Laban and Jacob make a covenant, setting up a heap of stones as a witness between them. They agree to part peacefully, and Laban blesses his daughters before returning home. When people made an agreement, they often ate a meal together. Jegar Sahadutha are Aramaic words. Galeed is a Hebrew word. Both mean that the stones showed that people made an agreement there.

It reads in Genesis 31: 43-55: Laban replied to Jacob, ‘These women are my daughters. Their children are my grandchildren. The animals are my animals. Everything that you have with you here belongs to me. But there is nothing that I can do today about my daughters or about their children.  So we should be friends. Let’s make an agreement together. It will show that we have agreed to be friends.’ So Jacob took a large stone and made it stand up in the ground. He said to his relatives, ‘Go and get some stones.’ So they brought some stones, and they put them together on the ground. Then they all ate a meal together, near the heap of stones. Laban called that place Jegar Sahadutha. Jacob called it Galeed. Laban said, ‘These stones show that we have made an agreement today.’ That is why the place was called Galeed. The place was also called Mizpah. That was because Laban said, ‘May the Lord watch you and me when we are away from each other. Remember that God is watching you. If you do wrong to my daughters, God will see it. And if you marry any other women, remember this. God is watching you. Even if no one else sees you, God will know.’ Laban also said, ‘I have put this special stone here, and the heap of stones near it. They stand there between your land and my land. I will not go past the stones to your side to hurt you. And you must not go past them to my side to hurt me. Let the God of Abraham, Nahor, and their ancestors decide if one of us is guilty.’ So Jacob made a promise in the name of the God that his father Isaac worshipped. He offered a sacrifice to God there in the hill country. He asked his relatives to eat a meal with him. After they had eaten, they stayed the night there. Early the next morning, Laban got up to return home. He kissed his grandchildren and his daughters. He said ‘goodbye’ and he blessed them. Then he left and he went back to his home.

Father God, remind us that Your plans are always greater than our fears. Help us to walk in faith, knowing You will sustain us and bless the work of our hands. May we recognize Your presence in our lives and always seek to follow Your voice. Thank You and praise You for being our protector, provider, and guide. We surrender our worries to You and ask for courage to walk in obedience. Love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.