Sometimes I think I would have liked to be the Rebekah in the Bible except for, well, the fact that she ended up being sort of deceitful. I would have liked to be her because she had a kind heart or she would not have watered the camels that Abraham's
servant had without being asked. She was willing to leave her home, and she comforted Isaac upon the death of his mother. Those, I think were her good qualities.
Nevertheless, she did have to deal with a man who was the "apple of his father's eye", so to speak, and I would bet it was sort of hard. I mean, Abraham had a hard time dealing with Sarah his wife and waiting for Isaac to be born in the first place, and I am sure the man grew up hearing about the blessing that he was to his parents. And he was; I am not disputing that. I just sometimes think Isaac was a little weak in the head, if you know what I mean.
First of all, my daughter was married to an Arab, and from what I know about their culture, Isaac should have been more of an iron-fisted type of guy than he was. Of course, Rebekah WAS beautiful, but still. Since Isaac knew that God had sent a sacrifice in his place, you would think he would have been grateful and have listened when God told him and Rebekah that the older of their sons would serve the younger. Isaac didn't listen though, and he planned to give his oldest son, Esau, the blessing of the firstborn.
Now, I am NOT taking Rebekah's side. She also should have listened to God. She had heard what God said too. I suppose you could say that she was trying to manipulate the prophecy since she helped Jacob trick his father to get the blessing he had been promised, and I do believe that God worked through that, but she still lied and encouraged her son to lie.
The reason I would NOT like to be her is because I wonder how she lived with the consequences of her actions. Although I do not quite understand the mechanics of the whole thing, evidently a blessing, once given, could not be rescinded. Nor, I suppose, should it have been since Jacob got the blessing that God had said he should. The end result, though, was that Jacob, Rebekah's obviously favorite son, went far away from her. Knowing how Laban tricked Jacob, I wonder if maybe her brother was the reason she was so eager to leave home. How must she have felt, then, sending her youngest son to live with a man she knew was dishonest? There was no evidence, either, that she had any relationship with Esau once Jacob left. She is barely mentioned, in fact, after the "big deception". Did she wonder about her grandchildren? Did she even get to see them?
I like reading the Old Testament stories because it is in the Old Testament that I found fellow sinners whom God loved anyway. Reading their stories is a comfort to me. Rebekah obviously has her place and purpose in Biblical history, but I am thankful that her story is her own. Since she is mentioned at all, we know that she was important, and I am assuming that God forgave her deception since there is no Biblical evidence that I can find to the contrary.
The forgiveness is all that really matters.
servant had without being asked. She was willing to leave her home, and she comforted Isaac upon the death of his mother. Those, I think were her good qualities.
Nevertheless, she did have to deal with a man who was the "apple of his father's eye", so to speak, and I would bet it was sort of hard. I mean, Abraham had a hard time dealing with Sarah his wife and waiting for Isaac to be born in the first place, and I am sure the man grew up hearing about the blessing that he was to his parents. And he was; I am not disputing that. I just sometimes think Isaac was a little weak in the head, if you know what I mean.
First of all, my daughter was married to an Arab, and from what I know about their culture, Isaac should have been more of an iron-fisted type of guy than he was. Of course, Rebekah WAS beautiful, but still. Since Isaac knew that God had sent a sacrifice in his place, you would think he would have been grateful and have listened when God told him and Rebekah that the older of their sons would serve the younger. Isaac didn't listen though, and he planned to give his oldest son, Esau, the blessing of the firstborn.
Now, I am NOT taking Rebekah's side. She also should have listened to God. She had heard what God said too. I suppose you could say that she was trying to manipulate the prophecy since she helped Jacob trick his father to get the blessing he had been promised, and I do believe that God worked through that, but she still lied and encouraged her son to lie.
The reason I would NOT like to be her is because I wonder how she lived with the consequences of her actions. Although I do not quite understand the mechanics of the whole thing, evidently a blessing, once given, could not be rescinded. Nor, I suppose, should it have been since Jacob got the blessing that God had said he should. The end result, though, was that Jacob, Rebekah's obviously favorite son, went far away from her. Knowing how Laban tricked Jacob, I wonder if maybe her brother was the reason she was so eager to leave home. How must she have felt, then, sending her youngest son to live with a man she knew was dishonest? There was no evidence, either, that she had any relationship with Esau once Jacob left. She is barely mentioned, in fact, after the "big deception". Did she wonder about her grandchildren? Did she even get to see them?
I like reading the Old Testament stories because it is in the Old Testament that I found fellow sinners whom God loved anyway. Reading their stories is a comfort to me. Rebekah obviously has her place and purpose in Biblical history, but I am thankful that her story is her own. Since she is mentioned at all, we know that she was important, and I am assuming that God forgave her deception since there is no Biblical evidence that I can find to the contrary.
The forgiveness is all that really matters.
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