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Bro. Otis Fisher
31 And he heard the words of Laban's son, saying,
Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's, and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all his glory.
Evil seeth only evil, negative seeth only negative.
32 And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.
As yesterday and the day before, this form of speech is oriental and means time goes by, and he has not been the same.
33 And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred, and I will be with thee.
34 And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, 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. 35
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.
36 If he said thus, The speckle shall be thy wages, then all the cattle bear speckled.
And if he said thus, The ring streak shall be thy hire, then bear all the cattle ring streak.
37 Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me, and I came to pass, at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ring streaked, speckled, and grizzled.
38 And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying,
Jacob, I said, Here am I. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ring streaked, speckled, and grizzled, for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.
39 I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointest the pillar, and where thou vowest a vow unto me.
40 Now arise, get thee out of this land, and return unto the land thy kindred.
41 And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion of inheritance for us in our father's house?
Are we not counted of him strangers? For he hath sold us, and hath quit devoured also our money, also our money for all the riches which
God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children.
Now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do it. Then Jacob rose up, set his sons and his wives upon camels, and he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting which he had gotten in Paddan Aram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.
And Laban went to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's.
And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled.
So he fled with all that he had, and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the
Mount of Gilead. Now, it is here that we find a very important rule of God.
Jacob acts it out for us. Any time that you have a decision to make, large or small, you must be aware of three things.
One, do I have the desire to do this? Two, are there circumstances so that I can do this?
Three, you must have a peace from God concerning the answer at which you arrive.
Never force any one of these. Never act on anything unless you have all three answered.
Never act when... Now, let me go over them again.
First, there's the desire to do the act.
Of course, you'd have the desire, you wouldn't have decided to do it. Are there circumstances so that I can do this?
In other words, is it financially so that I can?
Circumstances, is the weather so I can do it? Just anything so that you can do it.
Then, third, you must have a peaceful feeling in your heart concerning this.
And he doubteth, Romans 14, 23, and he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith, for whatsoever is not of faith is sin, 22.
And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled. And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey, and they overtook him in Mount Gilead.
And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him,
Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob, either good or bad.
Laban's been told by God to be very careful in dealing with Jacob. Then Laban overtook
Jacob, and Jacob had pitched his tent in the bout, and Laban with his brothers pitched in the
Mount of Gilead. 26 And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters as captives, taken with the sword?
Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me?
And didst not tell me that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with song, with tabaret, and with harp?
And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Thou hast done foolishly in so doing.
Why, we would have had a big going -away party. It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt.
But the God of your father spake unto me yesterday, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob, either good or bad.
And now, though thou wouldest needs to be gone, because thou sore longest after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid, for I said,
Peradventure, thou wouldst take by force thy daughters from me.
With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live. Before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee, for Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
We do not know exactly why she took these gods. Perhaps it was because they were very valuable.
Maybe so that her father would not discern where they had gone. It could have been that she wanted to use them herself.
And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two maidservant's tent, but he found them not.
Then when he went out of Leah's tent, he entered into Rachel's tent. Now Rachel had taken the images, put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them.
And Laban searched all of the tent, but found them not. And she said to her father,
Let it not displease my Lord that I cannot rise up before thee, for the custom of women is upon me.
And he searched, but found not the images. Now what she said might be true, but nevertheless the way she used it caused it to be a lie.
And Jacob was wroth and chided. Chided is to scold mildly, so as to correct or improve, reprimand, to express disproval.
He chided with Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass?
What is my sin, that thou hast so hoitely pursued after me?
Where is thou hast searched all of my stuff? What hast thou found of all thy household stuff?
Set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt me and thee.
This twenty years have I been with thee. Thy ewes and thy she -goats have not cast their young in the rams of thy flock, have
I not eaten that which was torn of beasts? I brought not unto thee,
I bear the loss of it. Of my hand didst thou require it, and whether stolen by day or stolen by night.
Thus I was in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.
Thus have I been twenty years in thy house. I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle, and thou hast changed my wages ten times.
Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty.
God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee yesterday night.
And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, these children are my children, these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine.
And what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have borne?
Now therefore cometh thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou, and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. And Jacob said unto his brother,
Gather stones, and they took stones, and made an heap, and they did eat thereupon the heap.
And Laban called it Jagar Shaddath, but Jacob called it
Gilead. And Laban said,
The heap is a witness before me and thee this day.
Therefore was the name of it called Gilead. And missed
Paul, for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take otherwise besides my daughters, no man is with us.
See, God is witness betwixt me and thee. And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, behold this pillar, which
I have cast betwixt me and thee. This heap be witness, this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me for harm.
The God of Abraham, and the God of Naor, the God of their father, judged betwixt us.
And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac. Then Jacob offered a sacrifice upon the mount, called his brethren to eat bread, and they did eat bread, carried all night in the mount.
And early in the morning Laban rose up, kissed his sons and his daughters, blessed them.