Shavei Tzyon | Return to Zion Congregation
Haifa, Israel
In Genesis 25 we read about our matriarch Rivka (Rebekah). How can we learn from her faith, and also from her mistakes, that we might trust in the Lord in our own journeys?
Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife Rebekah, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and she became pregnant. Barrenness is a heavy burden; and in those times, it was even worse. And now that Rebekah was finally with child, her pregnancy was also hard as the twins began wrestling in their mother’s womb. Rebekah asked the Lord, “How it can be?” God answered her, and she remembered God’s answer.
“… So she went to inquire of the Lord. The Lord said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.’ ” (Genesis 25:22-23)
In several biblical families, a younger brother appeared to be “in the driver’s seat” relative to his older brother(s) – Cain and Abel, Ephraim and Menashe, etc. Years later, when Rebekah heard Isaac planning to give Esau the blessing, she got upset and tried to bring God’s prophecy concerning younger brother Jacob, to come to pass by her own efforts.
In Israel this is called “Polish mother syndrome.” However, I’ll tell you honestly that it holds true for other mothers too, including some from the former Soviet Union. A mother feels she must contend for everything and nudge her son in the “right direction,” for example toward becoming a doctor or lawyer. I’m partially joking; but this character trait exists from Rebekah’s days. (Consider the mother of James and John who asked Yeshua to favor them in Matthew 20:20.) In Genesis 27, Rebekah creates an elaborate plan which will result in Jacob receiving the blessing: cooking meat in a certain way and dressing Jacob in his brother’s clothes. This is “absolute Hollywood,” but it works. Of course, the fallout was painful. Jacob had to flee his brother’s wrath, and his mom would never see him again.
God can use the human foible factor, or He can bypass it; but either way, the plans of God will be realized. Rebekah contended for Jacob in prayer and in other ways. This Jacob became a man who continued the spiritual lineage, anointing and calling of Abraham and Isaac. It was Jacob, who due to his “past life experience,” was able to dedicate all of his 12 sons to the Lord so that the Nation of Israel is alive today.
May we all be grateful to our mothers, whom we probably did not sufficiently honor with expressions of thankfulness for their love and willingness to sacrifice. Wives and mothers deserve gratitude. They are models of self-sacrifice. They wish their children well and constantly bring their requests in prayer. Then, when they hear God’s reply, they hold on till the end.
Lord, bless the mothers, wives, and daughters. May they be always open to the Lord and not give in to the ways of this world. May we see all generations standing in the faith, inheriting their fathers’ calling through the labor of their mothers.
“I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God...” (2 Timothy 1:4-6)
