Tagged: rebekah
HELLO REBEKAH PART IV
Catch up: Hello Rebekah Part I, II, III.
Today I want to wrap up Hello Rebekah with Part IV.
Genesis 24 is a lengthy chapter. So much is going on.
I encourage you to read the entire chapter (here).
I particularly enjoy reading verse 28. I picture Rebekah grabbing her skirts in her hands and literally running home from the spring to tell her family the news. She probably picked up on the signs that this man was important and would bring a huge change to her life. I bet she even left the water jar behind forgetting the whole reason she went to the spring in the first place.
28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.
50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”
They immediately see God’s hand all over this story. God was clearly writing Isaac and Rebekah’s love story right before their eyes. How could they deny it? How could they reject the request? Rebekah was to be wed!
This automatically gives hope! God is the author! He wrote this story! He is writing my story! He is writing your story!
54… When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.” 55 But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you may go.” 56 But he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.”
There is a saying in Spanish, “Lo que ta pa ti, nadie te lo quita”… “Whatever is in store for you, no one can take it away”
I believe this is true! It’s funny how Rebekah’s family were happy to oblige the night before but in the morning light wanted to delay the process. Maybe they realized they may never see Rebekah again. Maybe they became hesitant. Maybe they just wanted to prepare her for what was to come. There is no way to know for sure. What I do know is that they wanted to delay the trip. They wanted to keep Rebekah from her destiny even if for 10 days. But so much could happen within 10 days and Abraham’s servant was wise enough to understand that. He said, ‘Oh, No!’ He insisted that they leave immediately to prevent any circumstances getting in the way of Rebekah leaving at all.
In the same way I believe that there may be people in my/your life who will unknowingly try to delay the process. Or maybe knowingly. Heck, it could even be me, myself making poor decisions and delaying my blessings all on my own. That sounds like bad news… but the good news is right behind it.
57 Then they said, “Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.” 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she said.
When God calls you. Because He WILL call you, be ready to say, “I will go.” Rebekah was, and she did. Because of her preparedness she was blessed.
59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the cities of their enemies.”
That is also my prayer for you! That as you and I work through our character defects we may be ready to accept God’s call. That as God calls us out into our mission field, we may respond with, “I will go.” And that as we go, we may be blessed beyond measures even our imaginations do not know.
The last couple of verses in Genesis 24 reveal Isaac and Rebekah’s first meeting. It’s truly romantic. Out of a movie if you will. Go read it for yourself (here)! But remember those verses were written as a result of Rebekah’s willingness.
Are you ready?
Are you willing?
God is writing your story. He is calling on you to go. How will you answer Him? My Prayer For You:
Jesus Christ, I thank you once more for Rebekah’s story. I truly love this story of destiny and God’s authority. I appreciate the fact that as you wrote Rebekah’s story, you can write mine as well. I pray for those reading this today wondering if you are writing their story. Those who are seeking their happy ending in you. Jesus please reveal to them sneak peeks of your plan. Help us become the people you designed us to be that we may be ready to accept your call. That we may not hesitate or delay the process but that we may be pure and generous as Rebekah was. That we may be bold and courageous to step out into the unknown wherever you may call us to. That as we chase you and listen for your voice we may answer you with, “I will go.” Thank you for your protection and covering over our lives. Be glorified through us at all times. We love you and need you! It’s in Jesus’ heavenly name that I pray, Amen!
Memory Verse: Genesis 24:58
Genesis 24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she said.
HELLO REBEKAH PART III
The past few weeks we’ve been learning about Rebekah, Milkah’s granddaughter.
Quick Review….
Week 1: I focused on the journey to her and how it relates to the man of your dreams.
Week 2: I discovered three of Rebekah’s character traits in Genesis 24:16 that we can all apply to our lives.
Week 3: I want to continue examining Rebekah’s character.
