And the LORD said unto her, “Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”~ Genesis 25:23
I have to confess Rebekah wasn’t always my favorite woman in Scripture. I thought she was a bit manipulative “deceiving” Isaac. And for favoring one child over the other. But a few years ago, as I was working on my Proverbs 31 Bible study and looking at all of these different women, I began to see her differently. Abba introduced me to this woman named Rebekah, a woman He knew intimately. He let me see her through His knowledge of her…. as a beautiful grace-filled woman… a daughter of Grace.
Rebecca had been barren for 20 years. And after conceiving, her pregnancy was not an easy one. The Bible says the babies struggled within her. The Hebrew word for struggled means to crush or oppress. It’s a violent word. I’ve had 4 babies and they all moved around a lot while I was pregnant and occasionally kicked really hard, but it wasn’t violent. I can’t even imagine what that must’ve felt like.
So, Rebekah inquired of Yahweh (Jesus). There is an aleph tav between inquire and Yahweh. Inquire is darash, it is to seek carefully. It comes from a root meaning to walk or tread. Rebekah wasn’t just asking God why her pregnancy was so hard and violent. She was inquiring of Jesus regarding the destiny of these two sons. How they fit in His covenant plan. And the root of the word shows her determination to walk in His plans for them. She was not just seeking an answer to a question in prayer…. she was a Covenant seeker, a seeker of Divine destiny.
This is the first time that a woman is mentioned as “inquiring of the Lord.” That tells us a lot about Rebecca’s relationship with God.She obviously had an intimate relationship with God and wanted to hear what He had to say on the matter. She KNEW Jesus. She trusted what He had to say. He told her that she had 2 nations at war in her womb. He said they would be divided from birth….two nations, two kingdoms. The Hebrew word for nations is goyim, which means both Jewish and Gentile nations. The Jewish nation of Israel will be from Jacob, and the Gentile nation will be from Esau (later the nation of Edom).
Romans 9:10-13 emphasizes the importance of God’s word to Rebekah. Before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, “in order that God’s purpose in election might stand, not by works but by him who calls she was told, The older will serve the younger. Just as it is written: I loved but Esau I hated.” The LORD’s choice of Jacob, the younger, to inherit His covenant promise was made before the boys were even born. This showed that the choice did not depend on what either did. This was not about birth order but rather Divine election. Jacob’s destiny was to produce the lineage that the Deliverer would come….to be an heir of the Promise (Hebrews 11:9).
Rebecca understood the importance of God’s word to her. She chose what God had already chosen. But His choosing wasn’t one of blessing and cursing, loving and hating. His choosing was a pre-election of Divine Grace for one to be the lineage for the Seed. He loved and chose both Esau and Jacob… and had a plan for each man (Ephesians 1:4).
~ Robin
It Is Finished 