Genesis chapter 31. So we have seen how Jacob worked for Laban. He spent a total of 20 years there. He had only gone to go, or was only going to go for a brief visit to fetch a wife, but because of Laban's tactics, he ended up spending 14 years in service for the two wives, and then an additional six years in service with reference to the flocks.
And then last week we saw how he departed from Laban. He essentially saw the disdain that Laban and his sons had for him as he had done well in flock management. And then the Lord God also had commanded him to return to Canaan. In verses 4 to 13 of chapter 31, Jacob briefs his wives to get them on board, Leah and Rachel. and they both agree that Laban had mistreated them as well.
So now they're on their way, they've departed, and we'll pick up reading in verse 22 of chapter 31. And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days' journey. And he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead.
But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night and said to him, Be careful that you speak to Jacob, neither good nor bad. So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead. And Laban said to Jacob, what have you done that you have stolen away unknown to me and carried away my daughters like captives with the sword, or taken with the sword?
Why did you flee away secretly and steal away from me and not tell me? For I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp. And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing.
It is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad. And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?
Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, 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 your brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you. For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
And Laban went into Jacob's tent, into Leah's tent, and into the two maids' tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent. Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel's saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent, but did not find them.
And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me. And he searched, but did not find the household idols. Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban. And Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass?
What is my sin that you have so hotly pursued me? Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both. These 20 years I have been with you.
Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you, I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. There I was, in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.
Thus I have been in your house twenty years. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.
And Laban answered and said to Jacob, these daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock. All that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have born? Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.
So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. Then Jacob said to his brethren, gather stones. And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. Laban called it Jegir-sahaduthah, but Jacob called it Galid.
And Laban said, This heap is a witness between you and me this day. Therefore its name was called Galid, also Mitzpah, because he said, 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 as witness between you and me. Then Laban said to Jacob, Here is this heap, and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me.
This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me for harm. The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us. And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac. Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and called his brethren to eat bread.
And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. And early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place. Amen.
Introduction
As I said, we have the scene now where Jacob is returning to Canaan. Certainly Laban wants to catch him and wants to find out what's happening. Ideally, he can get Jacob and his daughters back into his house under his employ because it worked out quite well. for those 20 years where essentially Jacob was a slave or a servant to Laban. And as we look at this particular section,
Laban's Pursuit of Jacob
we notice first the pursuit of Jacob by Laban in verses 22 to 24. Secondly,
Laban and Jacob's Confrontation
the confrontation between Laban and Jacob in verses 25 to 44. And then finally, this covenant between Laban and Jacob in verses 45 to 55. So as I said, Laban gets word. They are out shearing the sheep.
This was a festival. This was a time of great joy, a time of great feasting, and a time of a lot of work. And it was an extended period of time. And so he's out, and then he hears on the third day that Jacob had fled.
According to verses 22 and 23, he catches up with Jacob and it tells us specifically, or before that in verse 24, we see that God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night and said to him, be careful that you speak to Jacob, neither good nor bad. Now that's sort of the overarching theme in this chapter. As we have seen throughout the book of Genesis, the providence of God looms large. We see that everywhere.
God is working in this particular family, ultimately to preserve them for such a time that Messiah would come. And we see that providence of God evidently here, and we see a good developed theology of Jacob, specifically in verse 42, where he reiterates that, or he highlights that. The reality is that God has been with Jacob all this way in order to secure him and bring him back to the land of promise so that he can continue to flourish. He is the father of the 12 tribes, again, from whence the Messiah is going to come.
So God is the one that is over all these things, and essentially God warns Laban that he is not to do any harm whatsoever to Jacob. That's what's conveyed to us there in verse 24. Now that brings us to the larger section that we're going to spend the most time on tonight, the confrontation between Laban and Jacob. Some of it is laughable, the way that Laban goes about what he does.
