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Before Jacob went away from
Bethel, he prayed to God, and asked him to keep him, and be with him,
wherever he went; and to give him bread to eat, and clothes to put on; and
to bring him again to his father's house. And then, Jacob said,
"The Lord shall be my God." He felt now, that God alone
could make him happy, and he really wished to love and obey God with all
his heart. Jacob must have been very sorry for his past sins, his
wicked lies and deceit; and he prayed for the pardon of them all; but when
God had forgiven him, and blessed him, then Jacob was happy. Jacob
went on, and came to Padan-aram. He saw a field, and a well, and
flocks of sheep, and shepherds by it. The shepherds rolled away the
stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone back
again, to keep the water safely. Then Jacob asked the men, "Do
you know Laban? Is he well?" And they said, "Yes, we
know him: he is well, and his daughter Rachel is coming with the
sheep." Rachel was a cousin of Jacob's, and he was very glad to
see her, and told her his name. And Jacob wept when he saw
her. Rachel told her father Laban, that Jacob was come; and Laban
went to meet him, and brought him home, and asked him to stay in his
house. Jacob lived many years with Laban, and kept his sheep; and,
after some time, he married his cousin Rachel, whom he loved very
much. And God blessed Jacob and gave him many children, and great
possessions of sheep, and oxen, and goats, and camels. But when
Laban saw that Jacob had more cattle than he had, he was angry and
jealous, and looked unkindly at Jacob. But God would not let Laban
do anything to hurt Jacob, for He remembered His promise at Bethel,
"I will be with thee." And so God told Jacob to go away
from Laban, and to return to Canaan. Then Jacob called his family,
and put them upon camels, and took all his cattle, and his possessions,
and went away secretly. Three days after, Laban heard that he was
gone, and he ran after Jacob, and overtook him in Mount Gilead. But
in the night, God came to Laban, and told him not to hurt Jacob. So
they made a covenant, and promised to be kind one to the other, and then
they parted. "In the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons
and his daughters, and blessed them; and Laban departed, and returned unto
his place." When Laban
was gone, Jacob went on towards Canaan, and as he went, he saw some angels
coming to meet him. They were sent by God to comfort Jacob, and to
tell him that God was there, to bless and keep him. Jacob and his
family were now near Seir, where his brother Esau lived. So Jacob
sent servants before, to tell Esau, that he had lived many years with
Laban, and was now coming home, and that he was very rich, and had many
oxen, and asses, and camels, and servants, and he very humbly begged Esau
to be kind and friendly to him. But when the servants came back to
Jacob, they said, "Esau is coming to meet thee, and 400 men with
him." Then Jacob was very much afraid, for he thought, that
perhaps Esau was still angry with him, and was coming to kill him and all
his family. So he divided the people who were with him, and prepared
to meet Esau. He took goats, and sheep, and oxen, and camels, and
told a servant to stand by them, and to say when Esau came, "Thy
servant Jacob gives these to my lord Esau." It was very right
of Jacob to behave humbly to Esau, and very wise of him too, thus to try
to subdue Esau's anger by kindness. But after all, Jacob knew he had
no power to help and save himself; only God could save him, so he went and
prayed to Him. And when we are sorry and afraid, we should do the
same, and God promises to hear us; He says, "Call upon me in the time
of trouble, and I will deliver thee." Psalms 1:15. God
heard Jacob's prayer. In the night, when Jacob was alone, a man came
to him, and wrestled with him. Jacob knew who he was, and he asked
for a blessing from him. And the Lord blessed Jacob, and gave him
the new name of Israel, which means a prince with God. And Jacob
called the place, Peniel, or the face of God, because he had there seen
God face to face. Jacob felt now peaceful and happy, and when he saw
Esau coming, he had no fear. He went to meet him, and bowed to the
ground seven times. And he had now no need to fear: for God
had subdued Esau's anger, in answer to Jacob's prayer. "Esau
kissed him." They both wept; for they thought of their past
hatred, and unkindness to one another; but now they wished to live in
peace and brotherly love. Jacob's family all came, and bowed
respectfully to Esau; and Jacob gave Esau the camels, and goats, and
oxen. Esau refused to take them at first, but Jacob urged him, so he
took them. This was a happy end to all their anger and disputings.
Let us learn from it "how good and how pleasant it is, for brethren
to dwell together in unity." Psalms 83:1.
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