Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“And the Lord said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, September 22, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Having one child in my womb was painful enough. Not my first born. But my second, my son, kicked and moved in ways that actually hurt me. He would plant his head down in the bottom of my pelvis, and his feet against my ribcage and stretch! Honestly, I was grateful when the kid was finally born!
Now imagine not just two children in your womb, but two nations, already at war before they are even born. Talk about a burden to bear! But Rebekah seems to have taken it in stride. She listened to God and internalized the message that the younger and weaker of the twins would eventually rule over the older and stronger one. She took it so to heart that, years later, when the boys had come of age, she orchestrated a great deception to ensure that what she had been told by God actually came to pass. Once again, Rebekah—while one might judge her for being manipulative and dishonest—is a willing instrument of God’s intentions, and faithfully does whatever is necessary to bring them about.
I wonder, though, whether it grieved her at all to know of the strife that would one day come between her children, to know that she would be forced to choose one over the other. As an expectant mother, I wanted only the best for my children. It would have saddened me to know in advance that they would hate each other or be pitted against one another in any way. To think that Rebekah didn’t have these feelings is to make her less human. So I, for one, believe that she did feel sorrow over the whole situation, even as she prepared to accept and even help it along.
Do all of my children or family members get along? How does family strife affect me in my life today?
![Jonah 1:1-17; 3:1-10 [4:1-11], Jonah and God’s Mercy](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/6bbb490e-4992-4659-a8be-02d8397d68af/24-11-10.jpg)
