The BRIDES of GENESIS

Samuel T. Carson

By the same author:

The Long Road Home;
Songs of the Servant King;
An Incredible Journey etc.

Series

Click here   Adam’s Bride Page

Chapters One, Two and Three.
 

Following    Isaac’s Bride Page

Chapter One, Two and Three.

Following    Jacob’s Bride Page

Chapter One, Two and Three.

Following   Joseph’s Bride Page

Chapter One, Two and Three .

Preface   

The Brides of Genesis tells the stories of four remarkable women who were married to four remarkable men and draws parallels between their situations and ours. It shows that for all the superficial differences between them and us, we are essentially confronted today by the same basic realities they had to face.

Warren W. Wiersbe , the well-known author and convention speaker said of an earlier edition which was published as The Genesis Brides, “An experienced and compassionate pastor who knows both the Bible and the human heart wrote this book … These studies are like a ‘fireside chat’ with a beloved pastor who wants God’s best for his people. He speaks the truth in love, and we are the better for it. This is a fresh and arresting call to Christian family living.”

The first publication was soon exhausted but its ready acceptance, and the fact that many readers testified to receiving profit from it, suggested the need to build upon the work already done, to recast it and to enlarge it. Having been encouraged to do this, the author now sends forth this new work, The Brides of Genesis, with the prayer that it too may be owned of God and become a blessing to many.

Introduction

In recent years, and in every area of life, western society has experienced phenomenal change, and the revolution continues all the while at an accelerating pace. Family life has been profoundly affected by it, as have time-honoured attitudes in matters relating to marriage and divorce, and to re-marriage after divorce.

The old maxim that says, the spirit abroad in the world today will be in the church to-morrow, has again proved astonishingly accurate. And it is not in the least surprising that the intrusion of these matters, with all their attendant problems and challenges, into the life and counsels of the Christian Church has been the occasion of much sorrow and not a little division.

The pressure of these issues upon the life of the Church has given rise to a plethora of books purporting, from one standpoint or another, to deal with the vexed questions thrown up by the new situation. The books we have seen focus mainly on questions of divorce, and re-marriage after divorce, but that is not the purpose of this volume.

The intention here is to focus the reader’s mind on the uniqueness of the marriagebond itself. Because prevention is better than a thousand cures, our aim is to develop in the reader’s mind a truer appreciation of, and a greater respect for, the integrity of marriage itself.

Precept and Pattern  

In the sacred scriptures two principle methods of instruction are used: one is precept and the other pattern. The great issues of life are set forth, line upon line, and precept upon precept. In this way the moral principles that daily impact our lives are presented clearly and plainly. The other method is to show those same principles worked out in the lives of ordinary men and women.

Faith

As an example, take the matter of faith: having been saved by faith, we are now called to live by faith. Have faith in God! Walk by faith! These are just two of several significant watchwords of the Christian life. Because faith is so important we are told, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebs.11: 6). But what is faith? The best answer is found in Hebrews chapter eleven.

The chapter brings us through the Old Testament on a journey of discovery. We are invited to look in on the lives of several men and women of faith, who lived through successive generations. The list is not exhaustive, but by putting together the various facets of faith found in the characters referred to, we can come to a good understanding of the meaning of faith.

Those thrilling records of how divine grace wrought in the lives of such a variety of people, in a still greater variety of situations and conditions, have been supernaturally preserved for our instruction. If we apply those patterns to our own lives, they will guide us in our varied circumstances, which are often more similar to theirs than we might think. 

Four women & four men  

The book of Genesis calls specific attention to four women who were married to four men. The men referred to have the distinction of being striking types of our Lord Jesus Christ. A brief outline of the relationships that developed between those four couples is the theme of this book. (It might be thought that Sarah should have been included making five in all. But Sarah was already the wife of Abraham when the God of glory appeared to him. For this reason Sarah is not among the number dealt with here.)

From a literary point of view, the stories of The Brides of Genesis are unsurpassed. What depths of feeling and emotion, what joy and yet what anguish lies hidden in these wonderful narratives. Taken together, they give us timeless instruction in the uniqueness of the marriage bond. They also exhibit the kind of love that will bind two lives together in an abiding union.

Many of the problems confronting us at the beginning of this twenty-first century, are mirrored in the experiences of The Brides of Genesis. For this reason, as we trace the working of God’s amazing providence in the lives of these four couples our faith will be strengthened. And beyond that, we will be able to glimpse some of the mysteries that enter into the heavenly union that exists between Christ and His Church.

We shall see how Eve, created to share with Adam the headship of creation, points us to the Church’s destiny, which is to reign with Christ when all things are gathered together under him. The finding of Rebekah for Isaac will illustrate how the Church, in the Father’s heart from all eternity, was sought out in the fullness of time and brought into union with Christ. Rachel, sharing with Jacob the long period of his exile, will point us to the Church’s identification with Christ in His present rejection. And then Asenath will add a wholly different dimension to the story, because she looks onward to the day of Christ’s appearing in glory when the Church will become His bride.

The pattern of this book then is to take these four remarkable women, and the four remarkable men to whom they were married, and to trace in them things that foreshadow the union of Christ and the Church. At the same time our aim is to show that every marriage, and especially every Christian marriage, derives its true character from that heavenly union.

Apart from a few passing references the vexed questions, of divorce and of re-marriage after divorce, are not dealt with here. The intention, as we have already noted, is to concentrate on the divine ideal. And if in any measure this book should accomplish that end, then it will have served its purpose.

“And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him a helpmeet for him.

And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help fit for him.

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof:

And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh.”

- From Genesis Chapter Two