Jacob Longs for Home
Text: Genesis 31:1 – 21
By: Ken McKinley
(Read Text)
Ok; before we get into our text this morning, let’s review what we saw last week. Now last time, in chapter 30, verses 25 – 26 we saw that Jacob came to Laban and asked to be freed from his obligations and allowed to return home. But Laban urged him to stay on, because he had come to realize that Jacob had made him a rich man, with lots of flocks and possessions. And he was even willing to pay Jacob to keep him on. But if you remember; Jacob didn’t want any payment from Laban, however; he was willing to work out an arrangement that could provide for himself and his family. It’s sort of like Abraham not accepting payment from the kings of Sodom after he rescued them and his nephew Lot. We also saw last week, how God prospered Jacob, and blessed him with a large flock of sheep, and many other possessions.
And that brings us up to our text this morning… and today, what we’re going to see is that God is finally starting to get through to Jacob… Jacob is being transformed by God, slowly but surely. In-fact; in verse 9, Jacob gives full credit to God for the blessings he has received. That’s a big change from where we first saw Jacob. Prior to this, we didn’t hardly ever hear Jacob even talk about God, let alone give Him the glory for the things he had. But over the years, Jacob has learned more and more about God, and has grown in his faith and understanding somewhat.
So in the first three verses we see that the relationship between Jacob and his uncle has deteriorated to the point where, even if Laban wanted to offer him more things, Jacob has had enough, and he’s ready to get out of there. And it’s not only that; Jacob’s cousins are looking at him with envy and jealousy. He’s been with his uncle a total of 20 years now, and that’s 20 years of being used by his uncle. That’s 20 years of working his rump off so that his uncle could become prosperous. He’s ready to go… he was ready six years ago, but look at what’s different this time. Before, Jacob was ready to leave, but this time, verse 3 tells us that it was the LORD who is now telling him to go. So yes, all the factors are there, but now the difference maker is that God is telling him to leave that place and return home.
And this is showing us a few things. First of all; it’s showing us that Jacob has matured in his faith somewhat. He’s still got a long way to go, but this is a change in what we’ve seen before. Also it shows us the importance of waiting on the Lord, and being directed and guided by His Word. It’s no different for us today. God’s Word should be the starting point for all of our decisions. Thirdly; I think it shows us that sometimes we need God to move us along from a position that we might have grown comfortable in. Matthew Henry in his commentaries says this, “Jacob, even when he had this hopeful prospect of growing rich with Laban, must think of returning. When the world begins to smile upon us we must remember it is not our home.” So six years ago, when Jacob had nothing other than his family, he was ready to leave, but through providence, he wasn’t allowed to go. Now that he’s rich, and prosperous, maybe… just maybe he had grown comfortable being in Haran, but God has turned the hearts of his uncle and his cousins, and has made Jacob very uncomfortable.
Basically; Jacob isn’t where God wants him to be, and so these people he has been with for the past 20 years, suddenly start to turn against him, and tensions start to mount, and even though Laban doesn’t actually come out and say anything, he doesn’t rebuke his sons for what they’ve said, and… his countenance was not favorable towards Jacob.
So… in verses 4 – 16 he calls his wives and starts to make the case for leaving, and he actually, systematically lays out three arguments as to why they should leave.
Its family meeting time in Jacob’s household.
Look at verses 5 – 9 (Read). Now this is giving us some insight into what’s been going on these last six years. We find out that Laban hasn’t exactly been on the up and up in this agreement that he and Jacob had made concerning the sheep and goats. He’s changed the deal 10 times. Apparently; once Jacob started having some success, and all the sheep and goats were being born with streaks, Laban said, “Well I didn’t mean all the streaked ones, I only meant the speckled ones will be yours,” so all the sheep and goats suddenly were being born with speckles. Then Laban saw this and said, “You must’ve misunderstood me Jacob, I said all the streaked goats and sheep will be yours, not the speckled ones.” And all of a sudden the sheep and goats were born with streaks. What this is showing us is that God was involved in this. It was God’s plan and purpose to prosper Jacob, and He was going to use pagan Laban to do it. And no matter what Laban changed the deal to, God made sure that Jacob was the one who was getting blessed. So in verses 5 – 9, Jacob has given his wives three reasons why they should leave. First of all, Laban’s not looking upon him with a favorable countenance, and secondly, he’s tried to cheat them for the past six years. The third argument isn’t as obvious, but it’s there. If you look at verse 5, when Jacob says that Laban isn’t looking upon him favorably anymore, you notice what he says after that... He says, “Your dad’s not with me anymore, but God is.” Then in verse 9 he says, “God is the one who has prospered me.” And so Jacob’s third argument, or reason for leaving is that the very same God who is blessing me, and who is with me, is telling me it’s time to go. And this is also a reassurance to his wives. He’s basically saying, “Look, I know that it seems like we’ve done well for ourselves here, but without God we wouldn’t have done well at all. Without God, all of this stuff, the sheep and goats, and camels and servants… all of it could be gone in an instant. But God is with us, and we’ll be just fine. It’s not being in Padan Aran that blesses us. It’s God!” Jacob goes on to tell his wives that it’s none other than God who is telling him to go, and he tells them about the vow he had made to God at Beth-el.
