Rebekah – A Mother of Godly Perfection
Human Imperfections, Godly Perfection
A Mother is a Special Woman – Part 4
This Mother’s Day we’re going to add part four to our series called “A Mother is a Special Woman.” This is a series that we only add a new episode to once a year on Mother’s Day. I thought it would be a great idea to highlight women and mothers of the Bible. What can we all learn from these women who often go overlooked in scripture? Today, we will be discussing Rebekah from her early days to her becoming the mother of the nation of Israel.
The right woman is the answer to a prayer.
When Rebekah appears on the scene she is immediately determined to be the “right woman.” For all you mothers and women out there, are you the right woman? For those men reading this, are the women in your life the “right women?” Let me give you the background into Rebekah’s story.
Abraham as you know had a son named Isaac (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). He needed to find a wife for his son, Isaac, so he tasked his assistant, Eliezer with the job. Eliezer wanted to be successful in completing this task and find “the right woman.” He did what an ordinary, average person would have never done. He prayed to God to help him. He prayed a very specific prayer. That’s a subject for another day. When he arrived in Abraham’s hometown as directed, his specific prayer was answered immediately. He found Rebekah, who was the answer to his prayer. [1] He found the right woman based on the prayer he prayed. The right woman is the answer to a prayer. The way we know we have the right woman, the way a woman knows she’s the right woman, and how a mother can be the right woman, she must be the answer to a prayer. Are you the answer to someone’s prayer? Oh my!
An uncommon woman knows how to get the job done.
What I know about uncommon women and uncommon mothers matches what the Bible revealed to me regarding Rebekah. She was not above doing the work that needed to be done. What I like most about an uncommon woman and mother is that she will do anything that needs to be done.
Rebekah was with Eliezer who was more than likely capable of watering his own camels yet she did it for him. In fact, she didn’t make a big deal about doing the job nor did she perform the task with the wrong attitude or motive. She got the job done with such grace and ability that Eliezer took notice. [2] An uncommon woman and an uncommon mother, knows how to get the job done.
An uncommon woman knows how to make a good decision.
This next point gets missed today. Here’s why? Most people believe that the Bible implies that when one has an arranged marriage, it’s without the consent of the one being married. This isn’t true. My point here is that Rebekah was presented with the option to marry Isaac and it was her decision to go along with it. She had to make a clear choice. [3] Rebekah’s decision obviously was a big one to make and came with great risk. Are you making the decision or is someone else? Are you prepared to make the big decisions that come with life? There are decisions that must be made and at times we are the only one who can make such a decision. An uncommon woman and an uncommon mother know how to make a good decision.
An uncommon woman can produce nations.
After Rebekah made her decision to go and marry Isaac, her family sent her with a special blessing. Listen to this:
“Our sister, may you become
the mother of many millions!
May your descendants be strong
and conquer the cities of their enemies.” [4]
As you may or may not know the story of Rebekah, she had problems becoming pregnant. Her husband, Isaac, pleaded with God until she became pregnant. In fact, his request ended in the birth of twins. However, between the time of his prayer and the time she gave birth to both Esau and Jacob, Rebekah prayed to God herself as she felt her unborn babies were struggling with each other. Listen to what God said to Rebekah. “The sons in your womb will become two nations.” [5] Question: what are you producing? Rebekah produced the nations that God promised her and was promised to Abraham. An uncommon mother can produce a nation with her children.
An uncommon mother pushes her children into their destiny.
We must be careful how we tell the story of a mother or a woman like Rebekah. It’s easy to get caught up in their flaws or the things they’ve done wrong. It’s easy to overlook their uncommon attributes by focusing on the common ones. Yes, Rebekah is guilty of helping one of her sons scheme against his brother and father. Sometimes a mother does such things because that’s common. She had her favorite as did her husband have his favorite son. While she definitely wasn’t perfect, it was this imperfect woman that God used to push her son into this destiny. [6] An uncommon woman, especially a mother, will not be perfect, yet will push her children into their destiny.
For every person who journeys through life, she or he has a story to tell. For all of us, we have a story to tell. That term story simply means we experienced the imperfections of being human. However, on the other side of the imperfection of a human is the perfection of being Godly. [7] Our takeaway from Rebekah is this; God will use us all in some way or another regardless of the mess we create. The question then becomes, of those we encounter do we see more of the mess created or the perfect path God has made?
Question: are you seeing more of the imperfections of a person’s humanity or the perfection of his or her Godliness?
[1] Genesis 24:1-22 NLT, Bible.com, accessed May 4, 2022, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/GEN.24.1-22.NLT
[2] Genesis 24:18-27 NLT, Bible.com, accessed May 4, 2022, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/GEN.24.18-27.NLT
[3] Genesis 24:57-58 NLT, Bible.com, accessed May 4, 2022, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/GEN.24.57-58.NLT
[4] Genesis 24:60 NLT, Bible.com, accessed May 4, 2022, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/GEN.24.60.NLT
[5] Genesis 25:23 NLT, Bible.com, accessed May 4, 2022, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/GEN.25.23.NLT
[6] Genesis 27:42-45 NLT, Bible.com, accessed May 4, 2022, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/GEN.27.42-45.NLT
[7] Psalms 18:32 NLT, Bible.com, accessed May 4, 2022, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/psa.18.32
All Scripture references used by permission, see our Scripture copyrights.
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