Jacob and Laban Round 3. Gen. 31.

When was the last time you sensed God’s presence? When did you last practice the presence of God? What was it like to be in God’s presence and how did you know you were there? When was the last time God was present with you? Was He present with you during a time of worship? Or maybe He was present during the last time you read scripture or spent time in prayer.

Most of us want to be sure that we’re in God’s presence especially during times of trouble. And yet many of us may believe that there are certain things we must do in order to enter into or practice or draw into God’s presence. And many times we gauge God’s presence in our lives based on what and how we feel at a particular time and place.

But there is a difference between the question ’when was the last time you sensed God’s presence’ and ’when was the last time God was present with you'. There is little doubt that God was with Jacob from the time he was conceived in his mother’s womb. But God made that clear to Jacob when he met him on the road to his uncle’s house.

Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Gen. 28:15

Did God mean that He would be Jacob when he was in prayer or worship? Did it mean that He would be present with Jacob anytime he decided to practice God’s presence? Was God with Jacob when Laban deceived him in order to get seven more years of work from him? Was He with him when wild animals made off with some of the flock and Jacob had to take it out of his pay? Was God with him when some of the flock was stolen by thieves and Jacob had to take it out of his pay? Where was God when Jacob endured searing heat, biting cold and sleepless night after sleepless night?

We’ve now come to Jacob vs. Laban round three and it’s the last episode in Jacob’s life with Laban and the one in which God finishes teaching Jacob lessons about sin, himself and God.

In Jacob vs. Laban round one we found that God taught Jacob to get real with and get rid of sin.
Jacob vs. Laban round two taught recognize his growth issues.
Now in Jacob vs. Laban round three we discover that Jacob has learned to rely on God for the deepest issues his life. And it’s this reliance on God for his life’s issues that’s critical for Jacob’s growth and maturity in the Lord. Because if Jacob does not learn to rely on God he will spend his life trapped in patterns of deceptive self-serving sin.

What does this episode in Jacob’s life teach about relying in God and what can we learn from it?

Believe God’s promise to be with us. Jacob grew to rely on the Lord when he became convinced in his own mind that God was indeed with him. God had already told Jacob that He would be present with him and would even bring him back to the land of his people in Canaan.
But Jacob did yet believe the Lord. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21  so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God,

At some point in his experience with Laban Jacob came to believe that God was telling the truth and that He was present with him. And it was the growing conviction of God’s presence that moved Jacob from relying just on his own wits and even deceitful scheming to placing his trust in and relying on the Lord for all of his life's issues.

Do you believe that God is present with you in your life right now? Are you convinced that He’s present with you in this present time of trouble that you’re enduring right now?

We believe God is present with us not because we can sense His presence, or because we practice His presence but because we believe that His word to us is right, true and reliable. How do we know that God was with Jacob? He told us that he would be.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matt. 28:20

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. Psalm 139:7-12.

It’s important to remember that God is with us in our times of trouble.
Once Jacob awoke from the dream in which God appeared he recognized that God was there in that place. He consecrated it, changed it’s name and vowed to return to it. But I wonder if Jacob like many of us believed that God was with him only in special, spiritual times of peace and tranquility and not when the waters of life turn a bit more turbulent.

The same God who appeared to Jacob on the road to Laban’ house and promised that He’d be present with him was still with Jacob when Laban took advantage of him. He didn’t fall asleep, take a coffee break or get busy with someone else and then came back only to find that Jacob had gotten tricked.

We're encouraged with the assurance that God is with usin trouble. The presence of trouble in our lives does not mean that God is absent or has turned away from us. Jacob discovered that God was with him even in his time of trouble in dealing with the wicked, scheming Laban.

How do we live and move through the difficulties of life knowing that God is with us?

Ask God for wisdom. The scriptures calls for us to do this in the book of James. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him

Biblical wisdom is God given insight given into our situation that enables us to continue to respond to trouble, pressure and stress in a godly manner. Jacob received wisom from the Lord regarding shepherding Laban's sheep. The last part of Gen 30 shows how he put that wisdom to use and how the Lord blessed him in doing so.

Search the scriptures for direction and comfort during your time of trouble which leads to growth. God gave Jacob specific direction for this point in his life. Though our situation is different from his we too can look to God's word for direction, guidance, hope and comfort for the situation God has placed us in.

Pray for endurance. Jacob had to endure Laban for twenty years. The Lord didn't miraculously rescue Jacob from Laban's influence right after Laban deceived him with Leah. It was God's will for Jacob to remain in this situation for two decades. There are times when a particular trial may last awhile. Pray for God to give you grace and endurance and for insight into what He's teaching you during this time.

Don't confuse biblical forgiveness with biblical confrontation. There are times when we must confront wrongdoing and those who do wrong to us. Jacob's confrontation of Laban is a good example of how to approach those who have wronged us. First Jacob confronts Laban on how he wrong him. Jacob did not desire to harm Laban nor to get revenge. Jacob sticks with the facts as a way of explaining why he left the way he did. But he also charges Laban with sin telling him that unless the Lord had been with him that Laban would have sent him away with nothing which was Laban's intent. Jacob's confrontation of Laban did not result in reconciliation since Laban was unwilling to repent, acknowledge his sin against Jacob and admit that God was with him in a way that the Lord was not with Laban.
Remember, relying on God means that we can and should confront wrongdoing and those who do wrong against us. We demonstrate our reliance on God in such confrontation by not wishing to hurt or get revenge against those who've wronged us as well and by sincerely seeking reconciliation with them.

Lastly it's crucial to remember that God was with Jacob and saw how he was being wronged during his time with Laban. God Himself is with us in our distress. We can believe that because Christ promised to be with His people at all times and until the end of the world. Christ Himself knows of our distress and has endured the same kind of trouble and distresses we must endure. He knows, sees and will have compassion on His people who suffer harm and trouble as we follow Him.

To Him Who Loves Us...
Pastor Lance