A Mother's Influence
"And his mother said unto him, 'Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.'"
Genesis 27: 13
King James Version
EXPLORATION
"A Mother's Influence"
Rebekah's Impression on Her Children
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"If you've ever had a mother and if she's given you and meant to you all the things you care for most, you never get over it."
Anne Sedgwick
What influence has my mother had upon my life?
Have my decisions in life been affected by my mother, and if so, how and in what ways?
"You have omitted to mention the greatest of my teachers – my mother."
(Spoken by Winston Churchill
on being asked to check a list
of those who had taught him.)
INSPIRATION
"You don't raise heroes, you raise sons (and daughters). And if you treat them like sons (and daughters), they'll turn out to be heroes."
Walter Schirra
The other evening I was watching a news program and the host was discussing the sad state of the lives of some of the young women in Hollywood. On the panel, which was giving advice and commentary, was a well-respected female counselor. After several minutes of back and forth discussion, in an almost exasperated tone she interrupted and said; "I have only one question – where are these girls' mothers?"
A simple, direct and well-founded question. For I can assure you, when I was growing up, I could count on the fact that one of my mother's eyes was on me and the other on my sister. I'll never forget one time deciding I'd like to wear white lipstick and "rat" my hair. To put it bluntly, this notion was promptly vetoed by my mom. Let's see if I can remember her exact words: "No daughter of mine is going outside the house looking like that – period!" Seems her words made an impression on me for I still remember them.
I know for a fact there are children, young people and adults throughout history whose lives have not only been impacted by their mothers but molded by their mothers.
In our story today, we find that chapter 26: 34,35 (K.J.V.) of Genesis ends with this sad revelation, "And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah."
Before we condemn Esau, let's remember, his family tree was littered with men who had disobeyed God and decided that one wife wasn't enough. What's more, his grandfather, Abraham, God's chosen "father of a great nation," took Hagar, an Egyptian slave girl, as his "womb for rent." To get all over Esau, who had a family history of individuals following their own paths and doing their own things, would be very hypocritical. But there's even more to this story. I wonder, if Isaac and Rebekah had not lived in a "divided" home where dad had his favorite and mom had hers, would Esau's choice of wives been different? Think about this idea for a moment. It had to have been noticed by Esau that his mother preferred the company of Jacob over his own company.
When we go back to Genesis in the Garden of Eden and we find that God said, "It is not good that man should be alone," perhaps it was quite possible that Esau felt a great loneliness because of his mother's attachment to Jacob. And I ask myself, did this aloneness lead Esau to seek solace in the arms of women in the country where he lived? It is possible. We can only wonder what might have transpired had Rebekah treated Esau differently.
Jacob, on the other hand, found himself so favored by his mother, that when Isaac became elderly and the time for bestowing the parental blessing on the eldest child came to pass, Rebekah, so certain that Jacob should receive this heavenly honor, cooked up a devious scheme to insure her favorite son received the blessing – even if it were given by fraudulent means.
Favoritism, deceit, lying, and treachery were the seeds sown by this mother who thought she was only trying to help God fulfill the promise He had made to her before the twins were born. How tragic that history had not taught Rebekah that "waiting" for God to do things in His way and on His timetable was the only true way to harmony and joy.
Tomorrow, we'll look at the consequences of Rebekah's decisions and actions, for all our behavior plants seeds and sometimes the harvest is grievous. But lest you feel all was lost, God again took a human mess and turned it into a heavenly blessing.
A Parent's Blessing
"Your spontaneous joy of life
fills my heart with joy.
Your passionate love of life
pierces my heart with love.
Your wide-eyed wonder in life
opens my heart to wonder.
The music of your living
makes my heart sing.
You show me
what I must become.
You are my cherished child,
my heavenly gift and blessing.
May God bless you, my angel,
my darling one."
Susan Hardwick
England
AFFIRMATION
Tribute To A Mother
"Faith that withstood the shocks
of toil and time;
Hope that defied despair;
Patience that conquered care;
And loyalty, whose courage
was sublime;
The great deep heart that was
a home for all –
just, eloquent, and strong
In protest against wrong;
Wide charity, that knew no sin, no fall
The Spartan spirit that made
life so grand,
Mating poor daily needs
With high, heroic deeds,
That wrested happiness from
Fate's hard hand."
Louisa May Alcott
Your friend;
Dorothy Valcarcel, Author
When A Woman Meets Jesus
Dorothy@TransformationGarden.com
