I think we can all agree that there are things in life that only ever become clear as we grow older. One of the things I realized as I have grown older has been the very real problem of infertility. Although I have never experienced it, I am now old enough that I have several friends who have.
Isaac and Rebekah faced this trial. Even though Isaac knew the story that was surrounding his own birth, it’s a completely different situation when he was the one going through it. Let’s take a look at Genesis 25 to see how this couple chose to approach this.
25:21 – Isaac’s response to Rebekah not being able to have children was to pray. Rebekah was childless, and through the years of marriage and being raised by Abraham, Isaac learned that the first response should always be prayer. The second part of the verse says that “the LORD was receptive of his prayer, and his wife Rebekah concieved.” (CSB) Although scripture doesn’t give a definitive time frame for how long Isaac prayed, or when God responded to the prayer, but we know that he did. God is faithful – we know this is true, but we can’t take this to mean we will always receive what we pray for.
In the case of both Abraham and Isaac, God had previously made a covenant with them that they will have many children – more than the stars of the sky – so Isaac knew that at some point he would have children with his wife. If you or someone you know is struggling with infertility, be sensitive to yourself and others. We aren’t Isaac and Rebekah or Abraham and Sarah. God’s promise of a line is unique to Abraham’s family, and isn’t meant to be applied to in a general sense.
Now we look to Rebekah. There is nothing in scripture to indicate that Rebekah ever concieved previously or that she had any miscarriages. When weblook at verse 22, I can only guess that she had to have been very uncomfortable and didn’t know what was going on – particularly since it sounds like those two babies were incredibly active. We notice something else about Rebekah: she went to find her answers by going to God.
We see for the first time a real look at one of the Hebrew matriarchs. God gives Rebekah a prophecy; He tells her that there are two nations in her womb, that they will grow to be two separate nations, and that the eldest child would come to serve the younger. When she gave birth, Rebekah had twins.
Esau is the first son to be born. Apparently, he was hairy and a red head. I imagine that Rebekah had quite the case of heartburn given all the hair Esau had.
Jacob was then born grasping the heal of Esau. Now, I don’t have children, so I don’t know if my thought here is correct, but I would think that pushing Jacob out would have been at least a bit easier since he was already holding the foot of his brother. His action of holding his brother’s foot is where the name Jacob came from – Jacob means heel or to follow, and later the name would become a associated with God protecting.
“Isaac was sixty years old when they were born” (Genesis 25:26b). Despite the time that he had to wait, the time that Rebekah had to wait, they did eventually have a family. They were faithful to the promise that God had given Abraham’s family.
Discussion Questions
- How are you living in faithfulness?
- What are you struggling with that you need to give to God?
- What do you needbto let go of because it is keeping you from being faithful?
Road Trippin With Rachael 
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