Genesis 31:1-55
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Genesis 31:1-55
Genesis 31:1-55
Last week, was a crazy story, starting with Jacob’s 2nd wife Rachel getting upset and raging to Jacob that he needs to give her children or she’s going to die, and Jacob says “Am I God? I can’t do that!” That started a struggle between his 2 wives Leah and Rachel, to show their affection to their husband as to whom would have give him the most kids, and therefore be the most worthy of his love.
They did this by BOTH providing their maids as concubines to Jacob to act as surrogates. This also starts a naming war that seems to have these women slapping each other in the face. It also involves a sale of Jacob’s affections for an aphrodisiac vegetable and ends with Rachel giving birth to Joshua, who’s story is one of the greatest and most impactful in all of the Bible.
Thru all of that, I expressed how unfortunate that it was that people act this way. But God had made a promise, and He would keep it to Abraham, by blessing Jacob in all he did, in spite of the sin that he ensnared himself into. We talked about the fact that the Bible doesn’t glorify this kind of behavior, but it displays it because it happened. It doesn’t say “This is how a man or woman of God should act” but that “This is where the man or woman of God begins.” Sometimes we need to see someone pulled from great depth to realize that God can reach anyone, at any time. We’re never too far gone, just step out into the light.
Thru this sordid affair, Jacob makes a plea to Laban, his uncle, father to Leah and Rachel, to let him go after fulfilling his 14 year internship for his 2 wives, where he worked free of pay. Laban responds to him in a way that makes Jacob recognize something he had taken for granted to this point:
27 And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.” 28 Then he said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.” 29 So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. 30 For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the Lord has blessed you since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?”
Laban told Jacob he recognized the Lord blessed HIM thru Jacob, which flashed Jacob back to 14 years earlier when God revealed himself to Jacob and told him:
15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
13 children in 7 years. Working 14 years for the 2 wives he had…and he had forgotten who promised him Jacob would stay alive. We talked at that time, that the Lord didn’t say he would keep him from harm, or from his bad decisions, OR the consequences of those decisions, but that He would make sure he came back to the land He promised Abraham.
Knowing this, he told Laban that his wages to leave would be the poor-wooled sheep of his flock. Laban thought he would play Jacob for a fool again and had the speckled, striped and brown wooled sheep he had removed from the flock first.
Jacob, now recognizing that God was on his side, he decided to count on God to come thru for him, by making the strong sheep mate while looking at white and brown striped trees while they were watering, and then removing the murals when the weak sheep came to water and mate. This is not reality, but more proof that with God all things are possible. The Lord prospered Jacob, and now, Jacob would start turning his eyes from his selfish ambition and toward the Lord.
1 Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this wealth.” 2 And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before.
Countenance is a word we’ve explored before in Genesis 4 with Cain and Abel, when they brought their offerings before the Lord, and Abel brought the best of his flock before the Lord, and it says Cain brought fruit of the ground. It’s implied that Cain didn’t bring the best of the best of his fruit. It says God respected Abel’s offering, but rejected Cain’s and Cain became angry and his countenance fell.
What does this word countenance mean? It clearly means the look on their face. Mom’s, your kids, and your husbands, know “the look.” The one that makes you rethink the last 20 minutes of your life and wonder if they were your last?
Why does Laban’s countenance fall? Why are his sons up in arms? At the end of the last chapter, what happened? He told Jacob you can have the sheep with the unusable wool. THEN, he commanded his sons to stack the deck and remove the speckled and striped and brown sheep BEFORE Jacob got to them.
Laban should not have lost. White sheep beget white sheep, rarely they have one with a spot here and there. God knew, though, what Jacob needed. Laban knew God blessed him because of Jacob, NOW, he was going to prosper Jacob in spite of Laban. Laban can’t say anything, because he would reveal his dastardly plan.
