LastCall: Discovering God in Adversity (Genesis 31:1-17 ) -Bob Caldwell

Discovering God in Adversity   "And you know that with all my might I have served your father. Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me." -Genesis 31:6-7 Twenty years earlier, God made a promise to Jacob saying, "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you" (Gen. 28:15). God proved Himself to Jacob over these years of testing and trials. In all the adversity Jacob went through he discovered God was there with him, keeping him, strengthening him, and blessing him. Listen to Jacob's words: "But the God of my father has been with me" (v. 5). "Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times but God did not allow him to hurt me" (v. 7). "So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me" (v. 9). Like Jacob, it is in adversity that we have the potential to discover amazing things about God. It seems it often requires adversity because, like Jacob, we have to come to the end of ourselves to find a genuine beginning point with God. If we genuinely are seeking to know God, His love, His power, and His faithfulness, then we need to be willing to come to a place where we can no longer put faith in people or ourselves to meet the insurmountable challenges we face. We, like Jacob, will need to see the end of all human resources as the beginning point of discovering the immeasurable resources of God.
Genesis 31:1-17  Jacob Flees from Laban 1 Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, "Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has acquired all this wealth." 2 And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before. 3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you." 4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, 5 and said to them, "I see your father's countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me. 6 And you know that with all my might I have served your father. 7 Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me. 8 If he said thus: ‘The speckled shall be your wages,' then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked shall be your wages,' then all the flocks bore streaked. 9 So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. 10 "And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. 11 Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.' And I said, ‘Here I am.' 12 And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.'" 14 Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, "Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? 15 Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money. 16 For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children's; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it." 17 Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels.
Jacob Leaves Laban (Verses 1-21) v. 2 Countenance of Laban – God allows this change in the relationship to prompt obedience to His command to return to Canaan. v. 3 Lord Said – What God promised 20 years ago at Bethel, He is now going to fulfill (Gen. 28:13-15). v. 4 Called Rachel and Leah – Jacob wisely seeks the understanding and support of his wives before he takes action. v. 7 Deceived Me – Laban had treated Jacob over the years as Jacob and his mother had treated Isaac and Esau. Changed My Wages – As Laban saw the continued prosperity upon Jacob's efforts to build his own flocks, he had tried ten times to reduce Jacob's profits. v. 7 But God – Jacob realizes that it was ultimately God, not his breeding techniques, that prospered him. v. 10 In A Dream – We see that the whole arrangement Jacob set up with Laban was based upon his response to a prophetic dream God had given him. v. 12 I Have Seen – God reminds Jacob that He is to be seen as the one He revealed Himself to be at Bethel. Jacob's actions are, therefore, to be based upon his understanding of the character of God. v. 15 Considered Strangers – Laban had not shared his wealth with his daughters, but did just the opposite. He had used his two daughters as a means of getting the skilled work of Jacob for 14 years at no cost.

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