Genesis Chapter Thirty-One
Read Genesis 31:1-16 – Family Discord and Jealousy
v.1-2 “And he heard the words of Laban’s sons,
saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and
of that which was our father’s hath
he gotten all this glory. 2And Jacob beheld the countenance of
Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as
before”.
In the chapter just
completed, there was dissension and jealousy between Leah and Rachel as would
be expected when two women, one of whom he doesn’t love, are trying to share the
same man. Now, because God has blessed
Jacob and increased his wealth, because the covenant that Laban made gave Jacob
the offspring of the flocks of certain colors and patterns and these have
multiplied at a much greater rate than Laban’s, Laban’s sons are also becoming
jealous. Just as the scripture tells us
will happen in such circumstances:
“So that the man that is tender among
you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward
the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall
leave:” Deuteronomy 28:54
The man that is tender
among you, what about him is tender? Not
his compassion, not his heart, but his feelings are hurt. His brother, his neighbor or one someone is
prospering more that he is, so his feelings are hurt, jealousy arises. Feelings of this nature now arise among the
sons of Laban because Jacob’s wealth is growing. Jacob hears the grumbling of the sons, and
observes that Laban, as well, has become disenchanted with their situation.
v.3.
“And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the
land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.”
So now the Lord intervenes
as well. As we have noted before Jacob
was probably not a very decisive man and at times had to be pushed a little and
now he gets direct instruction. God
renews his prior promise made at
Genesis 28:15 “And,
behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I
will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have
spoken to thee of.”
And now the time has come that God will “BRING THEE AGAIN INTO THIS
LAND;” as he had promised.
v. 4-5 “And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to
the field unto his flock, 5And said unto them, I see your father’s
countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my
father hath been with me.”
So Jacob calls his
wives to the fields where he is grazing his flocks, explains to them the
situation with their father, that he has now fallen out of favor with Laban but
that God has been with him and given him instructions.
v.6-7 “And ye know that with all my power I have
served your father. 7And your father hath deceived me, and changed
my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.”
He tells them what they
must already know. He has served their
father faithfully and for many more years than he should have had to
serve. Their father has not dealt
honestly with Jacob. Laban has changed the
wages that Jacob was to receive for serving him ten times and not for the
better but rather to defraud Jacob. But
God has protected Jacob, provided his prosperity in spite of Laban and that has
just added fuel to the jealousy of Laban and his sons.
v.8-9 “If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy
wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstreaked
shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstreaked. 9Thus God
hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.”
The Jacob explains how
all of this has come about. When Laban
gave him all the speckled animals, God caused the flocks to bear speckled
offspring. Laban would see Jacob’s
prosperity growing and change their agreement to give Jacob all the ringstraked
or stripped animals so then God would cause the flocks to bear all ringstraked
animals. Everything Laban did to cheat
Jacob was turned against him and his every move only caused Jacob to prosper
further.
v.10 “And it came to pass at the time that the
cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold,
the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstreaked,
speckled, and grisled.”
Jacob tells them how he
has seen in a dream that the dominant males of the flocks were those that were
ringstraked, or ringstreaked (stripped), speckled and
grizzled. This was what was causing the
flocks to bear animals that would be Jacob’s rather than Laban’s.
v.11 “And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream,
saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.”
He tells them about the
angel of God coming to speak to him in a dream, an occurrence that he
apparently had not shared with them previously.
v.12-13 “And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see,
all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstreaked,
speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. 13I
am the God of
The God that Jacob has
worshiped at
Exodus 3:7 “And the LORD
said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in
Just as he knows our troubles today:
“The righteous cry, AND THE LORD
HEARETH, AND DELIVERETH THEM OUT OF ALL THEIR TROUBLES. THE LORD
is
NIGH UNTO THEM THAT ARE OF A BROKEN HEART; AND SAVETH SUCH AS BE OF A CONTRITE
SPIRIT.” Psalms 34:17-18
So Jacob tells his
wives about the source of his prosperity, the word that God has brought to him
in his dreams and that the time has now come that they must return to the land
from which he came to
v.14-16 “And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto
him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our
father’s house? 15Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.
