Woman of God: Rebekah
In the previous post, we discussed Sarah, the Bible's OG matriarch. We’re going to talk about Rebekah (Isaac’s wife). She’s famous for manipulating Jacob into stealing Esau’s blessing. But was she that bad?
Who is Rebekah?
Rebekah was from Paddan-aram (Genesis 25:20). The family tree of Abraham’s family showed that Rebekah was Isaac’s niece. Her parents are Bethuel (Nahor’s son). She’s the sister of Laban. Rebekah was famous as a deceitful woman who helped Jacob (her favorite son) to steal Esau’s blessing. She was also described as a beautiful and kind woman (Genesis 24). She came from a family that worshipped pagan gods.
She was chosen by God because Abraham’s servant prayed to God and ask for a sign during his task to find a wife for Isaac. Rebekah showed up to Abraham’s servant and gave him and his camels a drink. This confirmed the servant that she was the one God had chosen (Genesis 24:15).
Trouble Having Children
Isaac and Rebekah waited for around 20 years after getting married to be blessed with Jacob and Esau. When Isaac married her, she had no idea who God was presumably. I assume that was one of the reasons Rebekah was childless. Just like her mother-in-law, Sarah, she had trouble conceiving, but Isaac prayed to God on behalf of his wife and eventually blessed her with twins. Isaac set an example to his family by whom they should pray to; Isaac sought the Lord when he and Rebekah couldn’t have kids.
Rebekah’s Deception
When Rebekah was pregnant with the twins, the Lord gave her a prophecy about her twins’ fate (Genesis 25:23): The older one will serve the younger. This prophecy was given only to Rebekah. Only Rebekah knew the fate of her children. Isaac’s favorite child was Esau, and Rebekah’s favorite was Jacob. But Isaac and Rebekah were bitter towards Esau because Esau took two wives, and they were all Hethites. Isaac only had one wife, and Abraham only had one wife, too. But Esau took two Hethite women as his wives. We don’t know exactly why Isaac and Rebekah don’t like Esau’s wives, but there are many theories about it.
Similar Experience With Sarah
Isaac almost led her to sin by telling Rebekah to say that she was his sister when they were in Abimelech’s kingdom. This story is similar to that of Abraham and Sarah in Egypt. Isaac didn’t have enough faith that God would protect him. But God saved them through a warning dream for Abimelech. There’s a similar pattern on Old Testament—that it was okay for a man to use his wife to protect themselves. There are many stories on Old Testament where men used his wives/concubine to protect themselves. But Jesus is the opposite of that. Jesus died for us.
What Can We Learn?
Rebekah wasn’t mentioned on the Bible as much as Sarah but there are many things we can learn from her.
From Rebekah’s story, there are many lessons we can learn:
1 - God’s Providence
Not only did God bless them with twins, but He also provided Isaac with a wife. Something from God is always good in His eyes.
2 - Kindness and Generosity
Rebekah was a woman from Abraham’s family. Rebekah was described as a woman with kindness and generosity. It was shown through the story of Abraham’s servant who was given the task to find a woman for Isaac. Abraham’s servant prayed to the Lord that He would show a woman who would give him & his donkey a drink. And Rebekah showed up. (Genesis 24)
3 - Consequences of Favoritism
Isaac’s favorite was Esau, and Rebekah’s favorite was Jacob. But Isaac and Rebekah didn’t like Esau’s wives because they were Hethites. We don’t know why they hated Hethites (possibly because of cultural context). This favoritism led Sarah to manipulate Isaac so Jacob could have the blessing. And it led to more problems, Esau wanted to kill Jacob.
4 - God’s Plan Doesn’t Need Deception
God created a free will. God didn’t create Evil. God chose Jacob even before Jacob was born. Though Esau was born first before Jacob, God had already chosen Jacob to carry out His covenant promises. But Rebekah decided to interfere with God’s plan.
5 - God’s Sovereignty
Rebekah’s interference led to painful consequences: Jacob had to flee, and she never saw him again. Despite the deception, God’s sovereign plan was still fulfilled—Jacob became the father of Israel. God's sovereignty does not excuse deception. Trusting His plan is always better than taking matters into our own hands.
Despite not mentioned as much as Sarah, God gives many lessons we can learn from Rebekah’s story. Being a woman of God is not easy. In fact, there’s no such thing as easy story on the bible. But in the end it’s all about God. God is always good and never plans to hurt.
What do you think about Rebekah’s story? What’s your perspective? Let me know in the comments.
