Jacob in “As the Screw Turns: Separation Anxiety”

 

Last time, in Episode #2 on the life of Jacob, we were “treated” (if that can be considered the appropriate word here) to an installment of the soap opera—As the Screw Turns:  Sex, Drugs, and Livestock—which Jacob’s life in Padan Aram had become.  With his wives constantly competing for his affection and his giving into their wishes just to maintain peace, his home life was one tension-filled mess.  And with him having to deal regularly with his shyster father-in-law, his work life wasn’t any better.

This time, in this next installment of our soap opera (taken from Genesis 31), we will find that Jacob has finally had enough. He takes the bold step of separating himself, his family, and his newly acquired wealth from Laban and heads back home to Canaan.

 

Episode #3 of Biopic #3
Cast:    Narrator      Jacob    God     Laban      Laban’s Sons     Rachel/Leah   

 

Setting the Stage—As you may recall, when the curtains closed on our last episode, due to a clever bit of finagling where the breeding of Laban’s sheep were concerned, Jacob had become a very wealthy man in a relatively short period of time—with his gain resulting in a substantial loss for Laban and his sons. So, when our story opens today, we find trouble brewing in the ranks of Laban’s sons…

Narrator:  Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying…

Laban’s Sons:  Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this wealth.

Narrator:  And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before.  Then the LORD said to Jacob…

God:  Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.

Narrator:  So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, and said to them…

Jacob:  I see your father’s countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me.  And you know that with all my might I have served your father.  Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me.  If he said thus: ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked.  So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted.  Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’  And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.   I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ 

Rachel and Leah:  Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house?  Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money.   For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.

 

 

Narrator:  Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels.  And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.  Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s.  And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee.  So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead.

And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled.  Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead.  But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him…

God:  Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.

Narrator:  So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.  And Laban said to Jacob…

Laban:  What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword?  Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp?  And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing.  It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’  And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?

Jacob:  Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’  With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.

Narrator:  For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.  And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them.  Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.  Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them.  And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them.  And she said to her father…

Rachel:  Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me. And he searched but did not find the household idols.

 

 

Narrator:  Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban…

Jacob:  What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me?  Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found?  Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both!  These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock.  That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 

There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.  Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.  Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.

Laban:  These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne?  Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.

Narrator:  So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.  Then Jacob said to his brethren…

Jacob:  Gather stones.

Narrator:  And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap.  Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.  And Laban said…

Laban:  This heap is a witness between you and me this day.

 

 

Narrator:  Therefore its name was called Galeed, also Mizpah, because he said…

Laban:  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!

Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me.  This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.  The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.

Narrator:  And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.  Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain.  And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

 

And with that, we come to another pause in our story.

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Our Review

 

As usual, to help us better understand what’s really going on here, let’s take a look at…

The Important Points in this Episode

 

— Jacob heard the words/saw the countenance of Laban—signs that things were about to change, possibly to Jacob’s harm.

— Jacob has taken away all that was our Father’s—Laban’s sons were angry because their inheritance was being diminished as a result of Jacob’s success.

— Return to the land of your family—God appears to Jacob for the first time in twenty years and gives him a new set of instructions.

— Jacob called Rachel and Leah to the field—he called only Rachel and Leah—not Bilhah and Zilpah—away from the camp so no one would overhear what he planned to do.

— Your father has deceived me—not seeming to remember the ways in which he has deceived others in the past, Jacob is now complaining about being deceived.

— Saw in a dream—Jacob reveals that his plan to increase his flocks came to him from God in a dream.

— He has sold us and consumed our money—this is probably the one and only thing that these sisters have agreed on in twenty years.  Their complaint is that their father has not put aside or invested any of the money earned from Jacob’s labor for their bride prices.  This was supposed to have been done in order to provide security for them in the event that they were widowed or divorced.

— Laban had gone to shear his sheep—sheep shearing took place in the spring in order to give the sheep time to regrow their fleece for the winter.  It was done at a distance from home, in a central location where all the shepherds took their sheep.  There the wool would also be processed, dyed, and woven into fabric.  After the work was completed, there would be a big celebration.

— Rachel had stolen the household idols—these were called teraphim and were very small images of the personal gods of a family, thought to bring luck and prosperity to a family.

— Jacob stole away—rather than risk Laban’s hostile reaction to his and his family’s departure, Jacob chose to leave while Laban was away.

