4 Lessons From the Life of Rebecca

According to 2nd Timothy 3:16, we read that the scriptures were written for doctrine, reproof, corrections and instructions in righteousness. This proves that every character mentioned in the Holy Bible is worth studying and learning from. In this article, we shall examine the life of Rebecca, whom Isaac loved and married. As one from many Bible character worth learning from, her personality was one to love and learn from due to certain decisions she made at different points in her life. Here are some major lessons we can learn from Rebecca.

1. Rebecca was Virtuous, Polite and kept her Virginity till Marriage

The Bible in Genesis 24:15-18 aptly describes the kind of person Rebecca was. Here, we see that just before the servant had finished praying, he saw the young woman, Rebecca, coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. As described, Rebeccaa was very beautiful, old and ripe enough to be married, and at the same time, she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again. Then the servant ran to her, asking that she gives him a little drink of water from her jug. Again, Rebecca respectfully calls him "my lord" and served him a drink.

Abraham's servant was not a known person to her but she was able to exhibit basic courtesy to this stranger. This tells a lot to us as believers that we must learn to honour all men no matter who they are, how they look or how frequently we have met them. From the quoted verses, it can also be noticed that the Bible says Rebecca was very beautiful, was old enough to marry but was still a virgin. In the world today, keeping a man or woman's purity till marriage is seen as absurd, however, we can boldly learn from Rebecca that it's not absurd at all and it is in fact, the real deal.

 

2. She was a Source of Comfort to her Spouse

In Genesis 24:67, we read that Isaac brought Rebecca into his mother, Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother. As a wife, she was able to comfort her husband in his time of grief. This is an example to believers that one must radiate comfort wherever one might be. As a believer, let the peace of Christ you have within you spread so much that mere talking with you relieves people of their stress and brings comfort to their dead minds.

3. She always Inquired of God

Rebecca's case was not that "serious" but she had learnt from being under her father-in-law's tutelage to seek the Lord first at all times. We read again in Genesis 25:22 that when the two children struggled with each other in her womb, she went to seek the face of the Lord about it, asking why that was happening to her. It is by making this inquiry that she got her answers. She never assumed it was just a "normal natal reaction". This shows every believer that we must learn to inquire of the Lord in prayers. We must pray the prayer of inquiry as to why certain situations are happening or why some things are looking the way they are present. We must always be conscious of the fact that there is a higher environment that controls our physical environment so nothing "just happens". As believers, we must be watchful and prayerful, ready to go to the Lord and seek answers from Him every time

Read: 5 Lessons from the life of Joel

4. She was a very Loving Mother

Rebecca loved her son so much that she could go to any length for her beloved child. This went as far as carrying a curse if need be as we see in Genesis 27:13. In this verse, Jacob's mother outrightly said that the curse should fall on her while asking her son to do what she ordered him to.

We might feel she had gone too far with her behaviour here of spoiling Jacob, however, we also learnt the love of a parent from her here. We see the love of motherhood being showcased here. The lesson derived here is being able to stand firm with our children and brothers in Christ even when it seems like the devil is out to get us. We are no more under the curse of the law so no curse has an effect on our lives but, as Christians, how we react towards our brethren in Christ when they need us most matters. We must inculcate Rebecca's attitude by letting their woes be ours and letting their struggles be ours too. This way, the unity in Christ's body is kept firm.