Barren to Fruitful: Women in the Bible Who Overcame Infertility (Part 2)
In Part 1 of this series, we delved into the life of Sarah and the promise God gave her of bearing a son to Abraham in her old age. She wore the identity of "barrenness" for ninety years of her life. Two transformational things occurred for her to believe that the Lord's promise would indeed come to pass. The first was God gave Sarah a new identity by changing her name from Sarai to Sarah. She would no longer be known as "the barren one." Now, her name reflected her new state of fruitfulness: "mother of nations." Her new name, Sarah, reflected belonging to God and being enabled by His strength to conceive. She fulfilled her name's meaning of "Woman of Strength." The second transformational thing that occurred was the constant reassurance from the Lord. He appeared to both Abraham and Sarah on multiple occasions and reaffirmed His promise to them of a child of their own. His reassurance allowed them to establish faith in His promise.
The life of Sarah teaches us about the principle of promise. Abraham and Sarah received a promise from God, as stated in Romans 9:9. In the same way that God gave Abraham and Sarah a specific promise that they could hold onto and trust in the process of overcoming unbelief, we have been given promises from God of provision and deliverance in His Word which He is surely faithful to fulfill.
In today's post, we will examine the life of Rebekah, the wife of Abraham and Sarah's promised son, Isaac. She, too, overcame infertility and conceived. Let's unpack the principle of prayer and discuss how it will help you overcome any infertility in your life so that, by His grace, we can press onward in faith and bear much fruit for the Father's glory (John 15:8)!
Let's begin by looking briefly at the story of Rebekah...
Isaac marries Rebekah after the death of his mother, Sarah. She is brought to Isaac from Abraham's homeland by Eleazar, Abraham's servant, who was sent to find a bride from Abraham's relatives. Rebekah willingly agrees to marry Isaac and makes the long camel-ride back to the Negev where Isaac was residing.
"Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel and asked the servant, 'Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?' 'He is my master,' the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself. Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother, Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death." -Genesis 24:64-65
*side note: This verse shows the importance of the covenantal nature inherent in God's design of sexual intimacy. God created sex for marriage and Scripture clearly states that when you engage in sexual activity with someone, "the two become one flesh" - God designed sex to foster unity & intimacy within marriage, as well as be the channel for procreation according to God's good plan for mankind to "be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth..." - It is interesting to note that Isaac & Rebekah did not have a wedding ceremony, banquet, or reception, yet the Bible declares that when they engaged in sexual intimacy with each other, they were married in the eyes of God.
Rebekah is barren and unable to conceive. Isaac prayed for Rebekah and the LORD heard his prayer.
"Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant."
God abundantly blessed Rebekah's barren womb by giving her the ability to conceive twins!
"The babies jostled each other within her...So she went to inquire of the LORD. The LORD said to her, 'Two nations are in your womb...' When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb."
I find it so interesting that the Bible tells us specifically that Rebekah was enabled to conceive because her husband prayed to the LORD on her behalf. I don't think this means that Rebekah couldn't pray to God and ask Him to open her womb (or that God wouldn't hear/answer her prayers), but I do think it communicates the power of intercessory prayer, as well as the place of spiritual authority in a believer's life. If you are currently experiencing infertility in your life, I think studying these two areas will be beneficial in "tilling the soil" of your heart. Since the beginning of this series, I've made the comparison between infertility and hardness of heart. Infertility is defined as, "the inability to conceive." This inability is evidenced in both the physical act of conceiving a child and the spiritual act of conceiving God's Word (seed) to bear Him much fruit. The spiritual realm always precedes the physical (natural) realm. When we plant the seed (God's Word) into the fertile soil of a believing heart, it will grow and reproduce abundantly. Therefore, the issue is in the soil - has your heart become hardened to God's Word? Has reoccurring disappointment, fear, worry, doubt, hurt, and unmet expectations caused you to put a wall up around your heart? If it has then "tilling the soil" of your heart is a necessary step in preparing to receive the seed. In agricultural terms, tilling is "a form of deep cultivation that is necessary when preparing a new garden bed."
"Before sowing the seeds, it is necessary to loosen and turn the soil." This is accomplished by using a gardening tool called a garden fork or even a shovel. The purpose is to break up hard, compacted soil and to remove weeds that can choke out new growth.
Let's look at these two principles that enabled Rebekah to conceive...
