Amazing Facts About Rebekah from the Bible Part 3: Arising to His Call

Discipline is the wholehearted yes to the call of God. When I know myself called, summoned, addressed, taken possession of, known, acted upon, I have heard the Master. I put myself gladly, fully, and forever at his disposal, and to whatever He says my answer is yes.

Elisabeth Elliot

Arise

God had orchestrated a beautiful love story between Isaac and Rebekah from the Bible. But it could not have occurred if it were not for Rebekah’s sacrificial surrender to God’s will. In a day’s notice, she had arisen to answer the call of God upon her life, and in obedience she left everything behind to fulfill her destiny to be one of the matriarchs of God’s people.

Rebekah’s story is our story. The Lover and Savior of our souls have chosen us and has gone to great lengths to pursue us. He lavished us with redemption and the forgiveness of sins through His blood like the adorning of costly jewels.¹ And like Rebekah who was asked if she would be willing to abandon all to follow the man, His call upon our lives is the same. Will we arise, surrender all, and come away with Him?

5 Important Key Points We Can Learn from Rebekah’s Story

In this study of Isaac and Rebekah’s story, there are 5 key points we can learn that made her divinely arranged marriage successful:

1. Abraham played an active role in his son Isaac’s marriage.
2. Isaac trusted in God and in his father’s counsel to find the right woman in the right time.
3. Rebekah surrendered her life and trusted God’s plan.
4. Rebekah was not a perfect wife.
5. Isaac remained faithful.

In my last blog, I wrote about the first two points. Here are the next two.

3. Rebekah surrendered her life and trusted God’s plan

But Rebekah's brother and mother said, "Let the girl stay with us a few days - at least ten; then she may go." But Eliezer said to them "Don't delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away, so that I may go back to my master." And they said, "We will call the girl and ask her what she prefers." So they called Rebekah and said, "will you go with this man?" And she answered, "I will go." (Genesis 24:55-58)

Rebekah became engaged overnight. The next day, she was to leave behind everyone and everything she knew for a place that was completely unfamiliar to her. And she was to be united in marriage to a man she never met. She had a chance to stay and linger for 10 days. The people in her family let her have the final say whether she wanted to go or not. This marriage was not something planned against her will. Her reply was an inspiring demonstration of her trust and surrender to the King of all Kings:

I will go.

In his online Bible commentary, David Guzik wrote:

Rebekah showed a remarkable willingness to leave everything she knew in order to be with a bridegroom she had never seen. Her words "I will go" were worthy of words of faith.2

I didn’t fully grasp the extent of her courage and surrender until we had to leave family behind in order to follow God’s call on our lives. Saying good bye to our loved ones and moving more than 2,400 miles away to a place where we didn’t know a soul were the hardest things we’ve ever done (read about our move here).

What made Rebekah truly a noteworthy character in the Bible was her willingness to give up her life as she knew it in a day’s notice (Genesis 24:54).

Genesis 24:61 reads:

Then Rebekah and her attendants stood, and they mounted camels and followed the man. (AMP, emphasis added)

According to the Amplified Holy Bible, the “Hebrew verb ‘to stand’ or ‘arise’ is often used as an instruction to prepare to fulfill a command, somewhat similar to the military command ‘attention.'” It is the same word used when God called upon Joshua to rise up to take a position of leadership after the death of Moses (Joshua 1:2).³In other words, Rebekah heard the call of her King, and with the heart of a soldier awaiting her Master’s command, she willingly gave up all to arise to His call.

And through her acquiescense, God orchestrated her marriage to Isaac – a match made in heaven – and her destiny to become one of the matriarchs of the faith.

Heroes of Faith

A real life example of a hero of faith is Betty Stam who arose along with her husband to become martyrs in China. Her life was surrendered to her King long before. At age 18, she wrote a prayer that would later impact thousands:

Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all, utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt. And Workout Thy whole will in my life at any cost now and forever. Amen.

