Please turn in your Bibles this evening to Genesis chapter 31 as we continue our study through the Word of God. In our last study we saw that 11 sons were born to Jacob from Leah, Rachel and their maidservants, Bilhah and Zilpah. It was after Joseph was born that Jacob felt the call of God upon his life to return home to the land of Canaan. He worked for his uncle Laban in Haran now for 14 years, but Jacob recognized this was not his home.
The only problem is that Laban does not want Jacob to leave and the reason is probably not what you would think. He didn’t want Jacob to stay so he could be close to his daughters Rachel and Leah, and not because of his grandchildren. He wanted Jacob to stay because God was blessing Jacob and since Jacob worked for Laban, he was benefiting from this. Jacob was a cash cow to Laban you might say!
So Jacob makes a deal with Laban to stay with him for a time and then, when it is time for him to leave all the speckled and spotted sheep and goats would be his and the solid colored ones would belong to Laban. And for Laban, he thinks this is a good deal because the dominant gene in these animals would be the solid colored ones and thus, it would favor Laban. But, just in case there was a problem and God blesses Jacob, Laban put Jacob in charge of his own animals and thus, if God did bless, he would benefit!
As we come to chapter 31 of Genesis Jacob has been working for Laban another six years, 20 years in all. And Jacob feels it is now time to go home. With that as our background, let’s begin reading in Genesis chapter 31, starting in verse 1 and let’s see what the Lord has for us as we study His Word.
VERSES 1-2
Please understand why Laban’s sons were so upset with Jacob. It is not that Jacob stole anything from Laban, but Jacob was gaining more and more and Laban was losing out. Thus, they saw what Jacob had as their own inheritance being taken away. And folks, when envy gets into the picture, truth seems to be distorted, as is the case here. In fact, as they tell their father what is going on, they poison his heart even more towards Jacob and now tension was growing. God was blessing Jacob and they did not like that. And keep in mind that Laban, when this deal was made with Jacob, thought it was a great idea, but now he has changed his mind.
In Ecclesiastes 4:4 Solomon tells us, “Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.” In other words, why work hard because when you do, everyone wants what you have. Now please understand that Solomon is looking at this from a human perspective and he saw it as truly empty, why bother working hard. You see, he said in Ecclesiastes 1:2-3, “‘Vanity of vanities,’ says the Preacher; ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’ What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun?” In other words, his perspective is under the sun, worldly, not of God and thus, he came to this wrong conclusion about work, but it is not done in vain, it is not empty no matter what others may say or do to us.
In fact, Paul tells us in I Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” You see, what we do for the Lord is not in vain. In James 1:25 we read, “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” There truly are blessings as we serve the Lord, as we work out our faith. Thus, we are to work hard in spite of what others may say or do to us. Paul puts this into perspective for us when he tells us in Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” May we do it!
Now if Jacob was doing what the Lord wanted him to do and was blessing his work, why all this trouble? I believe God was going to use this to stir the nest to get Jacob to fly, to soar in his faith. You see, God wanted Jacob back in the Promise Land, the land of Canaan and now it was time to fly! God does that in our own lives as He moves us, molds us, prepares the work for us and as the nest is stirred, we too begin to fly again, moving to the next step in our Christian life as God uses us for His glory! But how is Jacob going to know for sure that the time to leave is now? Yes, the circumstances seem to point in that direction, but they can fool us. Look at the next verse and you will see how Jacob new it was time to leave.
VERSE 3.
Jacob didn’t just leave because of the bad situation he was in. He left because God’s Word – “return to the land of your father’s.” And God’s Spirit – “I will be with you” all lined up with the circumstances he faced and thus, he knew it was now time to go! A few weeks ago we looked at God’s will in our lives and I used an illustration of a harbor in Italy that can only be reached by sailing up a narrow channel that has dangerous rocks and shoals on either side. Because of that, over the years, many ships have been wrecked. The navigation is very dangerous!
So they came up with a way to guide these ships safely into the port. Their idea was very simple. They put up three lights on three huge poles in the harbor. Now, how does that help? Listen carefully. When these three lights are perfectly lined up and seen as one, the ship can proceed forward and they will safely make it to the port. But, if the pilot sees two or three lights he knows that he is off course, he is in danger and he needs to readjust his course to get back in line, to be safe and make it to port.
