{"id":1023,"date":"2020-01-08T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nancylucenay.com\/staging\/8869\/?p=1023"},"modified":"2025-07-14T18:03:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T22:03:27","slug":"rebekah-is-it-ever-right-to-do-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nancylucenay.com\/staging\/8869\/rebekah-is-it-ever-right-to-do-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebekah ~ Is It Ever Right to Do Wrong?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cPastor, we must get Kai out of jail,\u201d the Business Administrator declared. Kai, the pastor of our Southeast Asia congregation, had run afoul of the law when he took the written driving test for one of his church members. His explanation? The man needed a driver\u2019s license so he could drive to work. He\u2019d failed the test twice and would lose his job if he didn\u2019t get a license. In the pastor\u2019s culture, the right thing to do was take the test for his parishioner so he\u2019d pass. Unfortunately, the Texas Department of Safety didn\u2019t agree. Definitions of right and wrong differ in cultures. For Kai, loyalty to his relationship trumped the Western value of truthfulness. Isaac and Rebekah also lived in a culture that measured what was right more by loyalty and honor than by the rule of law. We find their story in Genesis 25\u201428<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Ongoing Battle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When Rebekah was pregnant, she asked God about the battle in her belly. He responded:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older (literally: greater) will serve the younger (literally: lesser).<\/p>Genesis 25:23<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Although the English translation seems clear, the original Hebrew is ambiguous about which child would serve the other. What\u2019s obvious is that honor competition<\/a> would define the relationship. Isaac\u2019s preference for Esau and Rebekah\u2019s for Jacob added to the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once Jacob was cooking stew, and Esau came in famished. (25:29-34<\/a>) When Esau demanded a serving, Jacob seized the opportunity to negotiate for Esau\u2019s birthright. (Birthright: the right of the firstborn to a double share of his father\u2019s wealth) According to the author, \u201cEsau despised his birthright\u201d (25:34) when he elevated his physical comfort over his family responsibility. The original audience would have reacted with horror at the shame Esau brought on himself and his family. His decision to marry outside his clan (26:34<\/a>) further dishonored them. Was Jacob right and Esau wrong? Was the writer emphasizing Esau\u2019s unsuitability to receive the covenantal blessing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which Interpretation Is Right?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jacob wasn\u2019t content with the birthright; he also wanted the blessing. (Blessing: transfer of clan leadership to the next generation) Consider Rebekah\u2019s role in the scheme to ensure Jacob received Isaac\u2019s blessing (27:1\u201428:4<\/a>). Was she right or wrong?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebekah was right to deceive Isaac.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rebekah understood God\u2019s promise to mean Jacob would continue Abraham\u2019s mission; he should receive the covenantal blessing. As Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks<\/a> observed she knew that no one who despised his birthright could become \u201cthe trusted guardian of a covenant intended for eternity.\u201d The issue was more than family relationships; it was about God and the future of his chosen people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebekah was wrong to deceive Isaac.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to Richard L. Strauss<\/a>, if Rebekah believed God had chosen Jacob to carry on the covenant, she could\u2019ve sought God\u2019s direction and communicated that to Isaac. Instead, she resorted to treachery and deceit. Rebekah may have been more concerned about her will than God\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebekah and Isaac worked together to deceive Jacob.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi David J. Zucker<\/a> proposes that Isaac and Rebekah knew Esau was unfit, and Jacob should receive the blessing. But Jacob was too soft; he needed toughening. So, his parents made him think he was stealing the blessing. Scripture records no sign of tension between Isaac and Rebekah either before or after Isaac gave the blessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebekah misjudged Isaac.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Sacks also suggests that although Isaac loved Esau, he was blind neither to his firstborn\u2019s temperament nor God\u2019s choice of Jacob. Therefore, he prepared two blessings, one for each son. <\/p>\n\n\n\n