16For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children’s:
now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.”
Rachel and Leah take
the practical approach. There is no
inheritance in their father’s house for them.
In the culture of that time daughters did not share in the inheritance
from their father, only sons did. Since
they are Jacob’s wives they share any animosity or jealousy that Laban directs
toward Jacob. If fact there appears to
be some animosity on their part as well because their father indeed did sell
them to Jacob as wives in exchange for his service. In addition Laban has “DEVOURED” whatever
would have been given to their husbands as a dowry so they have nothing to look
forward to as daughters in Laban’s house.
Jacob now has all of the riches that God has taken from Laban so Jacob
should do whatever God has told him to do.
Read Genesis 31:17-24 – Jacob
Leaves
v.17-18 “Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his
wives upon camels; 18And he carried away all his cattle, and all his
goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in
Padanaram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.”
So Jacob makes his
preparations. He gathers up all of his
herds and flocks, all of the goods that God has blessed him with, everything
that he has gotten in Padanaram; puts his sons and wives on camels to go back
to
v.19 “And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel
had stolen the images that were her
father’s.”
We should remember from
an earlier study that the flocks of Jacob and Laban were situated a distance
apart equal to three day’s journey. Now
Jacob takes advantage of that separation and waits until Laban goes to shear
his sheep to pack up and leave. He is
fearful of being hindered or even that Laban might try to take his goods if he
knew that Jacob was leaving.
Jacob follows that
which is honest and appropriate in his situation and takes only that which is
rightfully his but Rachel isn’t so inclined.
She steals the family gods or images that her father apparently
worshipped or consulted at various times.
v.20-21 “And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told
him not that he fled. 21So he fled with all that he had; and he rose
up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the
So Jacob leaves while
Laban is gone and Laban is unaware of what Jacob had planned or what he was
doing. Jacob takes his family and his
possessions and travels far enough to cross over the river. This river can be either the Belikh that
flows right by the site thought to be the location of
v.22-23 “And it was told Laban on the third day that
Jacob was fled. 23And he took his brethren with him, and pursued
after him seven days’ journey; and they overtook him in the
As we remember, Laban’s flocks were moved
three days away from Jacob so when Jacob leaves it takes three days for Laban to
be notified. When he does learn that
Jacob has left he takes his “BRETHREN” or his sons and servants and pursues
Jacob all the way to the region of
v.24 “And
God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed
that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.”
We don’t know the
intentions of Laban toward his nephew and his family but we can surmise that
they probably were not those of a loving uncle who was just upset because Jacob
left without saying goodbye. So Laban is
visited by God in a dream and warned not to speak to Jacob either good or
bad. So God visits not only the
righteous in this case but the one who would possibly do harm to the righteous
as well to give him instruction regarding His will. God is indeed protecting Jacob as promised.
Read Genesis 31:25-35 – Laban
and Jacob’s Confrontation
v.25 “Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had
pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount
of
Jacob had pitched his tent,
made his stopping place in the region of
v.26 “And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done,
that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as
captives taken with the sword?”
Laban has had some time
to think about God’s warning but he’s still upset. The first thing he does is accuse of Jacob of
carrying away his daughters as though they were captives taken in war. This is not the case at all because, as we
remember, Jacob discussed their situation with Leah and Rachel and had their
full approval and cooperation in the decision to leave
v.27-28 “Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and
steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away
with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp? 28And hast
not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly
in so doing.”
Then Laban upbraids
Jacob for leaving secretly but we know why Jacob left secretly, Laban would
have tried to stop him. Then Laban tells
Jacob something that was probably as far from the truth as anything could be. If only Jacob had given him the opportunity
he would have thrown a go-away party and declared a feast in celebration of
their leaving. And then lastly he
complains that he wasn’t even given the opportunity to kiss his daughters and
his grandchildren goodbye. He claims
that Jacob has acted foolishly in doing what he did.
v.29 “It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt:
but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed
that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.”
