relationships (Genesis 31:1-55) Deal With Tension in Relationships

(Genesis 31:1-55)  Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this wealth.” 2 Jacob saw the attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” 4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field, 5 and said to them, “I see your father’s attitude, that it is not friendly toward me as formerly, but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I have served your father with all my strength. 7 Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to hurt me. 8 If he spoke thus, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth speckled; and if he spoke thus, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth striped. 9 Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me. 10 And it came about at the time when the flock were mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, and mottled. 11 Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.’” 14 Rachel and Leah said to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father’s house? 15 Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also entirely consumed our purchase price. 16 Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.”

17 Then Jacob arose and put his children and his wives upon camels; 18 and he drove away all his livestock and all his property which he had gathered, his acquired livestock which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. 19 When Laban had gone to shear his flock, then Rachel stole the household idols that were her father’s. 20 And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing. 21 So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed the Euphrates River, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

22 When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, 23 then he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. 24 God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night and said to him, “Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.”

25 Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen camped in the hill country of Gilead. 26 Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword? 27 Why did you flee secretly and deceive me, and did not tell me so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with timbrel and with lyre; 28 and did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now you have done foolishly. 29 It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to speak either good or bad to Jacob.’ 30 Now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house; but why did you steal my gods?” 31 Then Jacob replied to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our kinsmen point out what is yours among my belongings and take it for yourself.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two maids, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel’s saddle, and she sat on them. And Laban felt through all the tent but did not find them. 35 She said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household idols.

36 Then Jacob became angry and contended with Laban; and Jacob said to Laban, “What is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me? 37 Though you have felt through all my goods, what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two. 38 These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks. 39 That which was torn of beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself. You required it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 Thus I was: by day the heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41 These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you changed my wages ten times. 42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night.”

43 Then 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.” 45 Then Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Now Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. 48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore it was named Galeed, 49 and 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.” 51 Laban 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. 54 Then 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. 55 Early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION: 

Things got tense for Jacob.  When one becomes wealthy, one becomes a target as people get jealous and resentful.  Both Rachel and Leah agreed to move with Jacob.  Their reason was not so much because they trusted God, but more because they saw that they had everything they could get from their father and homeland.  And very much like their father, even though they were already very wealthy, Rachel felt the need to take all the household idols.

Interestingly, both Jacob and Laban didn't suspect Rachel to be the thief.  Jacob boldly made his declaration, maybe even hoping that it would be Leah, and then she'd be killed by her father's hand and out of the way.  Laban also suspected Leah first... and then the maids.  Just as slick as her dad, Rachel found a way to keep from being discovered, but she still created a great disturbance.  And never mind an angry father,  Rachel brought idols into their home life.  Idols are only manmade, but with them will be an invitation to demonic activity.  

As I grew up seeing, hearing, feeling and experiencing this sort of thing, recently I witnessed exactly this!  On a vacation with the family, we had the use of someone's house because they were not there at that time.  Our grandchild slept in the smaller room which was kept dark.  Her reluctance to go to bed or just have a nap was over-the-top insanely crazy.  And everyone's tempers were on edge.  I kept praying for peace... but even though we are all Christians, the tenseness was inexplicable.  

At the end of our stay, while I was quickly vacuuming, I saw in the far corner of that dark room - a huge idol.  HOW had we not seen this???  If I had known, I would have had that temporarily moved and hidden from sight!!!  Now, God is more powerful than all powers of the universe put together, and He will protect us in ways that we won't necessarily realize!  And as believers, when we fear the Lord, we do not have to fear anyone or anything else!  

So as these agitations invade our lives, pray for God's protection.  Also, search your house for anything connected to that realm... idols (even if "decorative"), ouija boards, tarot cards, demonic books, movies, posters, anything related to witchcraft (including wiccans)... Destroy it and put it all in the trash!  If you are into a sport like yoga and you are asked to meditate on some word, etc. - find a different sport.

Besides demonic activity, we can be victims of criminal activities.  Jacob was not innocent, and most certainly was experiencing some consequences of his own actions; but he was a victim of Laban's schemes.  God sees everything, and although He will see to justice, sometimes He allows us to go through experiences and challenges which help us grow in our faith and our trust in the Lord.  

