JACOB WITH LABAN.

said, “ How dreadful is this place!
This is the house of God, and the
gate of Heaven!” Then he took the
stone, and set it up for a pillar, and
poured oil upon it, for he wished

 

41

the place to be remembered as holy
ground; and he called the name of
it Bethel, or the house of God, be-
cause God appeared to him there.

DO Oo ee
SL

XV.

pACOB WITH LaABAN.

EFORE 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 par-
don 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, qnd 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 Ja-
cob 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 se-
eretly. 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