But if these are Sarah’s possessions, what will it be like for him to come to me here, and love me in the way a man loves a woman? Won’t his mother’s shadow loom over us? Everything he sees here will remind him of his childhood at her knee.

Without offering the slightest disrespect to the memory of Sarah—indeed, Rebekah was fascinated by the great lady, and longed to know everything about her—she nevertheless had to make sure that from now on, when Isaac thought of this tent, when he saw the inside of it, he would not immediately remember his mother, but would remember Rebekah instead.

She called for Deborah, and in only a short time she was there. Within an hour, Rebekah had been thoroughly washed and her hair plaited like a bride’s. Then she sent Deborah from the tent with instructions to go tell Isaac that Rebekah was ready.

Deborah looked at her with concern. “But—”

“Go,” said Rebekah.

Deborah went.

Soon she heard a soft clapping outside her tent.

“Isaac?” she asked.

“I’m here,” he said.

“I’m afraid to go out and meet your people,” said Rebekah. “Could you come inside for a moment to encourage me?”

The tent door opened and Isaac stepped inside. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darker interior.

“Who is encouraging whom here?” asked Isaac.

“You are,” she said. “Before you present me to your people, shouldn’t I present myself to you?”

“Eliezer has no idea how nicely you clean up.”

“Isaac, God brought me here to conceive a child,” she said. “Not to meet your household.” She took the two steps that closed the distance between them. “Let’s put first things first.”

He seemed to think it was a good idea. And here inside the tent, he was the same man she had seen outside it—a man with strength who chose to be gentle, a man with authority who chose to be kind. She had always thought it would be frightening to know a man this intimately, but with Isaac her fear was gone almost before she had a chance to notice it.

It was Isaac, not Deborah, who helped her dress and assured her that her hair looked perfectly arranged. And if his judgment was not perfect on that matter—Deborah did a quick fix as soon as Rebekah emerged from the tent—she was perfectly content that he thought she looked perfect despite her imperfection. It was a promising beginning to a marriage that would shape the future of the covenant between God and Abraham. Because, as Rebekah well knew, a man could serve God with all his heart and still rend his family apart, misshaping the lives of his children in the process. It was not possible that a man like Isaac could make any such mistakes.

Part IV

The Seed of Abraham

Chapter 10

Chapter 10