“Genesis 31:22-32”

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

“When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, then he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night and said to him, 'Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.' Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen camped in the hill country of Gilead. 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?' Then Jacob replied to Laban, 'Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our kinsmen point out what is yours among my belongings and take it for yourself.' For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.”

---End of Scripture verses---

“When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, then he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.” (verses 22-23) “The distance between Padan-aram and mount Gilead was a little over 300 miles, to perform which Jacob must at least have taken ten days, though Laban, who was less encumbered than his son-in-law, accomplished it in seven, which might easily be done by traveling from forty to forty-five miles a day, by no means a great feat for a camel.” (Pulpit Commentary)

Nahum Sarna has a different take on this accounting of days: “These are symbolic numbers indicative of significant segments of time. A literal understanding would mean that Jacob covered the approximately 400-mile...distance between Haran and Gilead in ten days, thus sustaining an average rate of travel of about forty miles...a day, despite the encumbrance of vast flocks and a considerable entourage, which included women and children. Comparative evidence from the ancient Near East suggests that daily progress of about 6 miles...would be realistic in these circumstances.” But then again, if the Lord was granting them “godspeed” then these numbers could easily be taken as literal for, “nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37)!

“God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night and said to him, 'Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.'” (verse 24) I find it very interesting that God did not warn Laban much sooner about keeping his distance from Jacob. Instead of stopping him in his tracks before he even started, the Lord allowed Laban to hotly pursue his prey for an entire week, and even permitted him to catch up with his son-in-law, before warning him in a “dream of the night” to not lay a hand on His protected patriarch. It seems that God had every intention of accommodating a meeting between these two deceivers to facilitate the peace treaty that would ensure the future security of Jacob and his sizeable family unit.

“Do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.” The Lord's words to Laban were the same that Laban had himself spoken to Abraham's servant several decades earlier in regard to granting the hand of his sister, Rebekah, in marriage to Isaac. “Then Laban and Bethuel replied, 'The matter comes from the Lord; so we cannot speak to you bad or good. Here is Rebekah before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.'” “The Hebrew is, from good to bad — That is, enter into no altercations, and use no harsh language with him, which may occasion a quarrel. Say nothing against his going on with his journey, for the thing proceedeth from the Lord.” (Benson Commentary)

“Then Laban said to Jacob, 'What have you done by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword?'” (verse 26) Laban “embarks on an emotional and self-righteous harangue, portraying himself as the aggrieved party... Laban's indictment is laced with irony. He opens with the question...'What have you done?'—a phrase that invariably introduces an accusation of wrongdoing. These are the very words that Jacob spoke to Laban the morning after his wedding (29:25). Laban professes to believe that his daughters were coerced into leaving, while we readily know the contrary is the case (vv. 14-16). He charges his son-in-law with treating him as an enemy and his daughters as prizes of war—yet the two had earlier denounced their father for treating them as aliens. With an air of injured innocence, the man who repeatedly defrauded Jacob from the very beginning of their relationship unabashedly complains of having been misled!” (Nahum Sarna)

“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.” (verse 27) The only one being a “lyre” (liar) here was Laban. He wouldn't have let Jacob leave with his daughters and grandchildren and flocks in tow if he had gotten down on his hands and knees and begged him in tears, let alone sent him away with a joyful celebration. You'll never hear a more wretched scream of “Foul play!” than from the bold-faced liar when he himself has been the victim of deception. This Laban is one of those characters in the Bible that really evokes feelings of nausea and repulsion!

“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.'” (verse 29) I will give Laban credit in this regard. Although he had the “power” with his good sized brute squad to do “harm” to Jacob, he dared to not touch a hair on his head for fear of retribution from the omnipotent power of the Lord who had admonished him from on high. Laban was arrogant, abusive, forceful and foolhardy, but he was not a total ignoramus. He knew when he was outmanned and overpowered, and the haughty fool wisely backed off.

“Now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house; but why did you steal my gods?” (verse 30) In Laban's warped and delusional mind, there was no way that Jacob could have wanted to leave the warmth and comforts of Laban's wonderful home. It wasn't even a consideration that Jacob desired to depart because his father-in-law was a first class, piece of work, total Jerk! No, his only reason for wanting to leave was that he “longed greatly for” his “father's house.” But any residence would have been a tremendous upgrade from Laban's horrendous house in Haran! Still, the hard-core hustler always has a pretext waiting in the wings when his true motives are proven to be so much hogwash. It's fine that Jacob longed for the comforts of home—no problem at all. But the real reason why Laban was hunting his family down like criminals on the lam was his love of his missing household idols (much sarcasm intended).

“Then Jacob replied to Laban, 'Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force.” (verse 31) Jacob told his father-in-law point blank that he could not be trusted in the slightest. He feared Laban would have just abducted his wives and children had he been upfront about his intended departure. “The one with whom you find your gods shall not live...” (verse 32) Jacob spoke rashly in his ignorance. In his confidence of his own innocence, he did not consider that he might be putting the neck of one of his wives or children on the chopping block. If his words constituted a vow before God, Rachel's untimely death may have been the regrettable result.

Please read Genesis 31:33-42 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed day!

- Louie Taylor

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