Genesis 29:1-35

Jacob in Mesopotamia with Laban

The divine care and blessing promised to Jacob at Bethel (Genesis 28:15) are illustrated in the narrative of the sojourn of the patriarch at Haran, which apparently lasted for twenty years (Genesis 31:41), after which he returned to the land of promise, blessed with a numerous family, and rich in goods. But equally marked is the severe discipline to which he was subjected in order that the darker features in his character might be purified, and that he might learn to put his reliance, not in unworthy scheming, but in simple faith in the love and blessing of the God of Abraham and Isaac.