One of the more persistent and incorrect messages heard from “Bible advocates” is the idea that certain people in the Bible are righteous, while there are those who are just unrighteous. This line of thinking extends even into communities, with the Philistines, for example, being cast as a negative force.
Never mind that this is a straight-jacket placed upon the Scriptures, with predetermined denominational views coloring what people read and hear. As was mentioned in Schrodinger’s David, there is no “one” David. The beloved shepherd boy who becomes a dangerous proprietor king who steals lives and murders the noble and innocent, is also the one who composes Psalms in repentance to God.
So, there is more than just one David.
In the Book of Genesis (chapter 24), we hear that Abraham sends his slave to find a wife for Isaac, but from among his own people and not from the Canaanites, even though God had sent Abram to live and share the Earth with them. Just one chapter earlier, Abraham received generosity from Ephron the Hittite, so that Abraham could bury his wife Sarah, since he was a stranger to the land. The Hittites, presumed enemies, showed compassion and respect for Abraham and offered choice land to him. Yet, a few verses later, Abraham would not trust that God could provide for Isaac!
So Abraham, interestingly, does not die and get buried into the dust as a “perfect man.” To the end, he has his failures. Yet there were moments when he showed great faith; there were moments when he showed weakness. So, which Abraham is the “real” one?
In Genesis 24, Abraham’s servant asks God to provide, essentially, a “sign from Heaven” regarding who will marry his master’s son. Out comes the lovely Rebekah, almost on cue, offering water to the stranger and to his animals. It is like a fairy tale, almost too good to be true.
Not a few chapters later, Rebekah, whose favorite child is Jacob, will scheme on his behalf, leading to the exile of her eldest son Esau!
When we met her in chapter 24, she fulfilled the will of God to take care of the stranger; in chapter 27 she committed abuse against an old man and her eldest son.
So, which Rebekah is the “true” Rebekah? As a wife of a patriarch, is she not de facto “righteous?”
No, because what we learn is that you can be righteous today, but not tomorrow. In the Old Testament, there are no permanent “good guys”and no permanent “bad guys.”
An important lesson or two awaits us here: Be patient with your own faults, and judge not lest you be judged!
The Literary Liturgist 