Some thoughts about Rebekah

Just as Sarah is the ideal wife, the story about Rebekah in Genesis 24 shows what it means to be the ideal daughter.  She is fair and chaste (v 16), respectful (v 18) eager to serve and hardworking (v. 19-20).  She accepts the Lord's will and sacrifices her own (v. 58).  Later we see that she has her own faith enough to inquire of the Lord about her unborn children (25:22).  

So how do we reconcile her virtuousness with the story of her deceiving her husband to secure the birthright for Jacob? Every time I have studied this story in the past, study guides and Sunday School teachers have suggested that she did what she had to fulfill the revelation she received at the time the twins were born that "the elder shall serve the younger".  That never really set well with me.  Is deceiving your husband and including your son in that deceit ever a good idea?  One of my pod casts suggested another way to look at it.  Maybe Rebekah was trying to fulfill the prophecy given to her earlier, but she went about it the wrong way.  The result of her and her son's deception was a rift in the family, and Jacob's need to exile himself from his home for a long of time. Rebekah essentially lost her son, and Jacob, who participated in the deceit, ended up being the recipient of trickery, when Laban made him marry Leah first when he wanted Rachel. I kind of like the idea of this as a cautionary tale.  If you dish it, it comes back to you.

That being said, it is also a tale of redemption.  Yes, Esau wants to kill his brother, and Jacob has to flee to preserve his life, but it all works out in the end.  Jacob finds his true love in Haran, and gains an additional wife and many flocks in the process. Somehow the experience and time apart heals the family and Jacob and Esau are reconciled once Jacob returns. 

In some ways Rebekah reminds me of Eve.  Yes, she transgresses, and the transgression has immediate negative consequences, but the Lord is able to turn her transgression into something good.