— Laban pursued him for seven days/Laban overtook him—the trip from Laban’s to Gilead was about three hundred miles.  It took Jacob, with this wives and children, ten days but only took Laban and his men seven.

— God had come to Laban in a dream—the fact that God intervened through a dream seems to indicate that Laban had intended to take back his daughters and Jacob’s livestock by any means necessary.

— Why did you flee away secretly/I might have sent you away with joy and songs—everyone present probably rolled their eyes, knowing that this was a lie.

 

— But why did you steal my gods—this seems to be the real issue for Laban.  As these gods were passed down from one generation to another, it was likely that they identified the possessor as the one with the legal right to inherit.

— I was afraid—given that God found it necessary to intervene with Laban, Jacob’s fears seem to have been well-founded.

— With whomever you find your gods—not knowing that Rachel has stolen the gods, Jacob calls down a curse on the one who has stolen them.

— Laban entered the tent of Rachel/the manner of women is with me—after searching all the other tents, Laban comes to Rachel’s tent and finds her sitting on her camel’s saddle where she has hidden the idols.  Pleading that it was the time of her menstrual cycle, she doesn’t get up.  This was enough to put off Laban, as it was widely believed then that a woman’s menstrual blood was a habitation for demons.

— Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban—after putting up with Laban for so long, Jacob finally vents his anger and lets Laban have it.

— That which was torn by beasts—it was the responsibility of the shepherd to take animals to proper grazing areas and water sources, birth the lambs, treat any sick and injured animals; protect the sheep from wild animals and thieves, and retrieve any sheep that wandered off and got lost.  Losses due to neglect or failure to protect the animals were deducted from the shepherd’s wages; so, if a sheep was killed by a wild animal, so as not to have its worth deducted from his pay, the shepherd had to take the sheep to the owner for inspection.  Here, Jacob says he didn’t do that but incurred the losses himself.

— I have been in your house twenty years/you have changed my wages ten times—to this, Laban has no reply.

— My, my, my, mine—instead, Laban tries to shift attention to how Jacob has robbed him of his daughters, grandchildren, and livestock. This insistence that they all belong to him certainly substantiates Jacob’s fears that if had he given his father-in-law notice before leaving, Laban would have definitely tried to keep them all for himself.

— Let us make a covenant—Laban proposes a covenant in which he implies that Jacob is the one not to be trusted.  The stipulations of the covenant were…

• • • • • Jacob was not to mistreat his daughters—which he never had done before;
        • Jacob was not to take another wife—why would he, when the only one he had ever wanted was Rachel;
        • Jacob was not to cross the boundary to do harm to Laban—why would he want to go back there—and Laban would do the same.

— A pillar and a heap/is a witness—in Canaanite religion, when a standing stone was erected, it was considered to be a guardian or dwelling place of a god.  That two were erected here and given names suggests a ritual in which the gods of each party were called on to act as witnesses to the treaty and to enforce its conditions.  Afterward, it was customary to seal the deal with a meal.

— Jacob offered a sacrifice—Jacob gives thanks to God for his deliverance from Laban and celebrates and end to this unhappy chapter in his life.

— Laban kissed/blessed/departed—playing the part of the doting father and grandfather, Laban kisses and blesses his daughters and grandchildren—offering no kind words or blessing to Jacob—and leaves, never to be heard from again in God’s One Big Story.

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In Summary

Some Questions to Ponder as You Reflect on this Part of the Story…

1. 1. In our last episode, we learned that Jacob had experienced Salvation at Bethel, and that his journey of Sanctification began immediately afterward. We also talked about Sanctification being the means by which God corrects the way we “walk” in the world.  Do you think Jacob’s walk has improved in any way as a result of his experiences in Padan Aram?  If so, how?

1. 2. It seems to me that God left Jacob alone/on his own for a very long time. Why do you think that was?  Have you ever felt that God has left you on your own for a long time?  If so, how did you deal with it and what do you think was gained by it?

1. 3. At this point in the story, how would you rate Jacob as a husband, a worker, and a Man of God?

1. 4. What lessons can you take away from Jacob’s experiences so far?

1. 5. How has God revealed Himself in His dealings with Jacob?

Unfortunately for Jacob, this separation from Laban does not mark the end of his troubles. When we meet up with him again in Episode #4 of his story, we will find that he is merely going From the Frying Pan into the Fire!

 

 

 

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