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 Copyright © 2007 The Salvation Army USA Eastern Territory. All rights reserved. |
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Women of the Bible Bible Study by Gladys DeMichael June 2007 REBEKAH – A SPIRIT OF CONTROL
Scripture: Genesis 24; 25:19-34; 26:1-11; 27- 28:9
Background: Rebekak is first mentioned in the genealogy of the descendants of Nahor, Abraham’s brother (Genesis 22:20-24). One of Nahor’s sons was Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram who, by an unknown wife, became the father of Rebekah and the sister of Laban the Syrian (25:20). Her name in all probability means “loop”, or “tie”, or “captivating”. She encompasses a mixture of qualities. She is energetic, courageous, generous and inventive. The choices and decisions she makes also reveal character qualities which, when not controlled, can lead to negative consequences; impetuous, arrogant and deceitful.
When Rebekah was a young girl, God had chosen her to play a very important role in the story of His people. He had gone to great lengths to pursue her. After Sarah, she is honored as the greatest matriarch of Israel. Also, like Sarah, her heart would be in conflict between faith and doubt; believing that surely God’s promise required her intervention.
Biblical Truth: God goes to extraordinary lengths to engage us and invite us to be a part of His people and His promises. He is the Sovereign Ruler and all of history is under His control. “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance” (Psalm 33:11-12 NKJV).
The story of young Rebekah reflects ancient Middle Eastern marriage customs. An emissary (messenger) of the groom’s father chooses the potential bride and negotiates marriage terms with her family. In Rebekah’s case, it is Abraham who sends an emissary to upper Mesopotamia (today’s northeastern Syria) to choose a bride for his son Isaac. The choice must be from among Abraham’s relatives. Abraham understood that religious values could be preserved best through the home; especially true for the mother. The emissary is described as “the oldest servant of the house, who ruled over all he had” (24:2), therefore, it is assumed he is Eliezer, Abrahams beloved, long-tern steward (Genesis 15:1-3).
Marrying sight unseen is an extremely dangerous venture, but for Rebekah it was successful because “the angel of the Lord’ had directed the events leading up to her marriage proposal (24:7). The “angel of the Lord” in the Old Testament refers to any visible manifestation of God. Abraham had seen enough of God’s faithfulness to be perfectly confident. (Genesis 22:15-18).
With the complete understanding of the solemn oath sealed with Abraham, Eliezer travels to Aram Naharaim and the city of Nahor, five hundred miles northeast of Canaan. Ten of his master’s camels are loaded with gifts. Outside the city, they rest at a well. It was evening when the women come to draw water. Eliezer offers a prayer placing everything in the Lord’s hand (24:12-14). The words were barely out of his mouth when Rebekah approached the well with a water jug on her shoulder. Eliezer asks for a sip of water from her jug and when he had satisfied his thirst she promptly draws water for the camels until they had drunk their fill.
This was back-breaking work. A watering trough for animals stood above ground, but the spring feeding well could be reached only by descending a flight of broad stone steps circling deep below ground. Eliezer quickly establishes that this spirited, hard-working girl is of Abraham’s clan. She confirms this in conversation with him. He had been sent on a sacred mission – to find Isaac a wife from among Abraham’s own people rather than from among the surrounding Canaanites. His immediate response to his answered prayer is “worship before God”. He falls to the ground and exclaims, “The Lord has been so kind and faithful” (24:26-27)!
Biblical Truth: “Far above all finite comprehension is the unchanging faithfulness of God. Everything about God is great, vast, and incomparable. He never forgets, never fails, never falters, and never forfeits His Word”. Arthur Pink – “A Celebration of Praise”. “Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God….” (Deuteronomy 7:9).
Rebekah hears Abraham’s servant describe to her father and brother how he had prayed and how he was sure she was the woman God intended for Isaac. God Himself had divinely orchestrated the events. Did she fully realize God’s plan for her? Was she open to following that plan? Was her faith so great that she could leave her home forever to marry a man she had never seen or met? Or was she simply fascinated with romantic notions and the jewelry of gold, jewelry of silver, and clothing (24:47, 53)? Whatever her motivation, God’s plan was at work and He was able and willing to faithfully continue to fulfill His promises through her. Faced with instant departure from those she holds dear, Rebekah is given her choice, “Will you go with this man?” Without hesitation she replies, “I’m ready to go” (24:58).
Isaac was forty, twice Rebekah’s age when he first saw her. The Bible says she comforted Isaac after the death of his mother (24:67). She was strong and beautiful, yet she was barren for the first twenty years of her married life. Isaac pleaded with God for his wife and the Lord answered his prayer with a set of twins. Her pregnancy was difficult. Rebekah was alarmed at the way they pushed and shoved each other in her womb. Believing they were a gift from God, she sought a word of divine guidance from Him as to why she should have to suffer so. God tells her that two people are quarreling within her, and that the older shall one day serve the younger (25:23).
