Chapter 18 – Rebekah
At about the time that Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac to
God, Rebekah was born. In fact news of her birth reached Abraham. Years later
Isaac, when he was forty, married Rebekah. The story about their marriage reveals a lot about Rebekah. Here are a few nuggets of knowledge that
I panned from various chapters in Genesis:
1)
Rebekah was a beautiful
young virgin.
2)
She was generous, thoughtful,
and strong, carrying water jugs and repeatedly filling them to water a stranger’s
camels.
3)
She liked jewelry and happily
wore the nose ring and bracelets that she received as engagement gifts.
4)
She was adventurous, eager
to ride a camel off to a strange place to marry an older man.
5)
She was rich with many
maids and even a personal nurse named Deborah.
6)
She tended to be curious,
asking questions of the servant who had come for her.
7)
She was modest, covering
herself with a veil before meeting her future husband.
8)
She was lovable: very
clearly the Bible states that Isaac loved her.
9)
She was barren for the
first twenty years of their marriage, but her husband prayed on her behalf and
she finally conceived.
10)
She wasn’t afraid to speak
direct to the Lord, and she did so, asking him why her pregnancy was so
difficult.
11)
She showed favoritism, preferring
her second born son, Jacob, over Esau.
12)
In the end she was
deceitful, helping Jacob steal Esau’s birthright.
Next Saturday – Ruth