Another modern hero hits closer to home. Katie Davis was a 19-year-old young woman from Franklin, TN when she arose to follow God’s call upon her life. After experiencing a stint in Uganda caring for orphans, she returned to the States completely changed. She wrote in her book:

But after that year, which I spent in Uganda, returning to "normal" wasn't possible. I had seen what life was about and I could not pretend I didn't know. So I quit my life again, and for good this time.4

Davis returned to Uganda for good. She later became the mother of 14 adopted orphaned young girls at age 19 and the founder of the Amazima Ministries.

4. Rebekah was not a perfect wife.

"So now, my son, listen to me and do exactly as I command you. Go now to the flock and bring me two good and suitable young goats, and I will make them into a savory dish for your father, the kind he loves. Then you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before his death." (Genesis 27:8-10)

Upon conception of her twin sons, God gave her a prophecy that her younger son will serve the older (Genesis 25:23). Years later, when she overheard her husband planning to bless Esau her eldest, she plotted with her favorite son Jacob to deceive his aging father and steal the blessing for himself. Instead of trusting in God’s timing, Rebekah may have felt the need to take matters into her own hands that the prophecy may be fulfilled. She resorted to trickery. The consequences of her actions were tragic. Jacob had to flee to the home country of his relative to avoid Esau’s wrath, and she never saw her favorite son again.⁵

Rebekah was not perfect. Neither was Isaac. They both made the mistake of playing favorites over their sons. Rebekah wielded deception and manipulation trying to forge a prosperous future for her favorite son in her own strength.

When we enter into a marriage covenant, no matter how beautiful the God-scripted love story may be, we must not assume that God will provide us a perfect spouse. Because there is no such thing as a perfect spouse. You marry a sinner. He marries a sinner. Acknowledging our own imperfections and choosing to love our spouse unconditionally can keep us from nagging and placing unhealthy pressure on our spouse to be that perfect person we want him to be.

Instead we look to Christ who is our All in all (Ephesians 1:22-23) to meet our deepest needs. Then we are free to love and serve our spouse. Author and speaker Leslie Ludy* once said:

Marriage is an opportunity to serve another life.⁶

What is Your Story?

So let me turn the question to you. Will you go? Will you surrender all to meet your Savior who is your heavenly Bridegroom? You must begin by choosing to pursue Him with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Is He asking you to put away distractions so He can be your number one priority? Is He asking you to walk away from an ungodly relationship? Could it be that He’s calling you to a season of singleness so you can seek and serve Him better? Is He asking you to lay down your desire for a prestigious career and your own plans for the future? Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers of all time said this:

Jesus said, "Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away." He asked you to come our from the world and be separate and touch not the unclean thing. Come altogether away from selfishness, from anything that would divide your chaste and pure love to Christ, your soul's husband. Come away from your old habits, leave all these things. Come away to private communion. Come away and shut the doors of your chamber and talk with your Lord Jesus, and have close and intimate dealing with Him. Come altogether away from the world by making your dedication to Christ perfect, complete, unreserved, sincere, and spotless.6

If there are things in your life that are hindering you from seeking Jesus with all your heart, then it is necessary for you to come away from those things by God’s grace. Begin by asking Him to give you the strength to follow Him! And trust God with your life and your love story. He has far greater plans for you than you can have for yourself. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not evil, to give you a future and a hope.'”

Ludy went on to say:

I experienced a love story that was so far beyond anything I could have ever dreamed or imagined, but it only happened when He was in control and when He held that Pen.⁶

An Imperfect Story

I briefly shared the beginning of my love story in my last blog. I share my story now not as one who has followed everything perfectly but as one who has stumbled many times over. Please keep in mind that my husband and I began our relationship without the proper understanding of God’s direction and His desire for purity. But we can both attest to the redemptive power of the Cross to redeem a love story that was improperly written by imperfect people instead of the Author of Romance. And that is why I share my story that others might have hope.

