God Answers Our Questions.

Isaac married Rebekah but she couldn't get pregnant so they prayed and God gave her not one, but two babies in her pregnancy. But Rebekah had trouble as the babies grew:

"The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD."

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

When Rebekah conceived, the children struggled together in her womb. In this she saw an evil omen, that the pregnancy so long desired and entreated of Jehovah would bring misfortune, and that the fruit of her womb might not after all secure the blessing of the divine promise; so that in intense excitement she cried out, "If it be so, wherefore am I?" i.e., why am I alive? cf. Genesis 27:46. But she sought counsel from God: she went to inquire of Jehovah. Where and how she looked for a divine revelation in the matter, is not recorded, and therefore cannot be determined with certainty. Some suppose that it was by prayer and sacrifice at a place dedicated to Jehovah. Others imagine that she applied to a prophet - to Abraham, Melchizedek, or Shem (Luther); a frequent custom in Israel afterwards (1 Samuel 9:9), but not probable in the patriarchal age.

"The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."

Genesis 25:23

Thus she gave birth to twins: Jacob and Esau. This was twenty years after she had married. It was a long wait, but God did give the couple the children they wanted. Not only that, when Rebekah was upset and confused, she went to God and asked Him what was wrong. He answered her - how we are not told. But I know in my own life, when there is something I don't understand and ask God to explain things to me, he always does; one way or another. :)

I'm so glad we have such a wonderful God to go to when we are confused.

Why was Abraham Tested?

In Genesis 22 we learn that God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son as an offering to Himself. God had no intention of allowing Abraham to do this - it was a test of his trust in God. When the time came and Isaac was on the alter, God said,

"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

The commentaries say the words, "Now I know," could be interpreted, "I have made known." Because God already knew what Abraham would do. 

 Saadiah Gaon (i) interprets it, "I have made known", that is, to others; God by trying Abraham made it manifest to others, to all the world, to all that should hear of or read this account of things, that he was a man that feared God, loved him, believed in him, and obeyed him, of which this instance is a full and convincing proof:

http://bible.cc/genesis/22-12.htm

Testing comes to all of us Christians. There are many writings on this in the Bible. Peter has this to say:

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 1:6-7

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

That it is desirable that the faith of Christians should be tried:

(a) It is desirable to know whether that which appears to be religion is genuine, as it is desirable to know whether that which appears to be gold is genuine. To gold we apply the action of intense heat, that we may know whether it is what it appears to be; and as religion is of more value than gold, so it is more desirable that it should be subjected to the proper tests, that its nature may be ascertained. There is much which appears to be gold, which is of no value, as there is much which appears to be religion, which is of no value. The one is worth no more than the other, unless it is genuine.

(b) It is desirable in order to show its true value. It is of great importance to know what that which is claimed to be gold is worth for the purposes to which gold is usually applied; and so it is in regard to religion. Religion claims to be of more value to man than anything else. It asserts its power to do that for the intellect and the heart which nothing else can do; to impart consolation in the various trials of life which nothing else can impart; and to give a support which nothing else can on the bed of death. It is very desirable, therefore, that in these various situations it should show its power; that is, that its friends should be in these various conditions, in order that they may illustrate the true value of religion.

(c) It is desirable that true religion should be separated from all alloy. There is often much alloy in gold, and it is desirable that it should be separated from it, in order that it may be pure. So it is in religion. It is often combined with much that is unholy and impure; much that dims its lustre and mars its beauty; much that prevents its producing the effect which it would otherwise produce. Gold is, indeed, often better, for some purposes, for having some alloy mixed with it; but not so with religion. It is never better for having a little pride, or vanity, or selfishness, or meanness, or worldliness, or sensuality mingled with it; and that which will remove these things from our religion will be a favor to us.

II. God takes various methods of trying his people, with a design to test the value of their piety, and to separate it from all impure mixtures:

(1) He tries his people by prosperity - often as decisive a test of piety as can be applied to it. There is much pretended piety, which will bear adversity, but which will not bear prosperity. The piety of a man is decisively tested by popularity; by the flatteries of the world; by a sudden increase of property; and in such circumstances it is often conclusively shown that there is no true religion in the soul.

continued...http://bible.cc/1_peter/1-7.htm

For myself, I would say my faith was tested when my daughter Sandy gave birth. She suffered terribly for 27 hours, and as I watched her I thought of all the women through the ages who had died this way - giving birth, and it made me very angry at God. I failed this test of my faith. I was angry for years at the suffering God allowed to everyone. After awhile I told God I was tired of being angry at Him and wanted to come back and I read many books on suffering and why God allowed it.

