Our next story is from the book of Genesis, which is full of family drama.
The drama of our story today can be summed up in just a few words:
Isaac loved Esau… but Rebecca loved Jacob.
In this video, Clare explores faith and favouritism in the story of Rebekah.
One of the wonderful things I found when researching women of the Old Testament
was how often these women faced issues that seem so relevant and current.
As a mum of three, now strapping young men, I know what a joy and challenging parenting can be.
Most parents start out wanting the very best for their children
but sometimes, perhaps all too often, we make mistakes and get it wrong.
Rebekah is a good example of a woman who shows remarkable courage and faith in her life,
but who also struggles in her parenting, and this leads to disaster.
Abraham was an elderly patriarch and wanted to find a wife for his son
Isaac from his own home country rather than from Canaan where they now lived.
His estate manager is sent on a quest to find someone suitable.
And after praying he encounters the beautiful Rebekah by a well.
She offered to water his camels and he took this as a sign from God that she was the one.
Lengthy negotiations with her father, Bethuel, take place
and Rebekah was asked if she was willing to leave her home to go to
a foreign land to marry a stranger.
She gave her consent with a simple:
I will go.
She marries Isaac and eventually, after a difficult pregnancy, gives birth to twin boys, Esau and Jacob.
Her boys were very different to one other. Esau was the rugged, out-doorsy, hunter-type,
while Jacob was quieter and a more home-based type.
Families are rarely simple and straightforward,
and often jealousies, feuds and rivalries are formed early on.
This family was no exception, and perhaps it began here:
‘Isaac loved Esau… But Rebekah loved Jacob’ A recipe for disaster.
Rebekah favoured Jacob. She disapproved of Esau’s choice of wives, and then plotted
to make sure that Jacob would gain his father’s blessing over and above his slightly older twin.
The fraternal feud lasted many years and eventually meant that Rebekah’s favourite son
had to flee into exile.
Jacob and Esau were eventually reconciled. But we don’t know if Rebekah was still alive to witness this.
Rebekah was a courageous and bold woman of faith.
Her actions may have caused conflict and division within her family,
but she was not afraid to take risks, to speak her mind,
and she used the power she had to secure what she wanted for those she loved.
Not all of us are siblings, but many of us will have felt jealousy or rivalry.
How do you think Jacob and Esau felt about their parents’ favouritism?