We first learn of Rebekah’s existence in Genesis chapter twenty-two. Verses twenty to twenty-four of this passage prepare us for her entry into Abraham’s family by telling us about Nahor, Abraham’s brother. This is when we discover that Nahor had many sons by his wife and a concubine and that he had a granddaughter named Rebekah.

A DECISION OF FAITH

Abraham made his trusted servant swear that he would go to Abraham’s homeland, to his family, in fact, to find a wife for Isaac. He did not wish to seek a woman from the pagan cultures around Canaan for his son.

Entrusted with such an important mission, Abraham’s servant asked for a sign from God to ensure success. He never doubted that God would lead him to the young lady most suitable for his master’s son. The test he conceived was very straightforward. He would ask a young woman to draw some water for him to drink. The right woman would not only do this for him but would also offer to draw water for his camels.

When Rebekah came to the well, the servant played out his test, and she passed with flying colors. Rebekah drew water for the servant to drink and willingly volunteered to draw water for the camels, a task normally performed by a servant.

As the servant revealed to Rebekah and her family the purpose of his mission, they would have realized that Abraham was a wealthy man, and Isaac would inherit his wealth. It was a noble marriage for Rebekah. She agreed to the proposal.

This seems a simple enough thing to do when we read the story, but imagine this situation. One day, out of the blue, a stranger appears at your house in a limousine laden with expensive presents. He claims to be a representative of your father’s long-lost brother and offers you a position of importance in your uncle’s household. He tells you a story of how God guided his path as he searched for you, his employer’s long-lost family, leading him to finally find you in a miraculous manner.

He asks you to leave everything you’ve ever known and go with him to a remote place very far away and inaccessible by normal means of transportation.

In our modern world, this situation would certainly cause a degree of suspicion. However, we would be able to check out this stranger’s identity fairly easily. In fact, he should have some form of identification on him.

The identity of the man claiming to be your uncle could be confirmed, and you would even be able to speak to him on the telephone. No matter how remote the place was, there would be helicopters or motorboats to make travelling possible, and you could e-mail your family. Technology gives us many options.

Well, Rebekah did not have these options. She could not telephone Abraham to confirm his identity or that of the servant. She had to take his word for it. It also required her to leave the home and only family she had known all her life. The distance meant that the chances of ever seeing her family again was slim. It was a courageous decision for a young girl to make, and one which must have been influenced in some way by faith -- faith in the God who guided the servant to her.

Abraham is often used to exemplify faith in action. Heb 11:8 - 10 talks about Abraham who went forth from his homeland when God called to him. He did not know where he was going. When he died, he had not seen this great nation, his descendents as many as the stars. Yet, he believed that it will happen. Heb 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Abraham’s hope in God’s promises remained strong until his death. It is hardly mentioned, but Rebekah’s willingness to go to Isaac mirrors Abraham’s faith. She did not hear God calling directly to her just a servant whose loyalty and faith in God touched her and made her believe that what he promised was true. Like Abraham, she set out into the unknown with nothing more than the knowledge that God had a hand in this matter and the conviction that it was the right thing to do.

Gen 24:57-58 indicates that Rebekah had a choice in the matter. She was asked if she would go with the servant, and she agreed. The childlike simplicity of her faith is touching and an example to us. Jesus Himself told us to have a simple, childlike faith. “Assuredly, I say to you,” He said, “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” (Mk 10:15)

Rebekah’s faith at this point serves as an example. She was rewarded for it with a wonderful marriage and a husband who loved her deeply.

ENCOUNTERING DIFFICULTIES

Although Abraham married again after Sarah’s death, we are told that Isaac was the sole inheritor of all that he had (Gen 25: 5, 6). This would give Rebekah significant status within the family.

Her faith complemented her husband’s at this stage. When she could not conceive, Isaac prayed on her behalf (Gen 25:21). When she felt the twins within her struggling, and she became concerned about her pregnancy, she prayed to God (Gen 25:22-23).

Sarah, her mother-in-law, was also barren. However, Rebekah never chose to give her maid to her husband, an option Sarah took. Rebekah waited with Isaac for twenty long years. We see a woman who waited patiently for her prayer to be answered. Many of us will be able to say with feeling that waiting for God’s time can be very difficult indeed and requires a very firm faith.

