Rebekah - I will Go

[0:00] Well, if we could, this evening, with the Lord's help, turn back to that portion of scripture that we read. Book of Genesis, and chapter 24.

[0:13] The well-known words of chapter 24, verse 57. Genesis chapter 24, verse 57. They said, that is, Laban and his mother, let us call the young woman and ask her.

[0:32] And they called Rebecca and said to her, will you go with this man? And she said, I will go. Will you go with this man?

[0:45] And she said, I will go. And as you know, this evening we're continuing our character study of some of the women in the Bible.

[0:57] I've explained to you why. There are lots of women who come to the prayer meeting. And it's lovely to see you. And I thought we could look at some of the women in the Bible.

[1:07] And we've titled our study as, The Daughters of the King. The Daughters of the King, simply because I believe that the character of every daughter of the king, it reflects not only the character of the king, but also the character of the church, who is the bride of Christ.

[1:26] And therefore, by considering some of the Daughters of the King, which we'll look at week by week, we'll see what they were faced with in their day and in their generation.

[1:36] And hopefully we'll learn more about the God whom they loved, the God whom they worshipped, and the God whom they served. And as we've said before, we can't deny the fact that women have played a significant role in the history of redemption.

[1:53] It was through women, especially in the Old Testament, that God's gracious covenant of salvation, it continued throughout every generation. It was through them that, as they carried the covenant heir in their womb, the promise continued throughout that line until the time of Christ.

[2:14] And we saw that last week when we looked at the life of Sarah, who was Abraham's wife. She was the first woman who carried in her womb the heir of the promise.

[2:25] She was Isaac. And what we learned about Sarah is that she had to wait upon the Lord for the Lord to fulfil his promise, the promise of the covenant.

[2:36] The promise that she would have a son and that through her husband, the seed of her husband, Abraham, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. And despite her old age and her inability to conceive, we saw that Sarah struggled to wait upon the Lord.

[2:53] And I suppose we could say about Sarah that she was a daughter of the king and she was one who was a waiting woman. She was a waiting woman.

[3:06] But what can we say about this daughter of the king, whom we're considering this evening? What we can say about her is that although there are many parallels and similarities in the narrative with Sarah and the narrative of Rebecca, we could say that Rebecca was a willing woman.

[3:25] Rebecca was a willing woman because the life and character of Rebecca can be summed up succinctly by the words of our text. They called Rebecca and said to her, Will you go with this man?

[3:37] And she said, I will go. She was a willing woman. And so what we can learn and hopefully what we will learn from Rebecca's experience is that willingness to serve the Lord and faithfulness to him are characteristics which must be present in our lives as the Lord's people.

[4:01] Now, there are four things I'd like us to draw out from the life and character of Rebecca. And the first two of these was nothing actually to do with Rebecca as such, but to do with Abraham's plan and the servant's prayer.

[4:18] So, first of all, we're looking at the plan. The first thing is the plan. Abraham's plan. If we read at the very beginning of chapter 24, it says, Abraham was old and well advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

[4:32] And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all that he had, Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, the God of the earth, that you may not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell, but you will go to my country and to my kindred and take a wife for my son Isaac.

[4:54] Abraham's plan to provide a wife for his son Isaac is the reason that Rebecca appears on the stage of history at all.

[5:06] The whole meeting and the whole marriage of Isaac and Rebecca was all planned by Isaac's father, Abraham. And Abraham's plan, it arises out of the death of Sarah, who died, as we can read at the beginning of chapter 23.

[5:23] Sarah lived 127 years. These were the years of the life of Sarah. So the plan arose out after the death of Sarah.

[5:34] But the reason Abraham wants to find his son, a wife, is not only that his son will have this security in his home and have a helpmate in life, but also that the covenant promise will continue on to the next generation after he is gone.

[5:51] And so in order to put his plan into action, Abraham calls his most trustworthy servant and he explains his plan to him. He says, Do not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell, but you shall go to my country and to my family and take a wife for my son Isaac.

[6:14] Abraham is specific. Abraham's plan is given with this detailed specification. Go to my country, to my family, and take a son, take a wife for my son Isaac.

[6:30] Abraham didn't want Isaac to marry a Canaanite girl because they were worshippers of foreign gods and idols. And marrying an idol worshipper could put the covenant promise in jeopardy.

[6:43] Therefore, Abraham didn't want his wife or his son to marry those who were outside the covenant of grace. He didn't want Isaac to have a wife that was outside this covenant promise.

