QT 11/12/2025 Gen 31:43–55, Living for others

Genesis 31:43–55 (ESV) —

43 Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne? 44 Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me.” 45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. 48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he named it Galeed, 49 and Mizpah, for he said, “The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight. 50 If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.”

51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. 53 The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac, 54 and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.

55 Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned home.

 

NOTE: I feel some for Laban, not for the flocks that were his, but for the children which are still his. He is the father to two daughters and grandfather to eleven boys and at least one girl. His actions is what caused them to be torn  away from him. The heap of stones is really a reminder of his stupidity and greed that tore them away. The heap has the idea of "gather" in Laban's naming, but it is separating. It should be called "The End Result of Narcissism." A life lived for one self is most empty at the end.

 

PONDER:

1. What am I giving my life to, that which is for me or that which is for others?
2. Am I complaining because life is lived for others? I need to remember that in the end, a life lived for others is sweet and well-remembered.

 

PRAYER: Father, I am where I am today because you have placed me here. I waste my time when I complain. I need to enjoy living in your will and doing that which pleases you rather than what I think will please myself.