And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.
The Lord said ... Return. Notwithstanding the ill-usage he had received, Jacob might not have deemed himself at liberty to quit his present sphere under the impulse of passionate fretfulness and discontent. Having been conducted to Haran by God (Genesis 28:15), and having gotten a promise that the same heavenly Guardian would bring him again into the land of Canaan-he might have thought he ought not to leave it, without being clearly persuaded as to the path of duty. So ought we to set the Lord before us, and to acknowledge him in all our ways, our journeys, our settlements and plans in life. Jacob did receive an answer, which decided his entrance upon the homeward journey to Canaan, with a reassurance of the divine presence and protection by the way. But he himself alone was responsible for making his departure a hurried and clandestine flight.