Genesis 31.25-30-Laban Confronts Jacob
Tuesday July 25, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 31:25-30-Laban Confronts Jacob
Lesson # 184
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 31:1.
This evening we will continue with our study of Genesis 31.
Thus far in our study of this chapter, we have noted the following:
In Genesis 31:1-2, we saw that Jacob hears of Laban’s sons’ antagonism towards him and also sees a change of attitude by Laban towards him.
In Genesis 31:3 we noted the Lord commanding Jacob to return home and promising him protection.
In Genesis 31:4-16, we saw Jacob informing his wives that the Lord has commanded him to leave Laban and his wives agree to leave with him.
Then, in Genesis 31:17-21 we saw Jacob departing from Paddan Aram and heading towards Canaan.
Genesis 31:22-24 records God protecting Jacob by warning Laban in a dream to not stop Jacob from returning home to Canaan.
In Genesis 31:25-31 we studied that Jacob left Laban secretly out of fear that Laban would take his wives and children from him.
This fear was due to a lack of faith in the Lord to honor His promise to protect him from Laban.
This evening we will note Genesis 31:25-30 where Laban confronts Jacob and makes three accusations against 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.’”
Genesis 31:6, “You know that I have served your father with all my strength.”
Genesis 31:7, “Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to hurt me.”
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.’”
Genesis 31:9, “Thus God has taken away your father's livestock and given them to me.”
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.’”
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.”
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.”
Genesis 31:17-18, “Then Jacob arose and put his children and his wives upon camels; and he drove away all his livestock and all his property which he had gathered, his acquired livestock which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac.”
Genesis 31:19, “When Laban had gone to shear his flock, then Rachel stole the household idols that were her father's.”
Genesis 31:20, “And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing.”
Genesis 31:21, “So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed the Euphrates River, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.”
Genesis 31:22-23, “When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, then he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days' journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.”
Genesis 31:24, “God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night and said to him, ‘Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.’”
Genesis 31:25, “Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen camped in the hill country of Gilead.”
“Caught up” is the verb nasagh (gc^n*) (naw-sag), which means that Laban “overtook” Jacob in the sense that he “came up to” him, or made contact with him and confronted him face to face.
“Pitched” is the verb taqa (uq^T) (taw-kah), and is not the usual verb for pitching a tent, which is natah (hfn*) (naw-taw) (See Genesis 12:8; 26:25).
The verb taqa denotes the pounding or thrusting or driving tent pegs into the ground.
The verb taqa implies a hostile atmosphere that pervades this scene between Jacob and Laban whereas natah denotes the pitching of the tent in the sense of spreading out the tent but in a peaceful setting.
The fact that Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit employs this verb taqa rather than natah indicates that he is trying to paint a picture of a tense and suspenseful scene where violence is about to break out.
Genesis 31:26, “Then Laban said to Jacob, ‘What have you done by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword?’”
Laban opens his questioning of Jacob by saying “what have you done?” which introduces an accusation of wrongdoing.
These are the same accusatory words Jacob spoke to Laban when Laban deceived him on his wedding night and sent Leah into his tent and not Rachel.
Laban has reaped what he has sowed.
Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”
Laban repeatedly defrauded Jacob from the very beginning of their relationship but now has the audacity to complain that he has been misled by Jacob.
“Deceiving” is the same expression used in Genesis 31:20, which literally means “to steal the heart” since it is composed of the verb ganav (bn^G*) (gaw-nav), “to steal,” and the noun lev (bl@), “heart,” which refers to the mentality of the soul.
Jacob stole the heart of Laban in the sense that he left secretly and unobserved by Laban so that Laban had no knowledge of and was totally unaware that Jacob had left.
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 from Laban as He said He would in Genesis 28:15 in the phrase “I will keep you.”
Therefore, Jacob had not done Laban any wrong by leaving Laban secretly but he had done God wrong by leaving secretly out of fear for Laban since this fear was due to a lack of faith in God’s ability to protect him from Laban.
Fear is a result of unbelief and unbelief is failure to trust that God will protect and provide for us.
The fact that Jacob left secretly out of fear of Laban taking his loved ones from him by force is quite interesting because the Lord had just finished commanding Jacob to return to Canaan and reassured him that He would be with him (See Genesis 31:3).
Genesis 31:26, “Then Laban said to Jacob, ‘What have you done by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword?’”
Laban accuses Jacob of carrying away his daughters like prisoners of war, which is slander and a lie.
Lies are an abomination to God, which God hates.
Proverbs 6:19, “A false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.”
Psalm 34:13, “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.”
Colossians 3:9, “Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices.”
Ephesians 4:25, “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE OF YOU WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.”
However, Laban is so self-deceived and deluded that he does not recognize that Rachel and Leah are Jacob’s wives even though Jacob has fully satisfied the terms of their agreement of the marriage contract.