- Servant’s Heart… Rebekah was quick to help a stranger in need. She didn’t walk away and ignore him. I imagine her coming up from the spring with a mind full of desert thoughts not even noticing the man with a full caravan. Maybe he startled her with his approach knocking her out of her daze. Regardless of her daydreams she was “quick” to serve! I love it. To be honest, this convicts my heart. How often am I asked for a small favor and in my heart do not respond with a servant’s heart as Rebekah did?
The next verse blows me away even further.
19 After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.
Talk about a servant’s heart! Can I add a generous one, too? Let’s shed some perspective on this task Rebekah just volunteered herself for. In verse 10 we are told that Abraham’s servant loaded 10 camels to go on this trip. Ten, T-E-N, TEN!!!! How much does a camel drink? You best believe that I googled it! According to an article I found from National Geographic camels can drink up to 30 gallons of water in a span of 13 minutes.
So hold up! Rebekah drew enough water for the camels to drink their full. Let’s do some math. 10 camels, 30 gallons per camel, so Rebekah drew 10 x 30 gallons of water which equals 300 gallons of water. How long would that have taken?! How big was her jar?! Remember last week I mentioned her upper body strength… yeah, homegirl was STRONG!!!!
In verse 21 we learn that we are not the only ones peering into Rebekah’s heart. She is being observed by the stranger as well.
21 Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.
Bonus thought: Let’s be observant. Kindhearted like Rebekah and observant like Abraham’s servant. Sometimes it’s best to just sit back and watch someone’s character and decisions. Allow people to show what’s truly in their hearts before you allow them all the way in or make them privy to your secrets. Remember Proverbs 4:23, guard your heart.
22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. 23 Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.” 25 And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.”
Today I hope to encourage you to be generous and have a servant’s heart. It’s been said that giving is better than receiving and that you can’t receive with a closed fist.
Let’s be generous even when it’s uncomfortable. Let’s be generous even when it inconvenient. Let’s be generous because you never know what blessing God has waiting for you on the other side of that generosity. Like Rebekah we can be on the brink of greatness and all we need to do is respond with a generous heart.
My prayer for you:
Heavenly Father. You are the owner of all of the cattle on all of the hills. You created all that is in existence. Lord help us to remember that if you are kind to the birds of the sky how much more will you take care of us your children. I ask you to break all greed in our hearts that we may learn to be generous and servant-hearted. Help us remember that when we treat others with kindness and generosity it is as if we are doing the same to you. Please make us aware of when we are not being generous and give us the strength to surrender to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Memory Verse: Hebrews 13:2
Hebrews 13:2
HELLO REBEKAH PART II
If you didn’t get a chance to read Hello Rebekah Part I please check it out. I think you’ll find it to be encouraging and full of truth.
This week we get the chance to take a closer look at Rebekah herself. I hope that we can glean some traits of what a Godly woman looks like by studying Rebekah.
Previously we stopped with her arrival at the well and Abraham’s servant approaching her. I left out verse 16 last week on purpose, let’s pick up there now.
16 The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.
Already from this one verse I see three characteristics that can be applied to our lives no matter where we are in our walks.
- Very Beautiful… What are we doing to take care of our bodies? Beauty looks differently to everyone. There is no absolute when it comes to beauty. As children of the King of kings we are responsible to maintain healthy lifestyles. That includes eating the right things and limiting the wrong things. Notice I did not say eliminating the wrong things… let’s be real, I’m not going to stop eating cheese puffs, I just can’t eat them everyday. We also need to be conscious of our sleeping and skincare habits… I’m totally guilty of not getting enough sleep and not washing the makeup off my face before going to bed. Am I the only one?? Let’s not forget exercising! It’s so hard to get the momentum going but once you’re in, it could be the best stress reliever and empowering activity you have in your life. And remember your outer beauty is limited by your inner beauty. Make sure to work on your inner beauty as much or more than you do on your outer beauty. In Matthew 12:34 Jesus said “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Is your heart beautiful?
