Sermon Tone Analysis

Sunday July 16, 2006

Genesis: Genesis 31:1-3-The Lord Commands Jacob to Return to Canaan

Lesson # 179

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 31:1.

This morning we will begin a study of Genesis 31, which records for us the story of Jacob’s departure from Laban in Paddan Aram.

This chapter contains the final act in the drama of the tumultuous relationship between Jacob and Laban.

This morning we will study Genesis 31:1-2, where we will see Laban and his sons displaying a bad attitude towards Jacob because the Lord has been prospering Jacob and giving him spotted, speckled and stripe flocks from Laban’s solid colored flocks.

Also, we will see in Genesis 31:3, the Lord commanding Jacob to leave Laban and return home to the land of Canaan and his father Isaac.

Genesis 31:1, “Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, ‘Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this wealth.’”

Genesis 31:2, “Jacob saw the attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly.”

Genesis 31:3, “Then the LORD said to Jacob, ‘Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.’”

This is the second time that we see Laban’s sons mentioned, with the first mention of them taking place in Genesis 30:35.

The Scriptures do not tell us how many sons Laban had or how old they were.

They should have been involved in the marriage of their sisters, as Laban was when Rebekah was married to Isaac.

Therefore, they must have either been too young to be involved in the marriage of their sisters or Laban must have been a very dominating character to keep everything in his own hands.

In Genesis 30:35, we saw that Laban gave his sons care of the spotted, speckled, and striped flocks, which were separated from the solid colored animals among his flocks.

Then, out of mistrust for Jacob, Laban sent his boys on a three day journey in order to ensure that Jacob would not use these flocks to impregnate his solid colored animals, which Jacob would be shepherding.

Jacob’s prosperity stirred up jealousy on the part of Laban’s sons.

Jealousy is a mental attitude sin directed toward another, which is resentful, intolerant and suspicious of another’s success, possessions or relationships and is vigilant in maintaining or guarding something.

Therefore, we see that Laban’s sons were resentful and intolerant and suspicious of Jacob’s success and were vigilant in maintaining and guarding their father’s possessions and prosperity, which they would inherit.

Jealousy originated in eternity past with Satan since he was resentful and intolerant suspicious of the preincarnate Christ’s relationship with the angels and was vigilant in maintaining or guarding his influence over the angels, therefore, jealousy is demonic since it is Satanic viewpoint.

Therefore, we see Laban’s sons under Satanic influence by being jealous towards Isaac since jealousy is demonic in origin.

James 3:13, “Who among you is wise and understanding?

Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”

James 3:14, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.”

James 3:15, “This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.”

James 3:16, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.”

Jealousy is a manifestation of the old Adamic sin nature (See Galatians 5:20) and produces rottenness to the bones (Prov.

14:30) and is not satisfied until it seeks its revenge (Prov.

6:34-35; 27:4) and leads to murder (Rom.

1:29; Gal.

5:20) and to inordinate ambition and competition (Phil.

1:15; 1 Tim.

6:4).

We also must note that Laban’s sons fail to acknowledge that Jacob basically worked as an indenture servant to Laban for fourteen years in order to build up Laban’s wealth.

They fail to see that their father had dealt deceitfully with Jacob as well.

Also, we see that Laban’s attitude towards Jacob had changed and was getting dirty looks from Laban as a result of the Lord prospering Jacob from Laban’s flocks.

Laban had been willing to use Jacob as long as it was to his advantage but he was not happy to see Jacob’s prosperity above his own.

Therefore, we see that Laban is a “user.”

Jacob was a great shepherd who made Laban a lot of money and so Laban acted kindly toward him.

The incentive for kindness on the part of Laban towards Jacob was gone now that Jacob was prospering from Laban’s flocks with the Lord’s help and was no longer working full time for Laban.

So the situation becomes intolerable for both parties and so it is definitely time for Jacob to leave.

Laban’s sons recognized that all Jacob’s wealth came from what had been their father’s but this was the Lord’s doing.

So they suspect foul play on the part of Jacob, which would be understandable from their point of view since like their father, they were natural minded men and not believers.

1 Corinthians 2:14, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

Unknown to Laban’s sons was that the Lord intervened and rendered justice to Jacob by giving him revelation as to selective breeding techniques (Compare Genesis 30:37-43 with 31:4-13).

These selective breeding techniques enabled Jacob to produce numerous offspring that were speckled, spotted and striped from Laban’s flocks, which Jacob was shepherding even though these flocks were also solid in color.

Genesis 30:25, “Now it came about when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, ‘Send me away that I may go to my own place and to my own country.’”

Genesis 30:26, “Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me depart; for you yourself know my service which I have rendered you.”

Genesis 30:27, “But Laban said to him, ‘If now it pleases you, stay with me; I have divined that the LORD has blessed me on your account.’”

Genesis 30:28, “He continued, ‘Name me your wages, and I will give it.’”

