Rebekah’s Journey: Self-Control, A Friday of Preparation Post

Rebekah’s Self-Control spins off:
Realizing the danger her deception placed on her favorite son,
she is forced to send him away.

2000 Years Ago: Rebekah’s Self-Control Spins Off

“Son, you must leave!  Today!”  Rebekah clutched Jacob’s sleeve, knuckles white against sun-browned skin.  “I have packed your clothes and some food, for you must go.  The maid told me Esau is so angry he has vowed to kill you when your father dies.  You know that will be any day now, for he cannot last much longer.  He grieves too much about all the things that have happened.”

Rebekah’s shoulders slumped at these last words, and she turned her head into her son’s shoulder to hide her grief.  Her heart twisted with the knowledge of her wrong-doing.  How she wished…

“But I do not want to leave Father when he is so ill!” Jacob protested.  “He still has so much to teach me!”  Jacob knew that even while his birthright was attained in the wrong way, it was rightfully his.  The Lord had decreed it thus before he was born, and he needed to learn how to perform this position in the right way.

Jacob’s mother lifted tear-stained eyes to her son’s, faltering at his clear gaze.  He simply didn’t get why she bore so much pain.  He would never know the guilt she would struggle with the rest of her days.  Desperate, she twisted from him and ran to the tent.

“Go now, son!  You must go!”  She flung the words over heaving shoulders, then dropped the flap and cowered in the dim shadows.

Would she ever see her beloved son again?

Would she ever understand his twin brother, Esau?  Even now, Esau was away, feasting with the people of Heth.  “He knows he is hurting his father, and yet he continues in his sinful ways!  I could not bear it if Jacob would marry one of those daughters of Canaan,” she whispered despairingly.

Would the reaping never end?

Today: Learning From Rebekah’s Lack of Self-Control

Temperance isn’t a word that is used much these days.  The Bible describes it as living a Spirit-controlled life.  In that sense, it is not self-control, but for practical purposes, we will call temperance “self-control.”  And we absolutely need self-control to practice a Spirit-controlled life.

Laws of society are put in place for people who lack self-control, so order can be kept in a country.  When the Holy Spirit is in our lives, we have His power to manage our control, to help us resist temptations, and to temper our sometimes wrong desires.

A man who makes his golf or his motor-bicycle the center of his life, or a woman who devotes all her thoughts to clothes or bridge or her dog, is being just as ‘intemperate’ as someone who gets drunk every evening.

C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

Rebekah lost her self-control when she strayed from God’s laws and obtained the birthright for Jacob through deception.  The end goal was to get what she knew God wanted.

Why did Rebekah choose to act in this way?  Maybe she thought Isaac was old and blind and only loved Esau, and seemed unaware of God’s plan.  After all, he prepared to give the blessing to Esau.  We can assume this made Rebekah frantic, thinking she needed to help God along. Maybe she didn’t stop to think, and merely acted.

What if you see a situation you feel is going wrong?

You know what’s right and moral, but for some reason, the right thing doesn’t seem to happen.  And you know how to make it happen.

I’ve gone ahead of God oftener than I want to admit.  I had distinct feelings that certain things should happen in our family, and these were things God would promote.  Since I didn’t feel support from my husband or other family members, I took things into my own hands to make these things happen.

Often, the end result was good.  That is God’s love and forgiveness and longsuffering, not His blessing on my lack of patience and faith.

I think there are times when we have to go ahead with things we believe are right, and God can make them turn out okay.

However, I believe the right and better way is getting your spouse or family on board before you act.

God will know if you have to act before your family is on board.  It isn’t His perfect will, but He can turn it into good.  Be careful to have your self Spirit-controlled when you do this, and if God says wait, then wait.

Another thing to remember is that God is capable of changing things without your help, even though it might take awhile before the change comes.  But you obeyed, and you have that blessing to fall back on.

Did Rebekah repent of her sin?

I imagine that Rebekah suffered for what she had done. It does not say it plainly in the Bible, but her actions reveal distress. Frantic with trying to keep her son safe, she has to suffer his absence.

We don’t know if she repented, or how much she suffered.  It only seems natural that she would.

Just know that our amazing God will forgive anyone who comes to Him with a contrite heart, and the slate is wiped clean.

And the fruit of the Spirit can once more be ours.

Know that on this Journey to Fruit of the Spirit, we serve a redemptive God.