Folks, God has also given to us three lights or beacons to guide us. Thus, if these three beacons line up as one, then you are safe to proceed forward. But, if two or three are seen, they don’t line up, then we need to readjust to get back in line, to be safe! These three beacons of guidance are:
1. THE WORD OF GOD –
THE OBJECTIVE STANDARD
2. THE HOLY
SPIRIT- THE SUBJECTIVE WITNESS
3. THE CIRCUMSTANCES
– THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE
Folks, my we be guided by God’s beacon’s of light that will guide us in where and when we are to go, they will guide us safely through the situations we face in life. Jacob saw these three beacons line up and he knew it was now time to go home! And folks, God will lead us the same way.
VERSES 4-13
So as God spoke to Jacob, he is now going to gather Rachel and Leah together, his wives, and tell them what God is going to do and what they, as a family needed to do. Here we do see Jacob being the spiritual head of the family and we also see that Rachel and Leah were aware of his work ethics. They saw how trustworthy, how faithful, how hard Jacob worked in spite of the way their father Laban treated and cheated him. In fact, in those 20 years of service with Laban, he changed Jacob’s wages 10 times. And folks, we are not talking about a pay increase here. He changed his wages so that he could benefit and Jacob would end up with less. But, as he tried to cheat the man of God out of what was his, God intervened and blessed Jacob even more!
What I great lesson this is for us to learn. Man may try to cheat us, rip us off but God is aware and He will take care of things as long as we are faithful in what we are doing. It is as Psalm 118:6-9 tells us, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is for me among those who help me; Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in princes.”
I have seen this in my own life. Many years ago I applied for a Nursing Supervisor position, which would oversee the Intensive Care Unit, the Cardiac Care Unit, the Emergency Room, Surgery, Telemetry. I was only in my 20’s at the time and they required a Bachelor’s Degree for this position and I only had an Associate Degree in Nursing. But I applied anyway because I felt the Lord was leading me to and the situations seemed to point in that direction. Well, I got the job and a huge pay increase. Everything was great until one day the evening and night supervisors went into the office of the Vice President of Nursing and looked into her filing cabinet to find out what they were paying me. When they found out they were upset and complained to the right people and they ended up decreasing my pay! Now in my mind they should have been fired, that was confidential information and after this she locked her filing cabinet, but they didn’t get fired. It would seem like I lost out on this, but I didn’t. You see, God gave me a wonderful experience as a Nursing Supervisor without the education requirements that I needed and my pay was still very good! And I think God was preparing me for the next step, to move on, He was stirring the nest. It truly is as David said in Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?” With that perspective, we should not be afraid. God is in control. Thus, we need serve the Lord faithfully in spite of what man may try to do to you for He will bless you through it, He has a plan and He has a purpose, trust in Him!
Also note what Jacob said in Genesis 31:3 of the Lord speaking to him, that was just the basics and here in Genesis 31:10-13 he expounds on some more of the details of what God was showing him, what God was saying to him.
The Lord is instructing Jacob to go back to Bethel, back to the house of God, back to the place he first had an encounter with God, but why? Because it is important, especially during difficult times like Jacob was going through, to remember the times when God spoke to us and brought us through those difficult times. You see, it is as we look back and see the hand of God upon our life that gives us strength for the present situation we are facing and that was what God instructed Jacob to do. He is still the same God. He does not change. He will meet our needs just as He has done in the past. The call for Jacob is to return home, to return to the Promise Land, the land of Canaan and Jacob is now preparing for this journey.
VERSES 14-16
Rachel and Leah don’t agree on much but here we see them agree that their dad, Laban, was not interested in them, only the dowry that he was to keep for them. The only problem is that he spent it all! In fact, they saw the wealth that Jacob obtained as a retribution for what their father did to them. They only got back that which he took from them is the way they felt. Thus, they saw no ties to keep them from leaving. In fact, it was so bad they felt like strangers in their own family! So they will go with Jacob to the place God has called him.
Obviously this was no small task, to pick up your roots that have been planted for 20 years in Haran and travel some 500 miles back home. They had servants, children, livestock, flocks; all kinds of possessions that needed to go with them and thus, the journey would be very slow. On the positive end of it he had the support of Rachel and Leah, which was very important. They told Jacob, “Whatever God has said to you, do it.” It is as Henry wrote, “Those that are really their husbands’ helps-meet will never be their hindrances in doing that to which God calls them.”
