Genesis 31:36-42 – Do what we can; leave God to do what we cannot

Laban went through the tents of each of Jacob’s family members looking for his lost idols. His inability to find his lost idols made Jacob boiled over. Jacob felt that his uncle had made up a poor lame excuse just to ransack his property. He, of course, was unaware that Rachel had actually stolen her father’s idols. Remember he worked 14 years for Leah and Rachel and then another six for the flocks. In those 20 years, Laban had changed his wages 10 times. Though gentle by nature, the thought of how he was ill-treated made Jacob explosive. He turned angry and aggressive and berated his uncle. His negative emotion towards his uncle were essentially a pent-up emotion of 20 years. In those years he felt badly treated.

Jacob was a hard working person. He worked diligently, discharging and fulfilling the conditions set by Laban. He did not shrink from his assignments. For twenty years the female sheep and goats of Laban had never suffered a miscarriage. Jacob was able to account for the number of animals Laban had. He bore all the losses whether his sheep or goat was attacked by a beast or stolen. In the process of looking after his flock he was also succumbed to all kinds of weather condition – burning heat by day and frost-bite by night. Responsibly, Jacob had spent many sleepless nights looking after his uncle’s flock. Here’s a lesson on faithful stewardship. Like him, we must be faithful to the tasks assigned us by our bosses. Regardless of how they treat us, God will never short-change us. We need to do our best leaving God to do the rewarding. We do what we can and leave God to do what we cannot.

Though Jacob started off as a conniver, God’s transforming work took place in his life since that dream he had at Bethel. We see the progressive change of his perspective. Verse 42 shows that he had indeed come to accept God’s hand in his life. Jacob was sure that, “If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed.” He added that “God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night.”  He alluded to God for the favour he had experienced. The Lord not only prospered him but also protected him. He had showered His goodness upon him and made sure that he would not be taken advantage of. He gratefully acknowledged that it was God all the way. Like Jacob, by His grace we shall triumph. Like him, we need to do our best and leave God to do what only He can do – to prosper us.  When all is said and done, the question is: have we done our best for Him? God deserves our best.  

Genesis 31:25-35 – Our Character gives weight to our words

Finally Laban caught up with Jacob. It must have been a petrifying experience for Jacob prior to the confrontation. For sure Laban would have killed him had not God intervened the night before. In verse 24 we are told that “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.’” So during the meeting it was Laban that was tentative rather than Jacob. There was much uncertainty. What Jacob received were just harsh words Laban tossed at him.

Laban’s words were calculated to put Jacob on a guilt trip. He wanted to make his nephew feel guilty for what he had done. So he painted a picture as if he was a loving father who had been gravely hurt by an inconsiderate son-in-law. He accused Jacob of deceiving him and fleeing secretly. He even had the audacity to give Jacob the idea that had he known that he wanted to return to his father, he would have sent him off with a grand celebration. Really? Would he have acted that way? We all know that those were just hollow words knowing the kind of character that he was. Bear in mind that what we are, speak more loudly than what we say. What we learn from Laban’s deceptive life is this: for our words to be taken seriously, we need to be found trustworthy. There can be no trust when at the basic level we are untrustworthy. Remember it is possible for one’s character to speak so loudly that what that person says cannot be heard.

Whatever Laban had said were just hollow empty words and couldn’t be taken seriously until his final line. He asked Jacob, “…but why did you steal my gods?” Jacob was baffled for he did not know that Rachel had stolen her father’s idol.  So he responded saying, “The one with whom you find your gods shall not live….” With that line, Jacob had just pronounced a death sentence on Rachel, the wife he loved so much. So he confidently allowed Laban to search the tents of his family.  The uncle diligently went through tent by tent beginning from Leah, Zilpah and Bilhah and then back to Leah’s and finally Rachel’s. He found nothing for Rachel, who had stolen it, had placed it in the saddle of her camel and sat on it.

