Genesis chapter 30, an interesting passage tonight, one that I'm not certain I have all figured out, but we'll try to work our way through it. Basically what we have is Jacob's marriage to Leah and to Rachel, and now Jacob, having had 11 children, wants to depart and head back to Canaan. So we'll pick up reading in chapter 30 at verse 25 and we'll read through chapter 31 at verse 21. So beginning in chapter 30 at verse 25.

And it came to pass when Rachel had born Joseph that Jacob said to Laban, send me away that I may go to my own place and to my country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you and let me go. For you know my service which I have done for you. And Laban said to him, please stay if I have found favor in your eyes.

For I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake. Then he said, name me your wages and I will give it. So Jacob said to him, you know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. For what you had before I came was little and it has increased to a great amount.

The Lord has blessed you since my coming. And now when shall I also provide for my own house? So he said, what shall I give you? And Jacob said, you shall not give me anything.

If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks. Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and these shall be my wages. So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come when the subject of my wages comes before you. Everyone that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and brown among the lambs will be considered stolen if it is with me.

And Laban said, O that it were according to your word. So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons. Then he put three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks. Now

The Breeding of Multicolored Animals

Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods. And the rods which he had peeled he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink. So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth straight, speckled, and spotted. Then Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban.

But he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban's flock. And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters that they might conceive among the rods. But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in. So the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's.

Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has acquired all this wealth. And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before. Then the Lord said to Jacob, Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.

So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, and said to them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before. But the God of my father has been with me, and you know that with all my might I have served your father. Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me. If he said thus, the speckled shall be your wages, then all the flocks bore speckled.

And if he said thus, the streaked shall be your wages, then all the flocks bore streaked. So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. And it happened at the time when the flocks conceived that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. Then the angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, Jacob.

And I said, Here I am. And he said, Lift your eyes now and see. All the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. For I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.

I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and you made a vow to me. Now arise, get out of this land and return to the land of your family. Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? Are we not considered strangers by him?

For he has sold us and also completely consumed our money. For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children's. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do it. Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels, and he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father's. And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. So he fled with all that he had. He rose and crossed the river and headed toward the mountains of Gilead." Amen.

Introduction

As I said, he is going to return now to Canaan. He was only supposed to be gone for a few days, but the total time away in Haran was 20 years. You see that in chapter 31 at verse 41. Thus I have been in your house 20 years.

I served you 14 years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. So it certainly was not a great situation that faced Jacob while he was at Laban's house, but as we see, God prospered him, God in providence provided for him, God protected him, and God saw him through this particular season. We see some growth some spiritual maturity taking place in the life of Jacob. He's altogether silent in the child-bearing section previous to this.

I mean, he makes one statement in chapter 30 at verse 2, but beyond that he simply does as he's told with reference to siring all of these children. Here it is more decisive. Here he wants to make sure that his wives are on board. Here he wants to make sure that he is doing the right thing before the living and true God.

So

Negotiation with Laban

we'll look at the end of that section in chapter 30 under the consideration, the negotiation with Laban. in chapter 30 verses 25 to 43. If you have questions going into the chapter, you're going to have them coming out. I don't know all the significance as to what is going on in the particular chapter in terms of the way that he manages the flock and he's able to yield these multicolored animals that will ultimately benefit him. But that's what's happening, the negotiation with Laban, and then secondly, the fight from Laban in chapter 31, verses 1 to 21.

But going first to the section in chapter 30, the negotiation with Laban, we see

Jacob's Request to Depart

the request by Jacob in verses 25 and 26, that the birth of Joseph, this is when it is the time that Jacob now wants to return to Canaan. And if you look at verse 25 when he says, send me away that I may go to my own place and to my country. The language my country evokes the promise of God. God had promised to Abraham and then to Isaac and now to Jacob that he is giving him the land of Canaan.

In fact, if you go back to chapter 28, when God met Jacob at Bethel, in verse 13, the Lord reveals to Jacob, and behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham, your father, and the God of Isaac, the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants. Also, your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth. You shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south, and in you and in your seed, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will bring 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 spoken to you." So that affirms or confirms or brings to pass the promise initially made to Abraham.

