Week 34, Day 1: Jacob Flees From Laban
Today’s Reading: Genesis 31:1-55
Some thoughts from the reading…
Sometimes things just don’t work out the way you plan. You can have an idea of what you think will happen, but in the end, it works out a completely different way. That seems to be the story of Jacob’s life. Remember, he worked for Laban for 7 years, only to be tricked into marrying his eldest daughter, Leah. He then had to work another 7 years to complete his requirement for marrying Rachel. After that, he worked another 6 years to develop his own herd so that he would not have to leave and head back to Canaan empty handed. Also remember, he had left his home so that he could get away from Esau, who was angry with him and going to kill him. His mother had told him to leave for a few days, so that he could preserve his life. That “few days” has turned into 20 years! That was certainly not what Jacob had planned.
In our reading today, we see that Jacob had to flee from Laban, because he was afraid that he would take his wives away from him, or take his flocks back. That was certainly not what Jacob had planned on. He had had a fairly good relationship (it seems) with Laban up to that point. He also did not know that Rachel stole the household idol of her father when she left. That caused Laban to pursue them, and even caused Jacob to rashly promise that the perpetrator would be killed, if found. Fortunately, Rachel tricked her father, and kept the idol hidden.
I think there is a lesson for us in all of this. We need to learn that even if we make plans, they are not always going to come to fruition just as we plan. We need to rely upon God, just as Jacob was doing during this 20 years, for things to work out the way that is best for us. Sometimes it is hard for us to put that kind of confidence in God, but we need to have full confidence in Him! We can trust that He will care for us, giving us all that we need. He can providentially preserve us, and see to it that we are taken care of.
One Comment »
Leave a Comment
Cynthia said :
September 1, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Remembering that will help keep us from being discouraged when things do not go as we expect them to. Things may work out better than we expected in the long run!