Meanwhile Rachel remained seated and did not move. Her excuse: “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is upon me.” She claimed to be having her monthly period so she was not moving. Laban bought her excuse because he could not imagine that Rachel would sit on his household gods. That would have been a grave sacrilege. What Rachel did indicated her disregard for her father’s gods. Though we would not go far to do what Rachel had done, we nonetheless would only honor our True and Living God. There is no other God worthy of worship but the Lord God Almighty, the Mighty Creator, the Covenant-Keeping God who came to us in Jesus Christ. He alone deserves the glory and honor and endless praise!    

Genesis 31: 17-24 – God undertakes to protect those who are His

Jacob, having the consent of his wives, settled his children and the two of them on camels and the family stealthily left for the land of Canaan. Laban was probably fully engaged during this time for it was wool shearing time. It is said that during such a time if one had a large flock the shearing crew could go as many as 400 shearers for a period of three complete days. And Laban was too busy to notice anything else so it was the perfect time for the family to inconspicuously escape. Without telling Laban, Jacob left and cross the Euphrates River making a go for the hill country of Gilead. 

One thing unsettling though was the fact that Rachel should steal the household idol of her father. It was probably a carved figure of a human. What could be her reason or reasons for stealing the idol? It was believed that possession of such an idol substantiates one’s claim to the family inheritance. Another explanation is that the idol was what Laban would use to practice his divination. And Rachel wanted to make sure that he did not have the ability to detect their escape. The plain and simple reason is that Rachel was just showing spite for her father, and showing disdain and disrespect for Laban’s gods. What Rachel did not know was that she was putting Jacob in jeopardy. Notice the uncle is known as an Aramean. This is deliberately done to distinguish him from Jacob and his children.

It took Laban three days to realize what had happened. News came to him that Jacob had fled. By this time Jacob had come to Gilead. There was a distance of seven days between Laban’s pursuing force and Jacob’s family. We can imagine Laban to be furious and went in hot pursuit of Jacob with murderous intent. He would have massacred his nephew if not for the intervention of the Lord. Prior to his confrontation with Jacob, verse 24 tells us that “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.” This is what happened when God is on your side. Like Jacob, when we get on God’s side, He will make it His business to protect us. So Paul asked in Romans 8:31, “…If God is for us, who is against us?” Yes, truly, nothing can ever threaten us or separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus!

Genesis 31:1-16 – Take heart, God is in control!

A quick scan of Genesis 31 will tell us that Jacob had indeed progressed and become more astute. He was more apt at reading character and had become wiser in his dealing. Laban’s sons were spreading rumors that Jacob became wealthy because he took advantage of what he had stolen from their father, Laban. And from the loot he had made progress. Jacob could also sense that Laban’s attitude and dealing with him had changed. He had entirely forgotten that Jacob was the reason that he had what he had. He forgot that it was he who had begged Jacob to stay. He knew then that God’s hand was with Jacob and he took advantage of that. Now instead of being glad that his nephew was blessed, he was jealous and had become angry, cold and abrasive in his treatment of Jacob. But no longer was Jacob tentative in his dealing with the uncle. He was forthright and open.  

We can see that Jacob’s relationship with God had grown in depth. He had become more spiritual and had no qualm responding to God immediately. When God told him to, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” He jumped into action. He knew that he had to have his wives’ consent before he acted on what he wanted to do. Summoning his two wives to the field where his flocks were being shepherded, he explained the situation to them. He wanted to be in a place where what he would tell them could not be overheard. In that short conversation, Jacob made reference to God seven times. He was no longer acting out of self-interest. God was the main reason he was making such a decision. He gave his wives a history of how Laban, their father, had unfairly cheated him. Jacob knew that God had blessed him. And from Laban’s plain coloured sheep and goat, God helped to see to it that they produce multi-coloured young. He concluded that it was God who had taken away the livestock of Laban and given them to him. Literally God had transferred the wealth of Laban and given it to Jacob. What he told his wives brings us back to how God had helped him in the multiplication of the mottled and blotchy flocks. Jacob then concluded with the divine instruction in verse 13. He said to him, “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.” He recalled his vow to God and was now responding to God’s faithfulness. What an amazing moment!

