Genesis 31:1-16
He heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s. From that which was our father’s, has he gotten all this wealth.” Jacob saw the expression on Laban’s face, and, behold, it was not toward him as before. Yahweh said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers, and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”
Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field to his flock, and said to them, “I see the expression on your father’s face, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me. You know that I have served your father with all of my strength. Your father has deceived me, and changed my wages ten times, but God didn’t allow him to hurt me. If he said this, ‘The speckled will be your wages,’ then all the flock bore speckled. If he said this, ‘The streaked will be your wages,’ then all the flock bore streaked. Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock, and given them to me. It happened during mating season that I lifted up my eyes, and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which leaped on the flock were streaked, speckled, and grizzled. The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Now lift up your eyes, and behold, all the male goats which leap on the flock are streaked, speckled, and grizzled, for I have seen all that Laban does to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you vowed a vow to me. Now arise, get out from this land, and return to the land of your birth.’”
Rachel and Leah answered him, “Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? Aren’t we accounted by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also quite devoured our money. For all the riches which God has taken away from our father, that is ours and our children’s. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do.”
God enters the picture in this passage through a dream. Jacob tells Rachel and Leah that in the dream, God showed him that it was God that made him rich. This God who gave everything to Jacob also told him to leave and go back to the land that God wanted him to live in. This is an obvious theme in Genesis. God has a people of promise who are to be in a land of promise. Like I mentioned before, we are going to see this theme again in Egypt. Jacob is oppressed and finally given great wealth by the power of God and set free to go back to his land.
It is amazing how clear things get when we listen to the word of God. Rachel and Leah realized that their father had actually sold them and treated them with shame. When God’s truth is realized, it shines like light on the evil and the good and makes our way clear. What a good thing it is when a family gets together and agrees to do what God says. Finally, Jacob and his wives were in agreement.
Notice that God is able to keep someone safe and even make them prosper while being oppressed. We should not worry about our future or fight for a better position in life. Instead, we should listen to God and obey everything He says. He will give us the best life possible.