What we've learned of Laban up to this point, he's not the sort of guy that he sort of portrays himself to be in this particular section as he meets up with Jacob. He has a much more sort of rosy idea of the way that he related to Jacob than what the text of Scripture indicates concerning Laban. But in the first place,
Laban's Accusations
with reference to this confrontation, we see the accusations of Laban in verses 25 to 30. So he catches up to him. They pitch in the mountains of Gilead. And then Laban said to Jacob, verse 26, what have you done that you have stolen away unknown to me and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword?
So he is essentially implying that Jacob has become the slave master, that Jacob has become the one who by force has essentially kidnapped both Leah and Rachel. Well we know that's not the case because previously in this particular section Jacob takes a lot of time to explain to Leah and Rachel what is happening, and Leah and Rachel confer together, and they as well assess that Laban had not done well to them, and so they were on board with following Jacob. Back in chapter 31, verses 14 to 16, after Jacob tells them what his plan is. We read, 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.
So Laban's got a lot of... chutzpahs, the Jews would say, to come and indict Jacob for being the one who has stolen his daughters. They have gone willingly because they've rightly assessed the kind of father that he was. And then in terms of the question concerning Jacob's departure in verses 27 and 28, he says, why did you flee away secretly and steal away from me and not tell me? For I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp." Again, I think that's an overstatement, because what we've learned of Laban at this point, that's not the kind of fellow he is.
He's enchanted by stuff, he likes material possessions, he likes gold, he likes silver, he likes loot, he likes money, and he likes slave labor, and that's precisely how he used Jacob. He lied to him, he deceived him. Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, and on the morning of the wedding night, behold, it was Leah. I mean, he deceived him so grievously, and then when Jacob offers up his complaint, He has to engage in another seven years of service so that he can secure the hand of Rachel, the one that he actually loved.
So he's not the sort of guy that presents in the previous chapters as the one who would greet them or send them away with kisses and with timbrel and with songs. He just doesn't sort of present that way. And then in verse 28, you did not allow me to kiss my sons. Sons here are probably grandsons, probably the sons of the daughters. sons that were born.
These are the grandsons of Laban here. So he says, you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing. And then in verse 29, he asserts that he has the power to hurt Jacob.
I mean, again, here's the guy who said, I would have sent you off with Timberland Hart. But now he admits in verse 29, in the first part, it is in my power to do you harm. So even as he's saying, I would have loved to give kisses. I would have loved to have a celebration.
I would have loved to have a party. The very next statement, he says, I can do you a great deal of harm. But he rehearses what God the Lord had said to him. And it's intriguing the way that he conveys this.
Verse 29, it is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your father, He knows he ain't his God. He knows that he is not a servant of Yahweh. He knows that it is the God of Israel, the God of Isaac.
He says, the God of your father spoke to me last night saying, be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad. Now I'm sure for Jacob this was delightful news, because he's just conveyed the ability to do great harm to Jacob. And as far as Jacob is concerned, there's nothing keeping him from doing this great harm to him, but verse 29b is an ace in the hole for Jacob. Yahweh has intervened.
Yahweh has come to Laban at night in a dream and basically told Laban, do nothing to harm this man whatsoever. But as I said, it is intriguing. He understands the God of your father. John Calvin says, willingly or unwillingly, he is compelled to yield to the God of Abraham.
Excuse me. And yet He defrauds him of the glory which is due by retaining those fictitious deities by which he had been deceived. We see then that the ungodly, even when they have had proof of the power of God, yet do not entirely submit themselves to His authority. So he knows there is a God in Israel, and he knows this God in Israel is able to come to him in a dream by night, and this God of Israel is able to warn him from inflicting any harm upon one of the subjects of the God of Israel, and yet this does not sort of bind his conscience.
This does not prevail upon him, which is to say that men must be born again. I think I've shared with you before, there's a great debate. In fact, it's called the Great Debate. It occurred in the 1980s between a Christian man named Dr.
