reaper’s fingers to protect them from being cut by the sickle or the dry stalks.

The Israelites were commanded not to reap the edges of their fields. Instead, they were to leave a little grain standing “for the afflicted one and the alien resident.” (Lev. 19:9, 10) After the grain was reaped, it was gathered, bound in sheaves, and piled in heaps, perhaps on the threshing floor.—Gen. 37:6, 7; Ruth 3:6, 7.

FIGURATIVE USE

Reaping is often used figuratively in the Scriptures to illustrate the end result of one’s works, whether good or bad. The divine principle is that “whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.” Paul showed that, whereas the one sowing with a view to the flesh reaps corruption therefrom, “he who is sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit,” and assured Galatian Christians that they would reap if they did not tire out. (Gal. 6:7-9; Prov. 22:8; Hos. 8:1, 7) In encouraging Christian generosity toward needy fellow believers in Judea, the apostle told the Corinthians: “He that sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; and he that sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”—2 Cor. 9:5-7.

Jesus Christ dispatched his disciples to “reap,” implying that they were to gather responsive Jews as his disciples. (John 4:35-38) According to Jesus’ illustration of the symbolic “wheat” and “weeds,” at “the conclusion of the system of things,” the Son of man sends out his angelic reapers to “collect out from his kingdom all things that cause stumbling and persons who are doing lawlessness.” These “weeds” (“the sons of the wicked one”) are pitched into a figurative fiery furnace, whereas the “wheat” (“the sons of the kingdom”) are preserved and “will shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”—Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43.

That the glorified and enthroned Jesus Christ directs this reaping and separating work is shown by John’s vision in Revelation, where Christ is pictured as someone “like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.” In response to the angelic cry, “Put your sickle in and reap, because the hour has come to reap, for the harvest of the earth is thoroughly ripe,” John beheld that he “thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.” The apostle observed that thereafter “the vine of the earth” was gathered and hurled into “the great wine press of the anger of God.”—Rev. 14:14-20; compare Revelation 19:11-16.

REASONABLENESS

“Reasonable” appropriately conveys the thought of the Greek word e·pi·ei·kesʹ, which has been defined as meaning “seemly, fitting; hence, equitable, fair, moderate, forbearing, not insisting on the letter of the law; it expresses that considerateness that looks ‘humanely and reasonably at the facts of a case.’”—An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (Vol. II, pp. 144, 145) by W. E. Vine.

Reasonableness is a distinctive feature of heavenly wisdom. (Jas. 3:17) It is a quality that a man who is appointed as an overseer in a Christian congregation must have. (1 Tim. 3:2, 3) He would have to be reasonable with himself, in dealing with others and in his view of problems. Also, Christians generally are encouraged to be reasonable. The apostle Paul counseled the Philippians: “Let your reasonableness become known to all men.” (Phil. 4:5) And Titus was instructed to remind the Christians of Crete “to be reasonable.” (Titus 3:1, 2) This was especially fitting, since the inhabitants of Crete as a whole had the reputation of being liars, injurious wild beasts and unemployed gluttons.—Titus 1:12.

At 1 Peter 2:18 house servants are admonished to “be in subjection to their owners with all due fear, not only to the good and reasonable, but also to those hard to please.”

REBA

(Reʹba) [fourth part].

One of the five kings of Midian slain in the avenging of Midian’s immoral seduction of Israel. (Num. 31:2, 8) At the time, the five were presumably vassals of the Amorites and hence are also called “the dukes of Sihon.”—Josh. 13:21.

REBEKAH

(Re·bekʹah) [possibly, “cow”].

The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, and therefore grandniece of Abraham. Her brother’s name was Laban.—Gen. 22:20-23.

About 1878 B.C.E., when Abraham sent his household manager, likely Eliezer, in search of a suitable wife for his son Isaac (now forty years old), he came to “the city of Nahor” in the upper Mesopotamian valley. There at a well, this servant prayed that Jehovah’s choice would be the damsel who not only would give him a drink when asked but also would volunteer to water his ten camels. (Gen. 24:1-14) While he was praying, Rebekah came to the well with a water jar. When asked for a sip of water she graciously gave him a drink and then “quickly emptied her jar into the drinking trough and ran yet again and again to the well to draw water, and kept drawing for all his camels. All the while the man was gazing at her in wonder, keeping silent to know whether Jehovah had made his trip successful or not.” Rebekah proved to be kind, hospitable, modest in her manners and industrious; besides this, “the young woman was very attractive in appearance.”—Gen. 24:14-21.

