“And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?”
(Genesis 29:25)

Jacob left Bethel (the house of God) to go to the land of his fathers to take a bride. This land was a place of paganism and idolatry. It is just such a place to which our Lord will come and fetch His bride. As Jacob drew near he spied a young maiden. She was beautiful and well favored and won his heart at first glance. Rachel is a type of the church as she is revealed in natural Israel. Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachel all represent the church as she is revealed in the dispensation of natural Israel. All three were outwardly beautiful and their charms appealing to all the eyes and senses of natural man.

Seeing her beauty he enters into a covenant to purchase her as his bride. Seven years he labored for her and when his service was fulfilled he entered into the darkness of the bridal chamber and in his mind and heart he took her into his arms in a loving embrace. All through the night he held her close and delighted himself with his beloved. But, when the sun came up and filled the room with light, he found himself not in the arms of his beloved but in the arms of her ugly sister.

Such is the revelation of the church of God to this world. Men are attracted to her outward appearance in natural Israel. They see her legalistic walk, her ceremonial dress, and her ornamental decorations and they find themselves willing to labor to have her.

But the reality of faith is that you cannot have the object of your love until you first embrace the ugly sister. The revelation of faith is a two-fold revelation; First, exposing us for what we truly are and then what we are in our beloved. The truth concerning the church as she is represented in these two women is that they were both pagan sisters chosen of God by His grace. “What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise; for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.” (Romans 3:9)

D. Pruitt