Greg Bonson and an atheist named Dr. Gordon Stein. And at the very end of the debate, one of the persons, or there was a time for questions on the part of the attendees, it was at UC Irvine in California, and somebody said, what would convince you, Dr. Stein, that God exists?
And Dr. Stein said, well, if this lectern, or pulpit, or whatever it was, were to elevate, and there were no machines, or there were no wires, or there were no motors, or there were nothing that we could see that had lifted that in the sky, that would compel belief in God, or if God put in a personal appearance. And Greg Bonson then on cross-examination said, even if those things happen, if that pulpit lifted up, you would try to explain it away in a naturalistic way. It's not miracles that make Christians.
You must be born again. Remember that Jesus upbraided the cities that he did many mighty miracles in, in Matthew's gospel in chapter 11. They saw these things, but they did not repent. And so this man has had the manifestation of the true and living God to him, but He has not been regenerated, so therefore He rejects it, therefore He acts as if this God is unimportant, and that His gods are actually what is important.
In fact, that's what He says in verse 30. It says, And now you have surely gone, because you greatly longed for your Father's house, but why did you steal My gods? Now, one wonders if he realizes how foolish that sounds. If your gods can be stolen, they're not good gods.
If your gods can be sat upon by Rachel, they're not good gods. In fact, in the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 46, he mocks the gods, he mocks the idols of Babylon. And essentially, he says they fall over and men have to pick them up and carry them. God says, I've carried you.
That's the beauty of biblical religion. It's not that we have to carry our God, but rather our God carries us. You see that with reference to Dagon. When the Philistines capture the Ark of the Covenant of God, they put it in the temple of Dagon.
Well, when they come in the next day to see this, Dagon had fallen down and had broken, so they propped Dagon back up, probably take some crazy glue out and, you know, put him back together, and then the very next day the same sort of thing happened. Well, the Bible is mocking, the Bible is anti-idolatry, and this is another indictment of this. A guy by the name of Revitus says, wonderful is the madness of idolatry. He confesses that those who he calls his gods might yet be carried off by theft.
It was the part of impiety that he worshipped idols, but it was the part of folly that he declared those to be gods who were unable to preserve themselves from being stolen. If you look at the end of verse 35, it refers to it as household idols. It's the Hebrew word called teraphim. You see it?
I think I mentioned last week 1 Samuel chapter 19. There's another instance of these teraphim, or these household idols. But he doesn't refer to it as teraphim. He refers to them specifically as gods.
And again, one wonders if he understands just how foolish he sounds when he talks about his gods being able to be stolen.
Jacob's Response and the Hidden Idols
Now Jacob responds, he does not know that Rachel actually did swipe the gods. He didn't know that Rachel was engaged in god-napping. And so when he refers to this in verse 31, Jacob answered and said to Laban, now he's answering basically both questions, because I was afraid for I said perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force. That's the first part.
Why did you leave under the cover of darkness? Why didn't you let me kiss my family? Why didn't you do this sort of thing? He says, I was afraid.
My interaction with you, Laban, has been less than stellar. The way that you have treated me has not encouraged me to have this open door policy with you. And as for the gods, verse 32, he says, 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.
For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them." So this is what we come to now. The tents have been pitched and now the tents are going to be searched by Laban. Notice he searches the tents in verse 33. And then in verse 34, Rachel takes the gods, the household idols, the teraphim, and puts them in the camel's saddle and sat on that.
Now, I really think that Moses is mocking idolatry here. I really think that Moses wants us to chuckle at this particular picture. One man says this means that they are as unclean as can be. In this new position, they come near functioning as sanitary towels.
I mean, that's about what's going on here. So when she does this, Laban searched all about the tent, but did not find them. And then in verse 35, she said to her father, let it not displease my Lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me. And he searched, but did not find the household idols.
