Womeninthechurch44

Women in the Bible

Lesson Forty Four: by turtle30c

Women effect men’s lives more then men ever really understand. Woman feed them from the breast
until they are weaned, raise them til they are ready to go out on their own. Women can be conniving as
men to get their hearts desire. Rebecca, story did not end when she gave birth it only began. Oddity
about family dynamics, is that often parents though no fault of their own have a child that is their favor.
They seem to bond more closely to one or another, yet they love their favor the same as all their
children or usually, yet in this story Jacob is loved more by his mother and Esau more by his father and
because of this it causes division in a family. Such division that a mother will go to extreme to protect
the youngest Son future interest. This would cause the father to give a lesser blessing to his favorite
son. Take a look at this story.

Genesis 27:1-40 KJV
(1) And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he
called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.
(2) And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:
(3) Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and
take me some venison;
(4) And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may
bless thee before I die.
(5) And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for
venison, and to bring it.
(6) And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy
brother, saying,
(7) Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD
before my death.
(8) Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
(9) Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them
savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
(10) And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.
(11) And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a
smooth man:
(12) My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a
curse upon me, and not a blessing.
(13) And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch
me them.
(14) And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat,
such as his father loved.
(15) And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and
put them upon Jacob her younger son:
(16) And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:
(17) And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son
Jacob.
(18) And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?
(19) And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me:
arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
(20) And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said,
Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.
(21) And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be
my very son Esau or not.
(22) And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice,
but the hands are the hands of Esau.
(23) And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he
blessed him.
(24) And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.
(25) And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee.
And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.
(26) And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
(27) And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and
said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:
(28) Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn
and wine:
(29) Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy
mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth
thee.
(30) And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet
scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
(31) And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let
my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.
(32) And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.
(33) And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and
brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be
blessed.
(34) And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and
said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.
(35) And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.
(36) And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took
away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not
reserved a blessing for me?
(37) And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren
have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now
unto thee, my son?
(38) And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O
my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
(39) And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the
earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;
(40) And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou
shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

It is simple to understand how division takes place in family after reading this story. How one loosing
his birthright would mean he would loose his father’s blessing. Yet Esau not Jacob would try to gain it
only to find out he been deceived by his brother who had it because of a bowl of soup.

Genesis 25:31-34 KJV
(31) And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
(32) And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
(33) And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto
Jacob.
(34) Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and
went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

Esau had done more then sold his birthright that displeased his mother and father, but he also did one
more thing, he married someone that his parents did not approve of.

Genesis 26:34-35 KJV
(34) And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and
Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
(35) Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

When a child breaks their parents heart by not marrying the person they think they should it grieves
them. In fact it brings stress. Yet no where does it say this was a bad match according to God. Yet
perhaps this is what caused the mother to go to extreme to help Jacob get the blessing of his father.
Maybe this is why the mother was conniving. Yet she would loose the relationship with her youngest
son because of the deception.

Genesis 27:41-46 KJV
(41) And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in
his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
(42) And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her
younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself,
purposing to kill thee.
(43) Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
(44) And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away;
(45) Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him:
then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?
(46) And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take
a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall
my life do me?

Heth was from the tribe of Canaan, Noah grandson. Rebecca was fearful of Esau killing Jacob and also
of Jacob taking a wife from a tribe she did not approve of. She sent Jacob away to protect him from a
bad marriage, and all I can think is if she only knew about Jacob’s two wives what would she say and
her conniving brother Laban. From this point on we hear nothing of what becomes of Rebecca. She
would not see or hear from her son again as far as we know. The sacrifice of Rebecca was great.

There is always consequences to one actions. Rebecca was not right for deceiving Isaac. Yet Isaac still
blessed Jacob on his journey to Rebecca’s brother house and because of this it would cause more strife
in the family with Esau.

Genesis 28:1-9 KJV
(1) And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take
a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
(2) Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from
thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.
(3) And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a
multitude of people;
(4) And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit
the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
(5) And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the
brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
(6) When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife
from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the
daughters of Canaan;
(7) And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram;
(8) And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;
(9) Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of
Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

How often kids rebel against their father and mother even more when they realize that what they did,
did not please their mother and father. Esau because of the blessing would go to the Israelites and take
a wife. How sad it is when children fail their family expectations. Yet parents often forget they train
their children to think and do for themselves only to discover one day that is exactly what they do. It a
grief to most parents, and a time of mourning when one realizes their children are grown. Though the
Bible never says what happens to Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob does see his brother again and peace is
made between them. Is the family feud worth the separation to a family. I think each circumstance is
different. Yet the ache and separation is often great.

Next week we will be looking at another woman in the Bible and her relationship to her family.