Scripture Reading: Genesis 25:19-21

“And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord let Himself be entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.” (Genesis 25: 21)

The Torah honours Ishmael as the firstborn son by giving his genealogy first. Now begins the history of Isaac.

Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban, the Aramean, to be his wife. That one verse alone (Genesis 25:20) gives us much information on the genealogy of Rebekah. Paddan-aram was in Mesopotamia.

For the first twenty years of their marriage Rebekah was barren. It seemed as though the spirit of barrenness that was in Sarah’s tent came on Rebekah when she moved into it. Later, her niece, Rachel (her brother, Laban’s daughter) would also suffer the curse of barrenness for many years.

Sometimes the spirits that torment and plague family members stay behind in the dwelling place, looking for someone else whom they can torment when the one they have possessed dies. That is why it is wise to cleanse a house room by room through prayer and exorcism when You move into it; and sometimes you may need to do it even if you only stay there overnight.

After twenty long years of waiting and hoping for a child, Isaac “entreated the Lord for his wife.”

It is the duty and responsibility of every husband to Pray for his wife’s healing when she is sick. He is the priest of the home and the head of the house. This not only brings honour to him, it brings responsibility.

Many men want to be the “boss” of the house. That is all wrong. It is not scriptural! There is a big difference between being the “boss” and being the “head, the father, the husband, the priest of the home.”

A “boss” rules through human authority and intimidation. A priest represents the Lord and leads through entreaties, intercession, God-given direction and wisdom.

If more husbands would fast and pray for their wives when they are sick they would have to pay fewer medical bills. God would get the honour, the devil would be put to flight, and the wife would know that she is cherished, which would help to bring healing.

Isaac prayed, and the Lord let Himself be entreated of him, and Rebekah, his wife conceived.

In the Beginning by Gwen Shaw
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