Genesis
31:1-3 Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, "Jacob
has taken all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has
gained all this wealth." (2) And Jacob saw that Laban did not
regard him with favour as before. (3) Then the LORD said to Jacob,
"Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be
with you."
Jacob has had twenty years of hard
labour, during which he has been deceived and mistreated repeatedly by Laban.
In the midst of this adversity Jacob has seen God at work, sustaining,
protecting and prospering him. Jacob has learnt that God is a God of providence
and Jacob’s character through all this has been transformed. Jacob has sought
to be honest in all his dealing with Laban, even bearing Laban’s losses
himself, he has not sought to cheat or deceive Laban. Jacob is seeking now
after the path of integrity and humility, the truth of which we shall see in
the coming chapters.
His years of hardship and service to
Laban have now come to an end, the Lord instructs Jacob to return to Canaan.
There must have been a mixture of emotions within Jacob as he received this
instruction. He would have had great joy at being able to go back to his
homeland, seeing his own family again and to be reunited with his father and
mother. The joy of testifying of God’s protection of him and to show them how
God had prospered him with a large family and great wealth. But then there was
the fear of having to come face to face with Esau. Esau’s hatred of him, anger
towards him and murderous intentions, had they abated, or would it all be
rekindled when they came face to face? What would he say to Esau, how could he
appease the anger of his brother? Furthermore the fear that Laban would pursue
after Jacob and destroy Jacob, taking everything, family and flocks from Jacob,
leaving him with nothing once again. This fear in part is realised when Laban
does pursue Jacob, but even through this God shows His hand of sovereign
control and protection upon Jacob and his family, commanding Laban not to harm
him.
Jacob knew that a long and dangerous
journey lay ahead of him, one in which he may be pursued by Laban, met with joy
by his parents, but then come face to face with the wrath of his brother. Was
he leaving the mistreatment of Laban only to walk into the angry hands of his
brother? Whatever happens, Jacob knew that he had to obey the instruction of
God and trust God, that God would be true to His words, “I will be with you.” He had to believe that God would lead and
guide his family and undertake for him should Laban pursue him, or his brother
come against him. Jacob had great reason to trust God, for God had proved
Himself trustworthy thus far, therefore Jacob in faith takes up his family,
flocks and sets out towards Canaan.
For us as believers in the Lord Jesus
Christ, we have a God who is trustworthy. We also have a God who calls on us to
trust Him with the future, and at times that future will be a dark and
difficult one, one that we fear. Yet those same words that God spoke to Jacob,
God speaks to us, “I will be with you.”
We may have great fears, but we have a God that is greater than all those fears
and we have His promise that through all the fears, joys, trials and happiness
God will be with us, His sovereign, providential hand carrying us. We are
called to trust Him and steadfastly walk in obedience of Him.
Omniscient
Father we are comforted today by the knowledge that You know and hold the
future in Your hands. We thank You that because of the Lord Jesus Christ and
the salvation that we have in Him, we can know the truth in our own lives of
the words You spoke to Jacob, “I will be with you.” We pray that we would not
only be comforted by the knowledge and truth of this, but that You would also
enable us to trust you with the unknown and with that which we fear the future
may hold, knowing that You shall not fail or disappoint us. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment