November 17, Genesis 31
"The LORD watch between you and me, when we are out of one another's sight.”
- Genesis 31:49
Our text is one of those Bible verses that gets lifted from its context and printed on jewelry or knickknacks. As marketed, it sounds like a sweet sentiment in a prayer to watch over you and take care of you until you are happily reunited with your loved one. That isn't close to what Laban had in mind when he said it. We'll see why in a little while.
Jacob had been with Laban 20 years, and there had been plenty of conflict between them during the two decades. He had worked 14 years for his two wives because of Laban’s trickery. Then he stayed another six years under his revised contract with Laban. Now Jacob sensed that his welcome was worn out from the things he saw and heard. Laban's family knew that Jacob's flocks had flourished and outgrown their own animals. In that context, God told Jacob it was time to go home and renewed his promise to be with him.
When Jacob told Rachel and Leah about his plan, they were ready to go. They weren't happy with their father. He had, in effect, sold them to Jacob, in exchange for all those years of work. Now that the wealth had shifted to Jacob’s side of the business, they were ready to follow their husband (and the money) and go to Canaan.
So Jacob and Company slipped away with all their people, animals and stuff while Laban was on a sheep-shearing trip. They had a three-day head start when Laban found out they were gone and pursued them. Laban caught up with Jacob a week later, but God warned him in a dream not to say anything good or bad to his son-in-law. That intervention surely kept Jacob’s family intact and possibly saved Jacob’s life.
Laban characterized Jacob’s departure as theft and kidnapping. He accused Jacob of stealing his household gods. Jacob made a rash vow, telling Laban to search their belongings. He said if he found his idols, the thief would not live. He didn't know his words signed Rachel’s death warrant. She in fact had stolen her father’s household gods without Jacob's knowledge.
When Laban came to search her tent, Rachel deceived her father, asking to be excused for not standing in his presence because of her present condition. So she kept her seat on the camel's saddle where the statues were concealed.
Jacob then unleashed all the pent-up anger and frustration he felt and the resentment he held toward his father-in-law. Laban let him finish and didn't deny what Jacob said. But he still insisted that Jacob had stolen his daughters, grandchildren and property. Because there was nothing else he could do, he proposed a sort of treaty between them. They celebrated their agreement with a meal. Then they erected a pillar of stones as a boundary both men agreed not to cross. These men did not trust one another, and that is why they called the place Mizpeh, or “the Lord watch." They did not mean, “God bless and protect you until we meet again." They meant, "I don't trust you and I want God to keep an eye on you while my back is turned.“
If Laban went to get his daughters, grandchildren and stuff back, the mission failed. If his objective was vengeance on Jacob, the same God who had given Jacob all his wealth restrained Laban from doing anything to his son-in-law. If he only wanted to say his piece, he said it and went home.
Jacob journeyed on with his family and possessions toward Canaan. He had escaped the threat of what Laban might have done to him. But he was headed home, where he would meet his brother Esau, who twenty years earlier had vowed to kill him. What would happen when the estranged brothers met? Had absence made Esau’s heart grow fonder? Jacob usually had a plan, and tomorrow we’ll see how he planned for the reunion.
Copyright © 2021 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—November 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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