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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. 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, we notice first the pursuit of 
Jacob by Laban in verses 22 to 24. Secondly, 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, 
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. 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 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 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 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, 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. 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 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, 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. 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.