[6:57] But in the conversation between Abraham and his servant, both of them had concerns. The servant's concern, having been given such a specific request to find this girl from Abraham's country and Abraham's family, the servant's concern was, well, it wasn't if he would find her at all.

[7:19] His concern is, would she be willing to be Isaac's wife? Was there a willingness? The servant's concern was on the willingness of Rebecca because he says in verse 5, the servant said, perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land.

[7:36] Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came? But even though the servant was concerned about Rebecca's willingness, Abraham's concern arose from his unwillingness to allow Isaac to go with the servant because he says in verse 6, Abraham said to him, see to it that you do not take my son back there.

[8:00] And this was Abraham's greatest concern because he re-emphasizes at the end of this conversation, he says at verse 8, if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine, only you must not take my son back there.

[8:17] And the reason Abraham didn't want his son to go with the servant to find a wife, which would have been far easier for him to choose his own wife for himself. But the reason he didn't let him go is because Abraham knew that the covenant promise was to him and to his seed.

[8:35] That's what he says in verse 6, see to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred and who spoke to me and swore to me, to your offspring I will give this land.

[8:50] That's the promise. He will send his angel before you and you shall take a wife for my son from there. And so, to let Isaac return to this land from where Abraham came from could jeopardize the promise.

[9:08] But not only that, to try and find a willing wife to travel with him would be almost impossible. And yet Abraham had learned from his experience with Sarah that nothing is too hard for the Lord.

[9:22] And so Abraham's plan was detailed. Go to, go to my country, to my family and take a wife for my son, Isaac. But Abraham's plan was detailed because it was an important plan.

[9:38] And I want to stress that point. The plan of Abraham to retrieve this specific wife for Isaac, it's a glorious picture of our salvation.

[9:51] Because when we look at these passages in Genesis which contain the life of Isaac, we often draw the comparisons between Abraham's son, Isaac, and Jesus Christ who was, we say that Isaac was this type of Christ.

[10:08] especially when we look at chapter 22 where Abraham is commanded to sacrifice his only son on top of Mount Moriah.

[10:19] And of course in that passage we can see all these typological parallels between Isaac's experience and between Jesus' experience on the cross.

[10:29] There's all these parallels that can be made. But in Abraham's plan to provide a wife for his son, I want us to see that Isaac is portrayed as a type of Christ but Rebecca is portrayed as a type of the church.

[10:47] And I say this with caution because we can often take typology to an extreme level. But in this case with Isaac and Rebecca I think it's important for us to see this typological connection with Christ and his church.

[11:04] because before we have even met Rebecca before Rebecca has even appeared on the stage of history she's already in the father's plan.

[11:18] And the father's plan is specific. The father's plan is detailed. And it's a plan which is all about trying to retrieve a bride for his son.

[11:30] But more than that the plan to retrieve a bride for the son it's all bound up in this oath this covenant this covenant between the father and the servant because it says in verse 9 so the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.

[11:52] And what we ought to see in this typology is God's plan of redemption. The father's plan to provide a bride for his son.

[12:04] And my friend we ought to never lose sight of the great plan of redemption and see that it's the father's plan and the father's plan was perfect.

[12:18] It was detailed to the finest degree and it was written in the councils of eternity before we ever appeared on the stage of history. And yet we were in that plan.

[12:32] We were elected to be part of that plan. Our names were written in the plan not because of anything good in us but solely according to the goodness and grace of our heavenly father.

[12:48] But the father's plan was so detailed that it not only included who would be in it it included how we were to be part of it. And the only way for us to be part of the plan and to be made a bride of the son was that the plan had to include sacrifice.

[13:07] The plan had to include substitution. The plan had to include a saviour. And what a saviour he was. Where he carried out not only his own will but the will of his heavenly father.

[13:25] The suffering servant who fulfilled the perfect plan of God. And as Jesus confessed to his father in John 17 he said I have revealed your name to those whom you have given to me out of the world.

[13:39] You have given them to me as my bride. They were yours he says but you gave them to me. That was the plan.

[13:50] You chose them. You set them apart. You elected them from before the foundation of the world. you saw them as the apple of your eye. You saw them as precious and you gave them to me.

[14:02] And you know don't you just love the description which Peter gave to the New Testament church. The church that was spreading throughout the whole world. It was going throughout the dispersion just outside of Israel.

[14:16] And Peter writes to them he says to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. He says you are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.

