Genesis 25:21-23 "And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger."
Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah. As far as the scriptures tell us, he only had one wife all of his life. Having the example of his father, Abraham, before him, and after Rebekah remained childless for almost twenty years, it is certainly likely that the temptation to do as Abraham had done crossed his mind. Perhaps he had seen enough of the turmoil in Abraham’s life caused by not waiting on the LORD.
Instead of taking matters into his own hands, Isaac intreated (prayed to) the LORD that He would bless Rebekah to conceive as He had his mother, Sarah. The LORD heard Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah conceived twins. I am sure this was welcomed with great joy at the time. It would have been viewed as another blessed miracle from God.
However, it did not take Rebekah long to realize that something was going on that she did not understand. There was a constant struggle within her between the twins. Rebekah was beginning to wonder if this was a blessing from God, then why was there this great turmoil within her. She knew where to go for the answer: she asked God.
God revealed to Rebekah that there were “two nations” in her. The twins were not identical. They were of two entirely different natures. One would be stronger than the other. Contrary to the ways of men, the younger would be preferred before the elder.
As the LORD begins to work in our lives, we come face to face with our carnal nature. We realize that without His blessing, our lives will be barren. When He blesses us to hear the gospel and rejoice in His love for us, it is a miraculous blessing in our lives. On the heels of this joy, we discover that we now have internal struggles that were not there before. We have to turn often to the LORD to understand the depth of His blessing and His love in the midst of the struggle.
When we are born of the Holy Spirit of God, we come to understand that there are two natures within us. These natures are not compatible, and they cannot be friends. By God’s grace, one is stronger, and that elder nature serves the younger nature. The first man Adam (our carnal nature) is brought under subjection to the second man Adam (Jesus Christ). By God’s grace and decree, our sinful nature is brought into subjection to the mind of Christ that is in us. Praise God that His purpose is for the elder to serve the younger!