The flow of the story is rather simple: Jacob wants to go home, but instead remains on with uncle Laban and gets rich in the mean time. The passage carries with it allot of presuppositions; starting with the obvious strain between Jacob and Laban and continuing in Jacob’s alternating faithfulness and deception. So as we look at Genesis 30:25-43 I first want us to understand it, and second I want us to figure out how to apply it.
Hoping to Leave.
The Whole Episode starts innocently enough in GENESIS 30:25-26. Jacob’s obligation was fulfilled to his father-in-law and now he wanted to go home.
Having already completed his half of the bargain, Jacob expected Laban to fulfill his. Whether we like the condition or not he had "earned" his wives by working for them
We’re told that this took place after Joseph was born. It’s then that apparently Jacob completed his seven extra years service for Rachel’s hand in marriage. Remember this had taken fourteen years altogether. Seven of them married to these two warring women.
When that service was completed, Jacob asked Laban to send him away. We have to ponder the question “Why didn’t he just go?” Apparently he recognized Laban’s authority over him as father in law, and more than that as the son in law he had an obligation to provide for Laban in his old age.
In northeastern Iraq About ten miles southwest of Kirkuk in Iraq is an archaeological dig which is commonly referred to by the ancient city that was situated there. The city was named Nuzi (noozee). While digging there some Stone Tablet’s were discovered in Nuzi1 These stone tablets contain a lot of legal documents and they provide for us a primary source of knowledge about the life and customs of ancient middleastern culture outside of the scriptures. The short message is that these tablets teach us that it was expected of a son-in-law to care for his father in law in his old age.
Now this is especially true for a man who didn’t have sons, but Laban had sons and since they were more than capable of taking care of their father Jacob was asking for more than leave to go home, he was asking to be relieved of this duty to Laban.2
Like Jacob we desire to depart and go to our own country (Heaven Philippians 3:20), but we cannot yet go for it is not God’s timing. That must be waited upon (Gen 31:3).
In the interim we are called to serve in a world which is constantly changing the terms of our stay. (Gen 31:7) We shouldn’t be surprised at this since as with Laban the world’s terms are always changing.
Whenever we think we’re about to get "satisfaction" "joy" or "happiness" from this world the terms of the contract change on us. Getting satisfaction from this life is like chasing a Mirage. We think that in this life’s offering we see what we want and just as we reach to grab hold of it, we discover it’s position has changed, and we are left holding something less than we desired.
We are not however called to hide in this world but to labor hard in it - we dare not rest till we get home. Even so we desire to rest.
I have seen many signs that say such things as
Old BANKERS never die. They just lose interest.
Old CARPENTERS never die. They just get nailed.
Old CONTRACTORS never die. They just get remodeled.
Old MECHANICS never die. They just get overhauled.
Old SALESPEOPLE never die. They just lose their pitch.
Well I have another for you.
Old Christians never retire they just serve in different ways.
Having to stay
Genesis 30:27-
I’m intrigued that Laban who later when it suits him will pretend that he loved his daughters but now when the first opportunity arises to show that he instead tries not to keep THEM near him, but to keep his prized worker near him. For Laban it’s not about love or family, it’s about the equivalent of MONEY. His priorities are wrong.
I’m bothered by the fact that he gained his information through the occult, divination is an occult practice practiced in many different ways and throughout the scriptures the unrighteous often claim to gather their information through divination: which is basically asking the spirits for truth. At any rate this revelation to Laban ignites his greed. If God has blessed him because of Jacob’s presence - surely God will continue to bless if Jacob remains.
In every culture that has abandoned God utterly they have gone backwards and not forwards. Doug Wallace discovered in his own studies that "stone-age" civilization only exists and only existed where God was utterly abandoned for idols of wood and stone. (Did not God therefore give them over).
England and much of Europe which was once the center of education, commerce and advancement is falling ever behind in these areas, I propose because much of Europe now is atheistic or in the least agnostic and very nearly altogether unchristian wherever there is religion.
America is headed on the same path; yet it would be wise for our own country to realize that "The LORD has blessed [them] because of Christianity."
Laban then asks Jacob to name his wages, he was so certain of God’s abundantly rich blessing (and perhaps also of Jacob’s certain to be fair request.) that he agreed at the start to pay whatever Jacob asked. More than that, I think Laban the trickster had something up his sleeve. He already thought perhaps he was more crafty than Jacob and he was about to imagine that he had been proven right.
Turning to Genesis 30:29-34 let’s read...
Name your wages must have sounded like a hollow offer after the switch Laban played on him with Leah for Rachel. I think however Jacob was planning this all along for his answer is too quick...
Surely the phrase "You shall not give me anything" was a tantalizing morsel which Laban the cheapskate must nearly have fallen over himself with eagerness for. Jacob knew how to talk to this deceiver, since he himself was one.
Normally Sheep are white and Goats are black. For any of those to change a recessive gene has to take precedence. The offer to take the odd and unusual must have assured Laban that Jacob was indeed an idiot and he was about to get free labor.
But Laban wasn’t easily fooled. Look at Genesis 30:35 -36
"He" in this sentence refers to Laban, not to Jacob. and the sons to Laban’s sons, not to Jacob’s sons. Jacob’s sons would have all been under the age of Seven, hardly qualified to care for flocks 50 miles away and defend them from wild predators.
Laban separates and moves the sheep more than likely he was merely trying to ensure that none of the speckled males of Jacob’s mated with any of the females of his own flock - thus ensuring they wouldn’t produce more speckled or spotted or black animals. Laban’s distrust is obvious, and his cunning even more so. Doubtless Laban was assured in his heart that he had made it impossible to Jacob to win. But Laban evidently didn’t know God was in charge...... But neither yet did Jacob.
Helping God out.
Let’s ready verses 37-43 and then we’ll try to assemble it into something we can use.
What’s with shaving sticks and moving the sheep? The idea was that whatever the animals were looking at when they mated, that pattern would replicate itself in the offspring. So Jacob does a number of things to “Help God Out”.
He puts striped sticks in the watering troughs
He separates the mottled lambs and kids but keeps them in plain view of the ewes.
He only did this when the breeding animals were strong – never when they were sickly.
True to his pattern, Jacob was working on a deception, and trusting himself rather than God. While modern science doesn’t paint it as legitimate animal husbandry He and Laban both believed that whittling these sticks was going to bring about his blessing. And that’s the point. Jacob was being a deceiver again. He was trying to bring about his own blessing. In short he was trying to help God out. Years later, when it’s time to leave Jacob will be humbled and will acknowledge that God was bringing about the increase but for right now, Jacob was making sure he Got the blessing God had promised.
And make no mistake that is what this text is about. It is another fulfillment of Jacob’s vision in Bethel. (Genesis 28). God was providing for Jacob EVEN while he was trying to teach Jacob to trust him.
So it’s time for personal application:
Do you resort to scheming when faced with a problem? Do you ever try to “help God out”? Or are you content even in an uncomfortable situation to trust Him? I want you to know that our ignorance doesn’t negate God’s goodness. But neither does it relieve us of testing. As he does in Jacob’s life, God will rewire our hearts – even if he has to dismantle our stubbornness in the process.