What God promises to Abraham is a land and seed, and we know that ultimately the seed according to Galatians 3.16 is Jesus Christ. So it's from the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that the Messiah is ultimately going to come, and that's why the narrator focuses on this one family. We go from the creation of the world, we go from the fall, we go from Babel and the flood and all those sorts of things, now to focus in and hone in on one particular family in some relatively mundane things. But nevertheless, this is the family from whence comes the Lord Jesus Christ.

So now Jacob wants to go back to Canaan, and then he says specifically in verse 26, give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go. For you know my service which I have done for you. So Jacob wants to take his wives and children. He doesn't want to leave them at Laban's house.

In some sense, this foreshadows the legislation in Exodus chapter 20, I'm sorry, chapter 21, verses three to six, with reference to slavery, if a man has a wife given to him by a master, then that wife ultimately is the possession of the master along with any children that are born as a result of that. And so that will come later in the legislation. He does not want that to happen even though he has been treated like a slave. He nevertheless wants what is coming to him in terms of his wives and his children.

And then

Laban's Counter-Offer

notice the response by Laban in verses 27 and 28. He's not keen on this. And why would he be? He just got 14 years of excellent service out of this man Jacob.

In fact, Laban admits as much in terms of the prosperity that Laban himself has experienced. His connection to Jacob has brought blessing. And again, that harkens back to that original promise of God in Genesis chapter 12. that God said to Abraham. Abraham would be a blessing.

He would be a blessing to the nations around him. Well, we see that with Laban in this instance, and Laban doesn't want him to go. And so in verse 28, he said, name me your wages and I will give it. Wenham makes this observation, he says, according to the wedding agreement in chapter 29, Laban owed Jacob nothing, because he already had two wives promised in exchange for his 14 years of labor.

This he had only just completed, so he could not demand anything more at this stage. Therefore, if Jacob wants to go with anything more than Leah and Rachel, he will have to work longer." A neat reply. So it's not the case that Laban is being overly benevolent. Laban is trying to work the angle so that he can keep Jacob and his employ, so that he can keep him as a slave, so that he can continue to benefit off of the work of his hands.

So Laban's not had a change of course at this particular time, and now he's saying, tell me what it is that you want, I'll be happy to give it to you, and off you go. That's not the way it is at all. Both of these men are in a strong negotiation, and they both want to come out on top. And then

Jacob's Plan for the Flocks

that brings us to this negotiation concerning the flocks in verses 29 to 43. Now notice what Jacob highlights, his proven ability, in verses 29 and 30. He tells him, he says, so Jacob said to him, you know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount.

The Lord has blessed you since my coming, and now when shall I also provide for my own house? So he says, I've been a great asset to you and a great benefit to you. Now I want to return after these 20 years, and I'm going to need some resources in order to be able to facilitate life in Canaan. And again, Laban says in verse 31, what shall I give you?

And that brings us to Jacob's plan. In the first place, he doesn't want Laban to give him anything. He says, I don't want you to give me anything. He says that Jacob, or Jacob says that he will care for Laban's flock and that from the flock, all that Jacob asks for is for the multicolored ones, the spotted ones, the speckled ones.

Typically the sheep would have been white and the goats would have been black. That would have been pretty much it. But a recessive gene in the gene pool will yield a speckled animal or a spotted animal. And so Jacob's request is pretty minimal, very minimal, such that even Laban himself is in tune with it.

And that's what Laban says in verses 34 to 36. The plan sounded good to Laban as the multicolored ones were far rarer, right? It's a pretty no-brainer. He doesn't know that Jacob basically has an ace up his sleeve.

That ace up his sleeve is God's providence. Whatever happens in terms of what Jacob does with reference to these rods and the watering trough, he attributes this directly to the intervention of God Almighty. Based on the dream that he refers to with reference to Rachel and Leah, He knows why he has yielded these flocks. He knows why there was all these spotted ones and these speckled ones.