Becoming Acquainted

Michael’s amiable sense of humor made conversing with him pleasant. We’d been paired up a number of times in Spanish class to work on class assignments, and I immediately felt comfortable to be myself. I felt that our personalities synchronized well, and I was put at ease when I was around him. Then a change in the class seating arrangement moved us apart. Although we also shared the same 4th period English class, it would be some time before we would reconnect again.

A hectic but memorable competitive season of cheer went by. I was spending hours with friends and teammates who did not have the best influence on me. Instead of having a healthy focus on Jesus, I’m grieved to admit that my heart was drawn to distractions, and I was swept away with the typical social life of a senior in high school.

Nationals in Anaheim, CA came and went. Although I carried a morose attitude toward the ending of the season, and therefore, my distracting social life, a new season of quietude ushered in. I found time again for journaling and reflection.

Connections

Track season had started, and wanting to stay in shape, I decided to train with the long distance runners. Being ignorant over the importance of having good running shoes, I found myself crippled with a painful case of shin splints after a long and intense endurance training. The next day at practice, the long distance runners broke away from the main group to train on the trails. I stayed behind with the injured runners dejectedly. Epic Fail.

There was one person from among the group I noticed who remained optimistic in spite of her injury. A social butterfly flitted from one person to the next, giving them encouragement. She approached me warmly and asked about my disability. I came to know her as Joan^*, a bubbly and favorable freshman, but her age didn’t stop her from befriending the upperclassmen.

“Do you know a Michael Burnett?” she asked me one day upon learning I was a senior.

I blinked and searched my memory bank. “Umm… oh yeah, I know him! He’s in a couple of my classes!”

“He’s my brother!” She confessed proudly.

Surprised, I didn’t see the resemblance. Joan was brown-eyed and a charming brunette with perfectly tanned skin. Michael was opposite in color and complexion. “I never would’ve guessed that!” I admitted.

“You have to get to know him!” she advocated. “He’s the family clown, and he’s REALLY buff! He can run up a wall and do a back flip!” Jogging my memory, I reflected back to the beginning of the school year when we first met. Apparently, he had plenty of impressive qualities I still had to learn about.

Sitting in the middle of 4th period one day, I casually overarched in a stretch and laid my head on my friend’s desk behind me like I’ve always done. After feeling a good stretch in my back, I opened my eyes to find it wasn’t my friend who was usually sitting behind me. Michael sat in the seat, looking at me confused. I spoke a quick and meek “Hi!” and tried to play it cool. I sat upright trying to hide the blush on my face.

Somehow, that awkward moment opened up the opportunity to reconnect again and our acquaintance continued. Casually mingling at the corner of the classroom one day while our teacher unmindfully attended to her work on her desk, Michael’s buddy randomly asked, “How old are you?”

With my birthday just passing a couple months ago I said, “I’m 18.”

I had gotten a completely new hairdo with red highlights for a birthday present. Walking into 4th period the next day, Michael was quick to turn his gaze towards me. “Hey, I like your hair!” he complimented.

I blushed inwardly. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Michael had already developed an attraction towards me. He had learned from a friend’s connection regarding my family’s restriction on dating until my 18th birthday. He employed the help of his friend to learn my age. Once he realized the restriction had lifted and I had debuted into the dating scene, he planned his next move before anyone else could.

To be continued…

Read the rest of our story here.

NOTES

¹ Ephesians 1:5-8; Ezekiel 16:11-13

² Guzik, David. “Genesis 24 – A Bride for Isaac”. Enduring Word Commentary. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/genesis-24/. Accessed 29 May, 2022.

³ Lockman Foundation. Amplified Holy Bible. Zondervan. La Habra, 2015.

⁴ Davis, Katie. Kisses from Katie. Clark, Beth. Howard Books, 2011.

⁵ Genesis 28:10 (AMP)

⁶ Ludy, Leslie. “The Secret to an Amazing Love Story.” Set Apart Girl. https://www.setapart.online/products/online-mentoring-program/categories/3402474. Accessed 29 May, 2022.

*I highly recommend Eric and Leslie Ludy’s book about their love story When Dreams Come True.

*This person’s name has been change for her protection and privacy.