Momma Knows Best… or Does She?
God places a virtuous value on people who can wait on him to do what he promised he would do. - Pastor Charlie Dates
Genesis 25:20-23; 27:1-17
20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children; and the Lord answered him, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why am I in this condition?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb;
And two peoples will be separated from your body;
And one people will be stronger than the other;
And the older will serve the younger.”27 Now it came about, when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 2 Then Isaac said, “Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me; 4 and prepare a delicious meal for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.” 5 Now Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring home, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying, 7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare a delicious meal for me, so that I may eat, and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 So now, my son, listen to me as I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me two choice young goats from there, so that I may prepare them as a delicious meal for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.” 11 But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man and I am a smooth man. 12 Perhaps my father will touch me, then I will be like a deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.” 13 But his mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get the goats for me.” 14 So he went and got them, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made a delicious meal such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 She also gave the delicious meal and the bread which she had made to her son Jacob.
The truth of this passage is that there is a blessing that comes in waiting on God to fulfill the promise he has made in your kids’ lives. You can’t hurry God and you don’t even have to worry.
There are mothers out there (and people in general) who forget about the faithfulness of God in their desperate condition. As a result, they try to MAKE God’s will happen.
Rebekah is a picture of a woman who did not wait. She felt like she had to help God bring about the will of God in her child’s life.
Rebekah is beautiful, decisive, in a monogamous marriage , and prayerful
Went with Abraham’s servant when he was sent to find a wife for his mAbraham’s son (Genesis 24)
She made Isaac a one woman man.
Went to God when she faced uncertainty.
Her one flaw was that she did not trust God, long enough for what that promised her. She took matters into her own hands, even though she had trusted God so many times before until it started to feel like time was contradicting the promise of God.
There’s an interesting tension of life between what God has promised and the contradiction of your current circumstances.
This is where Rebekah is in Genesis 27
When you’ve heard God’s word come upon you that he wants to do something amazing and you grab hold of that promise, but your current circumstances seem to contradict the very promise of God.
Sometimes you feel like you actually got a word from the Lord and you believe he is up to something special in your life, but you’re confused about the way things are going right now.
During times like this, we should be faithful even when we feel fruitless.
God likes to operate in the realm of impossibilities. God likes to give birth through barrenness.
Rebekah was barren and God allowed her to conceive.
When a woman seems fruitless, he likes to prove himself faithful.
When you come to your end, God is just at his beginning
Many women in the Bible have been barren:
Sarah, the mother of many nations (Genesis 11)
Rebekah
Rachel, who married Jacob Rebekah’s son (Genesis 29)
Samson’s nameless mother (Judges 13)
Hannah, who gave birth to Samuel (1 Samuel 1)
Elizabeth who was an old woman by the time she gave birth to John the Baptist (Luke 1)
They were all barren but pregnant with a promise.
The pain Rebekah felt was part of the promise. Her kids were fighting in the womb. She decided to fall in love with the second one because she knew there was a promise on his life.
God gave Rebekah a preview of the future. Most moms think they want this, but cannot handle it.
God gave her a sacred secret.
Mary, the virgin, got a sacred secret too (Luke 1)…
The preview of the promise is not meant as a motivation for you to act like you’re God. It’s meant as an inspiration for you to trust God with the secret that he gave to you. You need a word from God that inspires you to keep going
But when God shows you what he’s going to do that doesn’t mean it’s time for you to tell everyone or take matters into your own hands.
When Rebekah hears Isaac, tell Esau that is time to pass on the blessing, she moves into action
She thinks her husband‘s actions are threatening the promise of God.
Rebekah is Laban’s sister. Laban is the man who will trick her son Jacob later down the line. Rebekah obviously has the same nature.
When you see life circumstances, moving in the opposite direction of God’s promise, that’s the time to trust God and wonder how God will bring the promise to pass.
The best thing a mother can pass on to her children is a confident trust that God will do exactly what he said he would do even if he doesn't look like he own time to do it.
What would have happened if Rebekah had trusted God?
The Bible is replete with women who trusted God:
Moses’s mom trusted God enough to let Moses go (Exodus 2)
Rahab changed the world when she let the spies in (Joshua 2)
Esther became queen and saved her people (Esther)
Anna gets to see the Messiah in her old age (Luke 2:38)
Elizabeth gives birth to a baby who made a way for another baby
Mary delivered the son who would turn around and deliver her
God is able to do more than you can if you trust him with your kids and your own life.
Reflection Questions
Reflect on a time when you struggled with waiting for God's timing. How did you handle it, and what did you learn from the experience?
Have you ever received a sacred secret or glimpse of God's plan for your life? How did you respond, and what lessons did you take away from that experience?
How can you cultivate patient trust in God's promises, especially when circumstances seem contradictory?
In what ways can you pass on a legacy of unwavering faith to future generations, particularly in the lives of your children or those you influence?