Abraham’s servant, recognizing that his prayer had been answered, bestowed upon Rebekah a costly gold nose ring and two beautiful gold bracelets. These she showed to her family, to her mother and her brother Laban, who, in turn, extended the hospitality of their home to the visitor and the attendants with him. (Gen. 24:22-32) But before he would eat, the man stated his business. Laban and his father Bethuel gave their consent for Rebekah to marry Isaac, gifts, consisting of precious articles of gold and silver and exquisite garments, were given to Rebekah and her family, and then they all ate together. (Gen. 24:33-54) This transaction constituted an honorable marriage contract, not between Rebekah and Isaac, but between their parents, according to the custom of the time. Rebekah was therewith betrothed to Isaac, and was from then on, in effect, his wife.

With Rebekah’s consent, the caravan took off the next morning for the long journey to the Negeb near Beer-lahai-roi, where Isaac was living at the time. Before she left, Rebekah’s family blessed her, saying: “May you become thousands times ten thousand, and let your seed take possession of the gate of those who hate it.” Her nurse Deborah and other lady attendants accompanied Rebekah, none of whom, it appears, ever returned to their homeland.—Gen. 24:55-62; 35:8.

Upon reaching their destination, Rebekah put on a headcloth at the approach of her bridegroom Issac, and after Abraham’s servant had recounted all the events of his mission, relating how Jehovah had directed the choice, Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother’s tent to become his wife. Isaac dearly loved Rebekah, and in her he “found comfort after the loss of his mother” Sarah, who had died three years earlier.—Gen. 24:63-67.

Like Sarah, Rebekah for a long time remained barren. After some nineteen years, during which time Isaac persistently appealed to Jehovah, she conceived and bore the twins Esau and Jacob. (Gen. 25:20, 26) So distressing was her pregnancy, as the two struggled with each other in her womb, that Rebekah wondered, “Just why am I alive?” In response, Jehovah assured her that she would become the mother of two great nations, and that “the older will serve the younger.” (Gen. 25:21-26) This, Paul says, was to demonstrate that the choice of the ‘seed of promise’ depended entirely on God.—Rom. 9:6-13.

Also like Sarah, Rebekah disguised her identity on one occasion, passing herself off as her husband’s sister. This was when a famine in the land forced her family to take up residence for a time in Philistine territory ruled over by King Abimelech. Rebekah must have been well along in years, yet due to her great beauty Isaac, the designated heir of the Abrahamic covenant, was presumed to be in danger of being killed if it was known he was her husband.—Gen. 26:1-11.

When Isaac was preparing to bless Esau his firstborn, apparently being ignorant that Esau had sold his birthright to his brother, Rebekah took immediate steps to secure the desired blessing for Jacob, whom she dearly loved. (Gen. 25:28-34; 27:1-5) Whether Rebekah knew of Jacob’s legal right to the birthright through purchase is not stated, but she was well aware of what Jehovah had told her, namely, that the older would serve the younger. Rebekah was therefore duly authorized to see that Jacob secured for himself his father’s blessing. The success of the plan was evidence of divine direction in the matter.—Gen. 27:6-29.

Later, when Rebekah learned of Esau’s plans to kill Jacob, she influenced Isaac to send Jacob to her homeland in search of a wife for himself. It had grieved both her and Isaac very much that Esau had taken two wives from among the hated Canaanites.—Gen. 26:34, 35; 27:41-46; 28:1-5; 29:10-12.

Just when Rebekah died is not stated, but it may have been before Jacob returned home from Mesopotamia. (Gen. 35:27) She was buried in the family cave of Machpelah along with Abraham and Sarah, where later Isaac, Leah and Jacob were interred.—Gen. 49:29-31; 50:13.

REBELLIOUSNESS

Disobedience or resistance to and defiance of a superior authority. Pride, selfishness, outside pressures, disagreement with the judgment of a superior, and a desire to get out from under subjection or oppression, either real or imagined, have been among the leading causes for rebellion. In certain cases those who rebelled were not constantly rebellious persons. For example, Moses and Aaron faithfully served Jehovah God for many years. However, when subjected to the pressure of quarreling Israelites on one occasion, they lost self-control and rebelliously failed to give glory to God for a miraculous provision of water.—Num. 20:12, 24; 27:13, 14.

