Genesis 25:21
“Isaac entreated God opposite his wife, because she was barren. God allowed Himself to be entreated by him and his wife Rebecca conceived.”
“Isaac entreated God opposite his wife, because she was barren. God allowed Himself to be entreated by him and his wife Rebecca conceived.”
Last week’s Torah reading ended by summing up the lives of our “royal” mother Sarah and our faithful father Abraham. We were told something unique and precious, we were given one tiny glance as it were, in to the relationship Isaac shared with his mother. The words that capture this relationship are both moving and striking. It also tells us about the beautiful woman who became his wife, our second mother Rebecca. Genesis 24:67 “And Isaac brought her in to the tent of Sarah his mother, his married Rebecca and she became his wife and he loved her and was comforted.
This week the relationship between Isaac and the woman he loved, continues to unfold before us and their example of equality is something we can pause at and bring in to our homes this Shabbat. I started off by quoting from Genesis 25, I used the original Hebrew text to show you something our English translations miss. In the Hebrew it says that Isaac entreated God, opposite his wife. The Hebrew word for entreat here, means abundance or excessive, implying that Isaac did not only pray for his wife but he prayed abundantly for her. He did not just clasp his hands together, bow his head hurriedly before grabbing the briefcase and heading out the door, mumbling off a heartfelt plea for her suffering. Instead, he devoted much time lovingly praying for her and guess what she was doing while he was praying? She was praying too! The Hebrew tells us that she was opposite him in prayer, the Jewish teacher Rashi stated that they prayed together in the same place, he in one corner of the room and she in another. I love the picture this paints for us in our own marriages today, one of truly loving and truly treasuring one another, it’s perhaps a telling scene that husbands can draw from and ask, how much time do I spend praying for my wife? What are her concerns? Is she suffering silently with something she is afraid to talk about; how can I pray for her?
In psychology we were always taught that women don’t want advice, while men want to fix, women just want to be comforted and heard. It’s hard but it’s true. We need to remember that Isaac and Rebecca were already married for 20 years at this stage and again this brave matriarch is barren. She desperately wanted a child and Isaac desperately want her to bare his children. So he bore her sufferings and with a heart of love he entreated Yahweh for his wife and what does the Torah tell us? It says that because of his prayers, Yahweh blessed them with an open womb. I don’t for one minute believe that Yahweh didn’t hear Rebecca’s prayers but perhaps it was a time for Isaac to learn the meaning of deep valuable love. The kind of love Yeshua has for us, is the kind of love Isaac learned for his own bride. Husbands, love your wives, just as Messiah loved the congregation and gave himself up for her to make her holy…, In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. (Ephesians 5: 25 – 28)
In traditional Judaism there is a beautiful ritual followed every Shabbat evening around the dinner table. It’s the ritual of blessing and I cannot express enough, the value of blessing one another. The husband blesses the wife and the wife blesses the husband and together they bless the children, usually with traditional Hebrew blessings and also with scripture. The usual scripture used to bless the wife is Proverbs 31, the warrior woman. This Shabbat I believe Yeshua wants us to turn and bless one another, singing the psalms over one another and blessing the faithful wife by your side. This week, make a new start and pray together, and recognise the silent sufferings of the woman in the home and lift her up before God, who knows perhaps that’s exactly what He’s waiting for before answering those prayers! He wants to see a man who has learned
to love, a selfless man who has learned to honour and lift her before God. Bless your wife and love her because she is worth it. Shabbat Shalom!
to love, a selfless man who has learned to honour and lift her before God. Bless your wife and love her because she is worth it. Shabbat Shalom!
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