Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Genesis 31 before reading the devotional below.
They say that good fences make good neighbors, and it turns out that they work for family disputes too. Jacob is fed up with Laban’s mistreatment, and now he’s being accused of trying to cheat Laban out of his wealth. They are living in proximity, but back then when they had lots of livestock they weren’t all living in the same house. Jacob decides to flee without telling Laban, and it takes three days for Laban to find out they are gone. In the end, they build a rock wall to signify their separation.
Rachel pulls a fast one and steals her father’s idols, which suggests that there’s some mixing of allegiances to gods in the family. She pulls a “lady problems” excuse to avoid getting caught and it works. The theft goes undetected. It’s unclear why she stole them, but it’s clear that her life was on the line if she were caught.
Here’s your freedom for today:
Freedom is found when we follow the one, true God.
This entire chapter is a story none of us would want to be in. Bad family relationships, fleeing undercover, stealing, lying, and heading back to a place you had to run from in the first place. Jacob’s not leading his family well, and yet he’s the one God is using to build his special nation. Just another example of how God accomplishes his mission regardless of our failings. So many of the problems here could be avoided if Jacob (and Rachel) had a singular focus on the one, true God. They knew him, he was involved in their lives, yet they had other gods and wealth in mind. They are not living free lives as a result. What allegiances are compromising your freedom today?