Jacob managed to convince his wives and they were in agreement with him. They saw the ugly fact of how their father had sold them. The gain from the fourteen years of Jacob’s hard labor for them was to be kept for their sustenance, should they become widows. But Laban retained them and in that sense he pilfered what were rightly his daughters. So they, in unison, told Jacob to go for it, and that they were with him in his plan. They were indirectly telling him to do what God had instructed. We see in this account, Jacob attributing to God for all that had happened. He saw the hand of God progressively leading him, allowing him to go through all that he had experienced. Here we see an outline of God’s redemptive plan. It has all along been God who had brought him through everything. Jacob now set his eyes toward the promise land and to bring forth a nation of people to bless the world. We all benefit from Jacob’s response to God. What a privilege! 

Genesis 30:37-43 – The power and potential of the mind

As agreed, Jacob began to tend to his uncle’s flock comprising mainly of single-coloured sheep and goats. To benefit from whatever he was doing, Jacob had to think of a way fast to make those monochrome animals produce mottled sheep and goats. So he thought of a plan using the function of the animals’ mind to get them to produce mottled young. He took shoots of various trees and peeled off the barks in such a way till the white strips were seen on the tree. Then he placed this trees in the front gutter of the watering trough where the animals would come for their drink. It was around the watering trough that the animals would also mate. What Jacob was trying to do was to cast the image of stripes created by the stripped trees on the mind of the animals. So that the image would be on the animals’ minds as they mated. Amazingly, the young given birth by those animals were spotted and speckled. He further bred the blotchy animals with the single-coloured ones so as to increase his own flocks even more. He also chose the stronger animals and bred them so that those that ultimately belong to him would be strong and not feeble. So Jacob was blessed and he became exceedingly prosperous and had great livestock and plenty of maids and servants.   

Ultimately, we know that it was definitely God who had helped with the production of those botchy and mottled animals. But the lesson we learn here is about the power of the mind. The imagination is perhaps one of God’s unique gifts to His creation. And He had given the wisdom to Jacob to use the function of the mind and imagination of those animals to bring about the birth of spotted and speckled animals. We may not be able to fully explain the phenomenon, yet the result was telling. Jacob deployed it to his advantage on those animals and was greatly rewarded. Several texts of the Bible suggest to us the great potential of the imagination. It has potential for either good or evil. For example the imagination of the people who wanted to build the tower of Babel was not exactly healthy. So in Genesis 11:6, God saw that there was nothing that could prevent them from accomplishing what their mind had imagined. But we can use our mind and imagination for good. We can do what Philippians 4:8 exhorts us to do. So “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” And Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to this world but be transformed through the renewal of our mind. We must constantly engage our mind to meditate and think about God’s Word. We cannot even begin to plumb the depth of what God can do through our transformed mind. Amazing indeed!

Genesis 30:31b-36 – Honesty prevents misunderstanding

In Jacob’s negotiation with Laban, he asked one poignant question in verse 30b, “But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?” That question elicited a quick response from Laban. He asked, “What shall I give you?” With that question Jacob quickly seized the opportunity to outline what he felt would be a fair deal. He thought of a way that would prevent Laban from accusing him of any wrong doing in future. He asked Laban to separate every specked and spotted sheep and goat, and every black lamb from his flock and be given to him as his wages. These kinds of sheep and goats were fewer than the single coloured ones. In so doing, Jacob ensured that in his possession there would not be any single-coloured sheep and goat, except black lambs. Any non-mottled goat and sheep and every non-black lamb found among his flock in future would be considered stolen from Laban. Most sheep as we know are white in colour and most goats are dark in colour, either black or brown. Rarely can mottled sheep and goats be found. So thinking that Jacob’s request was foolish, Laban must have cynically sneered underneath his breath and quickly agreed to the proposal.        