Genesis 30:29, “But he said to him, ‘You yourself know how I have served you and how your cattle have fared with me.’”

Genesis 30:30, “For you had little before I came and it has increased to a multitude, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I turned.

But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?”

Genesis 30:31, “So he said, ‘What shall I give you?’

And Jacob said, ‘You shall not give me anything.

If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock.’”

Genesis 30:32, “let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted sheep and every black one among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages.”

Genesis 30:33, “So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my wages.

Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen.”

Genesis 30:34, “Laban said, ‘Good, let it be according to your word.’”

Genesis 30:35, “So he removed on that day the striped and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, every one with white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the care of his sons.”

Genesis 30:36, “And he put a distance of three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.”

Genesis 30:37, “Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white which was in the rods.”

Genesis 30:38, “He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the gutters, even in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink.”

Genesis 30:39, “So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted.”

Genesis 30:40, “Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with Laban's flock.”

Genesis 30:41, “Moreover, whenever the stronger of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might mate by the rods.”

Genesis 30:42, “but when the flock was feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's.”

Genesis 30:43, “So the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.”

Under the laws of heredity, even though a species of animal may have certain “dominant” traits such as the white color of sheep, there are, in each generation, certain individual animals that manifest one or more “recessive” traits such as the brown color among the sheep (Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record, pages 474-477, Baker Book House).

The Lord simply increased the statistical proportion of animals in future generations of Laban’s flocks that would appear with these recessive traits (Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record, pages 474-477, Baker Book House).

The “heterozygous” animals, which did contain in some proportion the genes for off-colored offspring would be the ones, which would have to supply Jacob’s own future flocks (Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record, pages 474-477, Baker Book House).

Therefore, by selective breeding, under the direction of the Lord, Jacob could eventually develop a flock of predominately spotted and speckled animals (Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record, pages 474-477, Baker Book House).

The selective breeding techniques that Jacob employs that are recorded in Genesis 30:37-43 were given to him by the Lord in a dream which is implied in Genesis 31:10-13 since the Lord states to Jacob that He is responsible for these techniques being successful.

Genesis 31:1, “Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, ‘Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this wealth.’”

Genesis 31:2, “Jacob saw the attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly.”

Genesis 31:3, “Then the LORD said to Jacob, ‘Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.’”

This was not an accident that Jacob overheard the words of Laban’s sons since this was according to the providence of God, which expresses the fact that the world and our lives are not ruled by chance or fate but by God.

As the object of Satanic attack, the Lord directs Jacob to leave Laban since he was to carry on the line of Christ and was to be the progenitor of the nation of Israel from whom Christ would come and bring blessing to the entire world and destroy the works of the devil.

“Lord” is the proper noun Yahweh, which is the covenant name of God indicating that Jacob had a covenant relationship with God and that God is about to fulfill His covenant promises He made with Jacob that are recorded in Genesis 28:10-15 and specifically the promises of a homecoming and protection.

The term Yahweh, “Lord” also emphasizes the “immanency” of God meaning that the Lord was involving Himself in and concerning Himself with and intervening in the life of Jacob.

The Lord’s intervention in the life of Jacob in ruling in favor of Jacob over Laban, which is recorded in Genesis 30:25-43 and confirmed in Genesis 31:4-13 has caused a rift in the relationship between Jacob and Laban, which can only be resolved by Jacob leaving Laban.

So far we have seen that Jacob had heard of the antagonism of Laban’s sons towards him because of his prosperity.

Also, he has also seen this antagonism by virtue of Laban’s bad attitude towards him.

Any lingering doubts as to the proper course of action that Jacob should take are soon dispelled by the Lord’s command for him to leave Laban and return home to Canaan as well as the Lord’s reassurance to Jacob of protection from Laban.

The Lord’s command to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers” and the promise “I will be with you” would evoke memories in Jacob of the revelation he received from the Lord at Bethel before leaving Canaan to depart for Paddan Aram, and which revelation is recorded in Genesis 28:10-15.

Therefore, we see that the Lord’s command to Jacob “Return to the land of your fathers” recorded in Genesis 31:3 indicates to Jacob that the Lord is about to fulfill the promise He made to Jacob “I will bring you back to this land” recorded in Genesis 28:15.

The Lord’s faithfulness to Jacob in protecting him and prospering reminds us of God’s faithfulness towards us here in the church age.

1 Corinthians 1:9, “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

2 Thessalonians 3:3, “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”

Therefore, we see that Lord’s promise to Jacob that “I am with you” recorded in Genesis 31:3 echoes the promise the Lord made to Jacob “I will be with you” recorded in Genesis 28:15 and is a guarantee to Jacob of the Lord’s presence in his life.

The Lord’s promise to be present in Jacob’s life reminds us of the Lord’s promise to us here in the church age that He will never leave us or forsake us.

Hebrews 13:5-6, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,’ so that we confidently say, ‘THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.

WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?’”