It wasn't necessarily connected to the particular rationale that he employed, but it was connected to the God of heaven and earth. It is similar in many respects to the Mandrakes back in the previous chapter in verse 14. Remember we said that Mandrakes were believed to be an aphrodisiac and would have helped conception. Well the text is conspicuous that the conception comes as a result of God.

Because Rachel takes the mandrakes and continues three more years without any conception. Leah doesn't have the mandrakes and God opens the womb. So the author wants you to know that it wasn't the Mandrakes, but it was God. In the same instance, the connection between chapters 30 and 31, we see that.

It's not necessarily the process by which Jacob employed, but rather it is the sovereign God behind the scene that is doing these particular things. So Laban thought the plan sounded good. He thought this would be a good plan in terms of him getting the most out of it. And then notice what he does in terms of making it even more difficult for Jacob.

In verse 34, Laban said, So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons. Then he put three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flock. So you see what he does. He stacks the deck against Jacob.

He takes all the speckled and the spotted ones away. Now all he has are the blacks and the whites. And so if it is the case that there are no recessive genes in the next issue, then Jacob is going to fail. It will be futile.

In many respects, what Laban is doing, as I said, is he's stacking the deck against Jacob, which is ultimately stacking the deck against God. And as we saw in Acts 12 on Sunday morning, sometimes the Lord decrees it that way so that when the power is displayed, nobody can mistake that it has come from God Almighty. You see it in 1 Kings 18, Elijah on Mount Carmel. pouring the water on the sacrifice, such that the fire of God comes down and consumes it. Well, the deck was stacked.

The bailiffs had home turf advantage. Everything was in their favor. And the same thing in Acts chapter 12. Peter is chained or shackled to two men, and then two men are guarding the door.

So when Peter escapes, you cannot mistake. It was the glory of God Most High revealed. And the same is the case in the riches and the prosperity that Jacob enjoys here. It's not his shrewdness as a manager of flocks, though he probably was.

I don't want to take that away from him, but it's the case that God prospered him the way that God prospered Abraham in Egypt and the way that God prospered Isaac so that he was the envy of the Philistines and the way that God is going to prosper Joseph. It's one of the underlying themes with reference to this particular chapter or section that the patriarch in a foreign land nevertheless comes out enriched and blessed in a great way. because God is great and God provides for his people even when they're in a place that is to their disadvantage. So that's something we ought to appreciate in terms of God's providence in this section. Now, in terms of the management of the flock, so Laban's got all of the speckled and the spotted away from the gene pool.

He has removed them far enough so that there can be no co-mingling, and now it's up to Jacob with reference to the flock. And there's two sections that Jacob engages in. First, the breeding of the multicolored animals in verses 37 to 40. And then secondly, the breeding of the stronger livestock in verses 41 to 42.

But in verse 37 to 40, again, this is a very puzzling section, just like the mandrakes in chapter 30 at verse 14. But here it says, now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods. Now, you've probably read this before, and you may have a better understanding of it than I do. I know I have read it in the past.

And as I came to it today, I kind of worked through it. I think I got a little bit more of an understanding, but really not in any sort of an exhaustive way. So perhaps at the end we'll open it up for discussion and if persons have sort of a better perspective on flock management and how to yield multicolored, I'd love to hear that. But this is what's happening in this section.

And then in verse 38, the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks and the gutters in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink so that they should conceive when they came to drink. So the flocks conceived before the rods and the flocks brought forth, streaked, speckled, and spotted. Then Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face toward the street, and all the brown in the flock of Laban. But he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban's flock." Now in terms of the significance, John Calvin says it with a decided sort of position, something I had never heard.

I don't think that reflects, I don't, reflects probably more poorly on me than good on Calvin. But he says, moreover, as it respects physical causes, it is well known that the sight of objects by the female has great effect on the form of the fetus. I don't know. Did you guys all know that?

I had never heard that in my entire life, whether animal or human. Calvin says that what you see, objects by the female has great effect on the form of the fetus. Robert Alter, a modern commentator, makes this comment. He says, at least on the surface, it appears to involve the age-old belief that sensory impressions at the moment of conception affect the embryo.

