Genesis 31.4-16-Leah and Rachel Agree to Leave with Jacob

Tuesday July 18, 2006

Genesis: Genesis 31:4-16-Leah and Rachel Agree to Leave with Jacob

Lesson # 180

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 31:1.

On Sunday we noted Genesis 31:1-2 where Jacob hears of Laban’s sons’ antagonism towards him and also sees a change of attitude by Laban towards him.

Also, on Sunday we noted Genesis 31:3 where the Lord commands Jacob to return home and promises him protection.

This evening we will study Genesis 31:4-16 where Jacob informs his wives that the Lord has commanded him to leave Laban and his wives agree to leave with him.

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.’”

Genesis 31:4-5, “So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field, and said to them, ‘I see your father's attitude, that it is not friendly toward me as formerly, but the God of my father has been with me.’”

The fact that Jacob “sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field” suggests that Jacob is now in charge of his home since we have seen in Genesis 29:31-30:24 he was being ordered around by his wives and used as a stud by his competing wives.

The fact that Jacob “sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field” and that they obeyed him indicates that both women are subordinating themselves to Jacob and respecting him as they should according to the Word of God.

Ephesians 5:22, “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.”

The fact that Jacob “sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field” demonstrates that he is considerate of his wives, which is an expression of his love for them and responsibility of a Christian husband.

Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”

The fact that Jacob spoke to his wives first to inform them why they needed to leave their father and simply did not order them to come with him, no questions asked, demonstrated his love for them and consideration of their feelings since Laban was their father.

Rachel’s name is mentioned first and then Leah indicating that she is given priority over Leah as the principle object of his love and affection.

The lower social status of his concubines, Zilpah and Bilhah made it unnecessary for Jacob to seek their agreement to his plan to leave.

The first reason why Jacob summons Rachel and Leah while shepherding his flock in the field was so as to not arouse the suspicion of Laban or his sons and the second reason was for protection from eavesdroppers.

The fact that Jacob desired to leave Laban secretly was “not” a sin since in Scripture we see that David kept his whereabouts secret from Saul in order to protect himself (1 Samuel 19:2).

The Lord Jesus Christ went in secret to the Temple in order to avoid a confrontation with the Pharisees, which could lead to His premature arrest before the time that the Father had ordained for Him (See John 7:1-10).

However, although it was not a sin that Jacob left secretly, it was a sin that he left secretly out of fear of Laban.

In response to Laban’s question as to why Jacob left secretly, Jacob replies in Genesis 31:31, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force.”

Therefore, Jacob’s sin in this matter was a lack of faith in the Lord to protect him from Laban.

Jacob should have left openly, trusting that the Lord would protect him from Laban as He said He would in Genesis 28:15 in the phrase “I will keep you.”

Jacob’s sin of fear due to a lack of faith repeats the sin of his grandfather Abraham who out of fear of Pharaoh of Egypt and Abimelech said that Sarah was his sister and not his wife (See Genesis 12:9-20; 20:1-18).

Jacob’s sin of fear due to a lack of faith repeats the sin of his father of Isaac who out of fear of the Philistines told them that Rebekah was his sister and not his wife (See Genesis 26:7-11).

Unlike, his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac, Jacob’s fear was not for his own life but that his loved ones would be taken away from him by force.

Jacob had never previously informed his wives about the terrible situation between him and their father out of respect for their love for their father but now he had to present the complete picture to them since the Lord wants him to leave Laban.

Jacob begins by pointing out to both women the change in their father’s attitude towards him, which was caused by the Lord intervening and instructing him in the use of selective breeding techniques and prospering him at the expense of Laban.

This conversation with his wives reveals that Jacob has grown up quite a bit spiritually in the last twenty years since he openly proclaims his faith in the Lord and His promises and gives all the credit to the Lord for blessing him despite the antagonism of Laban and his sons towards him.

Jacob’s statement “the God of my father has been with me” is an acknowledgment that God has been faithful to him as He was to his father Isaac as demonstrated by God fulfilling His promise that He made to him at Bethel twenty years prior to be with him, which is recorded in Genesis 28:15.

Jacob employs the noun Elohim, “God” rather than the covenant name of God, Yahweh, “Lord” since the former emphasizes the omnipotence of God, which was manifested by prospering Jacob in spite of Laban’s attempt to cheat him.

Genesis 31:6, “You know that I have served your father with all my strength.”

Notice that Jacob consistently refers to Laban as “your father,” which he does in order to contrast the spiritual character of “my father” (Isaac) with the godless character of “your father” (Laban).

Jacob declares to his wives that he served Laban with all his strength, which is impressive since we see in Genesis 29:10 that he demonstrated great strength in moving the large rock from a well in order to impress Rachel.

