Preaching the Word
Preaching the Word
Gen 31:1-23 - Jacob's Divine Escape - The Mysteries of God's Word
Ever wondered how betrayal and divine intervention can shape one's destiny? Join us on Mysteries of God's Word, where we explore the captivating saga of Jacob's escape from Laban, as detailed in Genesis 31. Jacob, once a deceived and downtrodden servant, finds strength and direction through divine guidance, setting the stage for an epic journey back to his homeland. With a promise from God in a dream that sets him in action, Jacob then begins to navigate the tumultuous waters of family. We unravel the complexities of Jacob's relationship with his wives, Rachel and Leah, as they grapple with the promise of a divine future against the backdrop of their father's deceit.
The drama intensifies as we discuss Jacob's decision to leave Laban's estate, while his wife Rachel steels her father's household gods. This bold move signifies not only a physical escape but a profound spiritual one as well, raising questions about trust, faith, and loyalty. As Laban embarks on a relentless pursuit across the Euphrates, the stage is set for a dramatic showdown in Gilead. We invite you to reflect on the themes of divine providence and the trials of faith, as we prepare for the unfolding confrontation between Jacob and Laban in our next episode. Tune in for an engaging discussion on the intertwined paths of destiny and divine intervention.
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
Welcome again to the Mysteries of God's Word. Today we're going to be learning how Jacob separated himself from Laban. We're in Genesis, chapter 31, and we begin at verse 1. Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying Jacob has taken all that was our father's and from what was of our father's he has gained all of his wealth. And Jacob saw Laban did not regard him with favor as before. Then the Lord said to Jacob Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred and I will be with you. Land of your fathers and to your kindred and I will be with you.
Speaker 1:In our opening three verses in Genesis, chapter 31, we read that Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were telling people that Jacob was the one taking advantage of Laban and that Jacob had gained all of his wealth from what was Laban's. There's no doubt they saw their inheritance going down the drain and Jacob at this point was gaining many of the offspring of Laban's flocks because the Lord was blessing him. Even after all of the manipulation and deception that Laban had done, trying to take advantage of Jacob for years, putting him at constant disadvantages, jacob continued to prosper under the sovereignty of the Lord. And we also read that Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as he did before. While Jacob had been hearing the rumors about what his cousins, who were three days away, were saying, he also is seeing that Laban doesn't favor him like he used to. This tells us that Laban must have continued in a fairly close relationship with Jacob and as we continue to read, it would appear that Laban and Jacob are on the primary estate of Laban. So Jacob has all of this time remained at Laban's primary estate with his wives, who are Laban's daughters, but at this time Laban no longer sees Jacob as the asset he used to.
Speaker 1:We also read that the Lord said to Jacob Return to the land of your father. At this point in the text we're not told exactly how the Lord interacted with Jacob, but we do learn later that this occurred in a dream. And in the dream the Lord gives Jacob a clear command return to the land of your fathers. And Jacob had come from Beersheba in Canaan. So God is telling Jacob that he will be with him on his journey back toward Beersheba in Canaan. So God is telling Jacob that he will be with him on his journey back toward Beersheba from Haran. Jacob had now waited 20 years upon the Lord and now is the Lord's timing for going back.
Speaker 1:The Lord told Jacob on his journey to Haran we read and called Rachel and Leah to the field where his flock was and said to them I see that your father does not regard me with favor, as he did before, but the God of my father has been with me. You know that I served your father with all my strength. Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me. If he said the spotted shall be your wages, then all the flock bore spotted. And if he said the striped shall be your wages, then all the flock bore striped. Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.
Speaker 1:In verses 4-9, we see that Jacob called Rachel and Leah into the field. It's very likely that Jacob had this meeting with his wives in the field for the sake of privacy, so that neither Laban nor any other servant could overhear this very difficult and perhaps confrontational conversation. And Jacob tells Rachel and Leah that their father doesn't regard me like he used to. But the God of my father has been with me. But the God of my father has been with me. Jacob begins to contrast and compare between Laban, who no longer regards him with favor, and the God of Abraham, and Isaac, who accepts him and is guiding him. Jacob says I've served Laban with all my strength, yet he cheated me, jacob. Jacob continues his contrast, describing how he has personally labored very hard for their father, but their father has continually cheated him over and over again. Then Jacob describes how their father, laban, has changed his wages 10 times. Laban's deception and manipulation didn't stop when he initially took the spotted and striped goats out of Jacob's starting flock, as we learned last week, even over these past six years as Jacob has been prospering, years as Jacob has been prospering, laban came back and he changed the contract over and over again ten times. Jacob describes how Laban would say the spotted should be your wages, but then the flock would produce nothing but spotted. After which Laban would come back and say the striped shall be your wages, but then the flock would produce striped. Through Jacob's description we clearly now see the work of God's hand in all of this, and Jacob too declares to his wives God's hand in it, saying God did not permit him to harm me.
