Written by: Sue Rinaldi

Genesis 31 v 14-16
Rachel and Leah answered Jacob, “Our father has nothing to give us when he dies. He has treated us like strangers. He sold us to you, and then he spent all of the money you paid for us. God took all this wealth from our father, and now it belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you to do.”

Notes 
Family matters can be so complex! The huge amount of television sitcoms, soaps and dramas that are written around the whole turbulent theme of family relationships is evidence enough. Even comedians find inspiration for many of their jokes from this fertile ground of eternal crisis! The ongoing family drama of Jacob holds no surprises.

Through many twists and turns, we find Jacob about to leave the land of his father-in-law, Laban, and at God's advice, head for home. His wives Rachel and Leah must have found themselves torn between loyalty to their father and loyalty to God. What a situation to be in!

How many times do we get caught up in a situation where we are tempted to find a middle ground and compromise? This may result in us jeopardising our faith or abandoning our values and trading them for some other code of conduct. Who are we loyal to when the heat is on?

Isabella Baumfree, an agitator, preacher and activist in mid 19th century America, abandoned her slave name for a God-given name of Sojourner Truth. Her new name expressed her new mission - that of travelling the land telling the truth. She said, "It's not what they call you that really matters - it's who you answer to."

Rachel and Leah answered to God and stated their support for Jacob to do whatever God said. Who do you answer to?

Prayer
So many people and pastimes are shouting for our loyalty. Help us to stay true to You in word and deed!

Genesis 31 v 17-21
So Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, and they began their journey back to Isaac, his father, in the land of Canaan. All the flocks of animals that Jacob owned walked ahead of them. He carried everything with him that he had gained while he lived in North West Mesopotamia.
While Laban was gone to cut the wool from his sheep, Rachel stole the idols that belonged to him. And Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was leaving. Jacob and his family left quickly, crossed the Euphrates River, and travelled towards the mountains of Gilead.

Notes
Jacob gathered all his children, wives, animals and possessions and left Laban. He headed off in the direction of his father Isaac, who lived in the land of Canaan.

In many ways Jacob had to go back into his past in order to go forward into his future. He had “unfinished business”, especially with his brother Esau from whom he fled all those years ago.

How many times have we had to retrace our steps and repair a broken relationship or heal a past misunderstanding in order to move on? We do not really want to carry around with us unresolved differences that can bring hurt and division. To face conflict and go in search of reconciliation takes courage. Are we courageous people, or do we tend to leave a trail of relational destruction and disturbance in our wake?

As Jacob prepared to leave, Rachel did a strange thing. She stole the household gods. The house of Laban is similar to the house of the 21st century woman and man. Our life can become full of other gods, and other pleasures and philosophies can attract our heart and mind more forcefully than the pursuit of God.

Authors Curtis and Eldredge, in their book “The Sacred Romance”, call us to "give up the less wild lovers that become so much a part of our identity". Maybe we should investigate our own lives and see if any idol or addiction has taken the place of God?

Prayer
Help us to follow You with a devotion that is God-focused and an honesty about how we live. If there are things we need to put right, or people we need to be reconciled with, then give us the courage to act.

Genesis 31 v 22-25
Three days later Laban learned that Jacob had run away, so he gathered his relatives and began to chase him. After seven days Laban found him in the mountains of Gilead. That night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and said, “Be careful! Do not say anything to Jacob, good or bad.”
So Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had made his camp in the mountains, so Laban and his relatives set up their camp in the mountains of Gilead. 

Notes
So the chase began. Jacob fled and Laban raced after him. What a pair! It appears this whole incident had suddenly become number one on Laban's list of things to do and solve!

It’s quite amazing that even though Laban became obsessed with running after Jacob, he was still able to hear from God. Even though he probably felt angry, irritated and badly treated, he was still attentive to the voice of God and in amidst the turmoil was able to hear from God in a dream.

When we display similar emotions of anger and irritation, and when we find ourselves in turmoil, are we still able to let God into our world or do we close the door to divine input and conversation? What a challenge … to stay connected to God through difficult times!