Furthermore, both Rachel and Leah left of their own accord with Jacob and even complained bitterly of their father’s treatment of them as well as Jacob and their children.
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.
Thus the agreement of Jacob’s wives to leave with him refutes Laban’s accusation that Jacob carried Rachel and Leah off like prisoners of war.
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.”
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 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).
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.
Therefore, in Genesis 31:26, Laban’s first accusation is a sin against Jacob since it is a wild exaggeration, totally without basis and without fact and is in fact slander and defamation of Jacob’s character.
Laban’s first accusation against Jacob is hypocrisy as well since Laban feigns concerns for his daughters when in reality he could have cared less about them as demonstrated in his treatment of them over the past twenty years!
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines hypocrisy, “a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not possess; a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.”
Laban’s first accusation was hypocrisy because it was a pretense of having concern for his daughters’ safety, which he did not possess as demonstrated by his treatment of his daughters and that his real motive for tracking down Jacob was to harm him and reclaim his household idols according to Genesis 31:30.
He is playing the part of an outraged parent and grandparent when in fact he is an indifferent and cruel parent and grandparent who cares for no one but himself and making money!
Genesis 31:27-28, “Why did you flee secretly and deceive me, and did not tell me so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with timbrel and with lyre; and did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now you have done foolishly.”
Laban’s second question “why did you flee secretly and steal away from me” is a complaint against Jacob’s secret departure, which was against the custom of the day when someone was moving away.
Laban is telling Jacob that he didn’t give him an opportunity to say goodbye to Jacob, his daughters and grandchildren by having a party for them but this would sound hollow to Jacob’s family since they were so mistreated and disrespected by Laban.
Jacob, Rachel and Leah have already experienced Laban’s version of a party according to Genesis 29:22-27 where Laban got Jacob drunk and then sent Leah into his tent on his wedding night when he expected Rachel for whom he had just worked seven years for in lieu of the bride-price.
At this point, all of Jacob’s family are rolling their eyes since Laban’s appeal to customs such as a farewell party and kisses make a mockery of him.
Laban accuses Jacob of acting foolishly by failing to let him have a party for him, his daughters and grandchildren and this too is hypocrisy.
The fact that he calls Jacob foolish reveals that he did not want to have a farewell party for Jacob and reveals his bitterness.
Laban accusatory words and hypocrisy and quick temper reveal to everybody that he is in fact the fool and not Jacob.
Laban’s hypocrisy and false accusations reveal that he is a fool.
Proverbs 12:23, “A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.”
Genesis 31:29, “It is in my power to do you (plural form of pronominal suffix meaning, “every one of you”) harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to speak either good or bad to Jacob.’”
Laban then boasts that not only that he was able to do harm to Jacob but also his entire household as indicated by the plural form of the pronominal suffix meaning “every one of you.”
Therefore, we see that Laban had every intention of not only harming Jacob but also his own daughters and grandchildren until the Lord warned him not to.
However, in view of his dream where the Lord warned him to not harm Jacob, he knew this was an empty threat.
Laban’s claim that it was in his power to do harm to Jacob and his entire household reveals the fact that he had every intention of harming Jacob and this is confirmed by the intense way in which he pursued him for three hundred miles.
The fact that Laban admits that God had warned him not to harm Jacob also reveals that Laban’s intention was to harm Jacob since God would not have given such a warning unless Laban had every intention of harming Jacob.
Laban apparently considers Jacob to be a servant under his authority by stating it was in his power to do harm to Jacob.
However, the Lord has revealed to Laban in the dream that Jacob was under his authority and would not be touched!
In fact, Laban has to acknowledge that he is under God’s authority since he obeys the Lord’s command to not harm Jacob.
Laban recognizes that there is no point in carrying this particular line of questioning and conversation any further so he abruptly changes the subject in order to render another accusation and slander of Jacob’s character.
Genesis 31:30, “Now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly for your father's house; but why did you steal my gods?”
Laban’s acknowledgement that God had intervened and warned him to not harm Jacob would have made Jacob relax for a moment thinking that Laban is through with his harangue.
However, Laban is always full of surprises and saves the worst of all accusations for last, namely, that Jacob has stolen his household idols.
Laban tries to justify his actions to some point and acknowledges to Jacob that he realizes that he wanted to return to Isaac and that this was a good enough reason to leave Paddan Aram.
His third accusation, “why did you steal my gods?” is also without any evidence and slanders Jacob’s character and accuses him of idolatry.
Genesis 31:19 reveals that it was Rachel and not Jacob who was guilty of stealing Laban’s idols.
Laban’s accusation is also ridiculous since Laban knew full well that Jacob would have nothing to do with his household idols since he worshiped Yahweh who prohibited household idols in his home.
Jacob would have nothing to do with Laban’s household idols since he did not place any value on them since he had a relationship and fellowship with the Living God who made promises to him and had fulfilled those promises.