The Place of Spiritual Authority
Did you know that as a woman of faith your husband is the spiritual leader of your family in the eyes of the Lord? I know this is probably a topic today's "cancel culture" is chomping at the bit to destroy, but the truth of God's Word will always stand firm throughout generations of mankind. Yes, God set an order at the beginning of creation that cannot be reversed or toppled (no matter how much present movements attempt to). "While the Bible clearly affirms the equality of men and women (see Galatians 3:28), it also tells us plainly that God has assigned the responsibility of spiritual leadership in the home to husbands." This means that there is an order of authority, even though both men and women have been created equal in bearing the image of God. I think the most simplistic way to think about this is by analyzing a modern-day work setting. Employees are under the leadership of a supervisor or manager. The supervisor/manager has a higher authority than his or her employees because of their positional influence. On a human level, that supervisor/manager isn't better or more important than one of their employees. His or her employees have the same right to life, happiness, equality, dignity, and so forth. However, they are under the supervisor/manager's leadership. Hopefully, he or she is a good leader who leads them well, looks out for their wellbeing, and serves them first. In like manner, the believing husband, as the spiritual leader of his home, has a high calling and responsibility from God to lead and serve his family well. Here are some bible verses that illustrate this calling:
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her..."
-Ephesians 5:25
"Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered." -1 Peter 3:7 (*weaker vessel here refers to physical strength/ability; i.e. protect them, care for them)
"Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them." -Colossians 3:19
"The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband." -1 Corinthians 7:3
"Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love." -Proverbs 5:18-19
"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." -Genesis 2:24
"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." -Genesis 1:27
"Then the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.'” -Genesis 2:23
"For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church." -Ephesians 5:28-29
This spiritual order for believers' households is described in Ephesians 5:21-24. It reads, "And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of His body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything." Also, in 1 Corinthians 11:3 it reads, "Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." Here is the appropriate biblical order of leadership:
God, the Father - the Head of Christ
Christ, the Son - the Head of Man
Man (Husband) - the Head of Woman (Wife)
Again it's a position of influence, not of control. It is a position of servanthood. He is to be like His head who is Christ. During His earthly ministry, Jesus held spiritual authority over His disciples. One of the greatest examples of His servant-leadership occurred the evening before His crucifixion. "Jesus knew that the Father had given Him authority over everything and that He had come from God and would return to God. So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel He had around Him" (John13:1-17). I can't go into great detail here, but only the lowest ranking servant would wash the feet of guests. The Son of God, who left His heavenly throne and had been given authority over everything by God the Father, got down on His knees taking the filthy dirt-covered feet of His sandaled disciples into his hands and washed them clean. Husbands are called to emulate this sacrificial nature of Jesus to their wives and children. When husbands understand their place of spiritual leadership in the home and they choose to pray for their wives, their prayers become coverings of protection and blessing. We'll discuss the power of intercessory prayer in the next point.
2. The Power of Intercessory Prayer
You may be unfamiliar with what intercessory prayer is and why it is important. A simple definition of intercessory prayer is prayer to God on behalf of another. When you engage in prayer for another person, you are expressing love, care, and compassion toward them. You are seeking God on their behalf. You are burdened with whatever is causing them pain or discomfort. In the example of Rebekah's life, Isaac was fully aware of the heartache that infertility was causing his wife. He was also aware of the promise that the LORD gave to his mother and father: Sarah would be a "mother of nations" and Abraham would have "descendants as numerous as stars" through his son, Isaac. How could this promise be fulfilled if Rebekah was unable to conceive a child? Isaac went straight to God in prayer. The Bible doesn't record his exact prayer for us to read, but it does tell us that he prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife and the LORD answered his prayer. He used his spiritual authority to cover his wife with prayer. God answered graciously by allowing her to conceive twins.
If you are currently experiencing infertility in your life and aren't bearing the fruit you would like to, then tap into the power of prayer. You might be unmarried and don't have a husband to pray for you. If that's the case, search out intercessory prayer from someone in a position of spiritual authority in your church. This could be a pastor or small group leader. As believers we are encouraged to pray for one another. Find friends and/or family members that you trust and share with them your prayer requests.
If you are married, set aside time for you and your husband to pray together. You may be surprised with how much intimacy and trust begins to flood into your marriage as a result of praying together.
I hope learning about the principle of prayer through the example of Rebekah and Isaac has been helpful and encouraging to you. In Part 3, we will examine the life of Hannah and how the principle of prophecy led to her conception of Samuel, her son. Once again, I want to close by reminding you that it is never the Lord's will for you to be infertile and unfruitful. As His disciples, Jesus instructed us that bearing much fruit for Him brings the Father glory (John 15:58). It is His deepest desire for you to be fruitful. Don't forget that, woman of faith!
References:
How to Till a Garden -
Spiritual Leadership in the Home -
Comments