Speaker 1:Picking up in verse 10, in the breeding season of the flock. I lifted up my eyes and I saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted and mottled. Then the angel of God said to me in a dream, jacob, and I said here I am. And he said Lift up your eyes and see. All the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.
Speaker 1:In these three verses verses 10 through 13, we are introduced to the dream in which God spoke to Jacob. He said during the breeding season of the flock. Just for some clarification, the peak breeding season for sheep and goats is late September through November. So that is likely the time that Jacob had this dream. And Jacob says I saw in a dream.
Speaker 1:Jacob describes a dream in which the Lord showed him the goats that were striped, spotted and mottled and that they were the work of God's hand. Furthermore, in the dream, god tells Jacob that he is bringing about this increase because of the injustice that Laban has been doing to him. Then the Lord in the dream says I am the God of Bethel, the Lord. God reveals himself as the same God that spoke to Jacob in the dream at Bethel, where the Lord reaffirmed the Abrahamic covenant with Jacob and where Jacob swore an oath that if the Lord would bring him back to Bethel, that the Lord would be his God and he would give a full tenth to the Lord. And finally, god gives Jacob the command. God says go out from this land and return to your kindred.
Speaker 1:Now, having received the command of God in the dream, jacob knows that it is the Lord's timing to return to Bethel and the place of his father, picking up again in verse 14, then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him Is there any portion or inheritance left taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children? Now, then, whatever God has said to you, here we see the answer from Rachel and Leah, which further reveals the character of their father, laban, and the great disdain that even his daughters have for him, and how he has managed his money and treated them. Rachel and Leah describe how Laban's love for his money and pleasure became the driving force for every decision in his life. Through this description we see Laban clearly had been consumed by some form of destructive lifestyle to a point where he would manipulate every relationship in his life, including his own family, his own daughters, to further his own foolishness. Leah and Rachel say the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us.
Speaker 1:Leah and Rachel recognize the hand of God and how he has been operating and blessing Jacob these past six years, how his flocks have increased against all odds. Despite all of Laban's manipulation, despite all of Laban's breaking of contracts, jacob continued to flourish. Despite the fact that the speckled and spotted sheeps and the goats were rare, despite the fact that Laban changed the contract 10 times, they continued to propagate rapidly under Jacob's care. So Rachel and Leah, seeing the hand of the Lord these past six years, say whatever God says to you, do. We will see later that Rachel and Leah have not yet recognized the Lord God as their God. However, in light of the amazing things they have seen the Lord God do in the life of Jacob over the past six years, things that seem to defy reason and logic, rachel and Leah declare to Jacob that yes, whatever your God is saying to do. Do. Your God is saying to do, do, verse 17.
Speaker 1:So Jacob arose and set his sons and his wives on camels. He drove away all of his livestock, all of his property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan Aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father, isaac. In verses 17 and 18, we see it begins by saying so Jacob arose. The Hebrew word for arose here means not only to arise, but to be established. It means to be set or to be confirmed.
Speaker 1:The context here is not just telling us that Jacob stood up from a sitting position. It's telling us that Jacob arose to the task, arose to the task After the Lord spoke to him, and later Jacob had the confirmation and support of his wives, he was set to take action and he began to go about doing what the Lord had asked of him. There's multiple lessons to learn from this. Jacob tended to be a people pleaser. To learn from this Jacob tended to be a people pleaser In the past, jacob remained enslaved in the relationship of his uncle because he wanted his uncle's approval, and now we see that he waits for his wife's approval before he arises to obey God. Yet we can also recognize that the way in which Jacob is speaking to his wives could also be considered a great example of gently guiding our wives into the commands of God. Then, as Jacob arises to the task, jacob put his wives and his sons on camels, while he would remain on foot so that he could drive the herds and flock ahead of him. This gives us a picture of exactly how hastily Jacob is leaving the camp of Laban, and it also shows us how Jacob cares for his wives and his children, in contrast to Laban, who valued his property over the welfare of his wives. The mention of Jacob driving away all of his livestock seems to be a little misleading at first, but it's a description of Jacob driving these livestock away from Laban's property in Paddan Aram and heading them toward the land of Canaan. What a massive movement of animals and people this must have been.
