Genesis 31-33 handout

Genesis 31:1–3 ESV

Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has gained all this wealth.” And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

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v 1. Jacob heard that in brother in-laws were getting jealous of his accumulating wealth, and saw that instead of being glad he was around, Laban did not like him anymore. Remember that Laban begged Jacob to stay 6 years ago, now, not so much.

The Lord told Jacob, "Go home. I will be with you."

Jacob had now turned his father-in-law’s family into his enemies.

Genesis 31:4–13 ESV

So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. You know that I have served your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me. If he said, ‘The spotted shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.’ ”

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Jacob calls his wives and tells them what happened to cause him to gain the wealth, and how it was God not Jacob who prospered him.

No matter how much Laban tried to cheat him, he prospered. God ordained the way it turned out.

Genesis 31:14–21 ESV

Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father’s house? Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has indeed devoured our money. All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do.” So Jacob arose and set his sons and his wives on camels. He drove away all his livestock, all his property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s household gods. And Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he intended to flee. He fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the Euphrates, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

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Jacob sets off without telling anyone.

Rachel steals Laban's gods, this is an act of bitterness or retaliation.

Laban should have given at least some of the bride price to his daughters, they got nothing. At least so far as we know. The gods would have been prized possessions.

Laban’s gods would have been his prize possessions.

Genesis 31:22–42 ESV

When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead. But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” And Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen pitched tents in the hill country of Gilead. And Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, that you have tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword? Why did you flee secretly and trick me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre? And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? Now you have done foolishly. It is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?” Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsmen point out what I have that is yours, and take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them. So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle and sat on them. Laban felt all about the tent, but did not find them. And she said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household gods. Then Jacob became angry and berated Laban. Jacob said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? For you have felt through all my goods; what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two. These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”

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Laban heard that Jacob head left, and took off after him, probably to hurt him.

But God stopped him on the way and told him not to do anything to Jacob.

When Laban caught Jacob and his caravan, he chewed him out for leaving without saying anything, and asked where his gods were.

Jacob said he was afraid to say anything because he thought Laban would take back his daughters. A rational fear I think, considering how Laban had treated him so far. But that anyone with the gods would be killed.

Rachel had them hidden in her saddle and tricked Laban by saying she was on her period and couldn't get up. Notice these gods are worthless, they can't even defend themselves against a woman sitting on them.

Laban’s gods could do nothing for themselves, they couldn’t even defend themselves against a woman sitting on them.

Remember the context of the book of Genesis, who was it written for, this is an important point for the Israelites who would be tempted to follow false gods, that these idols are impotent.

Jacob yelled at Laban, citing the way he served Laban faithfully even when his wages were changed. Giving all the credit for his success to God. This is a significant change.

Before, Jacob had tricked people to get what he wanted, but at this point he knows that everything he has is a gift of God.

Genesis 31:43–55 ESV

Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne? Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me.” So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he named it Galeed, and Mizpah, for he said, “The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight. If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.” Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac, and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country. Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned home.

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Laban says, all that you have it mine, but I will be nice and let you keep it. Let's make a covenant that you will take care of my daughters and I won't come after you, and you don't come after me.

It looks as if Jacob’s fear of Laban taking all that was his was justified. But God intervened on his behalf.

But God intervened on his behalf.

Genesis 32:1–2 ESV

Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them he said, “This is God’s camp!” So he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

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This is the first of two accounts of Jacob meeting with angels in chapter 32.

Genesis 32:3–12 ESV

And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom, instructing them, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.’ ” And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.” Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.” And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

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Remember what Rebekah told Jacob when she sent him to Laban 20 years before. ()

Sarah said, “I will send for you”, she hadn't done that.

So Jacob sent messengers to Esau to test the waters of a return, he really didn't have a choice, because he couldn't go back to Laban. So he was afraid when he heard that 400 men were with his brother. He divided his caravan into two camps, so maybe half of his stuff and family would survive if one was attacked.

He then prayed for deliverance, understanding that it was God who prospered him.

Genesis 32:13–22 ESV

So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau, two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove.” He instructed the first, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?’ then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.’ ” He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, and you shall say, ‘Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he thought, “I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.” So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp. The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

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Next he sent a bunch of gifts ahead of him, trying to buy favor with Esau.

