Daily Devotions
Genesis
"Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." Psalm 106:1
Text: Genesis 31:1-55
TIME TO RETURN TO CANAAN
Jacob knew that it was time to return to Canaan. A number of reasons led him to conclude that it was high time to leave the land of the East and return to The Promised Land.
“Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying,
‘Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and
from what was our father’s he has acquired all this wealth.
And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it
was not favourable toward him as before.
Then the Lord said to Jacob, ‘Return to the land of your fathers
and to your family, and I will be with you.'”
GENESIS 31:1-3
Three reasons helped Jacob to make up his mind that it was indeed the right time to make preparations to return home to Canaan.
1. The Growing Hostility of Laban and his sons
Jacob had once been welcomed as part of the family. Laban had received him as his bone and his flesh (Cf. Genesis 29:14). The recent development of Jacob amassing significant wealth had changed the disposition of Laban and his sons towards Jacob.
They were just short of making serious accusations against Jacob. They felt that the wealth he had accumulated should have been Laban’s! Secret councils were being held by Laban and his sons concerning what they should do with reference to Jacob!
2. Accumulation of Sufficient Wealth
Jacob informed his father-in-law that he would need to go about making adequate provision for his growing family (Cf. Genesis 30:30). Laban had agreed to a business proposition that seemed to be in Laban’s favour. However things did not turn out as Laban had hoped. Jacob was the one who ended up far richer than Laban, to the chagrin of the latter!
3. God’s Instruction
If Jacob read the signs carefully, he would have concluded that he had overstayed his welcome. However, one more thing was needed. God must approve of his plans to make the move to return to Canaan. Would God be interested and concerned about a “small” decision like that?
Jacob must have been really glad when the Lord came to him and gave him a personal and very definite word. There was that wonderful promise that the Lord gave him when he first started out from Canaan. That was that glorious word of promise once again. Those words meant much more than Jacob’s correct reading of the tensed situation in Laban’s family.
“I will be with you.”
GENESIS 31:3