en he obtained his
brother's birthright and robbed him of his blessing. He tricked Jacob
and made him work seven more years for Rachel.

After the second seven years had passed and Jacob had married Rachel,
he made another bargain with Laban and this time it was greatly to his
own advantage. He lived with Laban for a number of years and then God
appeared to him, saying, "I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst
the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee
out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred."

So, without letting Laban know anything about it, Jacob took his
family, his flocks and herds and all his possessions, and started for
his father's home in the land of Canaan. He had been gone three days
before Laban knew that he had left him. After seven days he overtook
Jacob camped on Mount Gilead.

When they met, Laban accused Jacob of carrying away some of his
possessions, and searched his tent for them; but after a while, not
finding them, they talked over all that had occurred since Jacob first
came to Laban's house, and in the end they made a covenant or agreement
of friendship and set up a heap of stones for a witness to it and
called it "Mizpah," which means, "The Lord watch between me and thee,
when we are absent one from another."

[Illustration: Laban searched Jacob's tent.]

So Jacob and his family kept on their way to the land of Canaan. He
had now eleven sons and one daughter and was a rich man, for God had
kept His promise and blessed him abundantly. On the way he heard that
his brother Esau was coming to meet him with a band of four hundred
men. Jacob remembered how he had taken advantage of his brother and
was afraid the time for Esau's promised revenge had come.

But Jacob prayed to God to protect him, and after sending his family by
night across a little mountain river, he remained alone in the darkness
on the other side. The Bible tells us that there he met God in the
shape of a man and wrestled with Him until morning, saying, "I will not
let thee go, except thou bless me." And God did bless him and gave him
a new name--that of "Israel," which means "a prince of God."

[Illustration: Jacob wrestled with him until morning.]

In the morning the brothers met, but Esau's anger was all gone and in
its place was such love for Jacob that he embraced him and kissed him,
while both wept for joy. Jacob had prepared a present of sheep and
cattle