God spoke clearly to Laban through a dream and gave some advice on how he should behave when he met up with Jacob. So, God was interested … interested enough in this “relationship minefield” to drop into a dream and speak!

Do we ever feel that God isn't interested in some areas of our lives? We may ask for God's wisdom over the big decisions of life, but it's easy to shut God out of the “everyday” twists and turns. The truth is that God desires to be involved in everything, from the tiny to the major. Every decision, every relationship, every experience!

Also ... God speaks in a variety of ways, through other people, through the Bible, through circumstance and even through dreams!

Prayer
Let the truth of Your love impact us once again. Your eyes are always on us and Your heart is always tender and open to us. Help us to realise that You want to be involved in every area of our lives, from the big to the small.

Genesis 31 v 26-30
Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You cheated me and took my daughters as if you had captured them in a war. Why did you run away secretly and trick me? Why didn’t you tell me? Then I could have sent you away with joy and singing and with the music of tambourines and harps. You did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. You were very foolish to do this! I have the power to harm you, but last night the God of your father spoke to me and warned me not to say anything to you, good or bad. I know you want to go back to your home, but why did you steal my idols?”

Notes
The temptation to run and escape is alarmingly real to us all. Rather than confront, we avoid. Instead of acting right and choosing the path of purity, we do something foolish and get overwhelmed by bitterness, anger and deception.

Jacob stood accused. According to Laban he had been a cheat and a thief; he had been secretive and foolish!

We have all had those moments of foolishness - some serious; some trivial. At times we can analyse a situation wrongly, and out of our own misguidedness we then harbour wrong thoughts and motives to the point that we do something foolish!

Tom Cruise, who played the character of David Aames in the movie Vanilla Sky, acted foolishly. David lived his life in “escape mode” and never considered the consequences of his actions. Eventually, through a whole series of events, he found he had nowhere to run and was challenged to face up to the true picture.

Do we see the true picture? Or do we get locked into foolish behaviour fuelled by a distorted perception of events and reality? We can always try to justify our actions and attempt to answer our accusers, but is that truly the best way to live?

Over the last decade there has been a growing desire to escape from reality. Among other things, increasingly clever technology and the availability of chemical and liquid enhancements have helped make escape more accessible and possible. Let us make sure we have not taken the escape route, and let's commit ourselves to being real in our lifestyle, relationships, and in our walk with God.

Prayer
There is nothing virtual about Your love and mercy. Today we take time to thank You for the ways that Your friendship has been so real and active.

Genesis 31 v 31-35
Jacob answered Laban, “I left without telling you because I was afraid you would take your daughters away from me. If you find anyone here who has taken your idols, that person will be killed! Your relatives will be my witnesses. You may look for anything that belongs to you and take anything that is yours.” (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen Laban’s idols.)
So Laban looked in Jacob’s tent, in Leah’s tent, and in the tent where the two slave women stayed, but he did not find his idols. When he left Leah’s tent, he went into Rachel’s tent. Rachel had hidden the idols inside her camel’s saddle and was sitting on them. Although Laban looked through the whole tent, he did not find them.
Rachel said to her father, “Father, don’t be angry with me. I am not able to stand up before you because I am having my monthly period.” So Laban looked through the camp, but he did not find his idols.

Notes
Be afraid ... be very afraid! And we are … increasingly so!

Many say we are living in unparalleled times and that our global culture is progressively more filled with suspicion and fear. This century has already been hit by so many tragic events and worrying trends that the state of being “afraid” has become a regular feature of life.

On another level, we are seeing an incredible explosion of “phobias” and millions are reported to be suffering from debilitating fears. The list of identified phobias is lengthening every day, and reading through the “A, B, C” of terror on www.phobialist.com can either be entertaining or disturbingly worrying depending on your own personal phobic rating.

Movies can also add to the fear factor! From killer viruses, to sinister stalkers, to monster eight-legged creatures, we have allowed fear to be turned into entertainment!

Even Jacob tasted fear and admitted that he left secretly because he was afraid of what Laban would do with his daughters, Rachel and Leah, as a result of the departure.

