Laban Pursues Jacob
A story of deception and God’s intervention.
- “Deception” continues to be a major theme in this narrative.
Genesis 31:22-42 (NLT)
Laban Pursues Jacob
22 Three days later, Laban was told that Jacob had fled. 23 So he gathered a group of his relatives and set out in hot pursuit. He caught up with Jacob seven days later in the hill country of Gilead. 24 But the previous night God had appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream and told him, “I’m warning you—leave Jacob alone!”
25 Laban caught up with Jacob as he was camped in the hill country of Gilead, and he set up his camp not far from Jacob’s. 26 “What do you mean by deceiving me like this?” Laban demanded. “How dare you drag my daughters away like prisoners of war? 27 Why did you slip away secretly? Why did you deceive me? And why didn’t you say you wanted to leave? I would have given you a farewell feast, with singing and music, accompanied by tambourines and harps. 28 Why didn’t you let me kiss my daughters and grandchildren and tell them good-bye? You have acted very foolishly! 29 I could destroy you, but the God of your father appeared to me last night and warned me, ‘Leave Jacob alone!’ 30 I can understand your feeling that you must go, and your intense longing for your father’s home. But why have you stolen my gods?”
31 “I rushed away because I was afraid,” Jacob answered. “I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 But as for your gods, see if you can find them, and let the person who has taken them die! And if you find anything else that belongs to you, identify it before all these relatives of ours, and I will give it back!” But Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the household idols.
33 Laban went first into Jacob’s tent to search there, then into Leah’s, and then the tents of the two servant wives—but he found nothing. Finally, he went into Rachel’s tent. 34 But Rachel had taken the household idols and hidden them in her camel saddle, and now she was sitting on them. When Laban had thoroughly searched her tent without finding them, 35 she said to her father, “Please, sir, forgive me if I don’t get up for you. I’m having my monthly period.” So Laban continued his search, but he could not find the household idols.
36 Then Jacob became very angry, and he challenged Laban. “What’s my crime?” he demanded. “What have I done wrong to make you chase after me as though I were a criminal? 37 You have rummaged through everything I own. Now show me what you found that belongs to you! Set it out here in front of us, before our relatives, for all to see. Let them judge between us! 38 “For twenty years I have been with you, caring for your flocks. In all that time your sheep and goats never miscarried. In all those years I never used a single ram of yours for food. 39 If any were attacked and killed by wild animals, I never showed you the carcass and asked you to reduce the count of your flock. No, I took the loss myself! You made me pay for every stolen animal, whether it was taken in broad daylight or in the dark of night.
40 “I worked for you through the scorching heat of the day and through cold and sleepless nights. 41 Yes, for twenty years I slaved in your house! I worked for fourteen years earning your two daughters, and then six more years for your flock. And you changed my wages ten times! 42 In fact, if the God of my father had not been on my side—the God of Abraham and the fearsome God of Isaac—you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen your abuse and my hard work. That is why he appeared to you last night and rebuked you!”
Examine the Scriptures
Genesis 31:22-42 (NLT)
Laban Pursues Jacob
22 Three days later, Laban was told that Jacob had fled.
Twenty years earlier Jacob had fled from Esau after deceiving their father Isaac.
- “Deception” is a major theme in this narrative.
23 So he gathered a group of his relatives and set out in hot pursuit.
“Hot pursuit”
He caught up with Jacob seven days later in the hill country of Gilead.
Seven days of “hot pursuit”.
Southeast of the Sea of Galilee. Several hundred miles from Laban’s home.
Jacob and all of his flocks were moving right along.
24 But the previous night God had appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream and told him, “I’m warning you—leave Jacob alone!”
(“Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” a proverbial expression)
- God clearly intervened on Jacob’s behalf.
Leave Jacob alone. Don’t make him come back to your place. Don’t take his possessions.
25 Laban caught up with Jacob as he was camped in the hill country of Gilead, and he set up his camp not far from Jacob’s. 26 “What do you mean by deceiving me like this?” Laban demanded.
Feeling deceived.
Laban brings accusations against Jacob.
“How dare you drag my daughters away like prisoners of war?
Jacob did not drag Laban’s daughters away from their home.
(vs. 13-14)
27 Now get ready and leave this country and return to the land of your birth.’”
Rachel and Leah responded, “That’s fine with us!