Leviticus 15. speaks about uncleanness. Now again, this is proleptic. Leviticus 15 hadn't occurred, but a lot of the stuff that we see here in Genesis does foreshadow later legislation that comes out in the Mosaic Law. So this was uncleanness, and so Laban respects that.
He doesn't look in the saddle. Now the question is, why does Rachel have that? If it was just to deprive her father, she could have dumped him anywhere. It does seem as if she's attached.
It's tough to drive out the idolatry of the paganism. You can take the woman out of Heron, but you can't necessarily take all of Heron out of the woman. Now, under the tutelage of Jacob and the theological sort of learning that she is getting, hopefully those sorts of things would dissipate in her own life, but there does seem to be an attachment on her part to this teraphim or to these teraphim at this particular juncture, which is a bit of a concern. But then
Jacob's Protest and Faithfulness
that brings us to the protest of Jacob. Now, it's time for Jacob to unload a little bit. It's time for Jacob to say, you know, I about had it with you, Laban, and the way that you have treated me. And so that's essentially what we have in verses 36 to 42.
Notice his anger in verses 36 and 37. Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban. And Jacob answered and said to Laban, what is my trespass? What is my sin that you have so hotly pursued me?
In other words, what was it that Jacob did that ever was an affront to Laban? The only thing is that Laban doesn't want to lose slave labor. Laban doesn't want to lose the good gig that he has. Probably he doesn't want to lose Leah and Rachel and all of his grandchildren either, and we can't really begrudge the man that.
However, it does seem as if his whole approach is to maintain control, to maintain that which most pleases Him. But we can rightly identify with Jacob's anger and frustration at this particular point. Verse 37, although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it there before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both.
So he says, Pony up. You searched the tents. You searched everything. If you have found anything that is yours, then put it out there as Exhibit A.
The persons will see and they'll be able to rightly judge if I have in fact wronged you. If there is nothing that is yours, then you are the one that's got the issue and the problem. That's what Jacob is highlighting. He goes on to highlight his own faithfulness in that employment that he had for those 20 years.
Notice the faithfulness of Jacob in verses 38 to 41. In the first place, he maintained a healthy flock for Laban, and he didn't take anything for himself. I mean, Jacob is a good man here. I mean, as he exhibits or expresses, rather, the sort of service that he has produced and what we've already witnessed in the previous chapters, the man did serve Laban well.
Laban shouldn't have done these sorts of things to him at this particular juncture. As well, Jacob bore the loss of those torn by beasts. Now, later on in Exodus, specifically in chapter 22, it wasn't the case that the shepherd would bear the loss. In other words, the shepherd didn't bear the loss for something that was torn by beasts.
Now, again, that's later legislation, but Jacob is saying it here as something that was common among shepherds. If a shepherd lost something that was torn by the beast, it wasn't the shepherd's fault. And yet he says, I bore the loss. He goes on to say that he bore the loss for those who stole it.
Again, Exodus 22.12 contains the rule specifically governing this situation. He speaks in verse 40 of the difficulty in terms of the physical labor involved. It had been a tough time. I was in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes." So he had done diligent service come daytime in the heat or nighttime in the cold, and then Jacob had faithfully served for 20 years, and Laban changed his wages 10 times.
So you see, Jacob is definitely in the right in this particular instance. I don't think anybody would say, you know, Jacob, you're overreacting. You should go back to Laban's house and you should just take your position back in his service and be happy. But I think it's
Jacob's Theology: God's Presence
the theology of Jacob related in verse 42 that sort of governs the entire scene. He says, unless the God of my father the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac. That is a reference to God, the fear of Isaac. Beautiful way to speak concerning God.
He says, unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night. In Isaiah 8.13, we read, "...the Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow. Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread." So this is the way that Jacob rightly responds to the God of Israel.