  

So we read in verses 35-36 that Laban jumped into action immediately that very day. He actually overstepped what was agreed. Verse 32 tells us that Jacob was supposed to do the removing not him. But he quickly had the mottled sheep and goats and black lamb from among his flock removed himself and had his sons tend to them. Those that belonged to him he had them separated three days journey apart from what now belonged to Jacob. And his nephew continued to tend to those that belonged to him. He must have thought that with all the single coloured animals together, hardly would mottled goats or sheep be produced. Or so he thought. He was outsmarted by his nephew and he didn’t even know it. For Jacob was smarter than he thought, and we shall read about them in verses 37-43.

This episode is a lesson on how to deal with others honestly. Obviously, Laban as an employer was not fair. He never did take care of his employee’s welfare. He sought time and again to take advantage of his own nephew. How Laban behaved toward his nephew should not be the one we, as believers, should emulate. Honest earning is not wrong. In fact every business must aim for profit. But to profit at someone else’s expanse is not God honoring. Jacob coming to Laban to talk about his future is something honorable. He did not do anything behind his uncle’s back. It was the right thing to do. He must have thought through carefully what he wanted and what could help him to acquire and increase his own stock. It was a fair negotiation that Jacob proposed, and Laban accepted it. There was no ambiguity in the proposal, Jacob set it out clearly before his uncle. Openness and honesty is the best way to go in any relationship. We should never allow our actions to be used as an excuse to accuse us and malign God.  

Genesis 30:25-31a – Seek the giver and not just the gifts

When Jacob left Bethel, he would have often reminisced the dream of the ladder with the ascending and descending angels of God. He would have recalled the multifaceted promise God had made him. He was promised the land of Canaan, and that his people would be as numerous as the dust of the earth. Furthermore, they would also fan out to all corners of the earth and be a blessing to all people. For 20 years, his life was driven by that vision and step by step God was bringing it to pass. What was assuring to him was also the promise God made to him in Genesis 28:15 “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 

Jacob would never have imagined that his descendants becoming a great nation would come through the 12 sons born out of his polygamous marriage. In the first place, he did not anticipate to be deceived into a polygamous marriage. He knew that he had promised to give seven years of his life to get the woman he loved and unwittingly ended up working 14 years for two wives. This is the contribution made by his crafty uncle Laban. Though not his making, his polygamous marriage started off unhealthily with the two sister-wives contesting for his affection and escalated into a war of child birth. Out of the struggle within his family, came the 12 sons. Due to Rachel’s barrenness, she must have gotten very low. The Lord was instructing us that He would come to the rescue of the lowly. And Rachel finally conceived and gave birth to two sons. This is a kingdom principle that Jesus Himself later would teach: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”  

Let’s get back to Jacob’s present situation. The promise of off-springs had rolled itself out but what about the prosperity God had promised him? So coming to Laban he announced his departure to the next phase of his journey – the land of promise.  So verses 25-26 read, “…Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my own country. 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.” All Jacob asked for was his wives and children. He wanted nothing more from Laban. Between Jacob and Laban there was no love lost. Here the uncle was caught by surprise that Jacob should want to leave. Laban knew that his own prosperity was due in large to the presence of Jacob. God prospered him because of his nephew.  He saw how God had increased his livestock because of Jacob. Unfortunately, what he saw did not lead him to put his trust in God. All he could see was how to increase his wealth by taking advantage of his nephew, whom had God loved greatly.

Laban then tried to cut a deal with Jacob asking him to “Name me your wages, and I will give it.”  As far as Laban was concerned, he felt that he did not owe Jacob anything. The bargain he made with Jacob was for him to work for his wives. There was no mention of the wages that was due to him. So the uncle must have felt he owed the nephew nothing. He however, knew that he prospered through Jacob because God’s hand was upon him. This underscores the truth that God is the source of all things in life. It is God who will give us all things in life. Psalm 24 states that “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness there of.” Everything we have comes from God and we have them because He blesses us with them.  Here we see how wealth can be blinding. Focusing on wealth, Laban would rather have riches than God, the source. Here is where foolishness is in full display. Though rich in material, Laban was poor and wretched. Know that ultimately God is the source of what we need. Human and others are just the resources and channels He uses to meet our need.