Rebekah The Woman With Faltering Faith

Word of the Day: Faltering

To waver, to speak hesitantly, to operate or perform unsteadily, indecisive

Rebekah is mentioned in the Bible as beautiful, courteous, hospitable, industrious, and helpful. She possessed many virtues, but she was also known in the Bible as the mother who had favoritism for one of her boys, and that is something I am going to explain later in the lesson. Her name means "a tie rope for animals"

Rebekah was the chosen woman to marry the wealthy son of Abraham, Isaac. Abraham was old and wanted to marry his son before his death. He decides to entrust his eldest servant with the task of finding a wife for Isaac. That servant might have been Eliezer, who worshiped God and was devoted to Abraham, such task could not be given to someone who did not know Abraham's God.

Genesis 24:1-2

And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

Genesis 15:2

And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

Abraham, as the father of Isaac, gave very specific requests in regards to the search of his future daughter in law. The command to marry only within God's people had not been given yet to Abraham, but his close relationship with God made him have a desire to separate from the pagans that surrounded him and his family.

Genesis 24:3-4

And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

Deuteronomy 7:3-4

Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

For a moment the servant doubted his master's words and told him what if she refuses to come with me. Abraham had to remind his servant that God had promised the seed, and now it was time to find a bride for his son, which God had said that he will multiply his seed as the sand of the seashore.

Genesis 24:5, 7

5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?

7 The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

Genesis 22:17

That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

Eliezer being that prayerful man went on his journey in search of the bride for Isaac. He prayed for God's direction, a divine search. He arrived at Mesopotamia at Nahor's well and this is where he met Rebekah.

Genesis 24:12-15

And he said O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.

13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:

14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.

15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

Rebekah was a single, beautiful woman who had not known a man. As I said before she was helpful. She not only gave water to Abraham's servant but also gave water to his camels. This was not a small task. Each camel will drink about five gallons of water and to get the water from the well that meant that Rebekah was not only a helpful lady, but also a courteous one. I would have probably failed that task especially in the area with such high heat:-(

Genesis 24:16-21

And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.

18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.

19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.

20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.

21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

According to the servant's eyes, she had met the requirements for a good wife. The servant rewarded her with a generous gift (jewelry). Right away he asked who she was and whose daughter she was as he wanted to find out if her family worshiped the same God as his master.

Genesis 24:23-24

And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;

23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?

24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.

Rebekah offered him a place to lodge for the night. The servant blessed the God of his master because He had led him to Rebekah.

Genesis 24:25-27

She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.

26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord

27 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren.

Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Which later bacme the father of Rachel and Leah. As soon as he saw Rebekah's gifts he ran to meet this man. Later on in the Bible Laban is known for being a traitor and always seeking what is convenient and not what is right.

Genesis 24:29-31

And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.

30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.

31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.

Once the servant arrived at Rebekah's house he introduced himself to the family and told them the reason for his journey. He told them who his master was and told them that he was entrusted to find a bride for his master's son. He also mentioned the number one requirement for that woman not to be a pagan woman.

Genesis 24:34-38

And he said, I am Abraham's servant.

35 And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.

36 And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.

37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:

38 But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.

Her parents and Laban agreed to give Rebekah into marriage with Isaac, for they knew that it was from the Lord. Rebekah was now coming to the unknown, but the choice to leave the house was hers to make as they said to call the damsel and enquire. She could have refused to marry Isaac for she had never seen him, but decides to obey and to trust the Lord. The servant gave them jewels of silver and gold in exchange for the future bride.

Genesis 24:50-51,53

Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from theLord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as theLordhath spoken.

53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.

Genesis 24:57-58

And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.

58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.

Rebekah was on the journey to meet her future husband. Isaac came to meet his bride as she was approaching him. She took her veil and covered her head and Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother's tent, and she became his wife. They became one flesh as she comforted her husband after his mother's death. God rewarded Rebekah with a monogamous marriage as she was the only woman for Isaac.

Genesis 24:64-67

And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.

66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.

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.

Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as his wife, and pray to his God for his wife was sterile. God heard his prayer and blessed him with twin boys, God's covenant with Isaac had been confirmed. They gave birth to a set of twins; and by this time, Isaac was already sixty years old which means that 20 years had passed without having any children.

Genesis 25:20-26

And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

21 And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire 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.

24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

25 And 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.

The children struggled together from within her, and this something that continues beyond the birth. Time did not heal those wounds, Rebekah did not use the discernment that a mother would typically have for the children. She lacked reverence and respect for her husband. She exhibited favoritism concerning her sons. She took actions into her hands. God had a plan for these boys but in her lack of faith, she gave the wrong direction. She told Jacob to steal the birthright from his brother. She broke the fellowship and relationship she had with the husband who loved her so much. She spent her final days not knowing what had happened to her son Jacob the son she loved so much. As he had to hide from his brother Esau for stealing his birthright.

Genesis 25:28-34

And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:

30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.

32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?

33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

Conclusion: Rebekah had an indecisive faith, the opportunity came to prove her faith and she failed the same as Peter. We are currently living in difficult times. Let us not forget our purpose here on earth.

*Please let me know if this post has been a blessing to you through a comment, for it would be a blessing for me to know.

have added some verses down below for those who are not sure if heaven is your future home. Please share with me if you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior through this post. I will be happy to rejoice with you!

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 10:9–13