How many years has it been at this point. We had 7 for each wife, but how much time has passed here? In verse 38 of this chapter, we’ll read it was 20 years total, so another 6 years of labor…6 more years to ponder on what Laban had said and what was happening, clearly the hand of God is showing. After these 20 years, the Lord speaks again to Jacob:
3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.” 4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, 5 and said to them, “I see your father’s countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me. 6 And you know that with all my might I have served your father. 7 Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me. 8 If he said thus: ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked. 9 So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.
But God. Jacob now understands that God allowed all of this to happen to him. God allowed Laban to break down Jacob, for 20 years. Wearing him down. A lot of sin occurred…God didn’t make it happen, but he allowed it for His purposes. Good leaders let those they’re training make mistakes, don’t they? That’s the only way they learn from them.
God is a good Father. Sometimes our kids go astray. We need to make sure we’re training them as best we can while they are in our care. BUT, they have to make their own mistakes. This 20 year journey (Jacob is now 97 years old) taught this old dog some new tricks, and it was painful for him.
So, the Lord speaks to Jacob and says go home. This isn’t Rebekah sending for him, this is the Lord calling him home. So he explains to his wives what’s happened thus far, and they’ve seen it played out. Then we get some more detail about another of Jacob’s dreams that gave him the plan to do what he did:
10 “And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. 11 Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ”
This is the “But God” moment we didn’t know about from Genesis 30.
Now, it all makes sense. He was starting to listen to the Lord, and that’s why that hair-brained scheme with the striped wood makes sense now. How do his wives respond when they hear from their husband?
14 Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? 15 Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money. 16 For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.”
Verse 15 is very telling. Laban did not give his daughters in marriage, he sold them, and the girls recognize it. These are their wages now, the past 6 years have been free and clear. Now they must leave, because this town ain’t big enough for the 2 of them anymore...
17 Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. 18 And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. 19 Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s. 20 And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. 21 So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead.
Laban is shearing his sheep. As you’ll find thruout scripture, sheep shearing is a big event. It usually draws big crowds to assist, and to watch. Even today, it’s an all-day event, sometimes multiple days. Ranchers employ every available hand from around the area to help them get it done, and spend a lot of money on food. Everyone would have been there, and that would be a good time for them to sneak away with their flocks.
So Jacob quits without giving his 2 weeks notice and heads west. I’m sure he gave instructions “Take only what you need to survive.” So, as the ladies are grabbing their hair dryer and curlers, Rachel decides to take some retribution on her father and takes his idols.
There is some conjecture about what these idols represent, some say they could have been just valuable household goods, even that these idols were representative of financial transactions. If only the Bible would be clear on them, and not just use a broad term like “idols.”
When you’re doing Bible Study, make sure you now well the scripture you’re studying. Some Bible Dictionaries just give you what that verse says. Do you all know what “Context” is? I know most of you do. Context means that you are seeking what the whole of the passage means. Sometimes to get context, you need to know the location, and the cultural norms of the time to clearly understand what’s being said.
In a few verses, we’ll get the rest of the context to understand what these “idols” were that Rachel took.
How will Laban take all of this trickery? Let’s find out!
22 And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. 23 Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. 24 But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”
3 days head start for Jacob…do you think Laban is upset? I am sure he’s upset. He gets on the road with his posse, mounted up and out for blood. Hot on their heels, if you’re good at algebra, you know that they were traveling about 2x as fast to catch up to Jacob.
In that mean time, we have another “But God” moment, don’t we? How many of us have those particular “But God” moments? You’re mad at your wife for not replacing the toothpaste…AGAIN…and you get that phone out of your pocket and start the text string…and it’s a good one. Boy, this is going to put her in her place, right? She’ll never do that again.
Before you hit send, you get the “context” of the message…Aaron, will your marriage be better if you hit send? Will this be the witness you want your co-workers to see? How do you feel AFTER you sent the message, then the dread comes on you…oh no, I have been working so hard, now I’ve wrecked everything again.
God showed up and reminded Laban, “semma down now.” This is a God that Laban didn’t know. I don’t think Laban woke up feeling like “That was such a sweet dream, I need to learn how to be a better friend.” I’d be willing to assume ht woke up in a sweaty heap. Have you had those dreams? Where you wake up and you’re like “I need to make a big change.”