How do you react when you are afraid? What situations cause you to experience fear? Do you become overwhelmed by fear or can you learn to recognise and conquer it? God understands us and longs to be our companion and comforter. When we edge towards being afraid, God desires to intervene and walk with us through the chilling challenges. In those times, can we draw upon God's perfect love to steady us and saturate us with peaceful refreshing waters?

Prayer
God ... help us to lean into You in the times we feel afraid. May we know Your rock-presence that promises to help us, and Your Word of light that promises to guide us.

Genesis 31 v 36-40
Then Jacob became very angry and said, “What wrong have I done? What law have I broken to cause you to chase me? You have looked through everything I own, but you have found nothing that belongs to you. If you have found anything, show it to everyone. Put it in front of your relatives and my relatives, and let them decide which one of us is right. I have worked for you now for 20 years. During all that time none of the lambs and kids died during birth, and I have not eaten any of the rams from your flocks. Any time an animal was killed by wild beasts, I did not bring it to you, but made up for the loss myself. You made me pay for any animal that was stolen during the day or night. In the daytime the sun took away my strength, and at night I was cold and could not sleep.”

Notes
We find Jacob in a tense situation. Laban confronted him, and Jacob got an opportunity to plead his defense. Did he fabricate a story? Did he become angry? Did he try to weave a lie to defend himself? He did none of these. He chose the refreshing path of openness when he allowed Laban to “show it to everyone” if he had “found anything”.

We often get fixated upon the rights and wrongs of an issue or a situation. If we get personally involved in such an incident, we look for supporters to line up behind us to show they are in favour of our opinion or position. When the odds are against us or when criticism comes our way, what do we do?

How easy is it in those times of crisis to be open and transparent? Not very! Instead we are tempted to hide behind a number of disguises and become extremely selective over what we reveal and to whom we reveal it. When we try to hide certain actions and motivations, we slide into the well-known defense mechanism of becoming secretive and evasive. Even in the course of our daily living, we can find it hard to be our true selves and walk in the light!

Imagine being free to unveil your life without fear. Imagine being able to stand before God and people with the intention of being open and vulnerable. We cannot always be right! But God does call us to be other things, like faithful, humble, teachable and unselfish. Maybe these characteristics are of higher value? In a world obsessed with human rights, consumer rights, animal rights and conservation rights, choosing instead the path of faithfulness and humility with a teachable and unselfish spirit could truly be the radical way to live.

Prayer 
In my everyday living, help me to be a person of integrity who remains open and honest in the difficult moments as well as in the easier times. May I understand more deeply what it means to “live in the light”! 

Genesis 31 v 41-42
“I worked like a slave for you for 20 years—the first fourteen to get your two daughters and the last six to earn your flocks. During that time you changed my pay ten times. But the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac, was with me. Otherwise, you would have sent me away with nothing. But he saw the trouble I had and the hard work I did, and last night he corrected you.”

Notes
Jacob clearly told Laban all that he had done throughout the twenty years of “working like a slave” for him and how he had to put up with the difficult and changeable working conditions! Yet Jacob gave honour to a God who had seen everything and intervened in the situation.

Our television channels are full of programmes based on the idea of hidden webcams in the house, in the shop or in the car! With most of these, however, there are usually places outside the scope of the camera lens. These “reality” programmes are a bit farcical because they cease to be reality as soon as the “victims of film” know that this could be their moment of fame! Instead of being themselves, they adopt a more enhanced and exaggerated persona!

God doesn’t need to install webcams around the world! God can quite miraculously see everything, everywhere and at any time! And there is no hiding place from God’s holy vision! We know that to be true, but sometimes we lose the actual reality of that knowledge. We can choose to hide our actions and thoughts from other people, but from God there is no secret enclosure. No one is outside of God’s sight.

How incredible to know that the God of absolute love is watching over us and wants to be involved in every area of our lives. That truth only becomes threatening when we have something to hide! God intervened in the Jacob and Laban face-off. Can we put our confidence in this God who can also be our defender and protector?

Prayer
Let me take comfort today in the fact that You are watching over me. Let me realise once again that I worship a God who desires to be my shield and protector! I am not alone! 


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes