“Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been.” (Gen 31:1-2NIV)
What did Jacob notice, as we are shown in our opening text? The change in Laban’s attitude towards him? In other words, Laban no longer related to him kindly any more. And had he been kind to him before this time? Well, to some extent, he must have been kind to him. Truly, he cheated Jacob ten times of his wages. But that is not to say that he was not kind towards him at all.
For example, he gave him his two daughters as wives. Also, he provided all of them and their children with accommodation. And though he did cheat him of his wages a number of times, he did not stop him from building his own wealth. So, Laban was not altogether a bad person. And isn’t that interesting to know?
But then, at some point, Laban’s attitude towards Jacob changed. Why? The reason was that his sons had been telling him that Jacob had taken over his wealth. And was that true? No, it was not true at all?
Jacob, as we see in bible accounts, worked very hard for about 20 years for their father, Laban. And though he was working really hard for him, the man had no intention of rewarding him accordingly. Instead, he was cheating him of his wages, not even considering the fact that they were related by blood. And if God had not stepped into the situation, Jacob would have left his house empty-handed.
However, God stepped into the situation to reward Jacob for his loyalty to him. So, as Jacob would later tell his wives, it was God Himself that took away Laban’s wealth and gave it to him (Gen 31:9). More so, Laban himself knew that it was because of Jacob that God had made him wealthy and not because of his cleverness (Gen 30:27). Unfortunately, his sons were too spiritually blind to see that. So, they began to eye Jacob’s wealth and to poison his mind against him.
But then, where were these sons of Laban when Jacob was working hard night and day and making money for their father? Why were they too not actively involved in their father’s business at the time? They were probably getting drunk and sleeping around with women with the money Jacob was making for their father. Yet they could wake up one morning and start saying that Jacob had stolen their father’s wealth. What a shame!
Sadly, there are still children like them today. They live off the sweat of other people for their parents. Then when those people begin to rise out of the shadows of their parents, they will start talking rubbish with their mouths and saying things like, “If my father had not picked you up from the mud, where would you have been?” Shame on them! They are nothing but Laban’s sons, irresponsible and useless.
In any case, Jacob was attentive enough to notice what was happening at the time. He was attentive enough to know that he, his household and his wealth were no longer safe with Laban. And what did he do about that? He waited for God’s instruction. Of course, we are not told in clear terms that he prayed to God about the matter. But I personally believe that he must have communed with God about the matter. That is because the next thing we are told in the account is, “Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”” (Gen 31:3NIV)
When did the Lord tell Jacob to leave Laban’s house? It was after his observation that Laban’s attitude towards him had changed. So, there must have been some sort of communion between him and God about the situation.
At any rate, the point of it all is that Jacob did not leave Laban’s house merely on the basis of his observation; rather, he left it on the basis of a divine revelation. And that was why his departure from there did not result in harm for him.
In like manner, we too must be attentive and observant in all our dealings with people. Otherwise, where we think is safe for us may just have become a death trap for us or certain opportunities meant for our greater prosperity may simply elude us. But then, as also in Jacob’s case, as God’s people, we should not make any decision merely on the basis of our observations; rather, we should learn to always seek God’s face in His word and through prayer for divine revelations on what to do with our observations. Otherwise, we may end up making decisions that we will have no strength or wisdom to see through or making decisions that will rob us of God’s provisions for our elevation.
Cheers!
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