There's a Little Rebecca in Each of us-A Bit of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

Read: Genesis 24:11-27; Genesis 24:56-67; Genesis 27:1-15

Have you ever said this? ‘How could I do that? I thought that I had progressed in my walk with Jesus so that I wouldn't fall into that same pit!’

Or have you ever said? ‘That is wonderful. I am an answer to someone's prayers. What a privilege that God uses us in His plan!’

Yet, if I may paraphrase Charles Dickens, each of our lives could be described as both  "the best of times and also the worst of times." Our actions display a mixture. Sometimes with God's help, we see glimpses of His beauty. While at other times, we look much like the world. Maybe that is why I'm so thankful that God gives us stories in His flawless Word that display the truth that we all sometimes shine brightly for Jesus for the Savior and at other times, barely display a flicker of light. We could choose many different examples of this, but for today, let's look at Rebecca whom we first meet in Genesis 24.

What a love story we discover in this chapter. Abraham, the father of the miracle child Isaac has sent his servant to find a bride for his son. She was to be a willing bride. A righteous woman not an idolator. She would have to leave her family knowing that she likely would never see them again. I love that the servant boldly prayed to God, setting up a scenario so that he would know if a particular woman would be the Lord's choice for Isaac. Genesis 24:11-27 shows us that prayer and its answer. Here is where we meet Rebecca for the first time. Right away, we discover that she is a hospitable young woman who offers Abraham's servant water and also volunteered to go to the well until enough water has been drawn for the servant's camels. That's lots of trips. Voila! She fulfilled the first requirements the servant had set up. In addition to this, she was a relative of Abraham's family. Not an idolator. She was beautiful in appearance, but there was more than physical beauty that shone through her.

In Genesis 24:56-67, we see her willingness to leave right away. No hesitation. Another part of the answer to the servant's prayer, but to me the best is yet to come. As Rebecca and the servant were coming closer to her new home, they encountered Isaac, her soon to be husband. She veiled herself, as would be appropriate. That is when we read that Isaac took her into his mother's tent and that he loved her. Not only that, Rebecca was a comfort to Isaac after his mother Sarah's death. Talk about an answer to prayer. Rebecca was God's gift to Isaac. We could close our Bibles after reading these good things about Rebecca and remember our own times where we too were God's vehicles of blessing, but there's another side of the coin in Rebecca's life as well as in our own stories.

In Genesis 27:1-15, we read about a day when Rebecca heard something that might have been better unheard. Isaac had called for Esau, one of his twin boys. He loved the delicious food Esau could hunt and fix for him. He would eat and then give Esau the blessing. The blessing, according to what God had told Sarah would go to Isaac and Rebecca's other son, Jacob. Upon hearing Isaac's plan, Rebecca took matters into her own hands. She didn't wait for God to bring about His will in His way. Instead, she stepped in with an unbelievable scheme. Since Isaac was blind because of his age, Rebecca would circumvent his plan to bless Esau. She would fix the delicious meal that he loved and send it in by the hands of Jacob. She would cover him with animal skins so that he would feel hairy. That way, he would give the blessing to Jacob rather than Esau who would still be out hunting. Although Jacob was reticent and thought he heard Jacob's voice rather than Esau, Jacob lied to him and received the blessing.

The same woman who was a precious loved gift for Jacob was part of the plan to deceive her husband. I imagine that it would have seemed inconceivable those many years ago when she came to Isaac that she would be part of a deception like this one, but let's not be too hard on her, we all can and sometimes fall short when we take matters into our own hands. When that happens, we might receive what we want, but the beauty that God can display won't be present. That's what happened to Rebecca and Jacob. Jacob did indeed receive the blessing, but there were sad consequences that accompanied it.

Nest week, the Lord willing, we'll look at the unintended pain that came to this little family but also the unexpected grace that God bestowed.

Lord, we have a gift that Rebecca didn't possess. The Holy Spirit. Help us yield to His leading rather than to our own flesh so that more of Your beauty shows through our lives as You change us from glory to glory, 2 Corinthians 3:18.