| Ro 9:13 | As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. |
God said to Rebekah, ”… Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. ” By God’s foreknowledge of Jacob’s faithfulness and Esau’s unfaithfulness, Jacob was predestined to receive the birthright. Like father-in-law Abraham, Rebekah believed God and became the earthly instrument by which Jacob received the inheritance
of the ’elect’ of God. Her simple faith by works is comparable to Rahab’s. God chose Rebekah as the wife of Isaac…and as the mother of Jacob (Israel). The
Ge 24:51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken.
lineage of Christ is Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…not Abraham, Ismael, and Esau. Rebekah’s faithfulness to God’s purpose for Jacob has brought the wrath of contemporary Christendom down on her head. Both she and Jacob are falsely accused and called ’deceivers’….’thieves of the birthright.’ God forbid. My soul compels me to consider the faithfulness of obedient Rebekah….and to defend her against those who call her thief.
Abraham consulted God for a wife for Isaac…..then followed God’s directions in sending the faithful and believing eldest servant to fetch niece Rebekah…God’s chosen for Isaac. (Gen 24:20 And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house:) The servant faithfully executed the will of God…and, along with the messenger from God…found Rebekah at the well. Our first glimpse of her in scripture reveals her heart of servitude and humility.Gen 24:46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. After meeting AND serving Abraham’s representative at the well, Rebekah faithfully answered the invitation to become the wife of Isaac.. She said, “I will.’ (Gen 24:58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.) She was part of the ‘blessing’ inherent to the Birthright/sonship.
Birthright and ‘blessing’ are not the same. Esau ‘despised’ the birthright which was a spiritual inheritance. But after he traded it away for a bowl of beans…he went back on his word and begged Isaac for the wealth/blessing related to the right of the firstborn. Jacob LOVED God and…with his whole heart…WANTED the inheritance of the firstborn so he would be called a ‘son of God.’
God’s made-for-each-other plan about Isaac and Rebekah began to be fulfilled immediately after Abraham’s eldest and most faithful servant returned from the house of Abraham’s brother… with Rebekah….chosen of God to be Isaac’s wife and the earthly instrument who would fulfil God’s purposed ‘ inheritance’ for Jacob. (Gen 24:64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. 67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.)
We later see Rebekah about to give birth ….but as the time draws near…she does not understand the heightened and vigorous ’struggle’ of the offspring inside her womb. She talks to God. He reveals to her His purpose about the twins who will be born to her. Jacob is loved/chosen by God to inherit the Birthright of the first born. ..Esau is rejected because he ‘despised’ the Birthright. It’s Cain and Abel all over again. It is Spirit versus Flesh. It is Good versus Evil. It is Spiritual inheritance versus fleshly inheritance. It is God’s will versus man’s will . It is Israeli versus Arabs . It is Canaan (Jacob) versus Edom (Esau). It is the purpose and judgement of a just God.
(Gen. 25:22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. 24And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.’)
Folks …’ it don’t git no plainer n dat!’ lol. As God chose Joseph to rule over his brethren to secure the deliverance of Israel during famine….likewise…God purposed Jacob to rule over Esau…to be named ‘ISRAEL.’
Rebekah was FAITHFUL to the will of God about Jacob and Esau. Why did God choose Rebekah rather than Isaac to carry out His purposes about Jacob as the seed line to Christ??????? I don’t know!!!!! Ask God! One obvious reason might be that He KNEW her heart… because she BELIEVED and TRUSTED Him. And like Abraham, her OBEDIENCE was counted as righteousness. Her WORK of FAITH accomplished the will of God. But in our blindness we have the self-righteous audacity to judge both she and Jacob as ‘deceivers We are blind to the beautiful miracle God wrought when through faithful Abraham, his eldest servant, and through Rebekah….Israel sprang forth.
God’s will for Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Esau is seen even in the fact that she and Isaac were married twenty years (Isaac was forty when he and Rebekah mated/ sixty when the twins were born)… and had no children….UNTIL…UNTIL…Isaac asked God to open the womb of Rebekah. It’s as though God wanted them …AND US…to be clear that these twins came by the will of God…and not by the will of man. God truly, TRULY…works in mysterious ways…His wonders to perform!
Rebekah, thank you for believing God…for performing His will in forming His covenant people…Israel.
