This month’s mother of the Bible is Rebekah, mother of Jacob and Esau. I fear that the first thing to come to mind when we think of Rebekah is how she deceived her husband, Isaac, into giving Jacob the blessing. BUT there is so much more to the story of Rebekah and I’ve come to know her as a courageous woman who did the best she could to follow God’s perfect plan for her and her family.

Let’s turn to Genesis and retell the story of Rebekah. I want to point out why I admire her courage and strength.

Rebekah in the Bible and God’s Perfect Plan

We first meet Rebekah at a well. She is a young woman, coming to draw water for her family’s cooking and cleaning as was the custom of the young women in those days.

When she arrives at the well, she finds a traveler, Eliazar, waiting with his camels. Little does she know that Eliazar has been given an important job. He has been bestowed the honor of finding a wife for Isaac, his master’s son.

Now, this is not your average match making scenario. Isaac is the long awaited for son of Abraham and Sarah. God had promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand at the shore. None of that could come true without a wife.

Abraham was intent on two things. That his son not marry one of the Canaanite women and that he remains in the land God had promised him. Isaac’s bride must be willing to leave her family and her land and come dwell with Isaac.

Eliazar had been praying for God’s guidance. He had no idea how to pick a wife for Isaac. He prays and tells God to have the right young woman to not only give him a drink of water but to water the camels as well.

The first girl to come to the well is our Rebekah and she does just as Eliazar had prayed.

After meeting with Rebekah’s father and brother it is decided that it is God’s perfect plan for her to marry Isaac and she leaves with Eliazar. I see Rebekah’s bravery here. Who would leave her family to travel to an unknown land and marry a stranger? Am I the only one who would’ve protested this idea?

Many years go by and Rebekah can not conceive. Isaac prays for her and God blesses them with twin boys.

But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

And the Lord said to her:

“Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body;
One people shall be stronger than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger.”

 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau.  Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. (Genesis 25:22-28)

Now, I’m sure Rebekah loved both of her sons, but she favored Jacob because she knew he was the one chosen to carry on God’s promises to Abraham. God had told her that the older would serve the younger. It must be God’s perfect plan that Jacob inherit Isaac’s possessions and blessings.

A Kink in God’s Perfect Plan: The Story of Rebekah in the Bible Continues

Esau easily gives up his birthright. Isaac’s wealth will be given to Jacob, but what about God’s promise?

Do you ever wonder about God’s promises? So often they seem impossible.

Isaac grows old and desires to bless Esau, his firstborn, before he dies.

Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’  Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 

Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”

And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man.  Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”

But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” (Genesis 27:2-13)

Yes, Rebekah deceived Isaac. Was this wrong. Yes, it was. BUT why did she do it? Because she knew that blessing was for Jacob. It was God’s perfect plan for Jacob to carry on the promise.

Could she have just trusted God that everything would work out? Sure. Was she determined to follow God’s perfect plan? Yes and that was the motive behind the deception. Maybe I’m wrong, but I call it brave. She believed what God had told her and she acted upon it.

Did God have a different plan for Jacob to receive the blessing that did not involve deception? I don’t know. Perhaps Rebekah made a mess of things forcing her son to have to flee for his life. When you read the rest of the story, you see how God blesses Jacob in everything that he does.

Have you ever felt as though you have gone out of God’s perfect plan and made a complete mess of your life? Just remember that God is stronger than all of our missed opportunities and poor choices. His plan for your life remains. It just might take a different route.

What does the Bible say about God’s plan?

Hopefully, you are relating to the story of Rebekah now. I know, arranged marriage, birthrights, and blessings feel foreign to us, but what about her trusting God with her life? Following God to a strange land, standing on his words and standing up for what she knew was right.

What does the Bible say about God’s plan? God’s plan is for us all to come to salvation. This is the single most important part of our life and God’s perfect plan.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,  who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,  who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6-7)

Trusting God with Your Future: What We Can Learn from Our Rebekah Bible Story

God’s perfect plan does not end with salvation. We now have the responsibility of trusting God with our future.

Can you trust God with your future? Absolutely! He only wants good for us. How do we trust Him? How do we know He will not mislead? How do we know we are hearing Him correctly?

Follow His word. Allow His truth to become a part of you and keep your eyes focused on Him. God’s truth will not lead you astray.

Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)

Trust Him and ask Him to lead you. A big part of asking Him to lead you is letting go and stepping back yourself. Do not pray for God’s guidance and then forge ahead without listening to what He has to say.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7)

Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass. (Psalm 37:5)

Trust He has your best interest in mind. We know that God is all-powerful and all-knowing. He sees what is ahead of you and He knows you better than you know yourself. Surrender your fear and worry to Him and allow Him to bring you peace.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

The Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. (Psalm 37:18-19)

Simple Life Simple Faith has an excellent post on discerning God’s will for your life. She goes into more of the “how” than I am here.

Does God Have a Plan For Me?

Does God have a plan for me? Yes, He does! This verse from Jeremiah is one of my favorites! I have it hanging in the little boys’ room and it often leads me to pray over them and give their lives to Him.

God’s perfect plan is that you seek Him.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

God’s plan for us is that we serve Him.

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly, to love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

This Psalm is a beautiful reminder that God has a plan for us. You know, God refers to David as a man after his own heart. We know David was not perfect, he wandered away from God’s perfect plan, but He always came back to God on His knees.

Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.

Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:5-8)

For more verses and an encouraging post check out Finding God’s Purpose for My Life by The Grace to Grow.

How Do You See God’s Perfect Plan in Your Life?

Is your life similar to that of our Rebekah in the Bible in which you are standing on God’s promises for your children or has your life been full of pain and you are struggling to believe?

Perhaps you are like Hannah and struggling with infertility, dealing with cruel people, and praying fervently for your heart’s desire.

Or perhaps you feel akin to the gentile woman, standing strong in faith and insisting Jesus help her.

Three brave mothers, struggling through life’s hurts and frustrations. And you know what? God heard each one of them. Rest assured, my friend, He hears you too!

Read about the other amazing mothers of the Bible and what we can learn from them.

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