- A Virgin… In this day and age we are so bombarded with sex and sexual innuendos everywhere we look, making it more than challenging to escape the lustful propaganda.
- If you are a virgin protect your virginity with your life! Don’t throw your pearls to swine! (Matt 7:6)
- If you are no longer a virgin for reasons that were out of your control; understand that it was not your fault. Release the shame and guilt to Christ. Forgive. As hard as it may be, forgiveness is key. Forgive your perpetrator and forgive yourself. The enemy wants to keep you stuck in guilt and shame convincing you that you did something wrong. But you didn’t! Seek professional Christian help and allow Christ to bring healing to the hidden places of your heart. Psalm 147:3 promises that Jesus is ready to mend your broken heart and heal your wounds.
- If you do not fall into the first two categories know that I do not judge or condemn you! Jesus doesn’t either. Turn from your sin, confess it to Christ. Repent. Forgive yourself and start anew. For though your sins are red like scarlet Christ can wash them white as snow! Isaiah 1:18
- Purity of heart is where it all starts. It’s from our hearts that purity will flow. If we have lust within our hearts than we will act upon those lustful desires. We may pretend we have it under control and suppress it or hide it. But the truth will always come through. If we have lustful hearts no matter how much willpower we use eventually we won’t be strong enough to contain it any longer.
- Being pure of mind is a matter of our thoughts. What do we allow ourselves to think? What do we allow ourselves to watch, listen to and read. These factors influence our thought lives. We need to protect our minds and shield ourselves from taking in anything that can lead our thoughts to a lustful place. But when it happens, because we are human and it may very well be inevitable, we must capture those thoughts and submit them to the word of Christ. (2 Cor. 10:5)
Lately I’ve been learning that it’s not what I put into my heart but what comes out of it. Our heart is the spring and purity needs to start there in order to well up out of it and into the rest of our lives. Maintaining purity isn’t always about the willpower to say no in the heat of the moment. It’s about having a pure heart versus a sinful one. I know I’ve focused on lust while referring to purity but other conditions of the heart we should be aware of are: jealousy, envy, greed, hate, guilt and shame. A great resource to learn how to combat four of these heart poisons is Andy Stanley’s book Enemies of the Heart.
3. Hardworking… Rebekah is a working girl. Most of us are now-a-days. I don’t know about you but I have never filled a jar with water and carried it on my shoulder. I can’t even begin to imagine how much upper body strength this girl had to be able to do this manual labor. Ladies let’s be hardworking. Let’s be diligent in our work. Focused on being the best at what we do that Christ may be glorified through our work ethic. Verse 16 doesn’t give Rebekah justice as too how hardworking she is. Next week I want to dig a little deeper into the next few verses and talk about some more of the qualities Rebekah possesses that would look lovely on us.
My Prayer for You:
Dear Jesus I pray that you may shine your light into the depths of our hearts. I ask you to remove all darkness and impurity from within us my God, that we may lead pure lives. I ask you to reveal to us those areas in our hearts that need to be cleansed by your hand that we may be able to pray for those areas specifically. Thank you for hearing us and for sacrificing your own purity that we may be able to experience purity in you. Lord I pray for the readers who have suffered from any type of abuse. I ask you to mend their hearts and bind up their wounds. Please lead them to the right help where they can face their truths and find healing in you. Thank you because even in our darkest moments you are by our side. Thank you because you hear our prayers and act upon them. I ask that we may have the patience and courage to wait on your response. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Memory Verse: Psalm 51:10
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
|
If you enjoyed today’s post don’t forget to LIKE, TWEET and COMMENT below!!! I would love to connect with you on Instagram or Twitter as well. Click the icons and follow away!
|
|
HELLO REBEKAH PART I
Rebekah was sought out. A long journey was taken with the sole purpose of finding her.
In the same way, the man God has for your life will seek you out!
Personalize it and say it out loud.
The man God has for [MY] life will seek [ME] out!
Reread that!