Rachel and Leah were in agreement with each other and with Jacob about leaving their father.
Why did you slip away secretly? Why did you deceive me?
Feeling deceived.
And why didn’t you say you wanted to leave? I would have given you a farewell feast, with singing and music, accompanied by tambourines and harps. 28 Why didn’t you let me kiss my daughters and grandchildren and tell them good-bye?
Laban describes himself as a hurt and baffled father and Jacob as a thoughtless son in law.
Victim mentality.
Laban’s behavior is also deceptive.
You have acted very foolishly!
29 I could destroy you, but the God of your father appeared to me last night and warned me, ‘Leave Jacob alone!’
- Laban heeded God’s warning. (More about this in the next lesson.)
30 I can understand your feeling that you must go, and your intense longing for your father’s home. But why have you stolen my gods?”
Why would Jacob have stolen Laban’s gods? Good question.
31 “I rushed away because I was afraid,” Jacob answered. “I thought you would take your daughters from me by force.
Jacob had worked hard for twenty years.
The deceptive environment led to feelings of fear.
32 But as for your gods, see if you can find them, and let the person who has taken them die! And if you find anything else that belongs to you, identify it before all these relatives of ours, and I will give it back!” But Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the household idols.
Jacob unknowingly put the death penalty on Rachel.
33 Laban went first into Jacob’s tent to search there, then into Leah’s, and then the tents of the two servant wives—but he found nothing. Finally, he went into Rachel’s tent. 34 But Rachel had taken the household idols and hidden them in her camel saddle, and now she was sitting on them.
- Rachel deceived her father (and Jacob).
- One dishonest deed led to another.
When Laban had thoroughly searched her tent without finding them, 35 she said to her father, “Please, sir, forgive me if I don’t get up for you. I’m having my monthly period.”
This may, or may not, have been a lie.
If Rachel was having her monthly period (being unclean) and sat on the idol, it results in the idol becoming contaminated and therefore worthless.
Laban would assume that Rachel would not dare contaminate a god.
So Laban continued his search, but he could not find the household idols.
36 Then Jacob became very angry, and he challenged Laban.
Jacob brings accusations against Laban.
Reaping what was sown.
“What’s my crime?” he demanded. “What have I done wrong to make you chase after me as though I were a criminal? 37 You have rummaged through everything I own. Now show me what you found that belongs to you! Set it out here in front of us, before our relatives, for all to see. Let them judge between us!
- Deceptive behaviors escalated the conflict between the father and son-in-law.
38 “For twenty years I have been with you, caring for your flocks. In all that time your sheep and goats never miscarried. In all those years I never used a single ram of yours for food. 39 If any were attacked and killed by wild animals, I never showed you the carcass and asked you to reduce the count of your flock. No, I took the loss myself! You made me pay for every stolen animal, whether it was taken in broad daylight or in the dark of night.
40 “I worked for you through the scorching heat of the day and through cold and sleepless nights. 41 Yes, for twenty years I slaved in your house! I worked for fourteen years earning your two daughters, and then six more years for your flock. And you changed my wages ten times!
- Jacob tried to defend his actions.
42 In fact, if the God of my father had not been on my side—the God of Abraham and the fearsome God of Isaac—you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen your abuse and my hard work. That is why he appeared to you last night and rebuked you!”
- Jacob acknowledges God’s intervention on his behalf.
Applications for our lives:
- God intervenes in our lives.
Psalm 55:22 (NLT)
Give your burdens to the Lord,
and he will take care of you.
He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
Psalm 46:1 (NLT)
God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
Isaiah 43:1-3 (NLT)
1 But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Psalm 32:8 (NLT)
The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you.
Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
John 10:27-29 (NLT)
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.
What are some things we know about deception?
- The human heart is deceitful.
Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT)
9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
Deceitful behaviors have serious consequences.
Proverbs 19:9 (NLT)
A false witness will not go unpunished,
and a liar will be destroyed.
Galatians 6:7 (NLT)
7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.
- Be done with deceit.
1 Peter 2:1 (NLT)
So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.
Colossians 3:9-10 (NLT)
9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
Luke 6:45 (NLT)
A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
Ask God to give you a clean heart.
Psalm 51:10 (NLT)
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