He refers to Him as the fear of Isaac. Calvin says that now the pious, while they fear God, are by no means horror-struck at His presence like the reprobates, but trembling at His judgment, they walk circumspectly beforehand. So when we talk about the fear of God, it's not the paralyzing, running from God sort of fear, but rather it's that reverential awe in which we esteem God for who God is and we see ourselves before Him the way that we ought. That's what the fear of God means.
It doesn't mean running and hiding from Him, but it means running and finding refuge in Him. Now, certainly the reprobate has a fear of God, where he wants to run from God, he wants to deny God, he wants to assume atheism, he wants to try to argue away God, but the fear of God that the people of God possess is a good thing. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of life. That is a most blessed thing, and that is a great sign or great evidence that what we find with Jacob here is a developed theology where he has witnessed firsthand the Lord's intervention in his life.
Again, this is God's providence overruling in his life. He recognizes God's presence in his life, and it's because of that presence that Laban is unable to overtake Him. The fact that God has come to Laban and warned him off, this is what Jacob ascribes to his ability now to flee from Jacob. He says, unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed.
In other words, if I did not have God, I would go destitute back to the land of Canaan. If I did not serve the living and true God, I would be broken and empty as I sort of hobbled my way back to the promised land. And then he recognizes that God has seen his affliction and labor, and had in fact rebuked Laban for his sake. So you see, God has demonstrated to Jacob not only his presence, but his providential guiding, and even to the point of communicating to a pagan man to leave his hands off of his child, leave his hands off of Jacob.
And then
Laban's Concession
notice the response by Laban in verses 43 and 44. Laban realizes he's done. Verse 43, look at all this stuff, it's all mine, but he knows he can't have it. Because the God of Israel has told him, do nothing against Jacob.
It's really a beautiful scene, isn't it? You mess with the people of God, you mess with the God of the people. This is Paul's point in Romans 8. If God is for us, who could be against us?
If God is for us, what can Laban ever do? Now, conversely, if God is against us, if we're unbelievers, then what can man do? Nobody can deliver us from that terrible plight. But in this sense, the Lord is with Jacob, and therefore Laban knows that his days are numbered.
So verse 43, Laban answered and said to Jacob, these daughters are my daughters, these children are my children, this flock is my flock, all that you see is mine, but what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have born? In other words, I can't keep them, I have to let them go. But now notice what he does in verse 44. Now therefore come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be witnessed between you and me.
Now, whenever this happens, it happened with Abraham in Abimelech, and it happened with Isaac in Abimelech. Whenever the foreigner wants to enter into covenant with the patriarch, that shows that the foreigner has lost. He does this so that Jacob won't get him. He does this so he can maintain some degree of protection and safety in his own land.
He knows that the God of Israel is on Jacob's side. If Jacob turns the corner and says, wait a minute, Laban, you really messed me over for 20 years. I'm going to come and exact revenge on you. Laban doesn't want that to happen.
So Laban says, I want to enter into a covenant with you. Again, he's the loser, and he realizes this is the only means by which he will have long-term protection. Winnem says as much. He says, when foreigners seek to make covenants or oaths with the patriarchs, it is an acknowledgment of the latter's superiority. the patriarchs.
You see it in chapter 21, Abimelech and Abraham. You see it in 26, Abimelech and Isaac. Laban now feels he must protect himself from the power and blessing that evidently rest on Jacob, hence he asks for a covenant. So it's not like he's had this new turn of affection for Jacob.
Let's have a covenant. Let's rejoice in each other. Let's just be loving brothers toward one another. That's not it at all.
He doesn't want the God of Israel to get him. He doesn't want Jacob to get him. He doesn't want the exacting of revenge. He doesn't want recompense for the 20 years of slave labor that he made Jacob go through.
He doesn't want recompense for the, behold, it was Leah episode. I mean, what man in his right mind would just immediately get over that? That probably lingered in Jacob's heart at least for a while to find out, behold, it was Leah. So, Laban enters into this not because he's at a change of heart and affection for Jacob, but because he understands that with Jacob and God against him, if he doesn't get some sort of covenant enacted, then he's going to be in big trouble or he's going to have some big issues.
