In Genesis 31, Jacob has taken his family and belongings and left his uncle Laban secretly. Laban was angry and chased Jacob, but heard from God prior to catching up to Jacob. After some heated exchange between Laban and Jacob, we pick up our reading through Genesis with Genesis 31:43-55. Laban and Jacob come to a peaceful settling of their differences. God was behind it all, speaking to each of them separately and continuing to keep His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by guiding and caring for Jacob. Jacob also continues to submit to and honor God.
43Then Laban replied to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? 44“So now come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.” 45Then Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47Now Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. 48Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore it was named Galeed, 49and Mizpah, for he said, “May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other. 50“If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.” 51Laban said to Jacob, “Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between you and me. 52“This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass by this heap to you for harm, and you will not pass by this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. 53“The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac. 54Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his kinsmen to the meal; and they ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain. 55Early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.
We can trust God to keep His promises! God made promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and He acts in order to keep them. Genesis 31 is one example of this as God delivers Jacob safely from Laban’s anger and pursuit. Jacob was not perfect. Jacob made many mistakes in leading his family for God, but Jacob was submitting to God and God honors that submission. God continued to bless and protect Jacob over 20 years of living with Laban and delivered him safely out of that part of his life with much wealth and family.
That does not mean that Jacob had an easy time…quite the opposite, he was still living with the consequences within his family for mistakes he made and he still had to deal with Laban’s efforts to cheat him and he was in this difficult situation for 20 years. But, God kept His promises in His way and His timing.
Similarly, we can trust in the promises of God in our lives, even when we can not see God working. Each of us should seek always to be growing closer to God through prayer and study of scripture. We start with accepting the offer of reconciliation with God for our sins that is offered through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
If you have not yet made the decision to make Jesus Christ your Lord and savior, or if you want to recommit yourself to Christ… I encourage you to do so today, right now. (Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.) Once you have made this decision, do not get complacent… for this is but the gateway to begin your lifelong journey as a follower of Jesus!
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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.
