Keeping Boundaries
Opening Prayer
Ask God to reveal more of himself and his ways to you as you read his holy Word today.
Read Genesis 31:43-55
[43] Laban answered Jacob, “The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne? [44] Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us.” [45] So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. [46] He said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. [47] Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed. [48] Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” That is why it was called Galeed. [49] It was also called Mizpah, because he said, “May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. [50] If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.” [51] Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. [52] This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. [53] May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. [54] He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there. [55] Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Reflect
How did Jacob and Laban settle their quarrel?Laban’s response to Jacob is curious. He doesn’t seek revenge or restitution, but rather wants to establish proper boundaries with his son-in-law. To this end they build a heap of stones. This may seem strange to our way of thinking, but Laban wants to give shape to the agreement he is about to make. These are more than dead stones: they are surety that Jacob has agreed to look after Laban’s daughters and that neither man will seek to harm the other. In other words, this heap of rubble is a symbol of God’s watchfulness and scrutiny. We are familiar with symbols. Wedding rings, for example, speak of the exclusivity of marital love; professional uniforms are used to symbolize the authority or learning of the wearers. So this human-made pile of rock speaks of God’s continuous care and involvement in the lives of Jacob and Laban, just as God is continuously at work caring for us each day, also!
Apply
What symbols most especially remind you of God’s loving care and involvement in your life? Thank God for them.
Closing prayer
Lord God, I’m grateful for every reminder of Your love and care for me and those I love each day.
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