Have you ever been mistreated by someone who had authority over you? If you could tell them what you feel, what would you say? Caution. When the dam of our emotions breaks, a torrent of words often pours out. One of our men who was at the Guadalupe when the flood hit told me that the flow of the river expanded by over 1000 times its normal power when the wall of water came through. A river of words can do great damage as well.
Jacob had held his emotions in for twenty years while Laban took advantage of him. Once Laban could not find his household gods, Jacob said he and his family had been falsely accused. Emboldened by his sense of being wronged, Jacob pulled no punches. He chronicled all the pain Laban had caused him. How did Jacob survive this abuse? With God. Jacob’s faith in God sustained him when his father-in-law misused him.
Notice Jacob’s description of the Lord. “The God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac.” Twice in this chapter we hear God described as the “Fear of Isaac.” What does this mean? Isaac lived before the Lord with a holy reverence. He was not running away from God in terror but drawing near him reverently. The God of Abraham and Isaac had kept his promise protecting Jacob and keeping him from being empty handed. God saw Jacob’s plight and rebuked Laban.
The Psalmist captures this same thought when he says, “If the Lord had not been on our side, all our enemies would have swallowed us alive . . .” (Psalm 124:2-3). I have no doubt that God is for his people and on our side. But with Moses I want to ask, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” (Exodus 32:26). What if we lived life with God, consciously with God, practicing his presence all day long? Let’s find out!
