A Thief in the Family

O.T.#65  "A Thief in the Family"        June 10, 2013
Genesis 31-Part 2
And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.  Genesis 31:22

LET IT GLOW

The Lord blessed Jacob's herds and flocks with stripes, spots, and speckles. Ordinarily, one would not want that on their animals, but Jacob made a deal with Laban that Laban took all the solid colored new borns and he took the others. The Lord continued to multiply Jacob's animals.
Then the Lord told Jacob to go back to Bethel. Apparently, Jacob didn't wait around for a sign or
a second dream. He told Rachel and Leah, his two wives, they packed, and they were on the road
back to Canaan. Laban was shearing his sheep when Jacob's family, servants, and animals left.
After 20 years, Jacob had had enough of Laban and his life there. Yeah, Jacob is finally going
back to where he left God's will.

Probably Laban would have been glad to be rid of the man who outsmarted him, had it not been
for one thing-his daughter Rachel stole Laban's idols. Jacob did not know this had happened.

The gods were given as part of an inheritance. The chief heir should receive the father's gods, idols. The sisters would not, since they were married to Jacob. Who was the thief?

Jacob's household was filled with idols and was not fully committed to God. How can a family worship God with the heavy chain of idolatry wrapped tightly around it?  Their idols were made
of wood and stone. What about ours? What consumes our time and money? Where does our
security come from? (Lucretia Mobbs, Missions Mosaic Magazine)

Stay tuned to find out how done it/did it.

So where's the blessing? Nothing can compare to the inheritance which belongs to a believer in
Jesus Christ-heaven with God.

LET IT GROW

Jacob and his entourage did not make a simple and fast exit. He had a lot of animals, kids, and stuff to move. It took 3 days before Laban realized they were gone and 7 days for Laban's band to
catch up with them. 
Can you see the dust flying on the dirt road? Maybe there wasn't a road or highway for them to
travel on. Maybe they were going through the green fields so the animals could eat. I don't know.

Moving can be fun with the idea of a new beginning, but traveling with 12 kids? And all those
noisy animals? How pleasant could that be?

Jesus walked on the dusty roads of the Promised Land. He didn't have an air conditioned van,
either.
Do I get grumpy when traveling or moving? Hmm...yes.

LET IT GO

Don't be guilty of holding onto idols in my life, drop them.

Follow Jesus.

If I have left my Bethel, left the Lord's will, go back.

*I am going to hold onto day, my 59th birthday. Don't need to count any more. Let them come,
 but it won't matter. :)
Actually, I am very grateful to my Creator that He has allowed me to live this long. Have a great, blessed day, ya'll. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
*Gaylene, I received your gift and will let you know how it was spent to minister in the D.R.