REBEKAH: OUT OF DARKNESS

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible…. 

REBEKAH: OUT OF DARKNESS                      

Genesis 24:57-59 NKJV

⁵⁷ So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.”

⁵⁸ Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”
And she said, “I will go.”
⁵⁹ So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. 

I confess my admiration for Rebekah.  She is by far the most interesting woman in the Old Testament.  She is strong, bold, and has a faith that is fully committed to God.  Her failures are failures of zeal for God’s purpose.  Whenever she chooses, she does so to fulfill what she understands to be God’s word. 

Rebekah is never an interested bystander.  From the moment Eliezar meets her until she is no longer a part of the divine narrative her role is one of active participant.  She always is doing what she thinks is God’s will. 

The text for today is an illustration of what we get with Rebekah.  There is no reason to think that those who were absolute custodians over the families in their household would have sought her will in the matter of marriage if she had not been an unusual young woman.  The Scriptures never give the age of Rebekah but she was very likely no more than 16 at this time. 

Her boldness in leaving her family, trusting herself with a stranger on a dangerous journey, and marrying a man about whom she knew very little is again an indication of her unusual character. 

This boldness is seen again in the plan she makes to deceive Isaac.  There is no excuse for her deception of her husband and gaining Jacob’s preferment by deceit.  But the boldness of it is quite compelling. 

Rebekah stands alone in her faith with the exception of Samuel’s mother Hannah.  Whenever Rebekah came to faith we are not told, but her prayer in the time of her confusion (Genesis 25:22-23), her belief in God’s answer (Genesis 25:28) and her refusal to accept a woman of the land as Jacob’s wife (Genesis 27:46) are illustrations of her faith.  Her fear for Jacob’s life and her desire for him to flee from Esau are strong influences on her decisions but how few are our decisions that pure from any exterior motives.

She disappears from the narrative without a notice of her death but she is not forgotten.  Paul writing in Romans 9:10-12 links the answer she received to her inquiry of God to the eternal favor of God for Jacob.  Paul tells us God’s reply to Rebekah was just a statement of His eternal election.  And Rebekah believed God. 

Application:

1.  We cannot know who or when God may set apart someone to serve Him in some special way.
2.  Children are limited by their environment.  God’s grace can raise anyone above their background.