Let’s see if this changed Laban’s response to Jacob at all:
25 So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead. 26 And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? 27 Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? 28 And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing. 29 It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ 30 And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?”
Is Laban suddenly righteous? Woah, you stole my daughters, and did not allow me to kiss them goodbye. I’d have given you a parade and we’d have made a big to-do about it!
NO, Laban gas lighting. Do you know what gas lighting is? The term is based off of the 1938 play where a husband was trying to prove to his wife that she was crazy by turning up and down the gas lamps in their house. Today, it’s used to describe a term of abuse where people use guilt to get what they want, and often make the victims feel like they’re the oppressors and need to give in.
After his sob story, he spills the beans that God talked to him in a dream not even speak ill of him (which he did a great job of dancing around here, didn’t he?) But Laban hangs his indignant behavior on one thing…why did you steal my “gods?”
This is where context comes into such great importance. The first word for “Idols” was “Terapim” which means idols or images. Now the word here used is “elohim" which is the proper name for God, but this word is plural in this portion of scripture, meaning, literally, gods. If you combine the two labels, you get that these gods were images of deceased people, according to Christian scholars. He may have prayed to these people for many reasons. Sometimes just having them looking over a person or situation would bring comfort.
Where did this thought come from? If we go all the way back to Abraham, and Jewish tradition, we will find that Abram’s father was an idol maker, and when Abram came from Ur, to Haran, where he died. Abraham was the only child of Terah that left that place. Nahor, Abraham’s brother is the father of Laban, it runs in the family.
31 Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ 32 With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
This was not on the list of the “take only what you need to survive” list. Clearly, as well, Jacob didn’t know his prized wife did such a thing. He was trying to live a righteous life. If you ask my wife, trying is lying…but sanctification is a process we must walk thru. When we turn our lives over to Christ, we haven’t arrived…in fact, we’re more of a mess at that point because now the devil takes the puzzle board and throws it up in the air and stomps off in a fit. Isn’t that right? Every once in a while too, he walks by and just brushes stuff off that we thought we had figured out.
Jacob puts a high price on what to do with the person found culpable.
33 And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them. 35 And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the household idols.
Laban knew not to leave a stone unturned. He should have known better than to listen to this from his daughter. Finally, Jacob has a chance now, to say the things that must have been growing inside him for 20 years. He now had the upper hand.
36 Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? 37 Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both! 38 These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. 39 That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. 41 Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. 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-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”
Jacob conducted his work as one worthy. He bore the burdens of day-to-day life when it came to the flocks he was in charge of. 20 years with no paycheck, if he’s making $30,000 per year, which is low these days, that’s $600,000 worth of labor, not only that, but now there were other workers for the family too with the grandchildren. Ruben was 13, that was the age that could be trusted with jobs. Jacob worked worthy of his wages.
What is my sin? What is Jacob’s sin here? Anything? Leaving without telling him? Taking what he had worked hard for? Let’s define sin. They didn’t have the laws of Moses here, but let’s look at what sin is according to that law:
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Is anything Jacob has done, not his wives, but Jacob has done that fits into this group of commandments? Nothing.
NOW, what about Laban? How about verse 17? What do we call that today? It’s a word that’s associated with a color. Envy.
Was there one thing in that entire rant that was unrighteous? There was one.:
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-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”
Does Jacob say this is “my God?” It’s not his God yet. What an insult that is. After all God did for him…he’s not my God yet. Does this speech get thru to Laban?
43 And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? 44 Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”
All of this is mine. What’s he’s saying is, if not for me, you would have nothing. Because I sold you my daughters, because that’s what he did, you wouldn’t have any of this. This is very normal cultural behavior, even today. It’s that sense of entitlement that is so prominent in arab culture today.
In his indignant anger, Laban says “Let’s make a deal.” Does Jacob make the deal? What are the terms? We close out the chapter with this:
2 SLIDES
45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. 48 And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, 49 also Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another.
