Eastern Hospitality - Laban

“Come and stay with us, you who are blessed by the LORD! Why are you standing here outside the town when I have a room all ready for you and a place prepared for the camels?” So the man went home with Laban, and Laban unloaded the camels, gave him straw for their bedding, fed them, and provided water for the man and the camel drivers to wash their feet.

Genesis 24:31-32

Hospitality is big business these days. What is referred to as the “hospitality industry” includes hotels, food service, casinos, and various types of tourism. Hospitality is now an estimated $$35 trillion sector in the worldwide economy.

Hospitality isn’t just good business; it’s also a lifestyle that God commands his people to adopt. The apostle Paul wrote, “When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13).

Laban, the brother-in-law of the Jewish patriarch Isaac, understood the blessings of those who practice hospitality because he had received them himself.

When Eliezer, Abraham’s Canaanite servant, traveled to Aram-naharaim to find a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac, Laban welcomed him into his home and cared for his camels.

Laban understood that being hospitable to Abraham’s servant held a blessing. When he extended that kindness, he received a blessing beyond the dowry that Eliezer gave him in exchange for allowing him to take Rebekah back to Isaac. Rebekah, Laban’s sister, would become Isaac’s wife and would thus be in the lineage of Jesus Christ.

Someone once said that a man who practices hospitality “entertains God.”

That was true in Laban’s case, and it can be true for you, too!

When you extend to others the hospitality God has shown you, you put yourself in a position to receive extra blessings from the Lord. You will also be doing the Kingdom work he has assigned to you.