And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. Genesis 31:3

The time has come for Jacob to return to his homeland with his entire family. God commanded Jacob to return, but this was going to cause strife with his father in law Laban. Jacob was afraid to tell Laban they were leaving, in fear that he would take his daughters (Leah and Rachel) back.

And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s. Genesis 31:19

Now before they left, Rachel did something strange, she stole idols/images from her Father. Why did she do this? Maybe sentimental value? Maybe to sell them? However we see that Laban was a pagan. He was worshipping false gods. This is important to remember, that Abraham was raised a pagan. Then one day the true Living God called him out and to be set apart from the world

This is the same for us, when we get saved God is calling us out from this world of idols to be set apart body of believers

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. Genesis 31:24

Once Laban realized Jacob and his family had left, he pursued after them. But God came to him in a dream and told him not to say anything good or bad. What does this mean? We’ll find out later in the story

It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. Genesis 31:29

Laban was seeking to get revenge on Jacob, however he remembered that warning God gave him about Jacob. Laban listened to Gods warning and eventually made a peace treaty with Jacob

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 hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight. Genesis 31:42

Jacob affirms the only reason Laban hasn’t killed him is because God is watching over him. Then Laban and Jacob made a covenant and they went peacefully on their way headed to Canaan

This will be the beginning of the nation of Israel

And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. Genesis 30:1

Chapter 30 is completely full of drama and more drama. As stated before, God never ordained polygamy. As God said the covenant of marriage is between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24) Anytime we see polygamy practiced in the Bible it’s a complete train wreck and this is not different

Leah and Rachel have a rivalry between each other because they are both married to Jacob. Leah so far had 4 sons while Rachel has not being able to conceive. This has caused great hardship for Rachel even though she was the favorite of Jacob

And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. Genesis 30:3

So the dysfunctional family gets even more dysfunctional as Rachel gives up trying to conceive and tells Jacob to marry her servant Bilhah and have children with her. Bilhah ends up having 2 sons with Jacob, Dan and Nephatali

When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. Genesis 30:9

By this time Leah stopped having children,  being jealous of Rachel, she told Jacob to take her servant Zilpah as his wife also. She had two more sons for Jacob names Gad and Asher

And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son. And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar. And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son. And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun. And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah. Genesis 30:17-21

So after all this Leah conceives again 3 times, she has 2 more sons (Issachar, Zebulun) and 1 daughter (Dinah)

And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son. Genesis 30:23-24

Now Rachel finally conceived and this would be Joseph. And as we are going to learn as we go along Joseph becomes an important figure as he is a foreshadow of Christ to come

And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country. Genesis 30:25

So the final event in this very eventful chapter is Jacob then asks his father in law Laban if they can all leave and go back to his home country. So Jacob and his 4 wives and 13 children with all their possessions and animals begin the journey back to Canaan where Jacob grew up

And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured Genesis 29:16-17

So now we continue on our journey as Jacob is now looking for a wife. He left the land of Canaan to go back to his homeland and find a suitable wife. Upon his arrival he met Rachel , who was said to be very beautiful and kind. And it was love at first sight, as Jacob was mesmerized by her

However the story is going to take a twist, as Rachel is not the eldest sister. Therefor her father wants the eldest sister, Leah, to get married first. There father made an agreement with Jacob that he could marry Rachel after he worked for him for seven years, however the deceiver got deceived

And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? Genesis 29:25

I don’t know if Jacob had a little too much wedding wine, but upon the wedding day their father switched them and Jacob actually married Leah instead of Rachel. Once Jacob realized this the next morning, he made another agreement to work 7 more years to finally marry Rachel

Now this obviously is going to create a lot of family drama. However God is going to use this mess to make the nation of Israel.

And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. Genesis 29:31

The truth of the matter is Jacob loved Rachel but not Leah. However Rachel was unable to have children and Leah was very fertile. This turned out to be a blessing from Jacob, as remember the 12 tribes (sons) of Israel are to come from Jacob

God had mercy on Leah and gave her the blessing of children. Now in todays society that might not seem like a blessing, but in this culture having children was the greatest wealth (blessing) you could receive from God

Leah had 4 sons (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah) Remember the Messiah will come from the tribe of Judah….Leah has blessed this world forever!

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. Genesis 28:12

One of the most intriguing stories, maybe in the whole Bible is known as “Jacobs Ladder”. At this time Jacob was sent away to find a wife. Just as his father Isaac , they didn’t want him breeding with the Canaanites , who were wicked and pagan people.  So Jacob made the journey back to his descendants homeland to find a wife

During his journey, he had a vision of a Ladder going to Heaven and angels were ascending and descending from it. Now it gets more interesting as he sees God standing above the ladder

And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; Genesis 28:13

Now the interesting thing is this scripture says “Yah-weh” stood above it. Meaning Jacob saw God himself standing above the ladder. How is this possible if God is a spirit (John 4:24) and nobody has seen him and lived? This was Jesus Christ standing before Jacob

And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 28:14

Again God reminded Jacob of the blessings through his family line. The same promises he gave Abraham and the same he gave Isaac, he is now passing down those blessings to Jacob. As this is the line that will birth Israel and will bring forth the Messiah

And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. Genesis 28:15

God promises he is with Jacob and he will never leave him. This is wonderful assurance to Jacob who is beginning his journey to staring his family. God is with us in Jesus name Amen!