EARLY HISTORY

Rebellion against God had its start in the invisible realm. A spirit creature, who later became known as Satan the Devil, by means of a serpent, endeavored to get the first woman Eve to rebel against her Creator. He made rebellion attractive, presenting it as a course that would lead to enlightenment. Eve gave in to the selfish ambition to ‘be like God,’ in the sense of determining for herself what was good and what was bad rather than abiding by God’s judgment on this matter. (See TREES.) Imagining herself to be deprived of something that she had now come to view as rightfully belonging to her, Eve chose to transgress God’s command. Later her husband Adam yielded to her pressure and joined in this rebellion. He did so, not because he was deceived into thinking that the serpent was speaking the truth, but evidently because he selfishly chose the companionship of his sinful wife in preference to the approval of God.—Gen. 3:1-6; 1 Tim. 2:14.

For centuries afterward it appears that the majority of mankind did not want to submit themselves to God. From the time of Abel’s death until the birth of Noah, a period of more than 926 years, only Enoch is specifically mentioned as one who walked with God. (Gen. 5:22) Rebelliousness also continued to spread in the heavenly realm. In Noah’s day, angels, desiring sensual pleasure, disobediently forsook their heavenly posts, materialized human bodies, married women and fathered offspring.—Gen. 6:4; 1 Pet. 3:19, 20; 2 Pet. 2:4, 5; Jude 6.

By Noah’s time the spirit of rebelliousness had so saturated mankind that Jehovah God saw fit to destroy the human race by means of a flood. Only Noah and his immediate family, eight persons all together, were found worthy of preservation.—Gen. 6:5-8; 7:13, 23.

IN ISRAEL

Years later Jehovah God began to deal exclusively with the nation of Israel. Yet throughout Israel’s history there were numerous cases of rebellion against Jehovah and against his representatives, on a national, group or individual level. Ezekiel 44:6 even applies the name “Rebelliousness” to the house of Israel, as if the nation of Israel came to personify rebelliousness by its disobedient course of action.

Jehovah God did not leave such rebelliousness unpunished. (1 Sam. 12:15; 15:23; 1 Ki. 13:21, 22, 26; Ps. 5:10; Isa. 1:20; 63:10; Jer. 4:16-18; Ezek. 20:21; Hos. 13:16) His law demanded the death penalty for those persisting in rebellion against parents. (Deut. 21:18-21) Divine execution came upon proud and ambitious Korah, Dathan and Abiram and those associated with them in the rebellion against Moses and Aaron, God’s appointed representatives. When the Israelites disputed the rightness of this execution and manifested a rebellious spirit toward Moses and Aaron, fourteen thousand seven hundred more perished by a scourge from Jehovah. (Num. 16:1-3, 25-50) Often Jehovah let other nations serve as instruments to inflict punishment upon the Israelites when they yielded to the pressure to be like the surrounding nations and rebelliously abandoned true worship.—Judg. 2:3, 11-16; 3:4, 5; Neh. 9:26, 27.

King Zedekiah’s covenant-breaking rebellion

At the time King Nebuchadnezzar made Judean King Zedekiah a vassal king, he had Zedekiah make a covenant in Jehovah’s name. Therefore, when Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, wanting to be free from subjection to a foreign power, he also rebelled against Jehovah, in whose name he had obligated himself to be a loyal vassal king. Because of this rebellion, Jehovah decreed that Zedekiah would die as a captive in Babylon.—2 Ki. 24:17-20; 2 Chron. 36:11-21; Ezek. 17:12-18.

AMONG CHRISTIANS

Christians have also had to contend with rebellious persons. The apostle Paul foretold an apostasy or rebellion among professed Christians (2 Thess. 2:3) and, already in his time, apostates existed. (1 Tim. 1:19, 20; 2 Tim. 2:16-19) The disciple Jude wrote about those who spoke abusively of “glorious ones” in the Christian congregation. As the destruction of such rebellious ones was certain, Jude referred to that destruction as if it had already taken place, saying: “[They] have perished in the rebellious talk of Korah!”—Jude 8, 11; see APOSTASY.

Subjection to governmental authority proper

Rather than rebelling, those desiring to gain God’s approval as Christ’s followers are called upon to be obedient to those taking the lead inside the congregation (Heb. 13:17) and to government authorities outside the congregation. (Titus 3:1, 2) Rebellion against secular governmental authority constitutes a rebellion against God, for these authorities exist by God’s permission and it is his will that Christians be subject to them as long as what they require does not conflict with his law.—Rom. 13:1-7; Acts 5:29.

RECAH

(Reʹcah).

Apparently the name of a Judean site. It is mentioned along with genealogical information for the tribe of Judah.—1 Chron. 4:12.

RECHAB

(Reʹchab) [rider, horseman].

1. A Benjamite son of Rimmon the Beerothite. Rechab and his brother Baanah, both captains of marauding bands, murdered Ish-bosheth, the son and successor of Saul, and presented his head to David, expecting to win favor, but David had them both