| Subject: Genesis 31 vss 1-16 Post 158 |
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Hillbilly
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Date Posted: 20:07:53 09/05/11 Mon
CHAPTER 31
Genesis 31:1-16 And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory. 2 And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before. 3 And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. 4 And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, 5 And said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me. 6 And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. 7 And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me. 8 If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked. 9 Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. 10 And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled. 11 And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred. 14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? 15 Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money. 16 For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children's: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.
The time has come for Jacob to "get out of Dodge". Jacob hears the sons of Laban talking about how that Jacob has ruined their father and taken to himself all their father had in the way of cattle and livestock. It could not be lost on them that if their father was financially ruined so were they. Their would be precious little inheritance if Laban had nothing to leave them with. This becomes evident in the reply to Jacob from his wives when he speaks to them of the matter. "Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house?" (vs. 14)
Not only were the sons murmuring against Jacob but there was animosity brewing between Laban and Jacob as Jacob started noticing that certain look in Laban's eyes that signaled trouble was coming. At this turn of events God tells Jacob that it is time to go home and I get the impression Jacob was more than ready. It had been a long time since he had laid eyes on family. What had originally intended to be a fairly short visit had drawn out to probably more than 20 years.. Considering the 11 sons and 1 daughter plus the time for the building of his herds at the expense of Laban I would be surprised if it were less than the 20 years I have speculated on.
After hearing from God, Jacob calls Leah and Rachel from home "to the field unto his flock" and informs them of his conversation with God. How much of what Jacob relates to his wives is completely true we cannot know. We know that Jacob could be a complete scoundrel when it was to his advantage so we must realize we are hearing "one side of the story" as Jacob works to convince his wives of his integrity in all this. It is interesting in Jacob's account that he does not mention to his wivers the peeling of the rods and poles.
We notice first that Jacob complains that he has been completely honest and even though "with all my power I have served your father", "your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times". Knowing the conniving of Laban also we can see this is easily possible and Jacob may be telling the truth although there is no account in the scriptures of his changing his wages 10 times. We do get the impression that Jacob gained precious little from Jacob for the first 14 years of his labor as those years were in payment for his wives Leah and Rachel. It also may well be that during that 14 years Jacob asked and was promised more only to be deceived by Laban. We are not told.
The words of Jacob starting with verse 8 seem to be "embellished" for effect. There does not seem to be any "bargaining" in Jacob's deal with Laban in the previous chapter. In Genesis 30:31-32 these words are recorded: "And he (Laban) said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock: 32 I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire." From this account Jacob made an offer to Laban that sounded too good to be true. Laban knew his herds and knew the quality that was there. For Jacob to ask for what seemed the least valuable of the herds was music to Laban's ears. There is no evidence of further bargaining.
I would say that verses 10 through 13 are probably completely true as God often spoke in dreams. How else would Jacob know to make the offer which seems strange. Even stranger how he knew to make the poles and rods that he peeled in rings and streaks to place before the herds as they watered. Verse 13 pretty much clinches it for God reminds Jacob of a vow Jacob had made and now it was time to follow through: "I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred. " The vow was recorded in Genesis 28:20-21 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21 So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:
God called the vow to Jacob's remembrance and let Jacob know for a surety that it was God calling him back to his home. With these words Jacob convinced Rachel and Leah that it was God's will that they all go back to Jacob's home. With the realization that most of the wealth and goods were Jacob's and there was little for them to receive from their father they agreed to go with him. They realized their portion was with Jacob and if they and their children were to prosper it would have to be with Jacob. Also I think they realized it was God who had taken from their father and given to Jacob.
Time had worked to lessen the bond between the father and daughter and they had seen how their father had used them all for his own gain. Their words to Jacob in verse 15 are sufficient to show us the relationship between Laban and his daughters. "Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money."
Thus the journey back home will start. As we shall see Jacob still has some "payments" due for his own transgressions. Jacob will soon find himself "between a rock and a hard place" that will force him into a humility he has never experienced. It will be a humbling experience but he will be a better man for it.
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