[14:31] You are being sanctified in the spirit only because of the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. It's a wonderful thought but that was the plan of redemption.

[14:47] You were elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. sanctified through the spirit only because of the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. And that plan it came to pass exactly as the Father had ordained.

[15:06] And that's also what happened in this narrative about Rebecca. So we've seen the plan. But secondly we see the prayer. The prayer.

[15:19] You look with me at verse 10 of chapter 24. Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master.

[15:31] And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, the city of Nahor. And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water.

[15:42] And he said, O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.

[15:56] Let the young woman to whom I shall say, please let down your jar that I may drink. And who shall say, drink, and I will water your camels. Let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac.

[16:09] By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master. Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her jar, water jar, on her shoulder.

[16:28] So what we see here is that as evening was drawing in, Abraham's servant, he had left Abraham, he was travelling to the city of Nahor, and he stopped at this well of water, probably to camp there for the night.

[16:41] But notice the devotion and diligence of Abraham's servant, that as soon as they arrive at the city of Nahor, just outside the city, where he hopes to find Isaac's bride, the first thing he does is pray.

[16:56] It's probably not the first thing we would have thought of doing after a long journey when we're tired and worn out, but if there's anything which makes this servant stand out is his fervency in prayer.

[17:09] Because it seems that each step of his journey, it was marked by constantly seeking the Lord's direction and the Lord's blessing. But as Abraham's servant prayed, he would have continued to travel.

[17:23] And as he travelled, he would have continued to pray. And although he would have wondered how he was going to ever find a wife for Isaac, especially when he didn't know her name, he didn't know what she looked like, he didn't know exactly where she lived, he didn't know anything about her, all he knew that it was from Abraham's family, Abraham's country, and it was for his son.

[17:46] And yet in all these things, he cast all his cares upon the Lord. He cast everything upon the Lord. Abraham's servant cast his care upon the Lord because he knew that prayer was no substitute for action, and action was no substitute for prayer.

[18:06] prayer. The both of them went hand in hand. Abraham's servant prayed and travelled at the same time because he knew that prayer was important, not to make his search for Isaac's bride unnecessary, but to make it more effective.

[18:25] And there's a lesson for us here as individuals and as a church because we can often have the imbalance of prayer and putting that prayer into action, where we can have a huge emphasis upon prayer to the point that we are idle for the Lord.

[18:46] Because we think that if we just pray and commit everything to the Lord, we're doing everything we can. And sometimes in some situations, prayer is all we can do.

[18:58] However, we can sometimes think that if we're praying, we don't need to do anything else because the Lord will do it for us. But it can also work the opposite way as well, where we can have a huge emphasis upon action and doing things with clubs and meetings and evangelism.

[19:16] We can have a huge emphasis upon working for the Lord to the detriment of prayer. But prayer and action, these things shouldn't be opposites of one another.

[19:29] They should be parallels. They should be going hand in hand. They should be going together, not in contrast, not to contradict one another, but at the same time, in the same direction, with the same desired outcome.

[19:46] And that's what we see here with Abraham's servant. He prayed and he acted. He acted and he prayed. And it was all very well to say that Abraham's servant was praying about the situation he was in.

[20:02] And he was committing it to the Lord and waiting upon the Lord. But that wasn't going to change the outcome. That wasn't going to find a bride for Isaac. Because prayer is never a substitute for action.

[20:16] It goes alongside action. And even though the servant didn't know what the outcome would be, he went in faith, knowing that the Lord was with him.

[20:27] And that's why as Christians, we are to walk by faith and not by sight. We're out walking, moving forward. It's an act of faith in which we're both moving and praying at the same time.

[20:42] They go together. Prayer and action go together. And as I'm not what we're taught in the New Testament, for James asks us in his letter, he says, you have faith, then show me your works.

[20:58] Show me your action. Because faith without works is dead. Praying without action, it's dead. Because we can be praying and praying and praying about a situation in our lives or in our congregation and doing nothing about it.

[21:16] then that's no use. Because if we're praying for an opportunity to speak about the Lord, just to use an example, if we're praying for an opportunity to speak about the Lord at home or at work or in our community, and if we're praying for an opportunity to witness for the Lord, if we're praying for an opportunity to ask someone to come to church, and we should be praying for these things.

[21:44] It's not if, we should be. And if we're asking the Lord, then the Lord will give us that opportunity. He will give us the opportunity to witness for him.

