Barrenness is not a modern phenomenon; it has plagued people from time immemorial. Everyone knows of the problem facing Abraham and Sarah. Abraham, chosen by God to be the father of a great nation, made the discovery his wife was barren. His off-spring, which were to be as numerous as the grains of sand, were not forthcoming. It was not until Abraham was 100 and Sarah was ninety that an Angel arrived to make the startling pronouncement Sarah was to give birth to a son. The whole idea seemed so ridiculous to this aging couple, the Bible records, Sarah laughed.

On the other hand, Rebekah wasn't laughing. She was crying; she was in misery. She and Isaac had been married for twenty years. Isaac was now sixty years old, and still Rebekah had no children. After many prayers and entreaties to th…