What role does obedience play in Rebekah's actions in Genesis 27:17? Setting the scene • Genesis 27 opens with Isaac ready to bless Esau. • Rebekah overhears and recalls God’s earlier word: “the older will serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). • Verse 17 records her decisive step: “Then Rebekah took the delicious food and the bread she had made, and gave them to her son Jacob.” Obedience to God’s revealed promise • Rebekah’s primary allegiance is to the divine oracle spoken before the twins’ birth. • She acts because she believes God’s word must be fulfilled, even if her husband’s plan contradicts it. • Hebrews 11:20 notes that Isaac’s blessing stood as an act of faith; Rebekah’s maneuver ensured it aligned with God’s prophecy. Where obedience faltered • Obedience to God never cancels obedience to His moral commands: – “Do not lie to one another” (Colossians 3:9). – “Honor your father and mother” (Deuteronomy 5:16). • By plotting deception, Rebekah bypassed God-approved means, substituting human strategy for divine timing. • Romans 3:8 warns that good ends never justify sinful means. Lessons woven into Rebekah’s action • God’s plan will stand, yet our choices matter; flawed obedience carries painful fallout—family division, years of exile, and Jacob’s own experience of deceit (Genesis 29). • Trusting God’s timetable protects us from feeling we must “help” Him through compromise (Proverbs 3:5-6). • True obedience submits both to what God says and to how He says it should be brought about. Takeaways for today • Know God’s Word well enough to recognize His promises, but also His precepts. • Resist the urge to manipulate circumstances; wait for Him to open doors righteously. • When faced with conflicting loyalties, choose fidelity to Scripture without violating other commands. Rebekah’s gesture in Genesis 27:17 sprang from a heart convinced of God’s prophecy, yet her method shows how partial obedience can miss the mark. Complete obedience reveres both the destination and the path God sets before us. |
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