Rebekha

For the List of "Women of the Bible", click Blog Archive, 2008 December

Read Scripture Reference: Gen 24; 25:19-34; 26:1 to 28:9
23 Questions & Answers:
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#1. Who is Rebekah?

#1. Niece of Isaac, Grandniece of Abraham Gen. 22:20-23. Daughter of Bethuel son of Abraham's brother Nahor, sister of Laban, the only wife of Isaac (Gen 24:67), and mother of Esau and Jacob(Gen 25:25).

Other spellings of Rebekah(NIV): Rebecca(KJV); Rebekka/Rhebekka(Greek)
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#2. What did Abraham do to get a wife for his 40 year old son?

#2. 1 Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. 2 He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh. 3 I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 4 but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac."

The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?"
6 "Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said. 7 "The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land'-he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. 8 If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine(absolved of his responsibility). Only do not take my son back there." 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
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#3. Three simple words in Gen 24:58 changed Rebekah's life for ever. What were they?

#3. I will go.
57 Then they said, "Let's call the girl and ask her about it." 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?" "I will go," she said.
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#4. Who is the probable anonymous servant of Abraham projected in Gen 24:2 to seek a bride for Isaac?

#4. Eliezer of Damascus.
Gen 15:2-3 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
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#5. What was Abraham's purpose of securing a bride for Isaac from his own people?

#5. To keep his descendants free from idolatry. If Isaac had married a Canaanite girl, how different the whole history of Israel might have been. May be a lesson for young people for choosing a mate.
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#6. What was the means of transportation of Abraham's Servant to Nahor, 500 miles northeast of Canaan?

#6. Gen 24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. 11 He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.
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#7. God was forging a new nation to be his own people. Now Abraham's servant had entered on a sacred mission. What was his prayer to identify and secure a future matriarch of God's people(like Sarah)?

#7. Gen 24:12-14 Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."
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#8. How the family of Rebekah blessed and said to her before she left home?

#8. Gen 24:60 "Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies."
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#9. What are the characteristics(defining features) of Rebekah?

#9. Rebekah was a resourceful, shrewd and brave woman and a complex character.
She is introduced as a beautiful virgin (Genesis 24:16),
willing servant (Genesis 24:19),
and as hospitable to strangers (Genesis 24:25).
When offered marriage to an unknown relative five hundred miles’ journey across dangerous wilderness, Rebekah grabbed the chance.
In obedience to God's will, she left her home in Paddan-aram with short notice, to become wife of Isaac, who is twice her age (Genesis 24:58).
Rebekah comforted Isaac after the death of Sarah (Genesis 24:67).
When distressed by her problem pregnancy, she turned to God for counsel (Genesis 25:22-23).
She played favoritism towards Jacob (Genesis 25:28) as evidenced in the plan she concocted to enable Jacob to steal Esau's blessing (Genesis 27:5-17).
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#10. Which of Jesus' parable say, about God the Father who would make a marriage for His Son?

#10. Mat 22:2 "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
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#11. True or False. Rebekah illustrates the Church, as the virgin Bride of Christ.

#11. True. Consider what Peter says. 1 Peter 1:8, Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
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#12. In Gen 24 there are some of the sweetest words about marriage found in the Bible. What are they?

#12. Gen 24:67 Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her.
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#13. In Gen 25 there are some of the saddest words about parenting found in the Bible. What are they?

#13. Gen 25:28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Their parents' favoritism affected Jacob and Esau and their relationship. Many children think their parents favored one sibling or another. Most likely if playing favorites is not avoided, it may eventually ruin the family.
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#14. What was Isaac's condition to Esau for giving his blessing?

#14. Gen 27:2 Isaac said, "I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death. 3 Now then, get your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die."
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#15. Though Isaac the patriarch, loved Esau best he had stretched out his hand and passed the choicest blessings to his younger son, Jacob, and it is written the benediction given could not be withdrawn. How did the matter end up this way and what was the after effect?

#15. Jacob became Rebekah's favorite and this led her trick the aged and blind Isaac. Initiative is admirable, but an overdose can lead to trouble. It was only after special intercession by Isaac that God gave twins--Esau and Jacob. Thus
God had gone to extraordinary lengths to pursue her. God told her that Jacob, the younger, would be God's chosen. In an attempt to manage Jacob's success, Rebekah pushed him into deceiving his father and stealing his brother’s blessing.

Rebekah took more risk than Jacob. Jacob said, What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing." 13 His mother said to him, "My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me"(Gen. 27:13). Disguised as Esau, Jacob presented himself to his father for the much-coveted blessing.

Rebekah thought she could control everything, regardless of whether her actions pleased God. The ploy worked as she predicted, but she had not foreseen the fury of Esau. Fearing for Jacob's life, she persuaded Isaac to send Jacob to Haran to find a wife from among her brother Laban's daughters. She would send for Jacob as soon as his brother's fury abated. Over the years, Rebekah must have pined for Jacob. But more than 20 years passed when Jacob returned. Though Rebekah didn't live to welcome his son back, Isaac did.
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#16. How did Rebekah manage to get permission from Isaac to send Jacob away to Laban, her brother?

#16. Gen 27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living."
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#17. What are the key points of Isaac's blessing?

#17. Gen 27:29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed."
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#18. Gen 25:22-23 So she went to inquire of the LORD. The LORD said to her,
"Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; What are the names of these two nations?

#18. Edomites(Esau's descendants) and Israelites(Jacob's descendants).
Esau was heartbroken by the deception. That created a lifelong struggle between them and a continuing struggle between their descendants.

2000 years later, Herod the Great, a man of power who hailed from Edom slaughtered innocent children in his attempt to destroy the Israelite infant Jesus.
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#19. What would have been Rebekah's sorrow?

#19. She was barren for the first 20 years of her married life. she died without seeing her favorite child, Jacob, after he fled from his brother Esau. She failed to trust God fully for the promise he had made.
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#20. What was the basis of Paul's question, "Is God unjust" in Rom 9:14?

#20. Rom 9:12 not by works but by him who calls. Before Rebekah's children were even born, God made a choice--a choice obviously not based on works.

Ro 9:14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all!
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#21. Gen 24:47, 53 "Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms. 53 Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah." Considering this context, how much importance Jewelry had in the Scripture?

#21. Jewelry: An ornament of gold, silver or of precious stones in the form of armlet, bracelet, anklet, nose-ring, necklace, signet ring, etc. Jewels are stones valued for their beauty or scarcity. Most often they are cut and polished to enhance their appearance.

Today a nose ring often taken as a sign of rebellious youth, especially in males. Nose ring was an acceptable form of adornment in ancient times. Abraham's servant gave Rebekah 2 gold bracelets and a gold nose ring. She quickly put it on and ran home.
The rest of Jewelry is explained in C1-11, 2009 March.
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#22. True or False. The final, lonely years of Rebekah's tragic life remind us that a simple, innocent trust in God may be not so foolish after all.

22. True. In Gen 24 we meet an innocent Rebekah. A beautiful girl, who spontaneously offered to draw water not only for Abraham's servant but also for his 10 camels. Some years later the Rebekah we meet is a different woman. She had lost her innocence and despite being promised by God about the future of Jacob, she led Jacob to deceive her husband and Esau. This act totally alienated the two brothers. People who abandon innocence may find it hard to trust God.
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#23. Probably Rebekah didn't realize God's divinely orchestrated plans and events. God's faithfulness is evident many places in the Scripture- Provide any 3 promises in the Scripture.

#23. a)Deu 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

b) Psalm 145:13 The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.

c)Heb 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.