Laban has apparently
brought a sizable force of men with him and even with Jacob’s sons and hired
servants available to fight could have done Jacob much harm. However, Laban does respect the instructions
that God has given regarding the safety of Jacob and his family and does not
harm him in any way.
Laban saves his best shot for last.
v.30 “And now, though thou wouldest
needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast
thou stolen my gods?”
Laban now claims he
understands Jacob’s need to be gone from
v.31 “And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because
I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy
daughters from me.
We have a word here
that perhaps we should define further, but then perhaps I was the only one who
had to look it up. What does the word
“peradventure” mean? It means chance,
doubt or uncertainty in our current usage and perhaps, possibly or maybe in the
usage in older versions of the English language. So Jacob is saying that he left
v.32 “With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him
not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had
stolen them.”
Jacob responds very
strongly to the other accusation that Laban makes. He’s going to let Laban search his
possessions in the presence of all their men for his gods and declares that if
they are found the person that stole them doesn’t deserve to live. Then the scripture tells us that Jacob does
not know that Rachel did in fact steal her father’s idols. If he had; I’m sure Jacob’s reactive would
have been quite different.
v.33-34 “And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into
Leah’s tent, and into the two maidservants’ tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah’s tent, and entered into Rachel’s
tent.”
Laban searches Jacob’s
tent first, an insult to Jacob’s integrity, the probably since I’m sure he
trusted the maid servants less than his daughters he searches their tents next,
then Leah’s and finally Rachel’s. She
has them and has hidden them in “THE CAMEL’S FURNITURE”. What is the writer talking about when he uses
this term? It is the very same as would
be found in some places today when someone talks about the horse
furniture. It is simply the tack;
particularly the saddle that is used to ride the animal. Rachel is literally sitting on her camel
saddle, and sitting on or over the idols that Laban is looking for.
v.35 “And
she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up
before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he
searched, but found not the images.
Rachel, playing the
role of the sweet, dutiful daughter, gives her father an excuse for not rising
and letting him search her saddle that she knows he will accept without
question. So Laban searches as
thoroughly as he can, cannot find his gods, and has to finally give up without
proving his accusation.
Read Genesis 31:36-42 –
Jacob’s Response to Laban
v.36 “And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and
Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?”
Jacob is now angry,
perhaps really angry for the first time that scripture has recorded. The word used is “CHODE”, it is found only
twice in the King James Translation of our Bible, and I did not find it in a
modern dictionary, what does it mean? We
use a very similar word today that means the same thing, chide. Jacob chided Laban, scolded him, he
reproached him strongly. He asks what is
my trespass, my sin, the reason that Laban has pursued him with a small army?
v.37 “Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what
hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my
brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both.”
He further accuses
Laban of treating him like a common thief.
Laban has come in and searched all of Jacob’s belongings, accusing him
of stealing his gods, so now it’s time for him to set before all those present
what he’s found and prove his accusations.
But Laban cannot do so, because Rachel hide the
gods, he didn’t find them.
v.38-39 “This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young,
and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. 39That
which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I
bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen
by day, or stolen by night.”
Jacob unloads the
frustrations of twenty years on Laban.
This sounds like some of the things that took place in my family when we
were sharecropping grandfather’s farm.
Jacob says Laban’s ewes
and she goats didn’t bear well but it wasn’t because he butchered and ate the
rams. Jacob bore the loss of all the
animals that were lost to predators and all those that were stolen. Jacob had charge of the welfare of Laban’s
flocks and was required by Laban to replace any losses out of his own flocks.
v.40-41 “Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night;
and my sleep departed from mine eyes. 41Thus have I been twenty
years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters; and six
years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.”
Jacob has worked for
Laban for twenty years, seven each for Leah and Rachel to become his wives and
another six for the flocks that Jacob started from the animals that Laban
provided to him in their agreement. He’s
worked day and night and served faithfully, through drought, cold and whatever
adversity came because that was what was required. Now Laban is treating him like a common
thief, a runaway that deserved to be pursued and stopped in a land far from
Laban’s home.
v.42 “Except
the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with
me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and
rebuked thee yesternight.
