Rebekah

Rebekah was the chosen bride of Isaac. Abraham sent his servant to his homeland to find a wife for his son, Isaac. Abraham didn’t want his son to marry a Canaanite woman, and since he was quite elderly he couldn’t travel to find a wife for a son on his own. Abraham made the servant promise that he would follow through with the guidelines that were set before him. Abraham was sure of his plan and where to find a wife for Isaac. He told his servant, “he will send his (God’s) angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there” (Genesis 24:7b.) Abraham knew that is was just more than his plan though, it was God’s plan.

When the servant arrived at his destination, he prayed. He knew that to pick the right girl to be the bride of Isaac he would need God’s guidance. Abraham had told him that an angel would go before him.

Then he prayed. “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’- let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.” Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. Genesis 24:12-15a

The servant sent out a plea with directions to God, so that he could clearly know who the right girl was, if she was “the one.” Now when I was in Bible college, or as it is also known Bridal College, it wasn’t uncommon to hear someone use the phrase, “the one” in regard to their own life. In fact you heard people say it so often that we would joke about it. Now, off that bunny trail and back to the main point.

As it states, “Before he had finished praying,” Rebekah appeared and fulfilled the requirements the servant was looking for to know if she was “the one.” Wow! Don’t we all want to have prayers answered like that! Who wouldn’t want God to answer their prayer before they were even finished praying. Abraham had said that God would send His angel before him to prepare the way. The servant’s prayer was already in line with what God had planned. When our prayers and God’s will align, prayers can be answered with haste. Not that it always happens this way, but it can.

After the servant recounted the story or how everything took place to Rebekah’s family, they agreed that she could leave them to be the wife of Isaac.

Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has directed.” Genesis 24:50,51

The servant took Rebekah back to Isaac. Isaac and Rebekah were married and he loved her. The leading of God brought them together.

Rebekah was barren and Isaac prayed to God that they would have a child. God answered his prayer and Rebekah gave birth to twin boys, Jacob and Esau. While Rebekah was pregnant God told her that two nations were in her womb and that the older would serve the younger. This came to pass when the boys were grown and Rebekah had a part in the deception.

Rebekah loved Jacob, he was a mama’s boy. Isaac though, loved Esau. Jacob and Esau were two very different men. Esau was a hunter and a man of the wild, he was also a harry man. Jacob was quiet and hung out around home. Esau was the older, and therefore was given a birthright as the oldest son. One day, Jacob schemed Esau out of his birthright. When Isaac was about to die the deception continued. Jacob, with the help of his mother, tricked his father into blessing him instead of Esau. In fact, the whole plan of how to trick Isaac was Rebekah’s idea. Esau was furious at what his brother had done and wanted to kill him. Rebekah then devised a plan for Jacob to escape his brother’s wrath.

How did Rebekah go from the chosen bride for Isaac to a woman who helped her son deceive his father? The Bible doesn’t give much insight between these two things, so I guess we will just have to wonder about that. The last that is mentioned of Rebekah is where she is buried.