Biblical Truth: This was contrary to what would be culturally expected. But God’s people are always subject to His intervention into purely human customs. God’s use of what society considers weaker or lesser is a common theme in the Bible. (Notes: The Wesley Bible) “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world”? (1 Corinthians 1:20b NIV)
When the time was right, the boys were delivered. The first-born is given the name Esau for his body was covered with reddish hair as if it were a coat. The name “Esau” possibly means “hairy”. He would grow up to become an outdoorsman and an accomplished hunter. Isaac, quiet and retiring, was drawn to the bold, daring, strong and wandering Esau. At age forty, he marries two Hittite women which grieves his parents bitterly (26:34-35), but he remains Isaac’s favorite. During the delivery, the second-born son’s infant fingers grasped the heel of his brother, as though striving to be the first-born. His name, Jacob, possibly means “heel clutcher” or “supplanter” (one who takes the place of another). He prefers the quiet lifestyle of a shepherd, and is first in his mother’s affections. Rebecca’s favoritism for Jacob brings her great sorrow.
It began with the “birthright”. The firstborn son would normally inherit a double portion of his father’s estate, exercise authority over the household, and bear the honor of his father’s name. It seems difficult to understand, but Esau, exhausted from a day in the fields, placed more value on pieces of bread and a bowl of stew than he did his birthright. He was hungry and the aroma of the food being prepared was a temptation he could not resist. Jacob willingly allowed his brother to commit to such foolishness in his weakened condition. In the time it took to eat a meal, he gave up his birthright. Rebecca reacts to this shrewd manipulation with rejoicing. She views this as signaling the onset of God’s divine plan as foretold to her alone (25:23).
As with her mother-in-law, Sarah, Rebekah’s beauty carried its dangers. There was a great famine in the land but Isaac obediently stayed in Gerar, trusted God and did not go down to Egypt (26:2-3).
Biblical Truth: This was an act of faith. God promises to be a sustainer and protector of His people in all circumstances. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10 NIV).
While there, he had great fear that the physical charms of his wife might excite the desire of the king and so he lied. He passed Rebekah off as his sister; a course of action which might have had terrible consequences (26:6-16). He fell into the same error as his father before him. Beautiful Rebekah had been taken by Abimelech. One day Abimelech looked out the window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah, and he knew he had been deceived. Isaac’s unfaithfulness was discovered, and the heir of God’s promises was rebuked by a heathen king for his lying and deception. In the providence of God, Abimelech, an idolater, was made the protector of the child of promise. This is not the outcome one would have expected from deception. We do well to remember: God’s providence continually gives us more than we deserve! (Notes: Wesley Bible)
Jacob manages simply to buy his brother Esau’s birthright. But to obtain Isaac’s final blessing, he requires the help of his mother. Finding it difficult to rest in God’s promise to her, Rebekah resorts to trickery to achieve it. This ancient practice of “blessing” served as the last will and testament of one generation to the next. The Bible reveals that usually the father would give both the birthright and the blessing to his eldest son. Any blessing was a solemn matter and a father’s final blessing was considered strong and powerful.
Re-read Genesis 27:1-41
Isaac is now an old man, blind and on his deathbed. The clever Rebekah overhears the conversation Isaac has with Esau. She quickly suggests a secret plot of trickery to Jacob for obtaining the blessing from Isaac. The scheme is successful; the patriarch Isaac stretches out his hand and passes the choicest blessing to his younger son. This blessing could not be withdrawn (27:33b) despite the deceit. When Esau comprehends his personal great loss, the Bible tells us “he sobbed violently and most bitterly…and could not be consoled” (27:34, 38 The Message). He vows to kill Jacob after his father’s death and days of mourning (27:41)
Afraid of Esau’s revenge, Rebekah persuaded Isaac to send Jacob to Haran to find a wife among her brother Laban’s daughters (28:2). She would send for Jacob as soon as his brother’s fury abated.
Over the years, Rebekah must have longed to see Jacob, always hoping that “today may be the day he returns”. More than twenty years would pass, and although Isaac lived to welcome his son, it is assumed that Rebekah died during his long absence. Ambitious for her son, she sacrificed the love of her husband, the loss of the respect of her elder son, and the peace of her soul, for the “favorite” son whom she never held close again. She was buried in the cave of Machpelah near Hebron where Abraham and Sarah were also buried (49:31).
History records the mixed results of this families struggle, mirroring Rebekah’s spirit of control. The faithful God was still at work using a woman whose response to Him was less than perfect, to accomplish His purposes. Jacob indeed became heir to the promise (Genesis 28:13-15), but he was driven from his home and the mother who loved him. Also, he and his descendants would forever be at odds with Esau and his people, the Edomites. Two thousand years later, Herod the Great, a man of power who hailed from Idumea (the Greek and Roman name for Edom) would slaughter innocent children in his attempt to destroy Infant Jesus (Matthew 2:16).
Ponder – Praise – Pray:
I well remember a day as a young mother with two toddlers, feeling consumed with their care. I wondered if the day would ever come when I would have time to care for myself. Standing directly behind a “beautiful woman” in the grocery store line, I thought, ‘will I ever have it all together like she apparently does’? Then, she spoke to the lady at the register with a tone of sarcasm and disrespect. Her beauty was all outward. I recall clearly asking my Lord to forgive me for that comparison and I thanked Him for the rich blessings my children brought to my life.
Prayer Almighty God., I praise You for Your faithfulness to me despite my imperfection and waywardness. May I sense Your nearness in all the struggles of life. Please give me Your power so that I may bless my children, through my example, my love, my teaching and my prayers. May my joy be renewed with each new day as I strive to possess the inner beauty of Your Holy Spirit. I worship You as the One Who answers the prayers of Your children. Amen.
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