50 If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!” 51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. 53 The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. 54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. 55 And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.
Naming these places: Jegar Sahadutha - Aramaic meaning “The heap of witness.” Galeed is Hebrew for the same thing, another name for this place is Ramoth-Gilead which is east of Jericho. Mizpah means “watch tower.” This is where Laban gets serious.
I want to look at these statements on this slide here, but let’s make something clear here: Does Laban believe in the same God that Abraham and Isaac knew, and that Jacob won’t claim, but it’s his god too. NO, Laban does not. He has a totally different set of values, and now he needs a totally new set of gods too.
This was not so much a covenant as it was a threat. Again, when dealing with a people like this, remember, they must have the control and they operate on fear. When you realize that someone acts like this, there is no reasoning with them, but you can sit back and enjoy the show sometimes. Look at the statements:
If you afflict my daughters or take other wives, the Lord sees you. (Which Lord? One of your carved ones? Which one of those?) Is he wrong about Abraham and Isaac’s God? About Our God? He isn’t, The Lord sees what happens in secret, but if you don’t know my God, that’s an empty assumption, it’s blasphemy. But he goes on Genesis 31:52 “52 This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.” He is making a threat, if you pass this line, I’ll kill you.
Then he throws out the most ridiculous one. The God of Abraham, Nahor, and their father. Terah made his own Gods, so did Nahor, Laban’s father. Again, to listen to an atheist preach to you about who God is should astound you. They have no idea. They are educated enough to know what they’ve been told, and what they’ve learned, but that’s where their knowledge stops.
That’s why AI is so dangerous to Bible studies and pastors. It’s so enticing to pull people in, but there’s no heart behind it. It proves, though, that envy and pride run so deep. It proves how willingly blind people want to be to remain sick.
Look at our politics in terms of healthcare. Is it healthcare? Or is is sickness management? We don’t cure anything anymore. We medicate it. Medicate means to treat something. We keep chasing symptoms, and what do those medications come with? Side effects. Why do we gamble with our health? If you’re not sick, don’t go to the place where people are sick, you won’t get well, you’ll get worse!
This world is sick, deathly sick. It’s the end of the line. God saw this and said “Hey, I’m going to medicate the world, so everyone will feel better.” No, He said “I am sending a cure to death, I’m sending my only son, and all people need to do to receive that cure is believe in Him, and they will be saved.”
To accept that, we must humble ourselves. The Lord resists the proud, and he hates liars. Laban is an example of a person we need to be able to identify in our lives. Someone who makes everything all about them. Pride leads to envy
Envy is defined as: the painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage
If they can’t have it all, then nobody can have it at all. Beware of envy in your life. Be content with what you have, be humble toward others, serving one another sacrificially without a want to get anything in return.
Some people will have their rewards here on earth. I pity those people. Only the things we do for Christ will matter in the end, they are the only things that will last here on earth too.
At the end of this story, Laban eats the feast, kisses his grandsons and daughters and returns to his place. I’m sure feeling pretty good about making his point, this is all mine and you took it, when it’s clear that everything in Jacob had was given to him by God to care for.
I pray that we all can be like Jacob when it comes to the lives we live. I don’t mean taking multiple wives or making a reputation as a deceiver, but to know that you can look at someone and say “In good faith, I’ve done nothing wrong, search me and find my sin.” If that sin is exposed, I pray that you work it out between the two of you before the Lord.
Most times, however, what we perceive as sin is just a disagreement on something. I always take it back to the commandments, and as well where Jesus broadened those commandments too. Those categories cover all sin. If it doesn’t fit, then love must conquer.
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
We all have a charge to live in unity with each other. Even those people we disagree with, we must be prepared to spend eternity with. Pray for those who hurt you, not to heap hot coals on their heads, though. Pray for them to be radically changed by the Spirit. People like that can’t hurt you if you don’t let them. If you’re dealing with people like this in your life, come see me or one of our elders, or our wives. We can help you heal.
