that it has in the closing words of Scripture is significant. Three times over in the last chapter of the Bible our Lord says, "I come quickly." It is true that two of these times have to do with the rewards that He will give to His faithful servants, and He will find a peculiar joy in this, but when that side of things has been dealt with in every phase of it, and He is free to allow the feelings of His heart to break out, without any question of gain or judgment, He says — "I JESUS . . . AM THE BRIGHT, AND MORNING STAR." This is the last presentation of Himself before He comes. It does not show Him in His majesty and power, with eyes as a flame of fire and feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace, and a sharp two-edged sword going out of His mouth. It is Himself, the Saviour, who in His measureless love went down into death for His bride; it is Himself, so meek and gentle, so full of grace and truth; it is Himself, the altogether lovely One, and the great Lover of His church. By this name we have come to know and adore and love Him. He presents Himself in this personal way, to stir the affections of His bride, and to make her cry in unison with the Spirit, "Come" (Revelation 22:16-17). Then He gives one final word. The very last that He has addressed to His church, it is His final love-word to his espoused and longed-for bride. "He which testifieth these things saith, ’SURELY, I COME QUICKLY.’" There can be but one right response to that word, and may it break forth from every one of our hearts, "Amen, even so, come, Lord Jesus."
"And Isaac went out . . . at eventide . . . and behold the camels were coming, and Rebekah." What joy awaits us when the fact that our story prefigures actually comes to pass, but what will the joy of our Lord be? Let us see how the Scripture puts it. "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout." It will be a shout of triumph and of joy — as I hope to show on another page — for then the time of waiting will be past, the day’s work will be finished, the eventide will be reached, the church completed, and the true Isaac will rest in His love for her. Father, Son and Holy Ghost will rejoice together as the Lamb sees of the travail of His soul and is satisfied.
Thus shall this acceptable time, this great day of grace reach its climax. There is joy in the presence of the angels of God as one by one those who have wandered afar from Him are reached by His grace and gathered in. And that joy has been continuous and ever increasing in its greatness since Pentecost, but here it comes to a fulness that cannot be exceeded, for here the object and aim of all the activities of the grace of God throughout this day of grace is reached, and the heart of the Triune God exults, and overflows with joy. That joy is shared by every heart within the universe of bliss, for we read: "I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come and His wife hath made herself ready" (Revelation 19:6-7).