I love the reliance on God this verse shows!

This totally reminds me of that verse that says to not fear those who can kill the flesh but he who can kill the soul (or something like that). Fear God, NOT man.

I really like this verse because it reminds us that God is watching us and is our witness! Even when we think that we could get away with sin and know one would know this a great reminder of who really does know!

Rachel wanted to secure that Jacob would receive her inheritance by having these gods. Basically whoever had the gods also got part of the inheritance… or something like that. =D Anyways, she was also bringing idolarty into the household, which is totally wrong because their family was supposed to be completely devoted to God! How ironic is it that Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife would be the one to do this???

Jacob tried to escape from Laban whom he betrayed. Jacob was afraid that Laban would mistreat him dearly for the wrongs he had commited against him. God had mercy on Jacob and warned Laban to be careful when talking to Jacob. Even though Jacob deserved to be punished, God knew there was a better way and warned Laban to be civilized. We need to learn from this and be forgiving to others just like Laban was to Jacob. Especially as Christians we need to be forgiving, and I mean actual legit forgivness. These days there are more non-christians being frogiving then Christians. We need to step it up.

This phrase really stood out to me! Wouldn’t it be nice if God called us and we were able to submit to Him with words like, “Here I am, I’m ready to serve You no matter what You ask of me…” and as we recall and remember Him, we would thank Him for all that He has done in our lives?

Hey Laban! Maybe your gods are lame! You need to get some gods that people can’t steal!

Can you imagine this? What if we were always worried that God wasn’t going to be there anymore because someone had taken him? Ha!

As Christians we can know the exact opposite of this. We know that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8). Jesus has promised to be with us always (Matthew 28). Praise God that when we wake up in the morning, every morning, he will be there for us. And no one can take us away from him!

this verse in particular reminded me of Pastor Bobby’ sermon of worldly sorrow versus genuine sorrow. throughout these past incidents with Laban, we have seem him be sorry, and then go on doing what he is “sorry” for. we need to make sure we are truly sorry for our sin, and not looking to apologize for our own gain, like Laban.

this verse reminds me how people we know today can change towards us tommorrow . especially when Gods rapture comes everyone we thought that were are friends will act like our enemies. but thankfully God will never change his love for His faithful ones. we can trust in Him forever in everything we do.

Jacob trusted in God and talked to Rachel and Leah and told them how he wanted to go back to his father’s land. He didn’t know what was in store for him, but he trusted in the Lord. We should all be putting our faith in Him and go wherever He leads us to.

Man, what lying and sin. And from the wife of Jacob. Wow. This shows that anyone can sin, and that is why we need GOD.

19 When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods.

20 Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away.

21 So he fled with all he had, and crossing the River, he headed for the hill country of Gilead.

22 On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled.

23 Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.

ith, without getting in trouble. Like in the beginning of this chapter.

What a cool verse! Jacob knows that all the good things he has been getting came from God. He knew that only because God was on his side he got all those things and he was kept safe. God say the hard work he did. He watched Jacob those 14 years as he toiled away on Laban’s fields. God is watching out for him. He is letting Laban know this because Laban has been very jealous of all of Jacob’s blessings. He wanted to do something aobut it, but he couldn’t. God wouldn’t let him. Jacob had God protecting him and blessing him with the wealth that he gained. Today we can aplly this verse to our lives by remembering that all good things we get come from God. Whenver we are blessed, it’s from God. Whenever we get something we need, it’s from God. Also, We can rest assured that God is watching over us and is protecting us. He will keep us safe. If God is with us, who can be against us? Nobody, that’s who!

This verse really stood out to me… It almost seems as if Leah and Rachel are only caring about their inheritance and wealth, yet at the same time they want Jacob to obey the Lord, knowing that God has technically given it back to them. Obviously, they made the right decision to submit to their husband’s plan, because in the end God protected them from potential danger! Praise God for his glorious providence!

Now, Rachel may be able to hide this from her father, but is she able to hide this sin from God?! NOOOO! Like Bobby said, there is no such thing as secrets and God knows EVERYTHING that is going on, whether it’s between two people, or just in the heart. God sees it and she will be punished for that. Remember to never try to hide anything from the almighty God, because God awesomely knows all. :D

It is great that Jacob and Laban made up/ a covenant. Although it all started with God because he told Jacob to go back to the land of his father and Laban later followed to catch up to Jacob. God knew that Laban would go and follow him because Jacob had the livestock (verse 9). God is so great always having a plan/reason for everything he has us do. He knew that Laban wasn’t being fair to Jacob (verse 5 and 7) but God was with him and told him to leave after Jacob got all the livestock (verse 8). God is so great and I pray he comes soon to reign again. Maranatha!!!