Here the peeled rods with their strips of white against the dark bark would impart the trait of spots or brindle markings to the offspring conceived. He goes on to quote a modern scholar, Yehuda Felix, an authority on biblical flora and fauna, has proposed that the peeled rods are only a dodge, a gesture to popular belief, while Jacob is actually practicing sound principles of animal breeding. Now, that may very well be the case. I don't know those sound principles of animal breeding, but let's just suppose for a moment that that's the case.

I think Wenham nails it. Wenham says this. One thing is clear. Jacob comprehensively outwitted Laban and succeeded in breeding multicolored sheep and goats from monochrome stock and so transferred them into his ownership.

What is more, he ensured that the strong kids and lambs were his and the feeble were Laban's. I think that's obvious from the passage, the particular procedure or the means or the significance of the rods. Commentators will probably debate that until the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. But what is clear is that he has outmaneuvered Laban.

Laban goes into this because he thinks it's a slam dunk. Jacob goes into this because he knows he serves a sovereign God. And so Jacob goes about his task, and the Lord blesses him. The Lord prospers him, and the Lord brings this to bear, not only for the good of Jacob, but also for the demise of Laban.

I remember, I think it was last week, Shirley, after the Bible study, said, does anything bad ever happen to Laban? You know, she said, it just doesn't seem fair. And I said, well, we're going to deal with Laban next week. Laban was a rotten fellow.

I mean, Laban did mistreat Jacob severely and sorely. Remember on the wedding night, behold, it was Leah. He thought he was getting Rachel, and he woke up next to Leah, and that thus made him or caused him to have to serve another seven years. We're talking a 20-year stint with Laban. and he's basically a slave to Laban.

So that Laban gets some comeuppance in this particular section is legit, and it shows us that this world is governed by a moral governor. It's not always the case. It's not a formula that every bad deed is always repaid on this side of heaven. We know it is on the day of judgment.

Sometimes miserable sinners might make it to the very end without having some sort of a serious sanction on them. They'll get it in the age to come, to be sure. But for the most part, God does recompense the wicked on this side of heaven. He always does in the age to come.

But on this side of heaven, there are those instances of those times. The psalmist Asaph reflects on it in Psalm 73. God is good to Israel, but as for me, my foot nearly slipped. Why?

Because I saw the righteous suffer and I saw the unrighteous flourish. And I didn't really get this until I went into the sanctuary and understood that Thou hast set them in slippery places." In other words, God does not leave off the judgment of horrible, wicked people. And so Laban is going to get his comeuppance in this particular section. So that is precisely what happens in terms of the speckled, in terms of the spotted.

But then as well, in verses 41 and 42,

The Stronger Livestock for Jacob

Jacob understood how he was able to get the strong animals and Laban would end up with the feeble ones. And then the summary statement at the very end in verse 43, again, should suggest to us some parallel with both Isaac before him, So that is the negotiation with Laban. Jacob has come out ahead and

Flight from Laban

that brings us secondly to consider the flight from Laban. You see, Jacob does not want to stick around. Jacob wants to go to Canaan. And so, in the first place,

The Situation Facing Jacob

we see the situation facing Jacob in verses 1 to 3. It's got Laban's sons who are upset. Look at how Laban's sons respond to this. Now, Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons saying, Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has acquired all this wealth.

He did not take away everything that was their father's. He simply asked for nothing. He simply said, I will manage the flock. God blessed him and God prospered him.

With reference to Laban, how does he respond to all this? With an angry countenance. He's not happy with Jacob. It's probably the case that he saw that he was bested by him, and that he had definitely lost the service or the employ of a man that was very valuable.

But even most importantly, the situation facing Jacob is the command of Yahweh. And you see that in verse 3. Then the Lord said to Jacob, return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you. That's what was communicated by God to Jacob at Bethel in chapter 28.

I will be with you. That is sort of, you know, the overarching theme with reference to Jacob on this earth now as he serves the living and the true God.

Jacob Persuades His Wives

Then Jacob calls to his wives to discuss this with them. And it's not just the two wives, but it's their maidservants as well. He wants all four of the women, he wants the 11 children, he wants his possessions, and he wants to be able to go. But he's in a precarious position because Leah knows that she's not the favored one.

