Author: Beth Duncan

Genesis 31:39 I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night.  

Commentary points out Jacob’s comment about “the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac…, ” and that’s got me thinking about my own faith journey. Growing up, my God was the God of my parents, who laid my faith foundation as I did for my own children. But there is no one specific moment where their God became my God. It’s more like drops of water filling a bucket. At some point, the bucket overflows, but to isolate that one drop that caused the overflow is nearly impossible.

Genesis 31:40 This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. 

My faith journey has been similar, as has yours, I’m sure. Drop by drop, we claim Him as our own, we learn that we can trust Him, we see that He is with us in the valleys as well as on the mountaintops, we become certain that He is with us, not because of what we’ve seen from others but because He has shown up for us, stood with us, carried us again and again and again.

Genesis 31:41 It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times.

Precious Savior, Thank You that the faith of those who came before me influenced my relationship with You. Thank You that drop by drop, moment by moment, You became my God. Thank You that I know You are with me in the good times and the bad–You strengthen me, You carry me, You love me fiercely. Always. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 31:42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 31:35 Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I’m having my period.” So he searched but could not find the household gods.

It appears that Rachel has learned deceptive ways from either her father or husband or both. But I am so curious about her motivation. Why did she steal her father’s idols? Does she not believe in the God of Jacob? Is she skeptical about a God who favors someone like Jacob (after all, he hasn’t been a very godly husband)?

Genesis 31:36 Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. “What is my crime?” he asked Laban. “How have I wronged you that you hunt me down? 

As I looked for this answer online, one source posited that, much like Jacob’s deception with Esau and Isaac, Rachel stole the idol to get the blessing of her ancestors. I wonder how she felt that worked out for her and whether she continued in the deceptive ways she showed in today’s scripture.

Genesis 31:37 Now that you have searched through all my goods, what have you found that belongs to your household? Put it here in front of your relatives and mine, and let them judge between the two of us.

Precious Savior, Again I am left wondering what I am supposed to learn from today’s scripture. Ultimately, it reinforces the fact that You are sovereign and that You can work all things (even our ridiculousness) to our good and Your glory. Thank You that You don’t treat me as I deserve. Thank You for Your fierce love. Amen.

Genesis 31:38 “I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 31:31 Jacob answered Laban, “I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. 

What has Jacob gained by caving to his fear and slipping away in the night with his wives, children, property? At this point, absolutely nothing. Laban has found him. Anything Laban might have done he can still do if he has the desire and the muscle.

Genesis 31:32 But if you find anyone who has your gods, that person shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods.

But it seems like Laban is more concerned about his stolen gods than any of the people at this point, and I find that curious. In Gen 30:27, Laban says that the Lord has blessed him because of Jacob. Was that interaction not enough to draw Laban away from idols? It appears not.

Genesis 31:33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he found nothing. After he came out of Leah’s tent, he entered Rachel’s tent. 

Precious Savior, You lavish me with blessings daily. Thank You. I do not and can not deserve the favor that You show me. Forgive me when I allow things of this world to steal my attention from You. Help me to stay focused on You, in You always. No matter what. Amen.

Genesis 31:34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel’s saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 31:27 Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn’t you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of timbrels and harps? 

I’m honestly not entirely sure what to make of today’s scripture. Laban begins by almost cajoling Jacob. “Why’d you go in secret? You know I would have thrown a going away party if I had known.” Then Laban uses guilt. “You didn’t even let me kiss my grandbabies goodbye.”  

Genesis 31:28 You didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. You have done a foolish thing. 

Then he uses a threat (“I have the power to harm you.”) and a query (“Why did you steal my gods?”) Is Laban just feeling all the emotions? Is he trying to find an angle to exploit? (He’s good at exploitation based on his past behavior.)

Genesis 31:29 I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ 

Precious Savior, It is difficult for me to watch an aggressor play the victim. But You have said that I am not to judge. Help me, Jesus. If You want me to love others, all others, help me to put aside the part that wants to judge without grace, mercy, or compassion. Help me to be more like You. Amen.

Genesis 31:30 Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father’s household. But why did you steal my gods?”

Have a blessed day. 

Genesis 31:23 Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.   

With descriptors like “pursued,” “caught,” “overtook,” and “captives,” the author of Genesis certainly seems to be characterizing this journey as a fleeing, an escape, and a pursuit and capture. This is a chase seen. This isn’t just a friendly trip.

Genesis 31:24 Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

And Laban’s statement, “You’ve deceived me” is rich, being uttered between these two–Jacob who deceived his brother and his father, Laban who deceived Jacob and Rachel. But the thing that keeps running through my mind is, “God used this, too. God used these people, too.” They lied. They cheated. They schemed. Yet God used them for His purpose.

Genesis 31:25 Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too.