[21:55] But we have to be ready to take it. Because praying about a situation is no use unless we put that prayer into action. And my friend, our congregation will only become effective in this community when it is being coated in prayer and it's acting in faith.

[22:18] It'll only become effective in the community when it's coated in prayer and it's acting in faith. If we want to reach this community with the gospel of Jesus Christ, we need to be praying for this community and we need to be seeking opportunities to act in faith.

[22:39] But you know, I love what we're told about this servant who was praying and actively seeking Isaac's bride. It says in verse 15, before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother.

[22:58] She came out with her water jar on her shoulder. The Lord answered his prayer before he had finished speaking. Before he had even said, Amen.

[23:11] The answer to his prayer was standing before him. And it's a marvellous thought that the Lord answered him as soon as he asked. And the answer was according to the father's plan.

[23:26] When Rebekah appeared, we're told exactly who she was. Rebekah, born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother.

[23:36] The answer was according to the father's plan. Go to my country, to my family, find a wife for my son, Isaac. It was according to the father's plan.

[23:50] And my friend, that's how it will always be. The answer to our prayers will always be according to the father's plan. And as I'm or what we've been taught from a young age, we were all taught that, to pray to our heavenly father and say, our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

[24:17] And even though we may now teach our children and our grandchildren to pray those words, I sometimes think they are the hardest words to pray. To pray, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

[24:34] Because we don't know what will be in the father's plan for us. We don't know what the father has planned for us. And yet, that's what often gives us the greatest comfort.

[24:50] That it's not our plan, but it's the father's plan. And his plan is detailed and everything in this plan will come to pass. So we've seen the plan, the prayer, and thirdly, the proposal.

[25:06] The proposal. If you look at verse 58, chapter 24. They called Rebecca and said to her, will you go with this man?

[25:18] And she said, I will go. And what we've seen so far in this narrative is that Rebecca hasn't been directly involved. The father was planning about Rebecca and the servant was praying for Rebecca.

[25:33] But Rebecca didn't have any say in the matter. That was until Abraham's servant took the opportunity to present his proposal to Rebecca.

[25:44] But before Abraham's servant was given such an opportunity, Rebecca's brother Laban and her mother, they tried to stand in the way. Because we're told in verse 55, her brother and her mother said, let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days.

[26:00] After that, she may go. But he said to them, do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away, that I may go to my master. Rebecca's family, they tried to hinder the father's plan.

[26:16] But Abraham's servant is clear. This is the Lord's doing. This is the Lord's plan. Don't hinder the Lord's plan. And so, Rebecca's family are left with no choice but to leave the decision up to Rebecca.

[26:29] And they say in verse 57, let us call the young woman and ask her. And as the tension in the narrative is mounting all the time, everything now focuses upon Rebecca's answer.

[26:44] All the cameras are pointing at her and they're asking the question, will you go with this man? And it was a loaded question because Rebecca's answer meant a complete change in her life.

[26:59] Rebecca's answer meant leaving her father and her mother behind. Rebecca's answer meant travelling hundreds of miles to marry a man that she had never met.

[27:10] And the whole narrative of chapter 24, it all boils down to this one question. Rebecca, are you willing to go with this man? You were willing to give him water at the well.

[27:24] You were willing to take him in when he had nowhere to stay. You were willing to feed all his camels. But are you willing to go with him? Are you willing to submit your life to Isaac, a man you never met?

[27:38] Are you willing to love him and serve him and be faithful to him and follow him the rest of your days? Will you go with this man? Will you go with this man?

[27:51] They're asking. And she says, I will go. I will go. Rebecca declared that she was willing, a willing woman.

[28:02] She was willing to put aside all her desires and all her wants and all her gains in life for the sake of her husband. And you know, I can't help but return to this theme of Rebecca being a type of the church.

[28:21] We're in the persons of Isaac and Rebecca. We see the connection with Christ and his church. We see the union of Christ and his bride, the church. Because when we were called out of darkness, when we were called from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear son, we were united to Christ and we were brought into the household of faith.

[28:49] And we were asked the same question about Jesus Christ. Will you go with this man? Will you go with this man? And implied within that question was self-denial and complete commitment to Jesus Christ.

[29:07] Christ. Because when we were asked, will you go with this man? We were being asked about our willingness to follow Jesus. Are we willing to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Jesus?

[29:22] Are we willing to lay aside every sin and weight that doth so easily beset us and run the race looking to Jesus? Are we willing? That's what we were being asked.

[29:33] Are we willing to make Jesus our Lord and King? Are we willing to submit to the authority of Jesus and his word in every area of our life?

[29:43] Are we willing to love the Lord with all our heart, our mind, our soul, our strength and our neighbour as ourselves? Are we willing, though having not seen him, we love him, though now we do not see him, says Peter, yet believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory?

[30:01] Are we willing to go with this man? And our answer then, when we started the journey, was, I will go.

[30:14] I will go with this man. I will serve the Lord as his bride, the church. But now, after all these years of following the Lord service, the question arises, are we still willing?

[30:46] Are we still willing? Do we still have a willing heart? Do we still have a willing heart that longs to serve our husband out of love and obedience to him?

[30:59] Not grumbling, not moaning, not complaining, but it is our love for our husband that is driving us? Is our love for our husband still as strong as it once was?

[31:14] Are we still as faithful to him as we once were? Are we still as willing to serve him as much as we were when he first proposed to us? Are we still willing to go with him even though we have not yet seen him?

[31:31] Because the promise as it was for Rebecca is that after our journey through this wilderness is done, we will see him face to face.

[31:45] But unlike Rebecca, we won't be asking who is this man coming in the field to meet us. we will know because when we see him, says John, we will be like him.

[32:02] We will be like him. The plan, the prayer, the proposal, but then we have the problem. The problem.

[32:15] You look at, jump to chapter 25 and then verse 19. These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham fathered Isaac and Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel, the Aramean of Padam Aram, the sister of Laban, the Aramean, to be his wife.

[32:38] And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer and Rebecca, his wife, conceived. After the father's plan had been fulfilled, and after the servant's prayer had been answered and after Rebecca had responded to her proposal, Isaac took Rebecca as his wife.

[33:04] But as it was with Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca encountered a problem. And we're told that Rebecca was barren and unable to conceive.

[33:15] Rebecca was unable to have a child, a child that would not only receive Isaac's inheritance once he had gone, but also a child that would inherit the covenant promise of blessing, which was given to the grandfather, you could say, Abraham.

[33:33] And when we read this passage, it seems that Isaac himself had inherited more from his father than he ever anticipated. because he experienced the same problem of waiting upon the Lord for an heir of the covenant promise.

[33:51] In fact, Isaac and Rebecca, they had to wait 20 years for the Lord to provide a son. But what does Isaac do? He prays to the Lord.

[34:02] He brings his problem and his burden to the Lord and he casts it upon the Lord. We're told in verse 21, Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was barren and the Lord granted his prayer and Rebecca, his wife, conceived.

[34:19] But as you know, my friend, that doesn't always happen. It's not always as simple as that. The Lord doesn't always answer our prayers in the way that we think he will.

[34:31] Sometimes the Lord does say yes and he gives us what we ask for. Other times the Lord says no and maybe he'll give us something better than we asked for.

[34:43] And sometimes the Lord says wait and he'll give us what is best for us. And that's always the Lord's prerogative for his children to give us what's best for us.

[34:56] Not what we think is best but what the Lord knows is best. And sometimes that's hard to accept. To accept that the Lord's ways are perfect.

[35:08] And to accept that all things are working together for good to those who are called according to his purpose. But what we see in this narrative is that the greatest problem it wasn't Rebecca's inability to conceive.

[35:23] receive. And the greatest problem wasn't even the fact that Rebecca was pregnant with twins. Of course having twins wasn't the problem.

[35:34] But the outcome of having twins when there was only one inheritance to receive that was going to prove a problem because when Rebecca was struggling in her pregnancy she inquired of the Lord and she said if all is well why am I like this?

[35:48] And the Lord says to her in verse 23 Two nations are in your womb and two peoples from within you shall be divided. The one shall be stronger than the other. The older shall serve the younger.

[36:02] Two nations are in your womb. And in that word from the Lord Rebecca knew that there was going to be a division in the family. There was going to be conflict between these two brothers Jacob and Esau.

[36:16] Therefore the two nations in Rebecca's womb they would be Israel and Edom who would be sworn enemies for centuries. But still the problem in the narrative wasn't Rebecca's barrenness.

[36:29] Neither was it the fact that she was having twins. Nor was the problem going to be the conflict between these two brothers. Rather the problem is what we find in the words of verse 28.

[36:43] Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game but Rebecca loved Jacob. Favoritism in the family was the problem and favoritism in the family will always be a problem until it's resolved.

