20 years ago, we were preparing to enter a new millennium. It was Y2K, some people feared the worst, others partied like it was truly 1999, but we all made it into the new millennium. Little did we know, that the first 20 years of this new millennium were going to be so challenging. Very few, if any prophesied what this first 20 years of the years of the 2000’s was going to be like, but now, 20 years later, the Lord is saying, it is the end of a 20-year chapter titled The House of Laban. In Genesis 29 we pick up the story of Jacob, who is being sent to Haran, which is where Abram left from per the command of God to leave his father’s house and go to a land God would show him (Genesis 12). Jacob was being sent back to Haran by his father Isaac, to get a wife. Jacob leaves the promised land (Canaan) and goes back to Haran (means thirsty, lack, or little) and goes to find a wife. The Bible says, he see’s Rachel and loves her. With bridal dowry in hand, Jacob finds out Rachel is the daughter of his dad Isaac’s uncle. Basically, she is family and would be approved of by Isaac. Little did Jacob know, this trip to Haran was going to be a 20-year journey.

Just as Jacob did not know how long his time in Haran was going to be, many of us have been living in Haran, in the House of Laban for the past 20 years and we did not realize it, but God knew, God saw it all and God is bringing an end to the 20 year chapter called the House of Laban. In Genesis 31:38-42 we read what happened to Jacob over those 20 years in the House of Laban, “I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.” Jacob endured much injustice over those 20 years and God determined enough was enough, so Jacob left Laban and Haran.

Many people have been dealing with injustice in the area of relationships, finances, and a variety of other areas physically, spiritually and emotionally. Not every time was the injustice dealt with in righteousness, but as God looks over the past 20 years of the times you were passed over, that you absorbed insults and injustices, when you could have fought back, when you forgave without being asked to be forgiven, many things, God saw and He is declaring the end of a 20 year chapter for you in the House of Laban. Now this is not personal, this was a spiritual battle that was being waged against the body of Christ. Remember our battle is not against flesh and blood, so this is not the time to cast stones, rather it is a time to tie up loose ends, to make sure everyone you can remember is forgiven by you. We do not want to enter 2020, this new chapter with anything from the past 20 years. Tie it up, let them go and get ready for something brand new.

The Lord is bringing an end to a 20-year chapter of injustices, it is the Lord’s doing, not ours, which is why we need to walk humbly with our God out of 2019 and into 2020. I believe the reasons the prophets cannot give us specifics about what 2020 and beyond is going to look like is because God has not shown them. The end of this 20-year chapter is the beginning of a new one and until we enter into 2020, we will not know what surprises God has in store for us, at least not specifically, but what I do know, is that we are ending a 20-year chapter called the House of Laban. Jacob separated from Laban but not in anger, he lived apart from Esau but not due to strife, he tied up the loose ends, in Genesis 31-32, and so must we. For just like Jacob we are headed back to the promised land to live and for our children to be born, raised and planted in that land.

Finally, I believe the reason Jacob, who was in the promised land (Canaan), had to leave and go back to where Abram started, which was Haran and why it was such a battle for those 20 years is because there were inheritances that needed to be picked up and brought into the promised land. Our forefathers left behind inheritances, I believe God had us pick up over the past 20 years and this is what the battle has been about. I know this word is not for everyone, but for those it is for, I hope you are encouraged to know where you have been, why you were there and where God is opening up for you as we step into 2020. Truly our best days are in front of us and no eye has seen, no ear has heard, what God has in store for us who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). Tie up those loose ends, for this 20-year chapter is coming to an end.