So Leah might get a bit squirrely and say, wait a minute, I'm going to stay here with Laban because things are better with him. So he's not sure if these girls are going to be willing to go with him. This is them leaving their home, leaving their land, leaving their country, leaving everything that is near and dear to them. And so he has to convince them.

He has to sort of prevail upon them so that they will willingly come with him. And so he discusses this with them in verses 4 to 13. And again, I think this shows some maturity on his part. He doesn't say a word except verse 2 in the previous section, and now he's taking the leadership.

Now he's calling the shots and now he's wanting to make sure things are good for his family. Waltke said in the childbearing scene, he was a pawn being brokered by his competing wives. Here his full speech demonstrates that he has finally taken spiritual leadership. He testifies to God's provision and his willingness to undertake the difficult journey in obedience to God's command.

And it is a difficult journey. This is a long way to go with a lot of stuff, and it's not going to be easy, and he understands that, so he needs to have Rachel and Leah on his side so that he can make this journey in fulfillment of God's command. Notice that in verse 4 he meets in the field. Why does he meet in the field?

Because he doesn't want to be overheard. He wants privacy. He wants to be able to get away from Laban before Laban even knows. Now later on, It says that Laban was out shearing the sheep.

What a blessed and providential time for Jacob to be able to go. That was done away from the normal home, it was done for an extended period of time, and it was done with many men and great feasting. So that would occupy them. That's why Laban doesn't hear until the third day that Jacob is gone.

So, it's just God's providence working out and working in the midst of all of this, and that's what Jacob rehearses now with reference to his wives.

Laban's Conduct Versus God's Faithfulness

Notice the conduct of Laban and the contrast with God in verses 5 to 9. He says that the countenance of Laban is not favorable to me anymore. Now arguably, it probably wasn't real favorable to him before, other than he smiled because Jacob was his slave and he did whatever it was that he was supposed to do. But in verse 5, he said to them, I see your father's countenance, but it is not favorable toward me as before.

But then notice the contrast. But the God of my father has been with me. See what he's doing? Your father, my father.

Your father, my father. Your father, my father. We're better off with my father because your father's got big problems. Your father has a countenance that is angry toward me.

Your father only wants to exploit me and then later on the girls are prevailed upon and they recognize in their own lives and in their own experiences. Their father hasn't done them any favors either. Verse 6, he highlights the faithful service of Jacob and the mistreatment by Laban. Then again, he contrasts it with God.

Verse 6, and you know that with all my might I have served your father. Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me. You see how Jacob has grown in terms of the spiritual maturity? Bethel was a turning point.

Genesis chapter 28, for Jacob, was a turning point. I'm not suggesting he's now spotlessly perfect and sinlessly perfect and there's no blemish or problem in the man whatsoever, but he's owning publicly the glory and the majesty and the excellence and power of God Almighty. And then notice in verses 8 and 9, he says, "...if he said thus, the speckled shall be your wages, then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus, the streak shall be your wages, then all the flocks bore streak." So what is he saying?

I've had the Midas touch. The Lord God has blessed me in such a way that if that if Laban stipulated this, that's precisely what happens. And I have benefited profusely, not because of Laban and not because of my superior management skills, but because of the living God. And then verse 9 he says, so God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

So you see that retribution, that recompense that is fitting and appropriate and due for a man like Laban. Persons need to know that when you mess around in God's world and you continue to violate and transgress law, there is punishment, there is recompense, and Laban is certainly going to find this out. So he tells them specifically concerning the conduct of Laban and the contrast with God, and then

Jacob's Dream Confirmed

he rehearses this dream that he's had in verses 10 to 13. Verse 10, he says, and it happened at the time when the flocks conceived that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. Then the angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, Jacob, and I said, Here I am. And he said, Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.

In other words, God told him, by way of this dream, that I'm going to prosper you, I am going to benefit you, I am going to progress you in such a way that it's going to leave Laban in the dust, and you then go to Canaan, back to your country, back to the land, so that you can function in the capacity that God called him to. And then verse 13, he reiterates the Bethel experience. Verse 13, he says, I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now arise, get out of this land and return to the land of your family.

