Genesis 31:42
“Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.””
What does Genesis 31:42 mean?
Jacob is looking back on years of being cheated and exploited by his uncle Laban, recognizing that only God's protection kept him from losing everything. He's saying that without divine intervention, Laban would have already stripped him bare, but God has been watching his suffering and hard work the whole time. The "rebuke" Jacob mentions refers to the dream God sent Laban the night before, warning him not to harm Jacob. This is Jacob's way of declaring that God sees what we endure when others treat us unfairly, and he ultimately holds people accountable for how they wrong us.