Genesis Part 049
With increasing hostility between Laban and Jacob and the possibility that Laban’s sons might take some action against Jacob and his family, it was time for Jacob and his family to leave Laban.
Jacob prospered with God’s blessing and his own clever management of the flocks. But as Jacob increased, Laban decreased. This irritated Laban, especially since he thought his deal with Jacob was to his own advantage. It also appears that Laban had gotten into the habit of living well while God blessed him because of Jacob, and the decrease in revenue meant an uncomfortable tightening of the belt. Indeed, Laban had wasted the bridal price of 14 years’ labor Jacob had paid for his two wives (verses 15-16).
In those days the bridal price was kept by the father on behalf of the daughters as a trust, but Laban had improperly consumed the money. Finally, seeing their father’s fortune decline, Laban’s sons became concerned that they would inherit nothing if something was not done soon.
With increasing hostility between Laban and Jacob and the possibility that Laban’s sons might take some action against Jacob and his family, it was time to leave. Jacob’s speech to his wives prior to departure reveals the duplicity of Laban, the faith of Jacob and the providence of God. During the six years that Jacob tended Laban’s flocks (verse 41), Laban changed the terms of the deal between himself and Jacob many times. With each change, Jacob faithfully relied on God for continued blessing, and each time God provided that blessing. Finally, God commanded Jacob to leave. He left without telling Laban in an attempt to avoid confrontation.
As they were leaving, Rachel stole Laban’s household idols. It’s possible that she took the idols because it was commonly believed that the possessor of the idols would enjoy the blessing of the gods. It seems Rachel was attempting to “secure” her husband’s good fortune according to the paganism in which she was raised. Yet she and Leah had apparently both come to worship the true God, seeing Him as the one who had blessed them with children and wealth and the one from whom to seek direction (see Genesis 29:32; Genesis 30:22-23; Genesis 31:16). Why, then, did Rachel take the idols? Many commentators point out that the most likely explanation is that she stole them because they represented ownership of Laban’s possessions. The one who had the idols could thereby prove himself or herself to be the legitimate owner or heir to the property. For instance, the Broadman Bible Commentary states: “The possession of household gods was legal proof of the right to inheritance. Since Rachel believed that the property should be theirs, she ‘appropriated’ what she considered to be hers by right. This did not make the act any less wrong” (vol. 1, p. 220).
Laban pursued them, angered not only by Jacob’s fortune, but also his sudden departure and the disappearance of Laban’s household idols. God warned Laban in a dream not to speak “good or bad” to Jacob. Nevertheless, Laban rebuked Jacob for leaving, feigning that he would have sent them away with a great feast. Since he could not compel Jacob’s return, Laban turned his attention to the household idols. After an unsuccessful search of Jacob’s goods—Rachel having hidden the idols—Jacob scolded Laban. Take note of how Jacob attributes his success to God and portrays God as having judged Jacob’s cause as righteous. Again, this is more evidence of the character development of Jacob.
In parting, Jacob and Laban built a pillar stone. This stone, however, was different from the stone that Jacob erected in Bethel. This stone was not a sacred stone, but a memorial stone. It stood in that place as a reminder to all who passed by of the covenant made there between Laban and Jacob.
Despite Laban’s chicanery and double-dealing, he may have been expressing genuine fatherly concern in the end (see Genesis 31:49-50, Genesis 31:53, Genesis 31:55). He didn’t have to make it part of the agreement that Jacob take no other wives. (It is interesting in verse 50 that Laban does not regard the maidservants as wives, as these concubines were looked upon as “surrogate mothers” for his daughters). Laban also makes repeated references to the true God. While he was surely shaken by his dream, there would seem to be more to it than that. God had used Laban to bring about a dramatic change in Jacob’s character over the course of 20 years. Yet in all that time, Jacob had in turn served as quite a witness to Laban—there were certainly lessons in it for him too. Perhaps here at the end—broke, losing his family and seeing everything he had plotted and schemed after for so long now slipping away—Laban had finally gotten the point.
UYA Team | uya@ucg.org
United Young Adults (UYA) primarily serves the 18–32-year age group for the United Church of God. There are three main areas of contribution to the lives of the young adults: Promoting Spiritual Growth, Developing Meaningful Relationships, and Making the Most of Your Talents. The Know Your Sword series is a daily expository message introducing God’s Word from a trusted perspective.
