Genesis 31
Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” 2 And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been.
3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”
4 So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. 5 He said to them, “I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. 8 If he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, ‘The streaked ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked young. 9 So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me.
10 “In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. 11 The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 12 And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’”
14 Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? 15 Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. 16 Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.”
17 Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, 18 and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram,[a] to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.
19 When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods. 20 Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. 21 So he fled with all he had, crossed the Euphrates River, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.
Laban Pursues Jacob
22 On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. 23 Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. 24 Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
25 Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. 26 Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You’ve deceived me, and you’ve carried off my daughters like captives in war. 27 Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn’t you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of timbrels and harps? 28 You didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. You have done a foolish thing. 29 I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ 30 Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father’s household. But why did you steal my gods?”
31 Jacob answered Laban, “I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. 32 But if you find anyone who has your gods, that person shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods.
33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he found nothing. After he came out of Leah’s tent, he entered Rachel’s tent. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel’s saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing.
35 Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I’m having my period.” So he searched but could not find the household gods.
36 Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. “What is my crime?” he asked Laban. “How have I wronged you that you hunt me down? 37 Now that you have searched through all my goods, what have you found that belongs to your household? Put it here in front of your relatives and mine, and let them judge between the two of us.
38 “I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 39 I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. 40 This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. 41 It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. 42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.”
43 Laban answered Jacob, “The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne? 44 Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us.”
45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 He said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.[b]
48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 49 It was also called Mizpah,[c] because he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. 50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”
51 Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. 53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.”
So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. 54 He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there.
55 Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home.[d]
Footnotes
- Genesis 31:18 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
- Genesis 31:47 The Aramaic Jegar Sahadutha and the Hebrew Galeed both mean witness heap.
- Genesis 31:49 Mizpah means watchtower.
- Genesis 31:55 In Hebrew texts this verse (31:55) is numbered 32:1.
Envious of Others’ Blessings?
Genesis 31:1-2
Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been.
Have you every envied someone else’s success? Have you ever felt like God was blessing them more than He was blessing you?
Maybe He is blessing them more than He’s blessing you… Is that okay?
I’m reminded of Jesus’ Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard in which the landowner asks, “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?” (Matthew 20:15). Through that story, Jesus was showing that the Father doesn’t take into account how long we’ve served Him – all are able to gain salvation, even at the last hour.
But the question still stands: Doesn’t God have the right to do what He wants? If He wants to bless some people more than others, that’s His choice. He’s not being unfair because none of us deserve anything, anyway! He would be unfair if we did deserve something, and He didn’t give it to us.
I have a tendency to be envious of the success of other people’s ministries, but if God wants to make some people more successful in ministry than me, that’s His choice.
Going back to this story, why would the Lord choose to make Jacob more successful than Laban? It wasn’t because Jacob was a good person and Laban was a bad person. They both had their character flaws.
The Lord chose to bless Jacob not because of anything Jacob had done but because of God’s specific plan for Jacob’s life. Jacob was going to be a patriarch of Israel. Laban was going to be… Laban?
It comes down to humility and accepting the role in life the Lord has given us. Maybe that other person is being blessed more because they have a different role to fill. Maybe my role is to learn to be content with my role and my level of blessing.
Obeying the Lord… Kind of?
Genesis 31:20-21
Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. So he fled with all he had, crossed the Euphrates River, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.
The Lord told Jacob to go back home, which Jacob is doing. But the Lord never told Jacob to be deceptive about it. Jacob is obeying – but sinning at the same time. Why? Because he’s afraid of Laban, not trusting that the Lord is able to protect him if he’s honest about his plans.
Have you ever been in Jacob’s situation? The Lord commands you to do something scary, and you do it, but you’re also hedging your bets and going into self-protect mode? Maybe you’re thinking you’ll do what the Lord said but do it quietly so that no one will notice. Or maybe you’re thinking, “Well, if this doesn’t work out, I can always…”
Maybe God said, “Give to such-and-such ministry,” and He lays a certain amount on your heart, but you wait to check your bank account first. Maybe He prompts you to tell someone about your faith, but you first weigh the possible outcomes of how that person is going to react, or who else is around who might hear you.
I give Jacob credit for going when the Lord said go, but I don’t respect how he went. May we be bold enough and strong enough and trust enough in the Lord that we do what He commands without thinking about the consequences.
“Don’t Say Anything”
Genesis 31:22-24
On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
I remember while I was in college, there was an underclassman whom I found extremely annoying. He was just so easy to make fun of. But then I read this passage and felt the Lord commanding me, “Don’t say anything about that person. You don’t have to be false by saying nice things, but you don’t have to say mean things either.”
Very often, the wisest action for us to take is to Just Stop Talking. “Be careful not to say anything [to that person or about that person], either good or bad.”
Don’t accuse them. Don’t flatter them. Don’t argue with them. Don’t plead with them. Either your spirit or their spirit isn’t right, so no conversation between the two of you will be helpful.
How Would Other People Describe Your Relationship to God?
Genesis 31:42
“If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed.”
The Fear of Isaac. That’s an interesting way to describe the Lord. It shows us how Jacob saw his father’s relationship to God. Jacob saw that above all else, Isaac feared the Lord.
How would your children, or those around you, describe your relationship with God? Would they say, “That person fears the Lord”? Or, “That person loves God”? Or, “That person makes every decision in light of God’s Word”?
What effect does your relationship with the Lord have on those all other people who observe your life? Does how you relate to God give them a good understanding of who God is? Does it make them want to know the Lord themselves?
What about this idea of fearing the Lord? Scripture says “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). But it also says, “Perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18).
It’s a balance, isn’t it? We want to remember He is the judge, but once we accept His love, we don’t need to live in fear of His judgment because we know that our sins are forgiven.
God is a Witness
Genesis 31:48-50
Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” That is why it was called Galeed. It was also called Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”
Laban knew he wouldn’t be able to see how Jacob was treating his daughters on a daily basis, so he would have to rely on God to watch Jacob.
God is a witness. Do you take that seriously? Sometimes, we don’t do the wrong things we want to do because other people are watching and we don’t want them to think poorly of us. How much more should we care what God thinks of us!
Is there anyone in your life, that if they saw how you behaved on a daily basis, would feel you were in the wrong? Is there anyone from your past, that if they saw how you lived your life today, would testify against you?
Even if they can’t see you every moment, God does.
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