Years later, my daughter Christine suffered terribly from a medical ailment. She almost died. By then I had learned to trust God. I gave her to Him and did not get angry about her suffering. I also felt no anger when my grandson died. This is what God will do for us and I am thankful to Him. If you have trouble in this area, ask God to help you to accept life as it is and not to struggle against it. Ask Him for strength to bear whatever it is that is hurting your heart and He will give it to you.

Wait For the Lord.

Isaac and Rebekah asked God for children, and when Rebekah was pregnant she felt the babies move so much that she asked God what was happening. God told her she would give birth to two nations. He also said, "The older shall serve the younger."

Esau and then Jacob were born to Rebekah. The Bible records, "Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob." It is never a good thing to love one child over another. This was perhaps the beginning of the trouble in this household.

In those days the oldest son received the greatest share of property and also became the spiritual head of the house. Esau, as the oldest, was the one to whom these blessing would go. But Esau had sold his birthright blessing to Jacob in exchange for food. Jacob also wanted the spiritual blessing.

When Isaac was ready to give this blessing, Rebekah decided to trick him into giving the blessing to Jacob. Isaac had asked Esau to go hunt game for him and make him a meal, so Rebekah did this quickly and sent Jacob into the tent. Jacob lied and said he was Esau. Isaac believed him and spoke the blessing over him. When Esau came in later Isaac said, "Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I
ate of it all before you came and I blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed."

Esau was furious and decided he would kill Jacob after their father was dead. Rebekah heard of his plan and sent Jacob away to stay with her brother.

Jacob and Rebekah believed it was God's will for Jacob to be the head of the family, and they were right. But they didn't wait for God to do this himself. They cooked up a plan of their own which separated them for the rest of their lives. They never saw each other again.

Waiting for God is a testing time. He does not want us to force issues, lie to people, or hurry things along with our own big ideas. Abraham was to wait patiently for a son, he did not do this and it caused heartache and pain. Rebekah and Jacob did not wait patiently either; this resulted in the fracture of a family and great sorrow.

"Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:14

Should We Ask For Signs From God?

When Abraham's son, Isaac, became a man, Abraham sent his servant to his family in a far off land. He wanted Isaac to marry a girl who knew about God. He didn't want him to marry a girl from the Caananites, for these people worshiped idols which had human sacrifices.
His servant went to Nahor and came to the well. He prayed to God and asked him for a sign so he could find Abraham's family and a girl for Isaac. Immediately, God gave him a sign and the servant found Rebekah. He now knew where to go and what to do.

I once asked God for a sign. At the time, I was living in Vancouver babysitting my grandsons. They had grown now to the age of 12 and 13. They no longer needed me after school. But my daughter in Kelowna did need me. She wanted to go back to work part-time and needed a sitter for her young children. The problem was my husband had a good job in Vancouver and was going to be promoted. His salary would be quite large and it was a job he wanted.

We didn't know what God wanted us to do. It was such an important decision that I told my husband we wouldn't go unless God gave us a sign. So we prayed and waited. A few weeks later I had a dream. In the dream I was on a plane with my mother and we were moving back to Kelowna. As I looked out the plane window, I knew this was where God wanted us to be. When I woke up, I told my husband the dream and we decided it was a sign from God. He began to look for work in Kelowna.

At the time, my husband's company had no work here. But soon the company decided to open up a shop in Kelowna and started hiring. My husband applied and was accepted. I moved here first, my husband followed later. Even though we lost a lot of money and my husband took a much lower job, we have never regretted our decision. Our daughter in Kelowna needed us badly and we have been a great help to her.

Should we ask God for signs? I have only asked the once as far as I can remember and God did give us a sign. The few times it is mentioned in the Bible people asked for an important reason. I wouldn't ask God for signs every day, but I think once in a while it is a good idea.