REBECCA Abraham had a brother called Nahor. Nahor was married to Milkah. One of their sons were called Bethuel and he had a daughter who he called Rebekah. The name Rebekah is derived from the Hebrew name Rivqah, which means ‘join, to bind or to tie’. After Sarah, Abraham’s wife died, Abraham was concerned that his son Isaac would marry a Canaanite woman as they were living in Canaan at that stage. He made his senior servant swear an oath that he would find Isaac a wife from Abraham’s relatives and not a woman from Canaan. The servant took ten camels and made his way to the town of Nahor. Outside the town he came to a watering well and prayed to God that He would send a young woman to the well who would offer him and his camels some water. He would take this as a sign that this would be the woman whom Isaac would marry. Before the servant even finished his prayer, a beautiful young woman called Rebekah came up to the well and offered to draw water for him and his camels. He asked her if there was place in her family’s house for him and his camels to rest that night. She invited him to stay, and he showered her with gifts. Rebekah then went home to tell her mother and her brother what happened. The servant fell down and praised and thanked God. Rebekah’s brother, Laban met with the servant and took him to their home. There the servant told them about the journey Abraham sent him on to find a wife for Isaac. He also told them about the prayer at the watering well. Laban agreed that this was from the Lord and if Rebekah was willing, she could go with him and marry Isaac. Rebekah immediately agreed. Once they returned, Isaac married Rebekah and loved her very much. Isaac was forty years old at this time. For many years Rebekah could not have any children. Isaac prayed to God on behalf of his wife and the Lord answered his prayer and Rebekah fell pregnant with twins. This is the first account of twins in the Bible. While she was pregnant, the twins were constantly struggling against each other in her womb. She prayed to the Lord and asked why this was happening. 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 25:23). Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born. Esau was born first and Jacob second. Isaac loved Esau more and Rebekah loved Jacob more. Jacob would become the line of Israel and Esau would become the line of Edom. When the boys were grown, Jacob derived a plan and had Esau sell his firstborn birth right to him. Time went by and Isaac grew older, and his eyesight weakened to the point where he could not see anymore. He asked Esau to go out and hunt and prepare a meal for him as he wanted to give Esau his birth right blessing. Rebekah heard and quickly derived a plan to deceive Isaac by giving this blessing to Jacob. They were successful in their plan and after Jacob received this blessing, his life was in danger as his brother was planning to kill him out of revenge and anger. Once again Rebekah lied to her husband Isaac and said to him that she would not be able to live with the fact that Jacob could possibly marry a Canaanite woman and that they should send him away to her family to find a wife from their own people. Isaac agreed to this, called Jacob in, blessed him and send him away. Unfortunately, Rebekah died before Jacob returned to his father’s house. We learn from Rebekah that she was a faithful woman. When the servant of Abraham told her about his prayer and that God answered it, she went with him without hesitation and question as this was the will of the Lord. This is a great example of how a marriage is built on faith. Rebekah and Isaac never met, yet they got married as they knew this was the will of God. When she prayed during her pregnancy, she received a prophecy from God with regards to her two sons. Yet, when it was time for Isaac to give the first-born blessing, rather than tell him about the prophecy, she decided to deceive him. She decided to take matters into her own hands. She might have been anxious thinking that if she did not lie and deceive her husband, the prophecy of God might not come to pass. Her lies and deceit did not change God’s plans and His will was still done. We should always have patience as we do not understand God’s timing. The Bible shows the faithful, warts and all and while the actions of Rebekah was somewhat dubious, it stands as an example of how sin affects our lives. She paid the ultimate price as she never witnessed the marriage of her favorite son. It serves as a great lesson. God's will shall always be done even when we waiver in our faith. While manipulation has short term benefits, in the long run, it costs much more than we could ever imagine.