53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, be our judge. Then Jacob took an oath by the Fear of his father Isaac.
If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would have sent me away with nothing in my hands. But God has seen my troubles and the work of my hands, and this night he kept you back.
And Sarai said to Abram, May my wrong be on you: I gave you my servant for your wife and when she saw that she was with child, she no longer had any respect for me: may the Lord be judge between you and me.
And Nahor was twenty-nine years old when he became the father of Terah: And after the birth of Terah, Nahor went on living for a hundred and nineteen years, and had sons and daughters: And Terah was seventy years old when he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. These are the generations of Terah: Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. And death came to Haran when he was with his father Terah in the land of his birth, Ur of the Chaldees. And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah.
And he said, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses kept his face covered for fear of looking on God.
And Joshua said to all the people, These are the words of the Lord, the God of Israel: In the past your fathers, Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor, were living on the other side of the River: and they were worshipping other gods.
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have taken an oath to the Lord, the Most High God, maker of heaven and earth,
And I will make between me and you and your seed after you through all generations, an eternal agreement to be a God to you and to your seed after you.
Now, then, give me your oath, in the name of God, that you will not be false to me or to my sons after me, but that as I have been good to you, so you will be to me and to this land where you have been living. And Abraham said, I will give you my oath.
After these things, Abraham had news that Milcah, the wife of his brother Nahor, had given birth to children; Uz the oldest, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel, the father of Aram, And Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel. Bethuel was the father of Rebekah: these eight were the children of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham's brother. And his servant Reumah gave birth to Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.
And take an oath by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not get a wife for my son Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living; But that you will go into my country and to my relations and get a wife there for my son Isaac.
And they said, We saw clearly that the Lord was with you: so we said, Let there be an oath between us and you, and let us make an agreement with you; That you will do us no damage, even as we put no hand on you, and did you nothing but good, and sent you away in peace: and now the blessing of the Lord is on you. Then he made a feast for them, and they all had food and drink. And early in the morning they took an oath one to the other: then Isaac sent them away and they went on their way in peace.
And he saw the Lord by his side, saying, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac: I will give to you and to your seed this land on which you are sleeping.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 31
Commentary on Genesis 31 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 31
Jacob was a very honest good man, a man of great devotion and integrity, yet he had more trouble and vexation than any of the patriarchs. He left his father's house in a fright, went to his uncle's in distress, very hard usage he met with there, and now is going back surrounded with fears. Here is,
Gen 31:1-16
Jacob is here taking up a resolution immediately to quit his uncle's service, to take what he had and go back to Canaan. This resolution he took up upon a just provocation, by divine direction, and with the advice and consent of his wives.
Gen 31:17-24
Here is,
Gen 31:25-35
We have here the reasoning, not to say the rallying, that took place between Laban and Jacob at their meeting, in that mountain which was afterwards called Gilead, v. 25. Here is,
Gen 31:36-42
See in these verses,
Gen 31:43-55
We have here the compromising of the matter between Laban and Jacob. Laban had nothing to say in reply to Jacob's remonstrance: he could neither justify himself nor condemn Jacob, but was convicted by his own conscience of the wrong he had done him; and therefore desires to hear no more of the matter He is not willing to own himself in a fault, nor to ask Jacob's forgiveness, and make him satisfaction, as he ought to have done. But,
Lastly, After all this angry parley, they part friends, v. 55. Laban very affectionately kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them, and then went back in peace. Note, God is often better to us than our fears, and strangely overrules the spirits of men in our favour, beyond what we could have expected; for it is not in vain to trust in him.