Let it seep into your spirit. As a single woman of faith I know the struggle. The very real struggle. Every word of encouragement is a drop of water in the desert.
GOD HAS A GODLY MAN FOR YOU.
LET HIM SEEK YOU OUT!
7 he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.
I am believing with you single sister, that when God sends him He will send an angel before him to prepare the way. You are God’s daughter! You are his craftsmanship! He wants you to be paired with only someone who will value you and protect you as the masterpiece you were created you to be are!
11 He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.
The importance of being in the right place at the right time. Keep your commitments. This strikes so close to home. Just this week I was tempted to break a weekly commitment to attend an art exhibit. Mind you I really wanted to go to this exhibit’s opening reception and potentially meet an artist I’ve recently started following. Of course, the way things usually go… the event fell on the same night as my weekly small group. It could have been really easy to miss just one week. I would’ve be missing it for a fun and wholesome reason. I had to consider whether it was really worth me breaking my commitment. Couldn’t I just go to the exhibit on another night? Or maybe go after? I ended up keeping my commitment and going to the art exhibit afterwards. Everything worked out perfectly! I got my weekly dose of the word and encouragement that we all need AND I was able to go to the exhibit and meet my new favorite artist. Had I skipped out on my group I probably would have felt a little guilty and I know I wouldn’t have had the chance of making friends with some of the new members. Let’s be responsible with our commitments and God will reward us for our obedience.
Rebekah had no idea that Abraham’s servant was on his way to look for her. She was just going about her business. Doing the mundane tasks of fetching water from the well. But, let me not get ahead of myself.
12 Then he prayed,
God’s man for you will be a prayerful man! If he isn’t praying then guess what… HE ISN’T FOR YOU!!!
We don’t always want to accept it but it’s a safe guard…. don’t expose your spirit to be intertwined with a spirit that is not in communion with the LORD. I promise from personal experience it will only cause pain!
Sisters, let’s trust that God’s plan is bigger and better than what we can think up or imagine for ourselves. One way to show we are relying and trusting in the LORD is by staying away from men who are not up to His standards.
If you read the whole passage you’ll see that he didn’t just pray but he prayed a specific prayer. He asked God to make it obvious. I encourage you to do the same. Pray for specific signs and answers. Be open to receive God’s answers even if they aren’t what you may be hoping for.
15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder…
There she is! An answer to a prayer…. reminds me of Eve being an answer to Adam’s prayer.
17 The servant hurried to meet her and said…
I was once told that the right man will come to you with a plan.
If a guy is fluttering around your life but is indecisive and has no plan or interest in a plan RUN!!!! It’s so much easier said than done. But it is possible to run. I did! You can too!!!!
If you know what you want don’t hang around waiting for an “okay” guy to be all in. I had to make that decision recently. It was hard and it was painful. But it’s better to hurt for a little while and run away from the wrong guy than to attach yourself to the wrong guy and hurt for a lifetime.
Let’s learn from each other and take a preventative approach. Let’s prevent drama and pain by latching onto God’s promises in His word.
Memory Verse: Habakkuk 2:3
Habakkuk 2:3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
My Prayer for You:
Heavenly Father, I pray for every woman reading this post today. I ask you to cover them with a special protection. I pray that you may guide them to be where you want them to be at the exact time you need them to be there. I ask that you may put a sleeping beauty blessing over their passion that it may not be awakened before its time. I ask you Heavenly Father to please be with each and every single reader as they make important relationship decisions in their lives. Please help them RUN from sexual sin. Help them say NO to those who they know in the depths of their hearts are not healthy for them. Thank you for hearing our prayers and thank you for being with us while we navigate the journey you’ve designed for us. Grow our faith and trust in you that we may not lean on our own understanding. And please help us seek you with all of our hearts. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Please comment below and let me know if this post was inspiring, encouraging or helpful to you in any way! I would love to know how God is moving in your life through Superstarnat.com.
SUPERSTARNAT 