Rebekah: Mom of Preference

Although Rebekah had everything she wanted–a husband and children–her life was not perfect. Her actions betrayed her lack of faith in God to carry out His intended purpose. Like Sarah before her, she did not wait on God’s perfect timing but created her own scenario. The results were unbearable. As Elizabeth George writes, “Rebekah’s beautiful marriage and her hopes of a beautiful family life turned sour. Her own words declare her anguish–‘I am weary of my life’ (Gen 27:46).”

Perfect harmony in a home is rare. Each person has a relationship with every other family member. If there is tension between just two people, the rest of the family feels the effects. In the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15, the older brother seethes with resentment and jealousy at the father’s rejoicing over the younger son’s homecoming. Imagine how the father felt, celebrating with one son and consoling the other. The emotions of the household can some days feel like a roller coaster ride

Sometimes mothers don’t just feel the tension within the family, they create it. Rebekah’s home lacked harmony, but unfortunately, Rebekah encouraged it instead of alleviating the tension. God told Rebekah before her boys were born that the older Esau would serve the younger Jacob. Genesis 25:28 tells us, “Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” Esau seemed to be a manly-man. Scripture says he was a skillful hunter. He and his father had a lot in common and bonded over similar interest. Jacob was a mild man, sticking close to home. Naturally, Jacob and Rebekah grew closer since Jacob was home more. He probably talked to his mom as she did the laundry, made her laugh as she prepared dinner, and picked up his feet with a smile when she swept under them.

Jacob was also crafty. One day he cooked a stew (probably learned how from all that time spent with Mom!) and when Esau came in from the field he was so hungry he traded his birthright for a generous helping of it. This birthright not only promised a larger part of the inheritance, but also headship of the family. Another trick Jacob played was instigated by Rebekah. Isaac was old and wanted to bless Esau. He asked for Esau to bring him some food (these men sure were motivated by their stomachs!), then he would bless him. Rebekah heard their plan and told Jacob to pretend to be Esau to usurp Esau’s blessing from their father.

Their deception resulted in a torn and fragmented family. Jacob fled, with Esau hungry again, this time for revenge. The Bible’s last mention of Rebekah records her lament about the foreign wives Esau had taken (Genesis 27:46). Her heart was broken by the actions of her sons. Having rebellious children is a great struggle for many Christian families through every generation. Gary Thomas writes, “A wayward child wounds a parent in two ways. First, the child wounds the mother by despising her, cheating her, robbing her, or even hitting her. But then, almost inexplicably, he tears his mother’s heart in two one again when she grieves over her profligate child’s misfortune as he inevitably marches toward his own ruin. When he falls, her heart gets bruised! When he bleeds, she hemorages! She does not rejoice that her child ‘gets what’s coming to him’; she mourns, even if that justice means the child will no longer be able to actively hurt her.”

Tomorrow we will apply lessons from Rebekah's life to our own marriages and families!