- Exploring Rebekah's Character: A Bible Study
Study of Rebekah's Character in the Bible: Background, Lessons, and Key Verse Now these things happened as examples for us so that we wouldn't want bad things like they did. The Name of the Character: Name Meaning of Rebekah: to secure, to bind, Her Family Life and Her Ancestry: She was Abraham's great-granddaughter; granddaughter of Nahor, his brother. Bethual was her father. Laban's sister.
When and Where Did She Live? Around 1700 BC, she was an Aramean from Padan Aram. Her occupation was: First as a shepherdess, then as a wife and mother. She was married to one of Israel's patriarchs.
Weaknesses:
Poor mothering skills (26:34), favoritism between her children (25:28), and taking money for service (24:30) Manipulative (27:6-12), rash in speech (27:13), unsubmissive and disrespectful to husband to get her way (27:6-12), deceitful (27:15), and wise in her own eyes were among her children's traits. She was so sure she knew what was best that she made her son sin in order to get it.
Strengths:
Attractive 24:16, Virgin 24:16, Strong 24:15, Servant's heart 24:19, Diligent 24:19, Wholehearted 24:19, Kind 24:18, Hospitable 24:25, Bold 24:58, Modest 24:65, and Other Significant Acts and Events:
She married Isaac, gave birth to twins, and gave water to Abraham's servant and his camels, securing her position as Isaac's bride. She also manipulated Jacob to receive blessings. Lessons from Her Life:
As far as we are aware, Rebekah was not looking for a husband in Chapter 24. When God arranged for her to marry, she was just going about her day. When His timing is perfect, God is able to provide life partners in unexpected and quick ways.
Gen. 24:15–20 says that servanthood means doing more than just what is asked of us—it also means going above and beyond to serve in difficult and time-consuming ways.
Gen. 24:55 says that if we are aware that God is asking us to do something, we should do it as soon as possible. "Let us stay to bury our dead" is a common justification for not following Jesus.
Children are God's gifts, given at His discretion and in His time, according to Gen. 25:21.
From Gen. 25:28 onwards, it is unwise for parents to choose one child over another. It encourages rivalry and jealousy among the children.
In Genesis 27, God had already said that Jacob would be more important than Esau. Rebekah used manipulation to get it done, and even though she got what she wanted, she caused conflict between her sons to the point where one of them wanted to kill the other. She never got another chance to see her beloved son. This is yet another instance of attempting to "help God" keep His promises through sinful means. The outcomes are never pleasant. Wait for God to carry out what He promises in His own time and manner.
Gen. 28: It's important to remember how easily Rebekah persuaded her husband to move Jacob away. We really have an effect on our husbands, so we need to be careful! She also encouraged her son Jacob to defy his father out of greed, and she criticized Esau's wives in order to persuade her husband to send Jacob away, which led Esau to sinfully marry another woman. Both of her sons did this, and Esau did the same.
Women: We should take great care to teach our children how to respect and obey their fathers. By refusing to submit, we give our children permission to disobey.
When Isaac and Rebekah looked to the Lord, things were going well, but when they turned to sin, manipulation, and giving children preference, their lives fell apart.
Both positive and negative traits can be closely linked. When Rebekah offered to water the camels, she took initiative. That was positive! However, she also took the initiative to convince Jacob to deceive his father. We must avoid using the advantages that God has given us to commit sin.
Doing something bad in order to achieve something good is not a good idea. God has never wanted us to sin. He can accomplish anything without us if He wishes to.
