Theme: PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
Text: “And said unto them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me. And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.” – Genesis 31:5-7.
Comment: While Jacob worked for Laban his mother’s brother, God blessed him abundantly such that Laban and his children became of jealous of his success. After being directed by God in a dream to return to his father’s land, Jacob called his wives and complained to them how their father had behaved fraudulently towards him, as in the citation for today. They supported fully his plan to stow away. The fact was that Laban did not want Jacob to go but to remain his servant, making money for him for life. But because Jacob was honest and discrete in his ways, God did not allow Laban’s expectation to come to pass. (Proverbs 10:28) Jacob said: “If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked. Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.” (Genesis 31: 5-9) Scripture says: “That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.” (1 Thessalonians 4:6) Jacob did not defraud his master but at the same time he was negligent about planning for his future, hence God helped him. In Proverbs 28:20, the Bible says: “A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.”