God has truly blessed me with a beautiful wife, a helpmate. One example is when we moved up here from Chicago. She was leaving all her friends to move to a place where she knew no one! And yet, without hesitation, she basically said what Rachel and Leah said when I told her that I felt God calling us to Manitowoc, it was time to move. She basically said to me, “Whatever God has said to you, do it.” What a blessing to have a wife who is supportive of the work that God has called me to. And folks, it is not always easy. She watches over me and takes good care of me. And this was Jacob; he was blessed to have the support of his family as they embark on this venture of faith!
VERSES 17-21
Jacob was unsure of how Laban would respond so he left without telling Laban. Now, was Jacob right in doing this? I don’t’ believe so. Remember what the Lord said to Jacob at Bethel in Genesis 28:15, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” And now in this chapter God tells him to return home, do you think he will make it? Of course he will, God said He would finish the work He started, but Jacob was not sure. Thus, his plan was to leave before Laban finds out, sneak away!
I like the way that Barnhouse expounds on this. He wrote: “He could have announced his departure and gone in the glory of an army with banners. But fear made it impossible to reap the full measure of blessing. He sneaked away into the will of God instead of departing in triumph.”
We are also told that Rachel stole the “household idols” or the Teraphim. But why would she do this? Some feel to get back at her father by taking away his protection from this god, and that is possible. It is also possible that by taking these Teraphim, it represented the deed to the inheritance. We do have documentation of this in the Nuzi Tablets of the 15th century B.C., and thus, none of her brothers would be able to lay claim to their father’s possessions, it was hers! Now, being married to Jacob she had far more than Laban will ever have, but she did not see what she already possessed and longed for less, if that makes sense. But if you think about it, we do that. We have all we need from God, every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, and yet we long for less, we long for what the world has for us! I think that is what Rachel was doing here since her dad had used up all of her dowry!
So as Jacob heads out he is traveling toward the mountains of Gilead, some 300 miles from Haran and a tough journey. Think about it. He left a place of safety to go to a place of uncertainty. Remember when he left the land of Canaan his brother Esau wanted to kill him and he doesn’t know how he feels, if he still wants to kill Jacob. And think about this. All Jacob had to go on was the Word of God opened up to him by the Spirit of God and the circumstances he faced to go on and that was enough, he knew it was time to go!
VERSES 22-24
So Jacob has a three-day head start when Laban finds out and Laban is not a happy man, to say the least. And Laban is in hot pursuit of Jacob and he catches up with him in seven days, in the mountains of Gilead. Now it was not such a great feat considering Jacob was traveling with this massive caravan and Laban wasn’t! He could go much faster than Jacob and thus, it was not that hard to catch him. But God spoke to Laban before he reached Jacob and basically said, “Hands off son! Don’t touch him and be careful what you say to him!” Laban was not a believer but God did get his attention on this one.
VERSES 25-29
First we see Laban try to make Jacob feel bad for what he did, how he snuck away without telling Laban. He tells Jacob he wanted to throw a party for him and his family, strike up the band. Give me a break, he was not going to throw them a party and Jacob knew that. He tells Jacob that he wanted to kiss his daughters and grandchildren goodbye and now he was deprived of that. Give me a break, he didn’t care for them, he only wanted the profit he obtained from Jacob working for him. And once again Jacob did not buy that one either!
So when that didn’t work he tries to intimidate Jacob by saying, “I could have made mince-meat out of you if I wanted!” I’m paraphrasing of course. “But God stopped me from tearing you to pieces!” I think Jacob was initially concerned about this, that is what the Scriptures tell us, but I don’t think he is concerned any longer. Yes, Jacob’s faith waxes and wanes but so does ours because we don’t rest fully upon Him. May we learn the lesson!
VERSES 30-35
Now Laban tells Jacob that someone stole his god! If your god can be stolen or lost, he is really not that good, is he? So Jacob tells him to check for himself and if anyone took it, then they will be put to death and you can get your god back. Jacob didn’t realize he placed a death sentence on Rachel; she is the one who stole the Teraphim!
As Laban looks for his god he goes into everyone’s tent and then finally he reaches Rachel’s tent. But she deceives her father; I guess she learned well from him. She placed the idol in a camel’s saddle and then sat on it and as her father entered her tent, she explained to him that she could not stand up because she was having her menstrual period! Thus, Laban could not find his god.
