Parasha Toldot (Generations) Genesis 25:19–28:9; Malachi 1:1–2:7; Luke 3:1–18
Here we find something very interesting but also puzzling: In Gen.25:21:
“When Isaac was 40 years old he took Rebekah as his wife… and pleaded to the LORD on behalf of his wife, Rebekah – (in this instance she did not pray herself) because she was childless and the Lord granted his plea and Rebekah his wife conceived.”
First, Sarah the wife of Abram is childless, and now the same thing with Rebekah!
Why didn’t Rebekah pray as many others did who were faced with this situation? Sometimes, when all hope has evaporated, God designed it for others to stand with us during these times because no-one is self-sufficient and we all need each other in times when we are weary and our hopes have been dashed.
Aligned to this was the fact that there was a stigma attached to barrenness in the Ancient World as something shameful because it affected more than just an individual but the entire community. Without children there would be no next generation and without a next generation there would be no Jewish people. And without a Jewish people, God’s promises become redundant! So barrenness was considered a curse and a result of sin. But, what if one had not sinned as in the case of Rebecca?
The name Rebekah means. ‘bound up’ something which Isaac well understood as deeply etched in his memory with the ‘Akedah’ (the binding of Isaac) when Abraham was about to offer him to God as a sacrifice and there seemed to be no hope.
Some people might ask why God allowed Rebekah to be barren? There are many things we might say, but at the end of the day some things remain a mystery. Rebecca’s barrenness is not an isolated example. There is mention in Scripture of seven women who were barren (Ex. 23:26). The number seven represents Divine perfection so it infers that God never makes mistakes so even when we don’t understand things perfectly, He does.
The number 7 occurs 287 times in Scripture. In Hebrew, seven is ‘shevah.’ It is from the root, ‘savah,’ meaning ‘to be full’ or ‘satisfied.’ So, for example, on the seventh day of creation, God rested from His work. What He had created was full, complete and perfect. Nothing more could be added or taken away to make things better.
In God’s creative works, seven completes the colours of the rainbow and in music the notes of the scale. In each of these, the eighth is only a repetition of the first part.
The opening statement in the Book of Genesis consists of 7 words and 28 letters (4×7):
“B’resheet Bara Elohim et Ha Shamyim v’et Ha Aretz” It was an act that expressed God’s complete and tangible perfection where no such thing as barrenness existed.
So what then is the underlying meaning of Rebekah’s barrenness? We are imperfect, in word, deed, in our knowledge and understanding of things and in our thinking, but our imperfection does not lessen the perfection of God who is perfect in all things (Ps.18) and who does all things well and is good all the time and perfect in His timings.
And when we are confronted with the mystery of barrenness in our lives, whether it be failing health, disappointments, setbacks, or any other manner of negative things that overwhelm us, Scripture reminds us that He uses even the negatives and turns them for good!
Countless times God intervenes to confound modern medical opinion in hopeless situations including when it was impossible for someone to bear children as was the case here with Rebekah. God used Rebekah’s barrenness to motivate Isaac to seek God’s face more earnestly for the miracle which was eventually granted.
But there are many other occasions when He has closed His hands and then opened them again to reveal abundance, but in a different shape and form to what we had expected. God has not ignored or refused our needs in these times but simply provides us with a better solution. A good idea is not necessarily a God idea!
Today, we moved into the new month in the Hebrew calendar of Kislev, the 9th month and the number 9 in Scripture represents the period leading to birth following travail. Our spiritual travail will always bear an overflow for those with the commitment, courage and stamina to keep their eyes focussed on Yeshua irrespective of everything, even as Isaac did. This is when we will experience the fullness of blessing that God desires for our lives!
The Hebrew root word for blessing (brakhah) means to bring a gift on bended knee, but with a small change in vowel, it becomes breicha—a wellspring of water or even a pool. (Ps 84)
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca (tears) they make it a (breicha) place of springs the early rain also covers it with pools.”
God transforms the barren places of our lives into wellsprings and pools of water: (Isa 41:18) “I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.”
God’s love is not uncritical but it is unshakable and unconditional. His intention is always to draw us closer to Himself which He does with precision and purpose.
Who dares refuse all discouragement and deterrent that seeks to prevent us from entering into the fullness of God’s destiny for our lives! Scripture teaches us that no matter what circumstances we may face, God will make a way where there seems to be no way! The question is how we respond and perhaps our worst enemy is to do nothing because procrastination is the thief of time that leads to eternal forfeit.