What do you need? All right, and then
The Covenant Between Laban and Jacob
the covenant between Laban and Jacob, a lot of the stuff here, it's symbolic, it's what covenant-making did. There is this pillar, this heap that is erected, one calls it by a Syrian name, and Jacob uses the Hebrew word, and it essentially means the heap of witness. So this is going to stand as a witness against us in terms of this covenant-making ceremony. And then there is the eating of a meal.
Most of the times, when you look at covenant in scripture, there's the eating of a meal consistent with covenant. That's part of the ratification ceremony, and such takes place in this particular instance. As well, they both name the heap, and then the significance of the name, or the significance of this heap of witness, is drawn out in verses 48 to 50.
The Heap of Witness and Mizpah
Notice that Laban said, this heap is a witness between you and me this day. Therefore, its name was called Galit, also Mizpah, because he said, 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. Now, there would have been a lot of people witnessing this ceremony, because Laban had people, and so did Jacob.
But this witness is a sort of symbolic representation that when Laban and Jacob are away from this place, God is going to be witness. That's part of the whole idea behind this covenant. It's that God is going to watch to ensure that they don't break the terms of the covenant. Now, it's a covenant not in terms of religion, but it's basically a non-aggression policy.
Basically, it's Laban's attempt to secure from Jacob a promise that Jacob's not going to get him. But isn't it rich to see what he says in terms of terms of this covenant? Verse 50, if you afflict my daughters, Well, Laban was quite good at that himself, according to the report of the daughters in verses 14 to 16. Or, if you take other wives besides my daughters.
One wonders if Jacob was able to keep from laughing at this particular point. It was Laban that introduced Jacob to polygamy. It was Laban that orchestrated this polygamous relationship to begin with. It was Laban who put this ball in motion.
Calvin says, he had himself compelled Jacob to the act of polygamy. For whence was it that the holy man had more wives than one, except that Leah had been craftily substituted in the place of Rachel? So for him to get all high and holy and lofty now, if you afflict my daughters or if you take other wives besides my daughters, it's almost like what we're saying to the south of us in terms of projection. One party projecting upon someone else the very crimes that they're guilty of.
That's what Laban is doing in this instance. If you afflict my daughters or if you take on additional wives. Again, this is legit, and this is every daddy's dream, but this particular daddy has given evidence that that's not really what makes him tick. So it's just a sham, and it's just an attempt, again, for him to protect his bacon so that he doesn't end up getting his clock cleaned by Jacob.
When Jacob comes to the realization, I've got God on my side, we can march right into Laban's castle and sack it and decimate it. Now Jacob's not going to do that. because Jacob's godly. If I was Jacob, I might do that. So I'm just, yes, I'm projecting a little bit here myself.
But then
Covenant Ratification
back to the actual ratification of the covenant, verses 51 to 55. As I said, look at Laban's words in verse 51, here is this heap and here is this pillar which I have placed between you and me. This heap is a witness and this pillar is a witness that I will not pass beyond this heap to you and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me for harm. You see, that's it.
That's all Laban wants. Laban hasn't had a change of heart. Laban isn't the benevolent dad and granddad. Laban isn't the wonderful father-in-law.
Laban just doesn't want to get killed. Laban doesn't want his life in jeopardy, and so he enters into this covenant, which is when he points out, when a foreigner does that with a patriarch, it shows the patriarch's superiority, and that's precisely what we see here. Verse 53, the God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us. You see his paganism come out in spades there.
A man who's got gods that his daughter can sit on is a man who's going to invoke whatever gods there are. Nahor was an idolater. For him to invoke the God of Nahor and the God of Abraham is what's called syncretism, bringing all the gods together to try and produce the beneficial effect for the worshiper. But then Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac.
Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. And early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.
