Genesis 31 Devotional Bible Study

Genesis 31 Chapter Summary

Laban and his sons became jealous of Jacob's success. Then, God told Jacob to go back to Canaan. Jacob told his two wives God had revealed the method of breeding to him in a dream, and they agreed to leave Paddan Aram and go to Canaan.

As they were leaving, Rachel stole Laban's household gods without Jacob's knowledge, and the family did not tell Laban they were leaving. Three days later, Laban heard about Jacob's departure and took his relatives with him to chase Jacob down. In a dream, God told Laban,

 

"Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad."

- Genesis 31:24

 

When Laban caught up to Jacob, he accused him of not letting him bid his family farewell and of stealing his gods. Jacob admitted he was afraid Laban would take his wives back from him, then allowed Laban to search his belonging for the idols. Rachel was sitting on them on her camel. She told Laban she couldn't get up because she was on her period.

 

The two men, still unfriendly toward one another, made a covenant not to cross that spot to harm each other. Laban also charged Jacob not to take any other wives than his two daughters. The next morning, Laban bid his family farewell and returned home.

 

Envious of Others’ Blessings?

Genesis 31:1-2

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.

Have you every envied someone else’s success? Have you ever felt like God was blessing them more than He was blessing you?

Maybe He is blessing them more than He’s blessing you… Is that okay?

I’m reminded of Jesus’ Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard in which the landowner asks, “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?” (Matthew 20:15). Through that story, Jesus was showing that the Father doesn’t take into account how long we’ve served Him – all are able to gain salvation, even at the last hour.

But the question still stands: Doesn’t God have the right to do what He wants? If He wants to bless some people more than others, that’s His choice. He’s not being unfair because none of us deserve anything, anyway! He would be unfair if we did deserve something, and He didn’t give it to us.

I have a tendency to be envious of the success of other people’s ministries, but if God wants to make some people more successful in ministry than me, that’s His choice.

Going back to this story, why would the Lord choose to make Jacob more successful than Laban? It wasn’t because Jacob was a good person and Laban was a bad person. They both had their character flaws.

The Lord chose to bless Jacob not because of anything Jacob had done but because of God’s specific plan for Jacob’s life. Jacob was going to be a patriarch of Israel. Laban was going to be… Laban?

It comes down to humility and accepting the role in life the Lord has given us. Maybe that other person is being blessed more because they have a different role to fill. Maybe my role is to learn to be content with my role and my level of blessing.

 

 

Obeying the Lord… Kind of?

Genesis 31:20-21

Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. So he fled with all he had, crossed the Euphrates River, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.

The Lord told Jacob to go back home, which Jacob is doing. But the Lord never told Jacob to be deceptive about it. Jacob is obeying – but sinning at the same time. Why? Because he’s afraid of Laban, not trusting that the Lord is able to protect him if he’s honest about his plans.

Have you ever been in Jacob’s situation? The Lord commands you to do something scary, and you do it, but you’re also hedging your bets and going into self-protect mode? Maybe you’re thinking you’ll do what the Lord said but do it quietly so that no one will notice. Or maybe you’re thinking, “Well, if this doesn’t work out, I can always…”

Maybe God said, “Give to such-and-such ministry,” and He lays a certain amount on your heart, but you wait to check your bank account first. Maybe He prompts you to tell someone about your faith, but you first weigh the possible outcomes of how that person is going to react, or who else is around who might hear you.

I give Jacob credit for going when the Lord said go, but I don’t respect how he went. May we be bold enough and strong enough and trust enough in the Lord that we do what He commands without thinking about the consequences.

 

“Don’t Say Anything”

Genesis 31:22-24

On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

I remember while I was in college, there was an underclassman whom I found extremely annoying. He was just so easy to make fun of. But then I read this passage and felt the Lord commanding me, “Don’t say anything about that person. You don’t have to be false by saying nice things, but you don’t have to say mean things either.”

Very often, the wisest action for us to take is to Just Stop Talking. “Be careful not to say anything [to that person or about that person], either good or bad.”

Don’t accuse them. Don’t flatter them. Don’t argue with them. Don’t plead with them. Either your spirit or their spirit isn’t right, so no conversation between the two of you will be helpful. 

 

 

How Would Other People Describe Your Relationship to God?

Genesis 31:42

“If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed.”

The Fear of Isaac. That’s an interesting way to describe the Lord. It shows us how Jacob saw his father’s relationship to God. Jacob saw that above all else, Isaac feared the Lord.

How would your children, or those around you, describe your relationship with God? Would they say, “That person fears the Lord”? Or, “That person loves God”? Or, “That person makes every decision in light of God’s Word”?

What effect does your relationship with the Lord have on those all other people who observe your life? Does how you relate to God give them a good understanding of who God is? Does it make them want to know the Lord themselves?

What about this idea of fearing the Lord? Scripture says “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). But it also says, “Perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18).

It’s a balance, isn’t it? We want to remember He is the judge, but once we accept His love, we don’t need to live in fear of His judgment because we know that our sins are forgiven. 

 

God is a Witness

Genesis 31:48-50

Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” That is why it was called Galeed. It was also called Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”

Laban knew he wouldn’t be able to see how Jacob was treating his daughters on a daily basis, so he would have to rely on God to watch Jacob.

God is a witness. Do you take that seriously? Sometimes, we don’t do the wrong things we want to do because other people are watching and we don’t want them to think poorly of us. How much more should we care what God thinks of us!

Is there anyone in your life, that if they saw how you behaved on a daily basis, would feel you were in the wrong? Is there anyone from your past, that if they saw how you lived your life today, would testify against you?

Even if they can’t see you every moment, God does.