Isaac and Rebekah's
Romantic Friendship

Abraham had sent his trusted servant, the one in charge of all he had, to go fetch a wife for his son Isaac from among his own kinsmen. The servant, (who could easily be a type or foreshadow of the Holy Spirit who is gathering and preparing the Church, which is also known as the Bride of Christ in the New Testament) solemnly agreed and set out.

The story of how the servant prayed at the well, and asked for a special sign to recognize the girl that should be Isaac's bride, and how Rebekah turned out to be exactly the right one - that is found in Genesis 24. But for our purposes right now, let's leap forward to the time when the servant had brought her back, and Isaac and Rebekah met for the first time.

Isaac had gone out walking in the fields in the evening, and from up on the camel she was riding, Rebekah was the first to catch a glimpse of him. Right away she got down off the camel and asked who that was. Upon learning the man was her intended husband, she covered herself with a veil and waited while the servant told Isaac all that had happened.

We read that then Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent of his mother, Sarah, and he married her. Then it adds that he loved her and was comforted after his mother's death. Those few words imply so much!

They both recognized that their friendship was orchestrated by God Himself, through the work of the servant. Rebekah became his whole world, emotionally. Over and over again they must have discovered ways in which they complemented one another.

When Rebekah could not become pregnant, Isaac prayed to God for her, and suddenly she had not one baby but twin sons wrestling inside her!

While they jostled inside her womb, she herself prayed, and God told her what the future held for her sons, that they would be the heads of two nations, and the younger would be greater than the elder son.

The sad part is, as in many marriages, Isaac and Rebekah did not continue in such romantic harmony. As parents they chose favourite sons while raising them, and sometimes used them as pawns in their own petty quarrels.

All this shows that a romantic friendship between husband and wife is possible and very much in order. However, it should not be taken for granted that it will continue indefinitely. Such a friendship must be nurtured and tended carefully so that it will stay strong and loving. Our human nature will degenerate even the best friendships if the couple do not act deliberately to keep it well and thriving.

If you have a romantic friendship with your spouse, please do not take it for granted, or assume it will last without nurture. Work at it! The rewards are out of this world.

My Theme of Friendships

My novel, Ruthe's Secret Roses, and this related site have a Friendship theme. By getting to know and follow around the heroine, Ruthe, you can learn a lot about friendships, and that there is one that is the golden key to enriching all your other friendships and making them more satisfying. The site is more like a perfumed poupouri of articles and pages on that theme, and I've started a series on the friendships we observe in the Bible and what practical insights we can gain for our own friendships by thinking about them

Visit the RoseBouquet for my weekly short articles about what is happening in my life, week-by-week.

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Are your friendships important to you? You'll want to read the first eight chapters of the book or order it in either softcover or e-book formats, Ruthe's Secret Roses.

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