Speaker 1:In verse 19, we read Laban had gone to shear his sheep and Rachel stole her father's household gods and Jacob tricked Laban, the Armin, by not telling him that he intended to flee. He fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the Euphrates and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead. As we read in verse 19,. Laban had gone to shear his sheep. So Laban had left his primary camp and had gone to his sons, which were three days' journey from where Jacob was. And then we learned that Rachel stole her father's household gods. Now, these household gods, or images or figurines, tended to be various sizes and often made of very valuable material. The figures tended to be nude goddesses with prominent sexual features. They were superstitiously believed to bring some kind of special protection for the inheritance rights or bring about fertility. It's possible that Rachel believed that Jacob would be seen as the head of the home if they possessed these idols. Rachel stealing these figurines or these idols shows us that she's trusting to some extent these idols and she has yet to put her faith fully in the Lord God.
Speaker 1:We read that Jacob had tricked Laban. This notation of Jacob tricking Laban shows us that Jacob did not trust Laban at all, as the relationship between Jacob and Laban had been 20 years of co-dependency for Jacob, with Laban manipulating him at every turn for more wealth. Jacob did not trust that he could get away from Laban without some kind of retaliation. So Jacob waited until he could trick Laban when Laban was three days journey away. And it says that Jacob fled with all he had.
Speaker 1:The notation that Jacob has to flee again tells us the relationship between Jacob and Laban. It is not a good relationship. Jacob fears Laban and he is fleeing from this relationship. And he flees with all the wealth that he had accumulated wealth and sheep, goats, male and female servants, camels and donkeys. And Jacob sets out with this great herd of animals as fast as he can make them go. It says that Jacob crossed the Euphrates.
Speaker 1:This notation for crossing the Euphrates is significant considering the size of the Euphrates River. Of course, it's hard for us today to say conclusively what the river would have looked like when Jacob crossed it, as there could have been a drought during those years and there's been, of course, thousands of years of erosion since Jacob. Still today, the Euphrates River is between 656 feet wide and 1.7 miles wide. It's not a short crossing. Furthermore, the depth today is between 33 feet at the center and 148 feet deep, which means the animals would have probably had to swim across the river unless there was a severe drought, which, as it turns out, they could have. All of the animals Jacob had have the ability to swim, all of the animals Jacob had have the ability to swim. After Jacob crossed the Euphrates River, he set his face toward Gilead. From the Euphrates River to Gilead is about 300 miles and as he came out of the Euphrates River, Jacob reorganized his animals, looked towards the hills of Gilead and set his sights on it as his next destination.
Speaker 1:Verses 22 and 23 read when it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead. In these two verses verses 22 and 23, we see the pursuit of Laban. It says On the third day Laban found out about this. This again verifies for us that Laban was with his sons shearing sheep three days away from Jacob. Back in Genesis 30-36, we learned that Laban had set a distance of three days between his sons and Jacob. And after Laban learned of Jacob's flight, it says Laban pursued him for seven days.
Speaker 1:The text doesn't tell us if Laban, immediately upon hearing the news of Jacob, pursued him. Shearing sheep was very labor-intensive and it required hiring people. It would have been very costly for the greedy Laban to simply pick up and leave. Furthermore, we're told that Laban took his kinsmen with him. In order for Laban to gather his kinsmen, laban would have had to organize his people. He would have had to organize the riding animals. There would have had to be at least some time finishing up the shearing, reorganizing the flock and preparing for the pursuit.
Speaker 1:Now, that time could have been anywhere from several hours to several days, depending upon how far they had gotten with the shearing and how Laban chose to deal with it when he heard. But once Laban sets out to pursue Jacob, he pursues him for seven days and then they come into the hill country of Gilead. Now the hill country of Gilead is approximately 350 miles from where Laban would have been. Jacob, of course, having this large herd of animals, with women and children with him, would have had to travel much slower than Laban, even though he was going as fast as he could in his fleeing Laban. But we read at the end of verse 21 that after seven days of pursuit, laban sees Jacob in the distance in the hill country of Gilead. And this is where we're going to wrap it up this week. Join me next week as Laban overtakes Jacob. God bless you this week.