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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
He was now commencing to reap as he had sown. He was now being treated as he had treated his father and brother, and the deceiver is at length deceived. He had come to the school whence all his own powers of deceit had originally come. Laban is seen to be the equal of his clever sister Rebekah, and Jacob is being paid back with the family coin. God has no favorites, and if His own chil dren wander from the pathway they have to suffer. And yet the sufferings are not punitive, but disciplinary. We are chastened and trained and it is the highest wisdom of every believer to accept and to learn all that God has to teach him.—W. H. Griffith Thomas. All this is part of God’s plan for his conviction, con version, sanctification and preparation for His great pur pose on behalf of Israel and the whole world later on. Happily Jacob is not obliged to wait another seven years before marrying Rachel, but receives that part of his com pensation in advance (27-28.) We meet with some indeli cate things here, but we should remember that these his tories were written not from our point of view but in the style of the simple people of the past. It is desirable to familiarize ourselves with the names of the twelve sons of Jacob, since they become so prominent in the history of Is rael and of the world. Notice who was the mother of Levi and of Judah, and also of Joseph (29:24-35; 30:24 ). The polygamy and concubinage spoken of are not only con trary to the Gospel, but not to be regarded as approved of God at any time (Mai. 2:14-15; Matt. 19:3-9), but in ac cordance with the customs of those times. In this connec tion it is notable that Isaac seems to have remained a mono gamist.— James M. Gray. Chapter 80—When we read of Jacob’s plot against Laban our hearts- sink within us as we remember that this was done by a man who had been to Bethel, had seen angels, and heard the voice of God. We may not be surprised at Laban’s deception; but for one who had met with God to descend to the level of the worldling, was indeed a deplor able revelation. Here are two men trying to outwit each other, and one of these two men is a professed believer in God. It is absolutely impossible to excuse and to exculpate Jacob. On no account was he warranted in following La ban’s example. Just as it had been alm ost from the first, he was afraid to trust God with his affairs. He must take them into his own hands, and use all kinds of unworthy means to bring about ends that were in themselves per fectly right and justifiable.—W. H. Griffith Thomas. Chapter 81.1—Mark carefully the steps by which Jacob was led to return home. They afford a striking lesson on the Divine methods of guidance. First of all a desire to go home sprang up in Jacob’s heart. Then circumstances between him and Laban began to make it impossible for him to remain. The nest was being stirred up, and his position rendered intolerable by envy, jealousy and in justice. And, lastly, came the Divine message of command. Thus inward desire, outward circumstances and the Divine word combined to make the pathway clear. This is ever the way of God’s guidance; the conviction of the spirit within, the Word agreeing with it in principle, and then outward circumstances making action possible. Wheh these three agree, we may be sure of right guidance. When the first two alone are clear, the way may be right but the time has not yet come. When the third only is clear and the two former are not, we may be certain that the way is not right. Only let us be spiritually alert, and then ‘the meek will He guide in judgment, thè meek will He teach His way.’—W. H. Griffith Thomas.
We cannot fail to see the hand of God overruling, and making even the wrath of man to praise Him. We are often perplexed by the problems of sin and freewill, and we are baffled as we try to think out how God’s will can possibly be done amid all the perverseness of human na ture. But we can learn much from a story like this, as we observe each actor a perfectly free agent and yet see every thing taken up into the Divine purpose.—W. H. Griffith Thomas. .¿¡a a » ELEMENTARY Kate H. Haus
As Jacob traveled on, he came to Haran, where his uncle lived. There was a great well there, w h e r e sheep were being watered. Shepherds came to water their sheep, and from them Jacob learned he was at his uncle’s place. After w a t e r i n g their sheep, the shepherds put the heavy stone back on the well. Rachel, a very lovely young woman, came with her father’s sheep. The men
told Jacob she was his uncle Laban’s daughter. He was very glad to see his cousin Rachel, and rolled the stone away for her and watered her sheep. Rachel ran home, telling her father that she had found her cousin Jacob out by the well. Laban ran to meet Jacob, and welcomed him to his house. Jacob stayed to work for his uncle. At the end of seven years, he was to marry Rachel, whom he- loved. When the time came, Laban cheated him and made him marry Leah, Rachel’s older sister; he had to work seven more years before he could marry Rachel. Jacob had cheated his father and Esau; now he got cheated by his uncle. When you cheat others, be sure you will be cheated some day yourself. By and by, Jacob decided to leave his uncle. When Laban heard it, he begged Jacob to stay for he said, “God has blessed me since you have been with me.” Jacob consented to stay if Laban would give him all the speckled goats and brown sheep that were born on the farm while he stayed. Laban promised and by and by, Jacob had more cattle than his uncle. This caused trouble, and Jacob saw it was best to leave his Uncle. God came to Jacob in a dream, telling him to go back to his jown land. Jacob was afraid to tell Laban what God had said, so he gathered his family in secret and stole away without Laban knowing it, Jacob was again afraid to trust God and go openly. When Laban found it out, he was angry and started after Jacob, ready to fight when he found him. But God said to Laban in a dream, "Take heed that you do not harm Jacob.” When Laban found Jacob, he was afraid to harm him after what God said to him, so he said that he had come after one of his gods that he felt some one from Jacob’s family had stolen. After searching, and not finding his heathen god, and knowing that he had not treated Jacob exactly right, they decided to make a covenant with each other, and part in peace. Jacob set up a stone as a sort of altar, and as a seal to their covenant. Then they gathered many stones into a heap; using them for a table, they ate a meal there with each
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