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.