John Calvin Commentary Genesis 31:3

"And Jehovah said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee." — Genesis 31:3 (ASV)

And the Lord said unto Jacob. The holy man's timidity is more clearly seen here; for, realizing that his father-in-law intended evil against him, he still did not dare to move a foot unless he was encouraged by a new divine message. But the Lord, who through events had already shown him that he should delay no longer, now also urges him with words.

Let us learn from this example that although the Lord may prompt us to our duty through adversity, we will profit little from it unless the prompting of His word is also added. And we see what will happen to the reprobate; for they either become stupefied in their wickedness or erupt in fury.

Therefore, so that the instruction conveyed by external events may profit us, we must ask the Lord to enlighten us with His own word. Moses's primary purpose here, however, is to show that Jacob returned to his own country under God's special guidance.

Now the land of Canaan is called the land of Abraham and Isaac, not because they originated from it, but because it had been divinely promised to them as their inheritance. Therefore, by this voice, the holy man was reminded that although Isaac had been a foreigner, yet, in God's sight, he was the heir and lord of that land, in which he possessed nothing but a tomb.