The NIV 365 Day Devotional

Rebekah’s Deceptive Ways

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” 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.”

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

Genesis 25:21-26

Rebekah was the sister of Laban. She married Abraham and Sarah’s son, Isaac. Abraham sent his servant to Harran to find a wife for Isaac from his own people. Abraham’s servant prayed for God to make clear who the wife should be, and God answered his prayer by having him meet Rebekah (Ge 24:15).

Rebekah returned with Abraham’s servant, and she married Isaac. Like Sarah, she was unable to conceive, but when Isaac prayed to God for her, God blessed her and Isaac with twin sons. God told Rebekah the older would serve the younger and they would both become fathers of nations (Ge 25:23). The older twin, Esau, was a hunter and outdoorsman; Isaac favored him. The younger twin, Jacob, liked to stay inside, and Rebekah loved Jacob more.

When Isaac was old and blind, he intended to bless his favorite, Esau—a binding blessing that would determine the path of his future. Rebekah wanted the blessing for her favorite child. So she helped Jacob fool Isaac so that Jacob would receive the blessing instead. The plan worked: Isaac was fooled, Jacob received the blessing, and what the Lord had said to Rebekah before the twins were born was proven true.

APPLICATION Despite Rebekah’s deceptive ways, God used her to continue his redemptive plan and his blessing through the line of Jacob. Rebekah’s life demonstrates the sovereignty of God, who is always working things together for his “higher story” no matter how chaotic things may appear in the “lower story” of our lives. We need to trust that human foibles, failures and deceit cannot undermine God’s good plan to redeem and restore creation and to bring about God’s kingdom. In the chaos, there is hope.

Taken from the NIV Application Bible.