Tuesdays with Jacob

Read Genesis 31:43-49 – And Laban answered and said to Jacob, these daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.” So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.  And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, also Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. (NKJV)

Laban and Jacob are on the edge of war, but the older man ultimately relents rather than attack his daughters and their children. What’s the cause for such conflict? Certainly the mistrust between the two men has been brewing for years, but there’s a deeper issue. Laban has an inaccurate view of what belongs to him. He claims that Jacob’s wives and children are his possessions—certainly not the only father-in-law to make such a mistake. And this flawed opinion seems to be at the core of many of his deceptive schemes, as he tries to hold onto what really isn’t his. Thinking things belong to us that really don’t can lead to all kinds of trouble. Such attitudes can ruin our understanding of stewardship as we think what truly belongs to God is somehow ours. That’s why it’s best to recognize that everything we have belongs to God. Then we can embrace change and even loss in a much healthier way than Laban did.

– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God.