Then he stayed that night in the camp and they crossed the Jordan river into the promised land. Just like the Israelites would in a few hundred years.

Jacob and his family crossed the Jordan River into the land promised by God, just like the Israelites would in a few hundred years.

Genesis 32:23–32 ESV

He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.

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This account has more questions that answers for me. Why did this happen? How, who? I don’t know.

Jacob himself stayed behind by himself. Jacob wrestled with a man, probably an angel all night. When the angel saw he wasn't winning, it was a draw, he touched the hip socket of Jacob and put it out of place.

Remember how strong Jacob was with the well stone.

This account sums of Jacob's life. He struggled against everyone, his father, his brother, Laban, and God.

Jacob’s own words express the substance of these narratives about him: “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (v.26). Here we see a graphic picture of Jacob struggling for the blessing, struggling with God and with man (v.28).

Most significant is the fact that, according to this narrative, Jacob had emerged victorious in his struggle: “You have struggled with God and man and have overcome” (v.28). Jacob’s victory, even in his struggle with God, came when, as the text says, the angel “blessed him” (v.29). The importance of Jacob’s naming the site “Peniel” (v.30) is that it identified the one with whom Jacob was wrestling as God. Jacob said, “I saw God face to face” (v.30).

Jacob’s remark did not necessarily mean that the “man” (ʾish) with whom he wrestled was in fact God. Rather, as with other similar statements (e.g., ), when one saw the “angel of the LORD” it was appropriate to say that he had seen the face of God (but cf. ).

Genesis 33:1–17 ESV

And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down. Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.” But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me. Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” Thus he urged him, and he took it. Then Esau said, “Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead of you.” But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die. Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.” So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

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This is the first of two accounts of Jacob meeting with angels in chapter 32.

Jacob broke up his caravan into 4 groups from least to most favorite. So the most favorite would have the best chance of surviving. But he played the man and went first.

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He had prayed in asking for deliverance and God delivered him not by force but something more impressive, by changing the heart of Esau.

Remember what Rebekah told Jacob when she sent him to Laban 20 years before. I will send for you (), she hadn't done that. So Jacob sent messengers to Esau to test the waters of a return, he really didn't have a choice, because he couldn't go back to Laban. So he was afraid when he heard that 400 men were with his brother. He divided his caravan into two camps, so maybe half of his stuff and family would survive if one was attacked. He then prayed for deliverance, understanding that it was God who prospered him.

God delivered Jacob in a way more impressive than force. He changed the heart of Esau.

This is something no man can do, change the heart of another, in this we see the magnitude of salvation. When we are regenerated, born again God has changed our hearts. Turned us from his enemy to his friend.

God's plans make our schemes worthless. He is sovereign, in absolute control, even of the reactions of men.

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Next he sent a bunch of gifts ahead of him, trying to buy favor with Esau.

Then he stayed that night in the camp and they crossed the Jordan river. Into the promised land, just like the Israelites would in a few hundred years.

Genesis 33:18–20 ESV

And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city. And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent. There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

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Jacob himself stayed behind by himself. Jacob wrestled with a man, probably an angel all night. When the angel saw he wasn't winning, it was a draw, he touched the hip socket of Jacob and put it out of place.

Read

Remember how strong Jacob was with the well stone.

This account sums of Jacob's life. He struggled against everyone, his father, his brother, Laban, and God.

Jacob then went to Shechem where he built an altar to witness to the faithfulness of God.

Jacob’s own words express the substance of these narratives about him: “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (v.26). Here we see a graphic picture of Jacob struggling for the blessing, struggling with God and with man (v.28).

Most significant is the fact that, according to this narrative, Jacob had emerged victorious in his struggle: “You have struggled with God and man and have overcome” (v.28). Jacob’s victory, even in his struggle with God, came when, as the text says, the angel “blessed him” (v.29). The importance of Jacob’s naming the site “Peniel” (v.30) is that it identified the one with whom Jacob was wrestling as God. Jacob said, “I saw God face to face” (v.30). Jacob’s remark did not necessarily mean that the “man” (ʾish) with whom he wrestled was in fact God. Rather, as with other similar statements (e.g., ), when one saw the “angel of the LORD” it was appropriate to say that he had seen the face of God (but cf. ).

Remember

Sailhamer, J. H. (1990). Genesis. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, p. 210). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.