Daily Devotions
Genesis
"Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!" Psalm 105:3
Text: Genesis 31:1-55
GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY OVER HUMAN AFFAIRS
Jacob’s arrangement with Laban was that he would take all the spotted and speckled (Cf. Genesis 30:33). Laban had accepted this original agreement. As he noted how Jacob’s flocks grew, he made attempts to change the original agreement.
“If he said thus: ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’
then all the flocks bore speckled.
And if he said thus: ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’
then all the flocks bore streaked.'”
GENESIS 31:8
Jacob did not speak about how he attempted to make his sheep and goats produce strong offspring. Laban had probably tried to prevent Jacob from doing what he did, to thwart his efforts. Human efforts may be thwarted, but no one could stop the Lord from intervening!
A SPECIAL MESSAGE IN A DREAM FROM GOD
Jacob must have recounted event after event, of how God intervened and how He had blessed him so greatly. If Laban became poorer in comparison, he could not blame Jacob for it. The blessings were from none other than God Himself.
The most important thing had not been shared yet. The most significant thing was that God had given Jacob a dream.
“And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived,
that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold,
the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked,
speckled, and gray-spotted. Then the Angel of God spoke to me
in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’
And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap
on the flocks are streaked, speckled and gray-spotted;
for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.
I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and
where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land,
and return to the land of your family.'”
GENESIS 31:10-13“The Angel of God spoke to me…”
What did the dream mean? Jacob looked at the flocks he cared for. It appeared as if all the flocks were “streaked, speckled and gray-spotted”. The Angel of God explained the meaning of this dream! The Lord had observed all the wrong things Laban had attempted to perpetrate against Jacob. He had vindicated Jacob as the innocent party!
“I am the God of Bethel…”
Did Jacob remember that he had made a vow to God at Bethel (Cf. Genesis 28:20-22)? God certainly had not forgotten! The Lord had been protecting and blessing Jacob all these years! On His orders, Jacob would be well advised to return home immediately!