Rebekah was a woman who wanted God’s will to prevail. She was married almost 20 years before
her sons Esau and Jacob were born. Her pregnancy must have been quite uncomfortable because
not only was she carrying twins, but they fought together even before birth (Gen. 25:22). Rebekah
asked the Lord about this and was told that there were two nations in her womb and the elder
would serve the younger, a reversal of the usual customs concerning the firstborn son.

Rebekah’s husband, Isaac, showed an interest in having God’s will for his family by praying
during the years of his wife’s infertility (Gen. 25:21) rather than trying to solve the problem on
his own by taking a second wife or a concubine as other men of that time did (Gen. 16:2). It is
probable that Rebekah told Isaac about God’s prophecy concerning her sons, but with the passage
of time Isaac apparently forgot about it. He developed a definite preference for Esau over Jacob,
and Rebekah was very aware of this. It was this or perhaps her knowledge of the usual customs
concerning firstborn sons that must have made her think there was no use in attempting to sway
Isaac’s decisions concerning his sons.

When Rebekah heard that Isaac definitely planned to give Esau the firstborn’s blessing, she
devised a plan to deceive Isaac into giving it to Jacob (Genesis 27). Although the plan was
successful in that Jacob received the blessing, both Rebekah and Jacob paid a high price for the
scheme. Jacob fled from his brother and Rebekah never saw her favorite son again. Furthermore,
Jacob, after he arrived in Haran, more than met his match in deception and trickery in the person
of his Uncle Laban.

It seems that Rebekah wanted God’s will to prevail over Isaac’s, though that motive may have
been mixed with the desire to promote the interests of her favorite son. Surely it would have been
better for her to have reminded Isaac of God’s prophecy to her and then to have trusted the LORD
to work out His will by influencing Isaac’s behavior rather than trying to work out the prophecy
by her own manipulations. God is not dependent on us (either our good or our bad behavior) to
work out His plans.

Rebekah’s behavior is an example of the deviousness which many women use to manipulate their
husbands or other men, and which men so dislike in women. Men often use aggressive
confrontation to persuade women or other men to give them what they want. Women, perhaps
because they have been taught that open confrontation is unsuitable for women, will often resort
to some form of deceit to obtain their desires.

(I speak of what seems to be general tendencies of natural, sinful men and women. There are
women who use aggressive confrontation to persuade men; and there are men who use the words,
"I love you," or some other "line" to persuade a woman to do something she would not otherwise
do.)

Whatever the provocation or circumstances may be, women (and men as well) should be totally
straightforward and honest in their relationships with their spouses, their friends, and all others.
God has called us to such honesty:

" Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds" (Col. 3:9).

"Let love be without [ hypocrisy]" (Rom. 12:9).

"Let us walk honestly, as in the day" (Rom. 13:13).

"I pray … that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ" (Phil. 1:10).