Women Of Faith: Rebekah

Abraham has sent one of his servants back to his native land in search of a wife for Isaac. The servant prays to God, and God answers his prayer with Rebekah. As Sarah had done before, Rebekah leaves all that she knows behind and moves to a foreign land to start a new life. Rebekah never set eyes on her husband before agreeing to marry him, a foreign concept to much of today's modern world.

Rebekah is barren for the first 20 years of her marriage, but then God blesses her with twins. Even in the womb Jacob and Esau were feuding for place:

     The babies jostled each other within her, and she said,  "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to
     inquire of the Lord.
       The Lord said to her,
               Two nations are in your womb,
               and two peoples from within you will be separated
               one people will be stronger than the other
               and the older will serve the younger
                        (Genesis 25:22-23)


Esau is born first, with Jacob grabbing onto his heel. Jacob tricks Esau into selling his birthright. But this is not about Esau and Jacob, though their feuding is a part of it. Rebekah loved Jacob more, she favored him over Esau. When it came time for Isaac to bless his older son, Rebekah helped Jacob to deceive his father and receive the blessing of the firstborn.

Why does Rebekah deceive Isaac? Did God not tell her that the older brother would serve the younger brother? Isaac's blessing made sure of it. I don't know why Rebekah did it, I'm not sure if she forgot the promise God had made to her while she was still pregnant. One thing that does come to mind is that God foresaw Rebekah's deception and gave his statement knowing what would come later on down the road.

Rebekah's intentions were to have her favored son receive the better blessing. In those days the firstborn male of the family received the inheritance and all others would be under him. However, when Esau learned of the deception he vowed revenge. He consoled himself by saying he would kill Jacob after their father had passed. When Rebekah heard this she urged Jacob to flee, to save his life. Jacob would not return before Rebekah passed. Her actions caused her to send her beloved son away, never to see him again.

If Rebekah had trusted in God she might have seen her son before her death, she might never have had to send him away in the first place. But as we humans so often do, Rebekah took charge and did not trust in the promise of the Lord. I am often like Rebekah, relying to much on myself and my own way of doing things rather than following and trusting God. While I have not received a direct promise from God, His promises are given to me throughout the Scriptures. If we trust in Him, give our lives to Him, we will have eternal and life and peace. Yet so often in this life I am torn up on the inside, wrestling with my decisions and not seeking his counsel.  This is one thing that rereading Rebekah's story has shown me, even though we falter and may not always seek Him, He will always be with us should we ask for Him.