The fact that Jacob served Laban with all his strength even though Laban was a terrible employer demonstrates the spiritual principle, which is to work hard for your employer as to the Lord even if the employer is unreasonable and you will be rewarded by the Lord (See Ephesians 6:5-8; 1 Peter 2:18-20; Colossians 3:22-24).

Genesis 31:7, “Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to hurt me.”

Jacob’s statement “God did not allow him (Laban) to hurt me” is an acknowledgment that God has been faithful in fulfilling His promise that He made to Jacob at Bethel twenty years prior to protect him, which is denoted in the phrase “I…will keep you” in Genesis 28:15.

Jacob’s statement that Laban changed his wages “ten” times is a figure implying “enough is enough” since in the Bible the number ten signifies the perfection of the divine order, thus implying that from God’s perspective, Laban had cheated him long enough and now God is intervening and commanding him to leave Laban.

Genesis 31:8, “If he spoke thus, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth speckled; and if he spoke thus, ‘The striped shall be your wages,' then all the flock brought forth striped.’”

In Genesis 31:7-8 the reader learns what had not yet been revealed in Genesis 30, namely, that Laban had repeatedly changed the terms of the original contract he made with Jacob recorded in Genesis 30:25-36 in order to cheat Jacob.

Genesis 30:32 reveals that the original agreement stipulated that “every speckled and spotted sheep and every black one among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats” would be Jacob’s wages.

However, Genesis 31:8 reveals that Laban changed the terms stipulated in the original agreement by changing Jacob’s wages to only the “speckled” animals among his flocks and then he changed it to only the “striped.”

So it appears that Laban allowed only one of these markings at a time to be Jacob’s wages instead of giving him all the speckled, spotted sheep and goats.

When the speckled animals multiplied, Laban would change the terms to only the spotted and when they multiplied, he changed it to the striped, thus it was always Laban’s intention to cheat Jacob by giving him what he thought would be a small number of the young of his flocks.

Genesis 31:9, “Thus God has taken away your father's livestock and given them to me.”

Jacob’s statement that God took away from Laban his flocks and gave them to him is further indication that Jacob did not attempt to cheat Laban and acknowledges that the justice of God has ruled in his favor and thus God has sovereignly chosen to give Laban’s livestock to him.

Psalm 103:6, “The LORD performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed.”

The fact that God ruled in favor of Jacob is a fulfillment of the blessing pronounced upon Jacob by his father Isaac, recorded in Genesis 27:29, namely, that those who bless Jacob will be blessed and those who curse him will be cursed.

Therefore, when Isaac pronounces this blessing on Jacob, he is stating in effect that like his grandfather Abraham, the Lord would identify with the cause of Jacob, thus, blessing Jacob would be equivalent to doing it to God whereas cursing Jacob would in effect be cursing God.

Laban “cursed” Jacob in the sense that he dealt unjustly and deceitfully with Jacob for twenty years and so by taking away Laban’s flocks and giving them to Jacob, God was pronouncing judgment upon Laban.

Genesis 31:10, “And it came about at the time when the flock were mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, and mottled.”

Genesis 31:11, “Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’”

Genesis 31:12, “He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.’”

The “angel of God” is the preincarnate Christ since in Genesis 31:13, He states to Jacob that He is the “God of Bethel.”

The dream that is recorded in Genesis 31:10-12 and is to be distinguished from the dream that is recorded in Genesis 31:3 since in the former, the Lord informs Jacob that He is ruling in his favor and judging Laban whereas in the latter, the Lord tells him to leave Laban and head home to Canaan.

Genesis 31:10-12 refers to the events recorded in Genesis 30:37-43 since in the dream God makes reference to Jacob’s contract with Laban, which stipulated that Jacob would receive as his wages, the “spotted, speckled and striped” of Laban’s flock.

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 31:10-12 since the Lord states to Jacob that He is responsible for these techniques being successful.

Genesis 31:10-12 records that during the time that the animals were in heat and mating by the water troughs Jacob saw in the dream that the males that were impregnating the females were described as “striped, speckled and mottled.”

Now, we know that all the “striped speckled and spotted” animals were taken away by Laban’s sons in a three day journey, thus leaving only the solid colored animals, which belonged to Laban’s flock.

The dream indicates that the “striped, speckled and mottled” animals were heterozygous carrying the particular genes for streaks, spots and speckles even though their coats were all solid color.

In the dream, God related that He could see into the gene structure, though Jacob could not and knew the true nature of the animals.

Therefore, by means of God’s divine omnipotence the homozygous animals, which could produce offspring colored like themselves were restrained from mating and the heterozygous animals were compelled to mate.

The Lord statement to Jacob, “for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you” is a reference to the omniscience of God in the sense that God knows perfectly, eternally and simultaneously all that is knowable, both the actual and the possible and thus has all knowledge of every event in human and angelic history.

