An Outline for Mothers of Messiah: Rebekah
Introduction: Sarah was one of the first believers in the LORD who was barren, not able to bear any children. She wasn’t the last one, either, as Rebekah had the same problem. But, like Sarah, Rebekah remained true to the LORD and stands in the line as one of the mothers of Messiah!
(Full disclosure: Sermon Central accepted a message based on this text called “Rebekah And Isaac: Married At First Sight?” but this message is not simply a copy and paste of it.)
1 Rebekah’s life before her marriage
Some information about her background
Text: Genesis 24:15-21, KJV: 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. 16 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.
--Genesis 24 is a long chapter, dedicated to Abraham’s desire to see Isaac find a good wife. He gave his servant a list of non-negotiable standards.
--The servant and the caravan found their way to the land of Abraham’s brother even though the two families were many miles apart. The servant also prayed to the LORD for guidance to find the best girl for Isaac.
--Rebekah met the caravan and, in response to the servant’s request, went to the well and drew water for the men and the camels. Depending on how many camels and how many refills, Rebekah might have drawn hundreds of gallons of water (allowing 20 gallons for 10 camels, that’s 200 gallons alone, not counting what the other men drank as well!)
--Besides being considerate, drawing a lot of water, Rebekah was a relative of Abraham (okay for marriage in those days); she was beautiful (not many women were described as “very fair” or “very beautiful” in the Old Testament); and she was pure, a virgin. These are outstanding qualities for any woman in any era!
--The servant now began to wonder if Rebekah might be the one best girl for Isaac. What would happen next?
Some information about her betrothal
Text, Genesis 24:50-61, KJV: 50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: 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 the LORD hath spoken. 52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. 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. 54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master. 55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. 56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. 57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. 58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. 59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. 61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
--The servant, in the verses omitted here to save space, described the terms of the journey and how Rebekah had met every condition he specified. He also gave the family various gifts from Abraham to perhaps prove Abraham had the means to support anyone who agreed to marry Isaac, Abraham’s unmentioned son by name.
--The family wanted to wait a few days, up to ten, but didn’t say why.
--This text reviews the customs of arranged marriages. Sometimes wives were acquired as captives in battles; sometimes they were paid for; sometimes the girl was bargained for, as in this case. Even so, Rebekah’s father and brother did consider her opinion. To go or stay: her choice.
--Rebekah agreed to go with the servant, and to be the wife of Abraham’s son. She and her damsels (the number is unknown) went with her as they started the journey to Abraham’s land.
--The last verses in the chapter reveal how Rebekah finally arrived in Abraham’s land and saw Isaac for the first time. He took her as his bride and he loved her.
2 Rebekah’s life after her marriage to Isaac
Text, Genesis 24:62-67, KJV: 62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country. 63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. 64 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.
Some notes about Isaac:
--This passage opens with Isaac walking out to “the way of the well Lahairoi” because he and possibly others were living in the ”south country” or Negev as some translations have it.
--Of note, this may be the same well which Hagar had found after she was dismissed by Sarah (Genesis 16, especially verses 7 through 14). We don’t know if this was just a coincidence (after all, wells were scarce in those days) or a picture of how the children of Abraham and Isaac would follow Hagar’ footsteps.
--Isaac seemed to spend time in the outdoors meditating. Remember there were no churches, tabernacles, or much of anything else as a place of worship except for the altars they built.
--Isaac saw the camel caravan heading his way and seemed to walk towards the caravan (verse 65). He may not have known what, or who, was in the caravan but wanted to know.
--Once he saw Rebekah, he took her as his wife and it seems they moved into Sarah’s tent.
--Some of the most beautiful words in Scripture: “He loved her”!
Some notes about Rebekah:
--We’re never told how long it took them to go to Bethuel’s or Laban’s place; probably weeks. It likely took even longer to get back, with more people and who knows what else.
--Not only did Isaac see the caravan; Rebekah saw Isaac. She asked, “Who’s this man coming our way?” and when the servant told her, she covered herself with a veil. Perhaps this is the reason why a number of young women come to the marriage altar, so to speak, veiled.
--This is a beautiful picture of how the LORD brings the woman to the man, even as He had prepared Eve for Adam in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:21-24).
--Even though they loved each other, they still faced a problem: no children.
Some notes about Rebekah and her children
Text, Genesis 25: 19-28, KJV: 19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac: 20 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 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.
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. 27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
--Twenty years after their marriage, Isaac and Rebekah still had no children. We don’t know why. To Isaac’s and Rebekah’s credit, they neither one sought to “help God out” as Abraham had done nearly 75 years before.
--Isaac seemed to do nothing more than pray. The word translated “intreated” has a number of meanings (see https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6279.htm) but usually remains rendered “intreated” in the King James Version.
--The LORD answered Isaac’s prayer and eventually Rebekah conceived—having twins!
--The miracle was that Rebekah, one of a number of barren women, was finally able to conceive and bear a child; actually, twins. Who knows what Isaac and Rebekah might have tried, or didn’t try, to help her conceive.
--The twin boys grew up to play major roles in not only Abraham’s family but also human history. Jacob, the younger, eventually was the son whom God blessed by raising his children into the nation of Israel, and, even more important, the birth of Messiah Jesus!
Conclusion: pray for the Lord to give children and stay true to Him at all times. Then trust Him to provide as He sees best. The Lord makes no mistakes and we can count on Him, that His Will for us is always the right thing.
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