As we understand it, Jacob knew that God had purpose to bless and prosper him. It's not that Jacob thought, you know, in magic, or he thought that some hocus-pocus, or he thought that some scheme would necessarily prosper. Now, there might have been something to the rods that I just don't know, but he understands that God is the power behind his prosperity. And then notice the response of the girls, the women, I shouldn't call them girls, they were women at this point, but in verses 14 to 16.

You see why I said this is a bit of a tough passage? Some of these narratives are difficult to sort of jump in and find sort of practical application. I mean, what do we say? You know, next time you breed flocks, use rods.

That's just not an application that one makes from a passage like this. And there's not a lot of sort of narration in terms of how we should think about everything along the way. As I mentioned last week, in terms of principles of interpretation with Old Testament texts, more so Old Testament than New Testament. It's not always the case that the author gives us ethical commentary.

It's not always the case that the author says, okay, from this you learn how not to be this and how to do this. Obviously, there's some things that are conspicuous. We shouldn't be like Laban. We should be faithful like Jacob and honor and obey God and that sort of thing.

Those are sort of obvious things, but this is a strange scenario that we just don't face or something that really we don't have any first-hand knowledge of. But in terms of the overarching theme, the preservation of this family so that it will ultimately yield the Lord Jesus Christ, that's an overarching theme. The providence of God, overarching theme. And we'll summarize that at the end tonight with those concluding thoughts.

But in terms of the response of his wives, they realized concerning Laban. They were not shocked. How dare you speak about our daddy like that? How dare you talk about him?

He's so gracious. He's so generous. He's so benevolent. That's not what they say at all.

In verses 14 and 15, they say, you know, you're absolutely right. He certainly hasn't benefited us. Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? Are we not considered strangers by him?

For he has sold us and also completely consumed our money. Go back for just a moment to that place where we first meet Laban. in Genesis chapter 24. Genesis chapter 24 is when Abraham sends a servant to find a bride for Isaac. Now this particular servant brought 10 camels loaded with stuff.

And this particular servant was going to use that stuff as a dowry or bride price and give it to the family. And Laban is savvy enough to recognize that. If you look at Genesis chapter 24 at verse 29, this is when the servant is there, Rachel is there, I'm sorry, Rebekah is there, and then in verse 29 it says, Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebecca saying, thus the man spoke to me, that he went to the man.

And there he stood by the camels at the well, and he said, Come in, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels. Now as I said, the narrator doesn't tell us, okay, Laban was this filthy money-grubbing wretch, but he does in the way that he describes Laban.

What does Laban look at initially upon the scene? When he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's wrist, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebecca. That's the narrator's way of giving us an ethical impression concerning Laban without telling us, Okay, now I want to tell you that Laban was this horrible, monstrous guy. He was a lover of filthy lucre.

He doesn't have to do that, because we see it demonstrated. And then notice toward the end of this particular section, in verse 52, it came to pass when Abraham's servant heard their words, that he worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.

Go back or go to Genesis chapter 29. Remember when Jacob goes to fetch a wife at Laban's house, Jacob doesn't come with 10 camels of goods. Jacob comes with the shirt on his back. Jacob isn't well-heeled and loaded and ready to do business for a wife.

And then notice in Genesis chapter 29 at verse 13, that it came to pass when Laban heard the report about Jacob, his sister's son, that he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things, and Laban said to him, surely you are my bone and my flesh. And he stayed with him for a month. Well, that changes pretty drastically when Jacob wants one of his daughters, and he makes him serve for seven years.

What happened to this my bone and my flesh? What happened to this family connection? If that's the way you treat family, you put them into seven years of slavery, I'd hate to see how you treat your enemies. So Laban's not a good guy, and we need to keep that in mind.

When he gets what he gets, it is fitting, it is right, and it is just. So back to the women in chapter 31. They understand concerning Laban, and then they submit to Jacob's God according to verse 16. For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children's.

