July 16, 2007

• Discovering God’s Character – Part 14
  
  
  
  Laban catches up to Jacob
  
  
  In the last half of Genesis 31, Laban finds out that Jacob fled three
  days earlier. So he gathers his kinsmen and pursued him for seven days
  and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. Laban must have had
  some evil thoughts in mind since the Lord tells him in a dream to be
  careful what you say to Jacob... say neither good nor bad.

  Laban confronts Jacob asking him:

  
  Then Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done by deceiving me and
  carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword? Why did you flee
  secretly and deceive me, and did not tell me so that I might have sent
  you away with joy and with songs, with timbrel and with lyre; and did
  not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now you have done
  foolishly. It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father
  spoke to me last night, saying, 'Be careful not to speak either good or
  bad to Jacob.' Now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly
  for your father's house; but why did you steal my gods?"  Genesis 31:26-30 (NASB)
  
  
  Since Jacob knew the scoundrel for what he was (and now we know, too, from Part 13), he wasn’t terribly convinced with such words.  At
  least Laban admits that because the Lord spoke to him that he now knows
  that he was going back to his father’s house. It looks as though that
  Rachel’s grabbing her father’s household idols is a good part of this
  stir.

  So now its Jacob’s turn… he tells Laban that he thought he would take
  his daughters from him by force. Not knowing that Rachel grabbed
  Laban's idols, he makes a rash vow but in the end it turns out ok. He
  tells Laban to search and take whatever is his. Laban searches high and
  low in all the tents even Rachel’s. Now she’s sitting on the idols that
  are in a camel’s saddle and her father doesn’t ask her to get up since
  she feigns that the “manner of women was upon her”. So Laban doesn’t
  find anything.

  Now Jacob lets loose on Laban…

  
  Then Jacob became angry and contended with Laban; and Jacob said to
  Laban, "What is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly
  pursued me? Though you have felt through all my goods, what have you
  found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and
  your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two. These twenty years I
  have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not
  miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks. That which was
  torn of beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself.
  You required it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night.
  Thus I was: by day the heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my
  sleep fled from my eyes. These twenty years I have been in your house;
  I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for
  your flock, and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my
  father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me,
  surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed God has seen my
  affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered judgment last
  night." Genesis 31:36-42 (NASB)

  Do you know what Laban says?  “The daughters are mine. The children are
  mine, the flocks are mine, all that you see is mine.” He then says
  "what could he do to his daughters or the children?".  That’s an
  interesting take on the matter. Jacob works for twenty years and by
  agreement, it was Jacob’s wages, its still all Laban’s as far as he’s
  concerned. Its clear that he lets them go on account of his daughters
  and children but we can see Laban’s heart is wrapped around possessions.

  So instead of doing any harm to them, he proposes a covenant between
  them and it will be the first sensible thing Laban comes up with and we
  see a different side if we look hard enough.

  Jacob sets up a pillar and stones were gathered to make a heap. They
  ate by the heap and dedicated the pillar and heap as a witness between
  them. Neither would come past that heap and pillar to harm the other.
  But perhaps more importantly, that God will be witness if Jacob
  mistreats his daughters or if he takes other wives besides his
  daughters. Now this is Laban once you get past the greediness and
  scheming.

  Notice that Laban invokes the name of the God of Abraham and the God of
  Nahor, the God of their father will be the judge between us and Jacob
  swore by the fear of his father Isaac.  This is really interesting.
  This passage tells us that Terah had trusted in the Lord and his sons
  Nahor and Abram (Abraham) were the same and this gives us some more
  perspective on the family life of Abraham.

  Jacob offers a sacrifice on the mountain and called his kinsmen to the
  meal. They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain. Early the
  next morning, Laban arose and kissed his sons and his daughters and
  blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

  As we see this scene come together, it would not escape our attention
  that the Lord puts in a carefully timed word in for Jacob in Laban’s
  dream. How often are we not aware when the Lord does this on our
  behalf? How often has disaster been averted by His quiet interaction in
  the events in our lives yet we may not even know about it? Oftentimes
  we complain about our troubles. Yet what would it be like if He didn’t
  save us from the these unknown things (and the known ones, too!) that
  could have harmed us? God is our protector whether we are aware of it
  or not. Also note that the events he does allow in our lives are
  filtered through His hand. God is truly like a father who allows us to
  learn life’s lessons, yet not be destroyed by them.

  It would be unfair not to note that God spoke to Laban in a dream. Now
  as I mentioned before, he was an ornery character but God even works
  with the ornery and deceivers who might even have some connection with
  worshipping him. It is clear that Laban was upset about his household
  idols, yet God is more interested in our hearts than items of wood and
  stone that neither speak nor hear. He keeps Laban at bay for his own
  plan’s sake, Jacob’s sake and Laban’s as well. Under the circumstances,
  every thing turned out all right. God is wise and knows the way for us
  to get out of the sticky situations we get ourselves into.

  It’s a tough period in Jacob’s life and he’s got another serious
  encounter left before he settles in Canaan. He has yet to meet Esau and
  that’s for next time. Mr.Vee

  • 12:54 am
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