So that is a covenant. Again, it's a non-aggression pact. Neither party is going to gun down or kill the other party. This heap of witnesses is that dividing line.
Laban's not supposed to cross to go to Canaan, and then Jacob is not to cross to go back to Haran in order to finish off Laban for his misdeeds. Well,
Application
in conclusion, just a couple of thoughts and then we'll close. First of all, I think, as I said, verse 42 is sort of the theme in the entirety of the chapter. The theology of Jacob. He recognizes the presence of God with him.
And I think this is the most important observation for all of us, because while we may not be Jacob laboring with Laban, while we may not wake up in the morning and behold it was Leah, we have the promise of God that He'll never leave us nor forsake us. We have the same God present in our life. The same God who in Genesis 15 says to Abraham, I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward. This same God who in chapter 28 at Bethel told Jacob that I will be with you, that God has been with Jacob and Jacob recognizes that and Jacob highlights that.
As well, he recognizes the power of God. You've got God's presence, but God's power as well. And here he says specifically, surely now, unless this had been the case, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. So God's not only present with Jacob, but God's power is manifested in the fact that Laban has not bested Jacob in this particular episode.
And then the recognition of the mercy of God with Jacob. Notice what he says, God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night. Isn't that a beautiful thing? God has seen my affliction.
Now there's a lot going on here that foreshadows later redemptive history. There's a lot here connected to, or at least thematically related, to Israel in Egypt and they cry out under the bondage and God sees their affliction and then God frees them from the foreign oppression. So the same sort of stuff that's going on here with Jacob is ultimately going to go on with reference to corporate Israel when they get into Egypt as slaves. So the theology of Jacob is certainly well-developed here.
He understands who God is. Secondly, in terms of the providence of God, that's woven throughout the chapter. In verse 3, he instructed Laban. flat out instructs Laban to return to Canaan, to be with your fathers, or the land of your fathers, and to your family, and I will be with you. He intervened so that Laban would not harm Jacob.
It's a beautiful thing, isn't it? Now, I'm not suggesting that every time you have an enemy, God's going to appear to that enemy in a dream and say, you know, don't mess with my child. It's probably not, well, it's not going to happen. But in terms of God's protection of his people, it is obvious here.
It's obvious in our lives as well, though maybe not as directly the enemies that we have say, well, you know, your God visited me last night and told me that. And then he preserved Jacob and all his afflictions. I'm sure for Jacob working, I mean, that first stint was like a few days. Remember that when he was working for Rachel?
That first seven years went like that. And then behold, it was Leah. Probably that second seven years didn't go as fast. And then that last six years really didn't go as fast.
So he had afflictions. You know, 20 years, as we sort of survey biblical text, we don't really know the day in and day out. 20 years is a long stretch to be in a terrible situation. Now, I don't think he was getting beaten and lashed and all that sort of thing, but nevertheless, he was not a free man, and he was certainly a man subject to a man that was not upright and godly. And then finally, we should be able to see and be able to laugh with Israel when they got these documents at just how foolish idolatry is.
Again, a God who can be stolen or a God who can be sat on is not a God that you want to put your trust in. Well, let us close in a word of prayer.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the book of Genesis and the great things it teaches us concerning your providence, concerning your promises, your faithfulness, and the way that you govern. all your creatures and all their actions. And I pray that you would encourage our hearts, help us to reflect upon these texts, and help us to see your action in our own hearts and in our own lives. God, we ask that you would continue to go with us now, that you would bless us throughout this week.
We pray for our brothers and sisters that are struggling with physical challenges and issues. We pray for Don Neufeld, asking God that you would bless him and just give him some relief from the the pain that he undergoes. We pray for Cindy, that she would recover well from the surgery that she's had. We thank you that we've seen Bev the last two Sunday nights in church, and we just give glory to you for your loving kindness and your goodness there.
And we pray for Fran and for Mrs. Bolt and for others as well, Lord, that you would just undertake on their behalf. And we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.