Now then, whatever God has said to you, do it." So he has won his wives, he is on his way to Canaan, and this is when he begins the departure. Notice in verses 17 and 18, Jacob rose, set his sons and his wives on camels. He carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained. He acquired livestock which he had gained in Pat and Aram. to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

Rachel's Theft of the Teraphim

That brings us to verse 19, and Rachel god-napping. That's what it is. She god-naps. She takes the household idols.

It's an act of kidnapping, but it's the teraphim. It's these household idols that were precious to Laban. Now, why does Rachel do that? Hasn't she listened to Jacob for 20 years?

Well, it's tough to get idolatry out of the human heart, for one thing, but as well, if Jacob is just now coming into his own in terms of openly confessing the glory of God Most High, perhaps Jacob wasn't always the best spiritual instructor. And in terms of thinking that she's going to make this radical break and come into and embrace monotheism, again, this isn't the book of Romans. Things happened a bit different here in these particular narratives. So she's got this desire to lay hold of this household idol.

Now here, it's obviously small enough to put under the saddle. In 1 Samuel 19, they're large enough to look like the form of a man. probably some sort of an idol that persons would have at their houses for blessing or for security or for prosperity within their own home. And some have said, well, why did she take them? Some suggest she took them so she could just deprive Laban of them.

She knows what her father's like, let's just get rid of it. Well, if that's the case, as soon as they come to a body of water, she should have pitched them into the river. She kept them for some reason. It almost costs her her life when Laban does catch up to them.

We'll see that, the Lord willing, next week. Some suggest that she did it because she wanted to continue to have this particular idol in her life. And this is the way Calvin interprets it, and he makes this comment. He says, that idolatry is almost innate in the human mind.

I would suggest it's more than almost. In his Institutes, he says that the heart of man is like an idle factory. I think that's very perceptive on the part of Calvin. But in this instance, he says that idolatry is almost innate in the human mind.

The very antiquity of its origin bears witness. It is so firmly fixed there as scarcely to be capable of being uprooted shows its obstinacy. But it is still more absurd that not even Rachel could be healed of this contagion in so great a length of time. She had often heard her husband speaking of the true and genuine worship of God.

Yet she is so addicted to the corruptions which she has imbibed from her childhood that she is ready to infect the land chosen by God with them. She imagines that with her husband she is following God as her leader, and at the same time takes with her the idols by which she would subvert his worship." So it's a terrible thing that she does, and as I said, it almost costs her life when Laban does catch up to them. So again, this is the messiness of life that we have in the book of Genesis. And then in verses 20 and 21, Jacob departs.

As I mentioned earlier, this was an opportune time while they're away shearing the sheep, while they're away feasting, while they're at an extended time away, This is when Jacob leaves. So he trusts in God, he believes in providence, but he's also wise to utilize the mean. I mentioned this on Sunday. Just because God is sovereign, or specifically because God is sovereign, means that we should use means.

It doesn't mean that, well, God's sovereign, I'm just going to lay here on my couch, and if God wants me in Canaan, he will transplant me there. That's not what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to use the means that God has ordained for His glory and for our welfare. So Jacob exhibits savvy and wisdom in that he goes at that opportune time so that Laban will not even know for a couple of days, and that will give him time to at least get a bit of a lead on Laban.

Well,

Providence of God: Concluding Reflections

in terms of the providence of God, as I said, I think the overarching themes in the book as a whole is Messiah, Jesus Christ. Never forget the seed when we consider these Old Testament narratives, specifically the family of Abraham. But as well, the providence of God is obvious. We see first the provision of wealth to Jacob by God. the provision of wealth to Jacob by God.

Now, it doesn't mean that everybody who's ever blessed by God is wealthy. In this particular context, it was a sign of God's blessing. In this particular context, it was a sign of God's provision to his people, and it was a way by which he established that. But even more than that, in terms of God's providence, was the presence of God with Jacob.

Notice in 31.5, and said to them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before, but the God of my father has been with me. You see how that works? Jacob's life up to this point was not easy. 14 years as a slave, I doubt anybody would say it's easy, but nevertheless, he knows God is with me. So he doesn't say, well, it's only that God is with me when I'm amassing wealth, or it's only that God is with me when I am marrying women, or it's only that God is with me when my women are having babies.

