Genesis 31 Devotional

The God Who Saw the Toil

“If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and last night He rendered judgment.””Genesis 31:42 (BSB)

After twenty years with Laban, the LORD tells Jacob to go home and promises to be with him (31:3). Laban had changed his wages ten times, but God did not let him harm Jacob (31:7). Jacob leaves secretly, and Rachel steals her father's household idols. When Laban catches up, God has already warned him in a dream not to harm Jacob (31:24). Laban searches the tent for his gods and never finds them, because Rachel is sitting on them (31:34). Gods that can be stolen and sat on cannot protect anyone.

Jacob's defense before Laban turns into a confession of faith. If the God of his fathers had not been with him, he would have left with nothing, but God saw his hardship and the work of his hands (31:42). The two men set up a heap of stones and part in peace. Unfair employers and unjust treatment are real, but they do not have the last word. God sees the toil no one else credits.

To think about: Where do you feel your work goes unnoticed, and how does it help to know that God sees it?