Proverbs 15:3, “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.”

Therefore, the Lord’s statement “for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you” would indicate to Jacob that the Lord knew perfectly, eternally and simultaneously everything that had transpired between him and Laban.

So this statement would of course comfort Jacob in that since God knew everything that had transpired between him and Laban, God also had already taken measures from eternity past to protect him.

Genesis 31:13, “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.”

The Lord’s statement “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me” was a reminder to Jacob of his worship at Bethel, which was in response to the theophany, divine promises and vision of elect angels, and which worship is recorded in Genesis 28:16-22.

The Lord’s reference to a pillar reminded Jacob when he anointed a pillar by pouring oil on its top, which is recorded in Genesis 28:18 and expressed his dedication, devotion, consecration and gratitude to the Lord for the gracious promises that He made to him in the dream at Bethel twenty years before.

The Lord’s reference to a vow in Genesis 31:13 reminded Jacob of the vow that he made to the Lord, recorded in Genesis 28:20, which was his verbal and voluntary act of submitting to the Lord’s authority and expressed that he was reorienting his life and had committed himself to living according to the standards of the Lord.

In Genesis 31:14-16, we see that both Rachel and Leah were united and in agreement in their response to Jacob informing them that the Lord wanted him to leave Laban and return home to Canaan.

Genesis 31:14, “Rachel and Leah said to him, ‘Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father's house?’”

Genesis 31:15, “Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also entirely consumed our purchase price.”

Genesis 31:16, “Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.”

Undoubtedly, Jacob was relieved to see and hear that both Rachel and Leah were unified and in agreement to leave with him.

He was relieved that they both were united in going with him since they had fought and competed for Jacob’s love and affection since the day he married them.

However, both women were united in their love for him and so both were willing to leave with him.

Genesis 31:14-15 reveals that Rachel and Leah agreed to follow Jacob to his homeland not only out of retaliation against their father but Genesis 31:16 also reveals they agreed out of recognition of God’s providential dealings with their father.

Bruce K. Waltke commenting on Rachel and Leah’s response recorded in Genesis 31:14-16, writes, “Their grievances pertain to the past, present and future. In the past, Laban sold them and used up what was paid for them; in the present, he counts them as foreigners; their future and that of their children depends on the wealth they now have and that rightly belongs to them but which they fear Laban will steal” (Genesis, A Commentary, page 426, Zondervan).

The rhetorical question of the two women, “Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners?” expresses the fact that they were exploited in the same way as Jacob who was a foreigner from Canaan rather than being treated as his own flesh and blood.

Their statement “For he has sold us, and has also entirely consumed our purchase price” refers to the fact that by cheating Jacob out of his wages for fourteen years, Laban in effect had consumed the bride-price since Jacob’s fourteen years of service was payment to marry both Rachel and Leah.

The “bride-price” refers to the compensation paid to the family of the bride for the loss of the bride’s presence and services and her potential offspring and would demonstrate proof to Laban’s family that Rachel and Leah would be well cared for by Jacob.

The fourteen years’ service that Jacob performed for Laban in order to marry both Rachel and Leah was to be in lieu of the usual “bride-price” and so by cheating Jacob out of his wages, Laban was cheating his daughters and grandchildren!

Bruce K. Waltke commenting on this statement, writes, “Legally, the consummating sum given in marriage was to be transferred at least in part to the daughters. Some of Jacob’s wages during the fourteen years he worked for them should also have belonged to them. Further, by cheating Jacob during the last six years, Laban has continued to cheat them” (Genesis, A Commentary, page 426, Zondervan).

The fact that Jacob worked hard for seven years in order to marry both Rachel and Leah made both women love Jacob all the more and resent their father.

Rather than treating the bride-price like a dowry, to provide a financial base for his daughters and grandchildren’s future well-being and security, as should have been done, Laban had used it up for himself and gave them nothing.

Both Rachel and Leah felt that since their husband had been responsible for the great prosperity of their father, and since this was in effect what Jacob had given in order to marry them, these possessions by all rights should have come to them and their children.

Instead, Laban made it clear that he would give neither woman anything and as a result they felt justified in interpreting God’s dealings with Laban, in causing his flocks to gradually become those of Jacob, as simply taking what had rightly belonged to them and their children and restoring it to them.

The reason for Rachel and Leah’s decision to leave with Jacob was not based simply on obedience to God’s will but rather because their best material interests were not being served by the present arrangement whereas Jacob wanted to leave out of obedience to the will of God.

Rachel and Leah’s statement “do whatever God has said to you” indicates that they acknowledge God’s blessing upon Jacob and that it is God’s will for them to leave their father and go with Jacob and expresses their faith in the Lord and their willingness to risk a journey to the Promised Land.