[37:02] But the problem of favoritism in Isaac's family wasn't resolved. It only grew worse because after Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a pot of stew the birthright that guaranteed him the inheritance of not only his father but also the inheritance of the covenant blessing.

[37:23] After Esau sold his birthright the division and the conflict between these two siblings was only going to increase all the more. Because we're told that when Isaac was old and getting blind and nearing the end of his life he called his favorite son in.

[37:43] He called Esau in. And we're told in chapter 27 and verse 1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see he called Esau's older son and said to him my son and he answered here I am.

[37:58] And he said behold I'm old I do not know the day of my death. Now then take your weapons your quiver your bow and go out to the field and hunt game for me and prepare for me delicious food such as I love and bring it to me so that I may eat and my soul may bless you before I die.

[38:16] And as we know from reading the passage Rebecca was eavesdropping on their conversation. But the way in which verses 5 and 6 are there the way in which they're written in the narrative it seeks to emphasize the division between the brothers and the favoritism that was being shown by the parents.

[38:38] Because it says in verse 5 now Rebecca was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it Rebecca said to her son Jacob I heard your father speak to your brother Esau.

[38:56] His son and her son. There's division. There's favoritism. And because of this Rebecca is quickly devising a plan to receive the blessing of Isaac for her son Jacob.

[39:14] We're told in verse 8. Now therefore my son obey my voice as I command you. Go to the flock bring me two good young goats so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father such as he loves and you shall bring it to your father to eat so that he may bless you before he dies.

[39:34] But what ought to surprise us is the impatience and the lack of faith and the inability to leave something with the Lord.

[39:45] Because the Lord had already told Rebecca before the children would be born she had been told that Esau would serve Jacob. And yet Rebecca still took matters into her own hands in order to receive the blessing of God.

[40:01] Rebecca did something wrong in order to try and bring about what God had already said would happen. Even though Rebecca had confessed that she was willing to submit to her husband and commit everything to him, her favouritism for Jacob took over.

[40:19] She lost sight of her priority to be obedient and faithful to her first love because she tried to bring about the blessing of God in her own way and in her own timing by deceiving her husband and manipulating the will of God but it only backfired.

[40:39] Her favouritism and her actions led to Esau hating Jacob and wanting to kill him. her son of a love to love to her.

[40:50] That's where the narrative leaves Rebecca. That's where it leaves her. Two sons fighting and a family falling apart.

[41:01] It leaves her as one who was part of a plan. It leaves her as one who was prayed for. It leaves her as one who was proposed to. And it leaves her in a problem that she caused by her failure to trust the Lord.

[41:19] And that's what makes these characters in the Bible so real and so authentic. Rebecca as beautiful and as willing as she was, she wasn't perfect.

[41:31] She had struggles, she had problems in her family home like everyone else. She failed in many ways as a spouse and she failed in many ways as a parent and Rebecca's life didn't turn out the way that she had wished.

[41:48] But by looking at her life and character, we can learn many things from her experience. We can learn that everything is in the Lord's plan. We can learn that we must commit everything to the Lord in prayer.

[42:03] We can learn that we must be willing to respond to the Lord's proposals to serve him. And we can learn that our problems often arise. because of our failure to trust the Lord.

[42:18] Sarah, a willing woman. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. O Lord, our gracious God, bless thy truth to us.

[42:29] It has so much to teach us and we have so much to learn. Help us, Lord, and we pray thee to be students of thy word and to be those who are attentive to thy voice.

[42:42] Bless us, Lord, we pray thee. Bind us together as a congregation. Help us to build one another up and bear one another's burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.

[42:53] Do us good, then we pray thee. Go before us and keep us. For we ask it in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. We shall conclude by singing in Psalm 71.

[43:09] Psalm 71, that's in the Scottish Psalter, page 311. Psalm 71 from verse 14 down to the verse marked 16.

[43:26] Psalm 71 and verse 14. But I with expectation will hope continually, and yet with praises more and more I will thee magnify. Down to the verse marked 16 to God's praise.

[43:39] Psalm 71 and But I with expectation will hope continually, thee, and yet with praises more and more I will be magnified.

[44:15] Thy justice and salvation, my multi‑ m health th control.

[44:36] Income a bowl, shalom, 걸 recap. citingиной pm I will constantly go on in strength of God the Lord.

[45:07] And by your righteousness divine alone I will record.

[45:25] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore. Amen.