When we go through struggles and experience tension in our relationship with others, continue seeking the Lord and His will, which includes us making peace with others as best as we can, in His love, strength and wisdom.  And as God asks us to do something, we have to know that He is with us in that commandment.  God is omnipresent, but for Him to be "WITH us" - on our side - we need to be in His will and "on His side"!  

relationships (Genesis 30:25-43) Putting Our Trust in the Lord

(Genesis 30:25-43)  Now it came about when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my own country. 26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me depart; for you yourself know my service which I have rendered you.” 27 But Laban said to him, “If now it pleases you, stay with me; I have divined that the Lord has blessed me on your account.” 28 He continued, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.” 29 But he said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you and how your cattle have fared with me. 30 For you had little before I came and it has increased to a multitude, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?” 31 So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock: 32 let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted sheep and every black one among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages. 33 So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen.” 34 Laban said, “Good, let it be according to your word.” 35 So he removed on that day the striped and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, every one with white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the care of his sons. 36 And he put a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37 Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white which was in the rods. 38 He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the gutters, even in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink. 39 So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. 40 Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with Laban’s flock. 41 Moreover, whenever the stronger of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might mate by the rods; 42 but when the flock was feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. 43 So the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Jacob, wisely and considerately, waited until none of his women were pregnant before he began discussing a move back home.  When Laban asked Jacob to stay longer, they made a deal that he would tend Laban's flocks for a while, and then after that, everything spotted, speckled and black would be his wages.  Laban agreed, but then immediately removed everything spotted, speckled and black, thinking that the all-white flocks in Jacob's hands would only reproduce all-white (because he wanted more for himself).

Jacob was a seasoned shepherd and knew how to stimulate the animals to reproduce.  He also understood selective breeding, although he probably would not have known about latent genes in DNA structure.  Ultimately, he did trust God in this, and gave God the credit for his success - as one should!

Laban used divination to determine things, which is not just a sin, but it can obviously be misleading.  Although - one doesn't need to resort to worldly gods and demonic methods to realize that anyone can be blessed just for the simple fact that they are near someone who is a believer - who - is near to God.  It is also clear here that Laban was just selfish and greedy.  He could have turned to God himself at any time, and then God would have blessed him directly. 

When non-Christian friends ask me to pray for them, I do, but then I also ask that as God answers, He will make it obvious to them that it was all because of Him!  Soon after, those friends will tell me, "Your prayers worked!"  This usually allows me to share with them a little more about God and how He works.  They often end up saying, "Well, that's fine for you.  I don't need God."  But what they don't realize just from the simple fact that they asked me to pray for them because they were at wits-end - is that - they do need God!  And there are so many more benefits in putting our trust in the all-knowing and all-powerful Lord Jesus Christ, and having a close relationship with Him!!!  

relationships (Genesis 29:31-30:24) Finding Our Soulmate

(Genesis 29:31-35)  Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. 34 She conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

(Genesis 30:1-24)  Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die.” 2 Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 She said, “Here is my maid Bilhah, go in to her that she may bear on my knees, that through her I too may have children.” 4 So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him Dan. 7 Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 So Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad. 12 Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “Happy am I! For women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

14 Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he may lie with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, then Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 God gave heed to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my maid to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. 19 Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 21 Afterward she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb. 23 So she conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24 She named him Joseph, saying, “May the Lord give me another son.”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

The sin of having more than one wife, led to favoritism, led to jealousy and accusations and anger, which only led to more "wives" and game-playing in order to win the heart of the husband.  In the competition to give Jacob the most children, the children themselves were unwisely drawn into the drama!  And they resorted to seeking out worldly "remedies".  Mandrakes were thought to be an aphrodisiac or something that could enhance fertility.  The end result of the women's bartering was that Jacob was "paid" for sex.  And what about Jacob?  It seems like maybe he felt powerless and just allowed this to all happen.  But he was an accomplice!

What a crazy dysfunctional family!  And from these children would come the twelve tribes of Israel.  Obviously from the beginning, God knew that Jacob and his family would create a mess like this, but the Lord chose to be born in flesh through them anyway.  He came to die for all sin because we all need saving.  And then, we all need to have God in our lives to help us.

Part of the problem with all three adults is that they were looking for their spouse (and perhaps their children) to "complete" them.  These phrases that the world loves to use, like: we need to find our "person" or our "soulmate" in order to find "the one" who "completes" us, goes hand-in-hand with the expectations that a person can "satisfy" us and be our "whole world" or our "whole reason for living".  I've even heard people say this - "They are my life, without them I don't know what I would do".  

Well, what happens when those people die, or disappoint us?  Because it is only inevitable.  Making another person or thing our god/s (whatever or whoever comes come first in our lives), they will only disappoint us and let us down.  There isn't anything or anyone who is perfect.  Only the Lord God is perfect.

The Lord Jesus came to die in our place to pay for our sin, and rose again to have victory over death.  When we accept Him as our Lord and Savior and make Him "our life" - we gain eternal life and real purpose!  In our salvation, we receive the indwelling Holy Spirit;  so Jesus is literally our "soulmate"!!!   He is the only one who can complete us and satisfy our souls and our lives.  The Lord God Jesus Christ is all-knowing, all powerful, everlasting and faithful.  He will never let us down or disappoint us!  And because He loves us, He will guide and help us to have healthier relationships with those around us.