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. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you

God gives you and provides you with what you want. in the hardships thats the times we go to God the most and need him. and it says God and to fear Him and we all need to fear God but be ready for him to come.

Right here Jacob is told by the Lord to go back to his fathers land because of the issue with Laban. Jacob shows faith in the Lord and obeys the Him. In the end, everything turns out to be ok between Laban and Jacob. We need to show this faith in Christ and do whatever He says because we should know that whatevver the Lord tells us to do, He will be faithful.

God knew what was happening to Jacob, and He made sure that he was taken care of even though Laban tried to take advantage of him multiple times. In the same way, God knows everything that happens in our lives; He knows when we are persecuted for our faith, and when we are wronged. And He will make sure that those sins do not go unpunished. But if we retaliate in anger when we are wronged, we need to know that that will not go unpunished either; we need to have confidence that the God who sees everything will take care of us without us having to take revenge ourselves.

Laban was not being a good person. He became jealous and angry with Jacob. So, after Laban searches “everything,” they decided to create a covenant. After that, they eat, sleep, then Laban returns home. Interesting……

6 You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength,

hmmm righteousness…this is what we need to do! Work at everything with all stregnth! I am been trying to apply this myself and when I do it, it has been effective, I got the best grades I ever did in school I think and just in sports like more playing time. It’s a command in Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” this could be really challenging to apply.

11 The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’

??????I have seen the phrase “Here I am” a lot in the book of Genesis, can anyone help me so I could get an understanding of why the phrase “Here I am” is used, that would be appreciated????????? Is this phrase used to show that God is with him like like what God says in verse 3, like I am with you so you will be safe when Jacob leaves Laban and goes home?

23 Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.
24 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.”

This would be freaky to me a little bit, having your father-in-law chase after you as you leave. God protects Jacob as He told Jacob that He would and came to Laban in a dream telling Laban basically be careful not to speak to Jacob.

34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel’s saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing.

What a break! God really protected Rachel in this situation! It was God’s will to have those false idols be taken away, so that He can get the praised that He deserves rather than Laban praising or serving other false Gods.

50 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.”

I like this response by Jacob, “remember that God is a witness between you and me.” this is so true because God knows everything and He see’s everything (He’s the witness) and one day we are going to be before God’s throne and going to be judge on what we’ve done. We deserve the death, because the wages of our sins equal death and that deserves being thrown into hell, but Christ will be our defense and will be our way because He sacrificed Himself out of love and mercy on the cross for our sins to be justified. Let all praise be to Christ!

Marantha! Come quickly O Lord!

The mistreatment of Jacob by Laban did not go unnoticed by God. God blessed him and his flocks, even though he took matters into his own hands at times. God is just and will avenge those who are wronged (Romans 12:19). Thus we should trust in God for justice when we are wronged and not try to do enact it ourselves.

I noticed that through all these quarrels and dilemmas God was completely faithful to his promises. Laban and Jacob didn’t deserve God’s patience or help, yet God promised to be with Jacob. Through this we see evidence of how God is merciful and shows forbearance with Jacob’s sins. It is amazing that God would even associate himself with sinners like us. I can’t even imagine how patient God has to be with us waiting until we understand the basic concept that sin is bad. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6) Through God’s love and forbearance with our sins he sent his son, Jesus to suffer for our sins. If we could even display a hint of the patience that God has shown us then would we be able to fathom who God is, and how he could be so loving to us who are sinners.

Jenae, the same verse stood out to me! One thing is reapeated over and over again in the book of Genesis…man is sinful, deceitful, and continually falls short, but God is faithful, true, and honest. Genesis reminds us that if we put our hope in other people they will fail us–every time! Only God is worthy of our trust because he is 100% trustworthy. Although Jacob and Laban continually took turns deceiving each other, God’s plan for His people Israel was being worked out. Just as God was there for Jacob to be sure that His plan and purpose was fulfilled in his life, God is there for us, guiding our way despite the unfair or deceitful things that happen to us.

THis verse caught my eye for two reasons. One… God is called Fear in this verse. I think thats pretty cool because we are supposed to fear God because of all he can do! The second is that if we are alone, we can do nothing. If we have God at our side, we can do all things according to his will! That is such a cool promise and that can help us so much when we are going through hard times like Jacob.

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. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.”

43 Laban answered Jacob, “The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne?

44 Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us.”

45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.

Laban, became jealous of Jacob’s prosperity and tried to take away everything from him, but no matter what he did, God provided for Jacob, because of his promise with Abraham and Issac. yes, God protects us, but it doesnt mean we should jump into any trouble and get hurt. we are only mortals because of the original sin of Adam and Eve.

persistent prayer wouldnt work unless you gave it a try.Pray for Maranatha!