Genesis 31:14

The following Bible verses in Genesis chapter 31 tell us about the journey that Jacob made to return to the land of promise: the land of Canaan. The Bible says in Genesis 31:14-16, “And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money. For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children's: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.” Rachel and Leah spoke to Jacob to encourage him to obey God, to leave Laban, and to travel back to the land of Canaan. In the previous three verses God had appeared to Jacob in a dream, and God had said to Jacob in Genesis 31:13, “I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.”

Jacob seemed to have some reluctance to return to Canaan. He worked for fourteen years just to be able to marry Rachel. And then Jacob continued to work for Laban over a period of many years. Jacob’s reluctance to return to Canaan was largely due to the fact that his brother Esau was there, and Jacob remembered Esau’s anger against him. It is interesting to notice that even though God Himself spoke to Jacob, Jacob did not move until he was encouraged to do so by his family members. Any human being who is close to you has great power to discourage you or to encourage you in some endeavor. In Genesis 3:6 the woman encouraged the man to do the wrong thing and we are all still suffering the consequences of it. It says, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

Be very careful about whom you take advice from. People will sometimes try to get you to do things which are unwise or even wrong. The Bible says in Proverbs 1:10-16, “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.”

For Christians to exhort others to do the right thing is shown to be a very important activity in the New Testament. It is mentioned many times. It says in First Corinthians 14:3, “But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.” Paul wrote in Second Thessalonians 2:11, “As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children.” Timothy was told in Second Timothy 4:2, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

Finally after twenty years Jacob loaded up his family and belongings and started his trip back to Canaan. Concerning the first part of this trip, the Bible says in Genesis 31:17-42, “Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan-aram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's. And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled. So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead. And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled. And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead. And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead. And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword? Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp? And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing. It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me. With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them. And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two maidservants' tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent. Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not. And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images. And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me? Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both. This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.”

Jacob was in a situation that probably appeared to him to be quite dangerous. Therefore, Jacob fled from Laban without telling Laban that he was leaving with all of his family and possessions. Now Laban was chasing after Jacob. In addition Jacob was traveling back to the land of Canaan, and we know who was waiting for him there: his angry brother Esau from whom Jacob had acquired his birthright for a bowl of soup. Jacob was caught between two angry men: Laban pursuing him from one direction, and Esau waiting for him in the other direction. What was Jacob going to do this time? Here is the better question: what was God going to do for Jacob? One thing is for sure: God was going to keep His promises that He made to Abraham and which were passed to Isaac, and then to Jacob. What was at stake in Jacob’s return to Cannan was the establishment of the kingdom of Israel, and the coming of the Messiah, and the salvation of everyone who would eventually believe in the Messiah.

Of course, the Lord was going to take care of Jacob. The way that the Lord took care of Jacob was by speaking to Laban in a dream. The Bible says in Genesis 31:24, “And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.” God is able to turn anyone’s heart in any direction. God turns the hearts of kings in order to change what happens to a nation. It says in Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” By faith in Christ we know that whatever actions are taken by those around us has everything to do with what God allows to happen; and the Lord allows it to happen in our lives for a reason. Sometimes that reason is to test our faithfulness to the Lord or to be a witness to others. Whatever the reason, if God thinks we need to be protected, He will protect us. If God decides to permit some bad thing to happen unto us, then blessed be the name of the Lord, who allows all things for a good reason. Jacob came to learn this lesson very well. Jacob said to Laban in Genesis 31:42, “Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.”

Jacob said, “God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands.” Jacob knew that Laban was prevented by God from harming him because of two truths that are always at work. The first truth has to do with the love of God for His children. Jacob said, “God hath seen mine affliction.” God takes care of His children because God loves His children. Jesus said in John 15:9, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you.” If you forget everything else about Jesus, always remember this: Jesus loves you. The second truth involved in God taking care of Jacob is the ever-present operation of divine justice in this world. Jacob said that God had seen “the labor of my hands.” Jacob had worked very faithfully over many years to acquire all of the flocks and herds that he now possessed. If Laban had not harmed Jacob, but had taken away Jacob’s possessions, it would have been a great injustice, and God always operates against injustice. God is the God of the whole earth. Everything passes before God’s eyes; He brings punishment upon evildoers and rewards upon those who do right. Make sure that you always do the right thing, and you will have the same confidence that Jacob had that God’s justice will be on your side.

Concerning the agreement that Laban and Jacob made with each other, the Bible says in Genesis 31:43-55, “And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born? Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee. And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap. And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed. And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed; And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee. And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee; This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac. Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount. And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.”

By changing Laban’s heart, God did the perfect job in turning the tables and taking care of His own as He always does. Because God spoke to Laban, Laban was no longer going to cause Jacob harm. After his change of heart Laban was only interested in getting Jacob’s assurance that Jacob would not harm Laban. God turns every heart in the direction that God chooses for that heart to go. Even though we do not always understand why God permits what He does, we can accept it by faith. And we can pray to the Lord Jesus Christ, “Not my will, but thine be done.”

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