Now Jacob tells Laban
that he knows that if it had not been for the warning given Laban by God; that
Laban would indeed have striped Jacob of everything he had, including his wives
and children and sent him on his way.
The only reason that Laban is hesitating even now is that he knows that
the Almighty God, the God of Abraham and Isaac is with Jacob also. God has seen Jacob’s labor and affliction,
knows Laban’s heart and mind has stopped Laban and Laban is afraid not to obey
Him.
Read Genesis 31:43-55 – Jacob
and Laban Make a Covenant
v.43-44 “And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and
all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my
daughters, or unto their children which they have born? Now therefore come thou, let us make a
covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.”
Sound familiar? That’s mine; no it’s not, its mine. At no other time do grown men sound more like
spoiled children than when they get into an argument. Laban is not moved by Jacob’s rebuke. He is wrong, he knows he’s wrong but is not
willing to acknowledge that fact, nor will he accept Jacob’s forgiveness for
those things he has done. He turns it
off with an expression of kindness, probably false, toward Jacob. Jacob’s wives are his daughters, their
children are his grandchildren; Laban even claims the “cattle” actually flocks
of sheep and goats (see NIV, NASB, ESV, NKJV, ASV) as his, so the man who has
tried in vain to defraud Jacob for 20 years wants to make another
covenant. The man whose promises have
proven to be empty wants to make Jacob yet one more.
v.45-46 “And Jacob
took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. 46And Jacob said unto
his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they
did eat there upon the heap.”
Jacob is not interested
in prolonging this problem any longer.
In response to Laban’s call for a covenant he simply took a stone and set
it up for a pillar and instructed his sons to gather the stones necessary to
complete the monument to the agreement that they would make.
v.47-48 “And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob
called it Galeed. 48And Laban said, This
heap is a witness between me and thee this day.
Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;”
In honor of their
covenant Laban wants to call the place Je-gar-sa-ha-du-tha
which in the Syrian language means heap of testimony but Jacob rather calls it Galeed, which in Hebrew means “heap of witness” a somewhat
stronger term than Laban’s. This is very
similar to what Joshua did at Shechem when the twelve tribes of
Joshua 24:27 “And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold,
this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall
be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.”
v.49-50 “And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD
watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou
shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.”
In their covenant God
was to be the watchman between Laban and Jacob to make sure that neither
violated that covenant. Therefore Laban
added the name Mizpah to that location as well, which means “watchtower” for
“lookout”. This made it a symbolic place
where God as the watchman over their covenant would keep watch to make sure
that neither violated that covenant.
Part of that covenant was that Jacob was to take no other wives or
afflict or abuse Laban’s daughters in any way.
v.51-52 “And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and
behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and
thee; 52This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou
shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.”
The heap of stones and
the pillar that Jacob had erected to mark their covenant now also becomes a
boundary over which neither Laban nor Jacob will pass except in peace.
v.53 “The God of Abraham,
and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.”
Laban now places their
covenant in the hands of the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor. Could this indicate that Laban was not a true
believer? In my thinking, most likely he
was not, because he swears by the God of his ancestors, indicating that there
is no regular fellowship between him and the true God. He says God judge between us, but of course
we know that God has already done just that.
Jacob swears his oath by the fear or respect of God by his father Isaac.
v.54 “Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount,
and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all
night in the mount.”
Jacob doesn’t forget
that this has all been brought about by God.
He offers a sacrifice and worships God giving him honor first. Then they have a feast to celebrate the
covenant and the occasion of their reconciliation. Laban, his sons and his servants spend the
night, probably in doing those things that families will do before parting for
a long period of time.
v.55 “And early in the morning Laban rose up, and
kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them:
and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.”
The crisis has ended;
Laban makes his farewells and returns to