That's not what he says. God has been with me. In the 14 years, in the six years, in the good and in the bad, God is with us. That's the blessing of providence.

It's not just that we interpret providence as God's being with us in the good things. God is there in the midst of the difficult things. Look at the book of Lamentations. Look at the Psalms of Lament.

Look at that concept of weeping and sorrow when hardship comes. Those weepers and sorrowers are weeping and sorrowing into the bosom of God Himself. So they know that God is with them, even in the midst of the affliction and in the midst of the trial. This idea that God is there only when I am enjoying benefit is unbiblical.

God is with His people every jot and tittle of the way, in the good times and in the bad times, and Jacob evidences this. David evidences this in the first part of his life and at the end of his life. What does he say? He says, the Lord has delivered me from all of my adversaries.

Well, did David have an easy life? Absolutely, positively not. I mean, it's an intriguing thing. When you look at King David of Israel, as soon as the Spirit comes upon him in 1 Samuel 16, that's when life gets difficult.

Up to that point, he's a shepherd. He's dealing, you know, he's got to deal with lions and bears. I guess that's not easy. But nevertheless, he doesn't have to deal with the Philistines and with Saul and with the various sorts of factions that were out trying to kill him.

And yet he sees and is able to rehearse that even in the midst of the bad times, the Lord God has been there and he has delivered me. As well, we see the protection of Jacob by God from Laban. Verse 7, yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me. It's a beautiful statement, isn't it?

Again, 14 years as his slave, and yet God did not allow him to hurt me. Jacob has a well-developed doctrine of providence in this instance. But then that providence extends as well, not only to the provision, the blessing, the protection of Jacob, but also the judgment of God on Laban. Verse 9, chapter 31, so God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

That is reminiscent of that original promise to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 at verse 3. God said, I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you. And that's precisely what happens to Laban who has cursed Jacob. God has now cursed him.

In Psalm, Gordon Wenham says, thus both in itself and as part of the larger patriarchal story, this narrative makes points that were ever relevant in the life of the nation. One that God is not frustrated by the cheat, that justice will finally be seen to be done, and that His promises to His people, here personified in Jacob, of land protection and blessing to the nations, will, despite all opposition, eventually triumph. And this would be a great encouragement because it does foreshadow what's going to happen later in the history of the nation. When they are slaves in Egypt, does Pharaoh want to let them go?

Does Pharaoh want to see them go out into the wilderness to worship Yahweh? Pharaoh is dead set against that because he's got a slave labor force. He does everything he can in his power to try to crush that rebellion and try to keep them in his stable. And yet God is able to break the power of that oppressor just like God is able to break the power of this oppressive Laban.

So these are lessons that we should hopefully be encouraged by as we consider these Jacob narratives. Well, let's close on a word of prayer.

Closing Prayer

Our Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for your providence, as it's so clearly revealed in this section of scripture. We thank you for your faithfulness and your kindness to your people, for the fact that you are with us, that you never leave us, you never forsake us, that even in the difficulties and in the affliction and in the trial, you are right there with us. As the psalmist said, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

God, I pray that this would be a great help to us as we face the various things we face in our lives, that you would grant us grace and the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit, that we may persevere in a way that brings glory and honor to you. And we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Scripture References

• Genesis 12:1-3; 12:3; 24:1-67; 24:29; 24:52; 28:13; 28:15; 29:1-30; 29:13; 30:2; 30:14; 30:25-26; 30:27-28; 30:29-30; 30:31; 30:34; 30:37-40; 30:38; 30:41-42; 30:43; 31:1-3; 31:3; 31:4; 31:4-13; 31:5; 31:5-9; 31:6; 31:7; 31:8-9; 31:9; 31:10; 31:10-13; 31:13; 31:14-16; 31:16; 31:17-18; 31:19; 31:20-21; 31:41
• Exodus 21:3-6
• 1 Kings 18:30-38
• Psalms 23:4; 73:1-20
• 1 Samuel 16:13; 19:13
• Acts 12:1-19; 12:6-10
• Galatians 3:16