Precious Savior, I am guilty of thinking more than once that I have messed up in a way that means You can no longer use me in Your kingdom work. What I am seeing in Your word again and again is that You can use ALL things, ALL people for Your glory and for our good IF we allow. Thank You. Amen

Genesis 31:26 Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You’ve deceived me, and you’ve carried off my daughters like captives in war.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 31:19 When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods.  

When speaking of the way fear made Jacob slink out of town, commentary says, “But fear made it impossible to reap the full measure of blessing.” That resonates. How many times have I allowed fear to rob me of the full measure of God’s blessing?

Genesis 31:20 Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away.

In many ways, fear has been my default for a long time. I use it to study the situation, look at all the options to help decide the best way forward, to plan and prepare etc, but I still allow fear to take the wheel. That’s not ok.

Genesis 31:21 So he fled with all he had, crossed the Euphrates River, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.

Precious Savior, You know I love You. You know I trust You. You know I struggle with fear–of change, of the unknown, of what could happen, what should happen, what might happen. Help me to always put my faith in You over my fear of anything I will face in this world. I know You are sovereign, loving, and good. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 31:22 On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? 

So many things I find interesting in today’s verses. For one, Rachel and Leah agree on the poor treatment their father has shown them. They also agree in their support of Jacob and his current course of action. I think this may be the first time we’ve seen these two agree on anything. 

Genesis 31:15 Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. 

Another interesting thing to me is that Jacob is now headed back to his father. He hasn’t seen his father since he tricked him into giving him the blessing that Esau was trying to get and his mother sent him away. Now Jacob has been tricked in a similar manner and knows what that feels like. Now he’s headed back home.

Genesis 31:16 Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for the ability to read this text, one I have read before, and still find things that are interesting, things that make me think, things that lead me to question and seek. Thank You that Your word is active and alive (Heb 4:12) and that if I continue to read and study and seek, You will continue to draw me closer. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 31:17-18 Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

Have a blessed day. 

Genesis 31:10 “In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. 

What strikes me today is verse 11, specifically Jacob’s response to the angel of God. He doesn’t hesitate or hedge. He doesn’t shrug his shoulders or ask why the angel wants to see him. He responds with a bold, simple, “Here I am.”

Genesis 31:11 The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 

I am afraid that I don’t always answer God in such a bold, simple way. Sometimes I’m more, “Hang on a sec,” or “Give me one more chapter and I’ll be with You,” or “Ummmm, Can you ask someone else? I don’t really want to do that right now.” Thankfully, the God of all Creation, Maker of Heaven and Earth, doesn’t smite me on the spot. He has patience. He extends grace.

Genesis 31:12 And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 

Precious Savior, It is so easy to judge Jacob because of his past actions. Thank You for reminding me that we all need grace from time to time, that You extend grace to all because we are Your deeply loved children. Help me to be less judgemental and more grace-filled towards myself and others. Help me to treat others the way You treat me, even when I don’t deserve it, even when they don’t deserve it. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’ ”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 31:5 He said to them, “I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. 

Jacob has shown himself not to be a good, godly man. He has shown himself to be a trickster in his youth. He has shown himself to be a weak, absent husband and father, but he has also shown himself to be a loyal worker to Laban, and he did inherit the birthright blessing of his father.

Genesis 31:6-7 You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. 

I guess it makes sense that I would be skeptical of the Jacob presented in today’s passages as he is so different from the Jacob we have seen previously. This Jacob seems loyal, logical, communicative. He talks to his wives, implores them. I don’t quite trust this Jacob.

Genesis 31:8 If he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, ‘The streaked ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked young. 

Precious Savior, Thank You that I am Your deeply loved child. Thank You that even while my faults are abundantly evident, the goodness in me is peeking through, too. Help me to see Jacob and others through Your eyes instead of my own. Where I see doubt and skepticism, help me to see Your beloved child. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 31:9 So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” 

Sometimes, like with Jacob, God uses unbearable conditions as a catalyst for change, but sometimes He allows us to continue to slog but to know that He is with us and has a purpose for us in our circumstances.

Genesis 31:2 And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been.

There have been times in my career when I have been so miserable that I thought, “Lord, Open a door, any door, and I will walk through it. If you are trying to get me to a place where I am ok with change, I’m there.” For me, though, His answer was always, “I am with You right here in this situation. It’s uncomfortable. It’s unpleasant. But You are not alone. I’ve got You.”

Genesis 31:3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”

Precious Savior, Sometimes life is a slog. Help us to know when slogging is just the way of it that You are with us, slogging right beside us. Sometimes the slog is a catalyst for change. Help us to know when that is the case so that we can make the change You are calling us to make. Help us to know that You are with us, regardless. Always. Amen.

Genesis 31:4 So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were.

Have a blessed day.