However, for Jacob that was not the end of it. Laban’s sons started rumours that “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this wealth.” Laban evidently took notice and became unfavourable to him (v1,2). Jacob hadn’t stolen anything; Laban’s sons were simply envious of Jacob because God was blessing him. Just like any sin, envy is sin and should be avoided. Jealousy is usually wanting to be like someone else, envy goes a stage further and being resentful of what someone else has and wants it for themselves.
Jacob received a command and a promise (v3) “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.” It was time for Jacob to leave and go to his own land and he was going with God’s presence. Jacob called his wives to meet him in the field and told them that their father Laban had turned against him, but the God of his father was with him. He explained how he had served their father faithfully and they knew that he had, but his wages had been changed ten times and Laban had deceived him by changing the agreement about the type of flocks he could have.
He expressed that God had protected him and despite Laban’s deception God had prospered him (v4-9).
When the flock conceived Jacob had a dream (v10-13) of rams and sheep and goats producing streaked, speckled and grey spotted sheep/goats and even the rams became similarly coloured and the Angel of God said, “I am the God of Bethel ….now arise, get out of this land and return to the land of your family.”
He told him to go back to Bethel where had first met with God and to go back to the land promised to his forefathers.
We may have wandered from our first love of Jesus Christ, and we need to return. Spurgeon once said, “You remember, some of you, perhaps, the first time when pardoning love was revealed to you — when you were brought to see the love of God in the great atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Well, to-night, the Lord says to you, ‘I am the same God as you have ever found me. I have not changed. I change not; therefore, ye sons of Jacob are not consumed, even as your father Jacob was not consumed; for I was even to him the self-same God.’”
Leah and Rachel fully supported Jacob in his decision to return as their father had really cut them off from their inheritance and there was nothing left for them to stay for. (v14-16) One writer said that this was probably the first time the two wives had agreed. They realised that God told Jacob and so they were ready to go. Jacob left with his sons (and presume his daughter) and wives on camels to go Canaan (v17-21). He took all his possessions including his livestock. There is one sad note and that was that Rachel stole the household idols belonging to her father while he was away shearing sheep. We don’t know why she took the idols and there have been many speculations including Jewish tradition which was to keep her father from worshiping them.
Jacob left without telling Laban, they crossed the river and headed for the mountains of Gilead a journey of 300 miles. I wonder if he didn’t tell Laban because he was afraid. God had promised him safe passage, so he need not have been afraid.
Three days later Laban was told that Jacob had left. You may recall that he had put Jacob’s flock three days journey from him in the previous chapter. News didn’t always travel fast, so he went after him and travelled seven days before catching up with them (v22-24). God had told Laban in a dream to be careful how he dealt with Jacob even though he was angry. Jacob had pitched his tents in the mountains of Gilead and Laban overtook him and asked, ‘What have you done, stealing away from me taking my daughters captive?’ He suggested that he would have sent them away with a party, but he did not have the opportunity to kiss my loved-one’s goodbye. Whilst Laban could do him harm, he acknowledged that God had spoken to him. He accepted that Jacob wanted to go home, but ‘why steal my gods?’ (v25-30)
In verses 31,32 Jacob said, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ 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.”
Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen the idols, so he was being very careless in his statement to Laban. Laban searched everywhere for the idols but didn’t find them (v33-35) but Rachel had hidden them in the camel’s saddlebag and sat on the bag. She said that she couldn’t get up because of her woman’s condition. She had learned deceit from her father and had been surrounded by it, even Jacob.
Despite all this wheeling and dealing, God was in control.
Jacob was angry with Laban and maintained his innocence (v 36-42) stating that he had been with Laban for twenty years and even bore any loss of flocks out of his own pocket, had gone without food and sleep. Laban had changed his wages without consultation on ten occasions, and Jacob had left empty-handed and maintained that the God of his father and grandfather had protected him, sadly he didn’t say his God.
Laban replied by saying that Jacob’s wives were his daughters, and the children belonged to him, the flock was his and everything else but being generous, he would give them to Jacob (v43-50). What rubbish! He had married off his daughters to Jacob, even by deception so he had forfeited any rights to them, and their children belonged to them. Laban suggests a covenant and Jacob agreed – “May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. 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!”
A heap of stones set up as a pillar was to be the witness. This became known as a ‘Mizpah Covenant’ or Mizpah Blessing. In fact, it was really saying that I don’t trust you out of my sight. Hardly a blessing to be bestowed on anyone.
Laban declared that the heap of stones and pillar was a witness that neither of them would pass this barrier to harm the other (v51-55). They swore by the God of Abraham, Nahor and their father in Laban’s case and the Fear of Isaac in Jacob’s case, not their own God. Jacob offered a sacrifice and called his brethren to eat bread. They stayed all night and early next morning Laban kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them and left for home. This was the best thing that could have happened to Jacob, one writer says that Laban represents the world and Jacob needed to go from it. I believe that this is the last we hear of Laban and in a way, it was ‘good riddance’.
It is a lesson for us all who are Christians that we separate from the world and put a barrier between us. James 4:7 urges us to ‘Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.’ We cannot resist the devil unless we submit to God.
