08/30/2026
So...we talked about Rebekah and now we need to talk about the part of her story where things get considerably more complicated because she goes from being the young woman casually hauling an absurd amount of water for a whole caravan of thirsty camels to standing outside a tent listening to Isaac tell Esau he plans to bless him and apparently thinking, Nope. Absolutely not. God said Jacob. Jacob, get over here. Somebody find me two goats. We are about to solve this problem in the most Genesis way possible.
Because if you just read Genesis 27, Rebekah does not exactly come out looking great. Isaac is old and his eyesight is failing, he tells Esau to go hunt some game and prepare his favorite food so he can bless him, Rebekah overhears the conversation, and instead of saying, "Hey Isaac, remember that thing God told me before these boys were born?" she immediately launches Operation Pretend Jacob Is Esau. She makes the food. She gets Esau's clothes. She puts goat skins on Jacob's hands and neck because apparently Esau was hairy enough that touching a goat and touching Esau produced roughly the same sensory experience, which is one of those Bible details I have questions about but will apparently have to wait until heaven to ask. Then Jacob walks in, lies to his blind father, receives the blessing, and the entire family basically explodes.
So...is Rebekah the villain?
Because here's the problem with making her the villain: Rebekah already knew Jacob was supposed to be the one.
Back in Genesis 25, before Jacob and Esau were even born, Rebekah was pregnant with twins who apparently decided her uterus was a wrestling arena, and she went to God asking what on earth was happening. God told her, "Two nations are in your womb," and then specifically said, "the older shall serve the younger." Genesis 25:23 ESV. Esau was the older. Jacob was the younger. Rebekah didn't invent the idea that Jacob would be the one through whom God's covenant promise continued. God told her that before either boy had taken his first breath.
Which makes the whole thing MUCH more complicated.
Because Isaac is preparing to bless Esau, and Rebekah knows what God said. So was she actually doing the right thing? Was she stepping in to make sure God's plan happened? Or was the problem that she believed God's promise but didn't quite trust God to accomplish it without her help?
Because God told Rebekah the outcome.
He did not tell her to get the goats.
There is no verse where God says, "Rebekah, the older will serve the younger, and when the time comes you will need stew, Esau's laundry, two young goats, and a husband with very poor eyesight."
That part was Rebekah.
And...ouch. Because it would be very convenient if this were simply an ancient problem involving birthrights and suspicious amounts of goat hair, except we do exactly the same thing. God says something. We trust Him. We pray about it. We wait approximately seventeen minutes. Things do not appear to be going according to the schedule we have created for God, and suddenly we're like, Okay, Lord, I know You created the universe and everything, but I have looked at this situation carefully and it appears You may need some assistance. Don't worry. I made a spreadsheet. I have three backup plans. I have already called two people. Also, apparently, I have acquired goats.
Maybe Rebekah's problem wasn't that she didn't believe God.
Maybe she believed what God said but didn't trust how God was going to accomplish it.
And THAT opens another enormous can of theological worms because if God already knew Jacob was going to receive the blessing, did Rebekah actually have a choice? Do any of us have a choice? If God knows everything that is going to happen tomorrow, including what I'm going to eat for breakfast, what stupid thing I'm going to do, what decision I'm going to make, and presumably exactly how many times I'm going to tell a calf to please stop doing whatever incredibly questionable thing she has decided to do...then do we actually have free will?
Welcome to one of the theological debates Christians have been discussing for centuries. Please take a number. Snacks are available in the lobby. We will probably still be discussing it when Jesus comes back.
The Bible gives us two truths that our brains desperately want to put into separate boxes: God is sovereign, AND humans make real choices for which we are responsible. Scripture doesn't seem nearly as uncomfortable holding those together as we are. God knew exactly what Rebekah would do. There was never a moment in heaven when God looked down, saw Jacob wearing goat skins, and said, "Well...that was unexpected." But knowing what someone will choose isn't necessarily the same thing as forcing them to choose it. God's knowledge is obviously infinitely beyond ours, but knowing an outcome doesn't automatically mean causing every decision that leads to it.
And Genesis makes that incredibly clear because everybody in this family is making choices. Isaac makes choices. Rebekah makes choices. Esau makes choices. Jacob makes choices. Some are faithful. Some are selfish. Some are deceptive. Some are downright bizarre. And somehow God's plan continues straight through this absolute family disaster.
That doesn't mean their bad choices suddenly became good because God used them. Joseph's brothers later sell Joseph into slavery, and Joseph eventually tells them, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good." Their decision was still evil. God was simply powerful enough to accomplish good through it anyway. Humans can make genuinely wrong decisions without ever putting God in a position where He's pacing heaven going, well, there goes My entire plan.
Which is why I don't think Rebekah fits neatly into the little box labeled "villain."
She was human.
She knew God's promise. She saw circumstances moving in what appeared to be the opposite direction. She panicked, took control, and decided God's promised outcome apparently required a little help from Rebekah's Catering and Goat Costume Services.
And the consequences were real. Esau wanted to kill Jacob. Jacob had to flee. Rebekah sent away the son she was desperately trying to protect, supposedly for only "a few days," and Scripture never actually records her seeing him again. Then Jacob ends up living with Laban, who takes deception to such an impressive level that Jacob finally gets to experience what it's like being on the receiving end.
And yet God's promise still stood.
Not because Rebekah manipulated everything perfectly. Not because Jacob deserved it. Definitely not because this family should have been teaching seminars on healthy communication.
Because God is faithful.
And maybe that's the part of Rebekah's story we need most.
God's sovereignty doesn't mean our choices don't matter, and our free will doesn't mean God's plan depends on us making every decision correctly. We can make terrible choices. We can hurt people. We can manipulate situations because we're convinced we know what God wants. We can try to force doors open because we're positive God wants us on the other side.
But we are also not powerful enough to accidentally derail God.
So maybe the question isn't just, "Did Rebekah do the right thing?"
Maybe the better question is, "Did Rebekah trust God's promise enough to trust God's process?"
Because sometimes faith means stepping forward when God tells us to move.
And sometimes faith means keeping our hands off the situation and trusting that the God who made the promise is perfectly capable of fulfilling it without our spreadsheet, our backup plan, our manipulation...
or our goats.