So while Jacob’s laying out his arguments and reasons for why he wants to go, Moses is also letting us know how God was involved in all of this, and that it was God who urged Jacob to move on. And I want you to understand how important this was. Because Moses wrote this by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And he was given this while he was trying to lead and urge an entire tribe of people to be obedient to God and go to the land of their fathers. How important was it for Moses to teach the Israelites the truths about following God, and being obedient to His callings? And how important is it for us to learn the same lessons? So Jacob has called his wives out to the field, away from everyone, so no one could hear this private conversation they are having. He lays out his case for leaving, and then waits to see what they will say. Now guy’s, if you’ve ever tried to convince your wives to do something they weren’t real sure about, you know how Jacob’s feeling right about now. He’s probably a little nervous to say the least.
Look at verse 14 – 16 (Read)
So Jacob has said, “All of this stuff is from God, and God has seen to it that I have been paid fairly for all the work I’ve done.” But Rachel and Leah actually see it a bit different, they’re like, “Hey we know what you mean… all of that stuff is our inheritance. It’s ours and our kids.” Not only that, but they had come to understand that Laban really didn’t care about them, he kept them around because they were married to Jacob, and he kept Jacob around because Jacob was making him rich. It was purely for selfish reasons. When a father doesn’t love his own kids or his grandkids, that can be one of the most hurtful things a person can go through. And I’ll just tell ya’ I am so thankful for the grandma and grandpa my girls have. I couldn’t have asked for better. There has never been any doubt in my mind about their love for their kids and grandkids.
But with Rachel and Leah, they feel totally excluded, they feel like… they know that Laban was just using them for whatever he could get. Even their marriage to Jacob was the same sort of thing. They’ve finally come to realize that, and so they have no problem following Jacob. They’re like, “Whatever God wants you to do, let’s do it.” And not only are they saying that, they actually meant it.
So in verses 17 – 18 we see Jacob load up his family, and his possession and he starts back home, and verse 18 lets us know that Jacob only took the things that he had earned… he only took the things that were his, the things that God had blessed him with. So Jacob wasn’t trying to cheat Laban or anything like that. And again, I think that shows us how much Jacob has changed. He wasn’t trying to cheat Laban. He was being honorable in this. But in verse 19 we’re told that Rachel was a different story. She sneaks into her father’s tent while he’s out shearing sheep and she steals his idols. Now the Hebrew word here is “teraphim” and what these idols were used for was divination. Remember last week when we talked about Laban having by discernment learned that Jacob was the reason he was prospering. Well now we know how that was happening. And basically what these were, were human shaped figurines, anywhere between 4 inches tall up to 4 or 5 feet tall, and they were used like oracles. Most likely, Laban’s were the smaller variety. Now the figurines themselves didn’t have any power. But we know from last week that Laban consorted with demons through these things. He didn’t realize that they were demonic though… a little later on, he actually calls them his “gods.” And again, Moses is sort of writing in a tongue and cheek style here. Just the fact that Laban’s “gods” could be carried away, is humorous.
Some commentators say that Rachel stole them away because she didn’t want her father using them to find out where they had gone. Others say it’s because she wanted them for herself. I tend to go with that second opinion… remember how she wanted the mandrakes. Rachel was one of those superstitions kind of people. Regardless, whatever reason, whether it was to keep Laban from finding them, or because she worshiped these idols, it shows that she lacked faith in God, and had more faith in her father’s idols. And again; think of the application for Moses and the Israelites.
And that finally brings us to Jacob leaving. And last week we talked about how he did the right thing by going to Laban and telling him about his desire to leave. Well now, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that he’s doing the right thing now, by not going to Laban. He doesn’t want to go to Laban and get talked into staying another 6 or 7 years. In-other-words, Jacob’s getting out while he’s ahead. And don’t forget, the Lord actually told him to leave this time. It’s ultimately a matter of obedience. And it’s no different with any of us. It comes down to following God, or following our idols. PRAYER