Once again, Rebekah was courageous enough in faith to wait for God’s time. As Abraham had hoped, his son had a wife who shared his faith, and the whole family prospered with blessings from God (Gen 25:11).

We like our prayers to be answered immediately! Many of us become impatient and even begin to doubt God when He seems not to hear us. Though we experience time flowing past daily, weekly, monthly, annually, God exists in every time-past, present and future. He knows the best moment to grant us our requests, and He also knows which requests may not be granted. If we claim that we trust in God, we must also trust in His judgment.

A prayer unanswered does not mean God is not listening. It means that God is asking us to trust in His wisdom. Certainly, we may keep asking, but while we do, we must also find within us the willingness to submit to whatever decision God may make.

Rebekah was a woman who began her journey with such faith. She trusted in God to give her children. She trusted in God to reveal to her the reasons for her difficult pregnancy. As the Psalmist wrote:

We can see God rewarding Rebekah in her life and how He gave her a loving husband and twin sons. “Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust…” (Ps 40:4).

TAKING MATTERS INTO HER OWN HANDS

When God explained to her the struggles she felt within her during her pregnancy, He revealed that there were two nations in her womb. He also revealed that the older would serve the younger (Gen 25:23). Thus, the destinies of the boys were set.

Rebekah did not trust in God to lead events to fulfillment. She took matters into her own hands by helping her younger son deceive his father. She became an unsuccessful parent when she loved Jacob more than Esau.

Jacob enjoyed his mother’s favoritism while he observed and experienced his father’s favoritism for his brother. Such behavior from his parents probably served to polarize his feelings for each parent. He certainly showed no loyalty to his father or brother when his mother suggested that he should deceive his father.

In orchestrating the situation so that Isaac gave Jacob the blessing reserved for the eldest son, Rebekah exhibited a faith that had turned from trust into selfishness and manipulation. She thought that she could take matters into her own hands. She brushed aside consideration towards others for the sake of Jacob. “There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel--that will stand” (Prov 19:21).

Many things are ordained by God. As His created beings, we must bow to the fact that what God has ordained will come about. There is nothing we can do that will change the situation once God has decided. If we force matters, as Rebekah did, unfortunate consequences will result, perhaps causing grief and hatred. If Rebekah did nothing, she would have witnessed God’s will in action, and the older would still serve the younger, for He had ordained it so.

The difference is that when it is God who arranges matters, no one gets hurt, and we are blessed for our trust in Him.

THE REPERCUSSIONS OF FAITHLESSNESS

She also suffered separation from her favourite son for the rest of her life, since she was forced to send Jacob to her brother’s home in order to save him from his brother’s wrath. Just as she could not expect to see her family again, Jacob could not expect to see his dearest mother again.

The consequences of her actions rippled through many generations into the future. Esau became the father of a great nation, which was later known as the Edomites. The Edomites became staunch enemies of Israel, finding every opportunity to take vengeance on the Israelites, even though they were brothers:

From these verses, we can see that much later on in history, Edom collaborated with the enemies of Israel. When the Israelites were taken captives, Edom stood by with the enemies. Indeed, the descendents of Esau continued to seek vengeance against Israel, with disastrous consequences for them:

Thus says the Lord God: “Because of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended by avenging itself on them...I will also stretch out My hand against Edom...” (Ezek 25:12, 13)

We will never know what might have been if only Rebekah had not taken things into her own hands. Perhaps the two nations would not have been enemies. Perhaps Esau’s descendents might have had a chance for redemption.

During our struggles through life or some circumstance, we learn to trust in God because we see no other way. We place our hopes on Him when we need His help.

Rebekah placed a great deal of trust in God when she had to make what must have been the most important decision in her life-her marriage. She also kept her faith in God when she wanted to start a family, and could not.

We are more likely to cling to our faith when something crucial is at stake in our lives. The danger comes when we take matters into our own hands and forget that the Lord is the final director of our lives.

Therefore, we need to do according to His will at all times, and not just during times when we are faced with what seems to be the impossible. For every action-every act of faith-has its consequences, and by them we will stand before God in judgment.

May the Lord have mercy upon us and guide us constantly so that we will never stray from His path.