Day 12: Isaac and Rebekah

Genesis 24:1-67 Wishing to avoid intermarriage with the local Canaanites and the resulting assimilation with the PAGAN CULTURE, Abraham sent his chief servant to Mesopotamia to find a wife for his son, Isaac. Marriages often were arranged between the heads of households. The Providential hand of God is clear throughout the narrative. (CCC 303, 1633-1637)

Gen 24:2 Put your hand under my thigh: The servant carries out this particularly firm oath with extraordinary faith and trust, very much in the model of Abraham himself. An oath can be undertaken only for serious matters and with firm intent and purpose. Breaking an oath is the SIN OF PERJURY. (CCC 2149-1255)


Gen 24:55-59 Even in arranged marriages, the daughter had the option of remaining with her own family for a while. By not exercising this option and leaving her home with the servant, Rebekah showed her ardent desire to FULFILL GOD’S WILL. (CCC 64)


Gen 24:63 Went out to meditate: Meditation is prayer that seeks to understand the meaning of GOD’S REVELATION AND HIS WILL; connected to meditation is a humble plea for strength to FULFILL God’s will. Christians are called to meditate habitually on the Word of God. (CCC 2705-2708)


Job 13:1-28 As Job continued, he framed his argument almost as if he were in a court of law. He and his opponents presented their cases before God. If Job was guilty of something deserving such punishment, he wanted to know the precise charges.


Ch 14:1-22 Every human person-EXCEPT MARY IN HER IMMACULATE CONCEPTION-suffers from a wounded nature due to Original Sin. This fallen nature is exhibited by passions and appetites that are difficult to control; furthermore, every person is prone to sickness, disease, and hardship. Job expressed hope that God would purify and renew the human condition after death. Job’s situation and words beg the question of the redemptive value of suffering. (CCC 618, 1264, 1502, 2515)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)





Prayer by Fr. Mike: "God in Heaven, we thank you so much for your Word. We thank you for sharing your heart with us through your Scripture and we ask that you please help us always to see with your eyes, to love always with your heart. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen." 

ANDREW'S PARALLELS

What would the story of Isaac and Rebekah share in common with Jesus and the Church?  Quite a bit actually!

Another Matriarch of the Old Testament bears resemblance to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the following chapters, we will see Rebekah fall, choosing to take matters into her own hands, instead of trusting in God's plan. It is there that Mary is set apart, putting her trust in God, "Let it be to me according to your word."