What a family this is and yet, as Griffith Thomas wrote, “Amid much that is sad and even sordid in this story . . . amid craft, deceit, and lying on almost every side, we cannot fail to see the hand of God overruling and making even the wrath of man to praise Him.”
VERSES 36-42
Now, after 20 years of taking all this garbage from Laban, Jacob lets him have it. You see, Laban did not have anything against Jacob. He served Laban faithfully for 20 years. In fact, even when a wild beast killed one of the animals that Jacob was watching, he bore the loss. You see, if you could bring the carcass of that animal back, showing that the beast did not devour it all, the owner of the animal would not make you responsible for the loss. Jacob did not do that. He bore the loss. Jacob took his job seriously. He watched over the livestock of Laban in the heat of the day, in the cold of the night, when he wanted to and when he didn’t want to, when he was tired and when he wasn’t tired!
Folks, that truly is a picture of a faithful shepherd, a pastor. It is a picture of someone watching over the flock that God has entrusted to them. Paul put it like this in Acts 20:26-32 as he was encouraging and warning the Ephesian pastors, “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
Also, in II Timothy 3:16 Paul tells us, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” And he continues on in chapter 4, starting in verse 2, “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” II Timothy 4:2-5. Pray for pastors and church leaders that are fulfilling the ministry that God has entrusted to them and to the flock that they are overseeing; feeding and warning them. It is truly important because they are leading God’s people either towards the true and living God or away from Him! It is a battle not only from outside the church, but wolves are rising up from within the church with their doctrines of demons they are teaching! Thus, PRAY!
VERSES 43-50
Laban tells Jacob that all he has is really his, it is really Laban’s and out of the kindness of his heart he has given all this to Jacob. Isn’t that nice, not true, but it sounds good. It is a lie, but a nice touch! Jacob worked for it and God blessed him and if Laban had anything to do with it Jacob would have nothing. But God spoke to Laban to keep his hands off Jacob so Laban try’s to make himself look good in a bad situation. It didn’t work!
So Jacob and Laban make this covenant and set up boundary stones and call this place Galeed or “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” In other words, if you cross over this line that is drawn in the sand, these stones, I will kill you! Don’t you just feel the love?
Not only that, they also called the place Mizpah or “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!” Genesis 31:49-50. In other words, if you do something with my daughters God will get you if I don’t! Now this is interesting because the Christian merchandizing world, not knowing the Scriptures, used this as an enduring charm. In fact, half of it you would keep and the other half would be given to the person you love with the idea God is watching over you while we are apart. No, that is not what it means. Yes, God is watching over you, but in judgment so that if you step out of line, smash, God will get you! So if you have one of those charms, check out your friend, maybe they are not your friend? Again, as you look at Jacob and Laban there is not a lot of love and there is not a lot of trust between them.
VERSES 51-55
As some read this they feel the point being made is there needs to be a separation from the in-laws as Genesis 2:24 tells us, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” As true as that might be for a family to grow, I don’t believe that is the point here.
Laban was a man of the world and Jacob needed to separate himself from the world and he does. He also needs to separate from the god’s of this world and we will see him do that in Genesis chapter 35 in a few weeks as he returns to Bethel. It is as Boice wrote, “This is the last we hear of Laban in the Bible, and it is good that this is the end of him. Laban is of the world, and Jacob needed to be freed from this world in order to live wholeheartedly for the God of his fathers.”
Laban could have turned to the true and living God, he could have received the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but he didn’t! He wanted the blessings and benefits from God but he did not want a relationship with God. Morris makes this point in regards to Laban, “Rather than seeking to follow the truth of God’s plan as witnessed by Jacob, he merely resented and coveted the blessing of God on Jacob. He finally ended up with neither. His life constitutes a sober warning to a great host of semi religious but fundamentally self-worshipping and self-seeking men and women today.” Yes, many do the same today, they want the blessings of God but they do not want a relationship with Him and it does not work like that!
As I close this evening let me leave you with this to think about. What Jacob did was not easy and yet it is what God called him to do and he obeyed. May we learn that lesson and walk by faith as God leads us. It is as Peter said, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” I Peter 1:13-16. Let us walk in the light as He is in the light, following as He leads us!