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Notes on Genesis 31
Property and money can really be the cause of
hatred and even murder. There was a man in Akron many years ago
that was killed over a property dispute. A life was taken, the one
who killed went to prison, a home was broken, lives were ruined and
all for a piece of property.
If only we could get it across to everyone
the final picture. The things in this life are going to pass away.
God is going to make all things anew. If at our time of departure
from this life unto our eternal life, all we have to show for our
lives is property and gain, we will pass on without nothing for we
can't take anything with us. Our souls are lost for eternity and our
property falls into the hands of others.
If we seek the things of God and care for the
things that we will inherit from Him, nothing can be taken from us
and at the time of death, we are rich even if we were poor
previously. We can be full now for the
presence of His Holy Spirit in our lives is more valuable than any
gold or material things. When we learn these things, losing property
will not mean as much, at least not to the point of killing someone
over our property.
As we read these chapters, we will see that
if God had not have protected Jacob, Laban would have killed him and
would have taken all that he possessed.
-
Genesis 31:2 And Jacob beheld the countenance of
Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.
Envy, jealousy, greed, was within Laban now
and he didn't like Jacob. Seems like everywhere Jacob goes he makes
enemies either through his own mistakes or through God blessing him
and his enemies becoming envious. We see here that Laban's love was
conditional. He wanted to be in control, call the shots so to speak.
He liked Jacob but only as one who did all the work and caused Laban
to increase. If he wanted to take his own family and be on his own,
that was a different story.
-
Genesis 31:3 And the LORD said unto
Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred;
and I will be with thee. When God says it is time to go, then it
is time.
Jacob felt in his heart the desire to leave and now he
can't delay any further since God confirmed what he wanted to do
in his heart.
- Genesis 31:4 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.
Laban was a man that was a shrewd
businessman. He was out to use Jacob and gain all his could from
Jacob's labor.
- Genesis 31:8 If he said thus,
The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bore
speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstreaked shall be thy
hire; then bore all the cattle ringstreaked.
- 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 ringstreaked, speckled, and
grizzled.
- 11 And the angel of
God spoke 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 ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled: for I have
seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.
God multiplied the cattle of Jacob because he
saw the treachery of Laban. Most of what had befallen Jacob was a
result of the reaping and sowing of his past but after a time, God
started blessing him again and wouldn't allow Laban to harm him any
longer. God will judge but afterward he will judge those that come
against those he calls for His own purpose. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
was called of God for a purpose and nothing can change that. Christ
was to come through their seed.
- Genesis 31:13 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.
Rachel and Leah justifies all that Jacob had
because they felt they deserved an inheritance from their father and
their father took their money instead of giving it to them as the
custom was.
- Genesis 31:17 Then Jacob rose
up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels;
- 18 And he carried
away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the
cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan-aram, for to
go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.
- 19 And Laban went
to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were
her father's.
We see here the signs that they did have
idolatry in the land from which Abraham originally came from.
Idolatry was a problem in ancient times, during the times the law of
Moses was in effect and all through history unto this present day.
The coming of Jesus eliminated most idolatry from followers of Jesus
except the images that some churches insist on having. God has
forbidden Jews and the believers in Christ from having graven
images. They have always been a problem and we only hurt ourselves
when we insist on using images in our worship. We need to cast them
out of our churches and worship God in spirit and in truth. God is
not to be made into an image of anything in heaven or in earth. We
are not to make images of God or the Son of God.
Jacob reminds me a little of myself. I would
rather just leave quietly and without someone hindering me rather
than have someone make a fuss, give a farewell party or try to talk
me out of leaving if I have a mind to leave. I'm the type that will
just go.
- Genesis 31:21 So he fled with
all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and
set his face toward the mount Gilead.
- 22 And it was told
Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.
- 23 And he took his
brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey;
and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.
He would have harmed Jacob at this point but
God would not allow it.
- Genesis 31:24 And God came to
Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take
heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
- 25 Then Laban
overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and
Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.
- 26 And Laban said
to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away
unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken
with the sword?
- 27 Wherefore didst
thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not
tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with
songs, with tabret, and with harp?
- 28 And hast not
suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done
foolishly in so doing.
- 29 It is in the
power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father
spoke unto me last night, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak
not to Jacob either good or bad.
- 30 And now, though
thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after
thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
Jacob must have found out later about these
gods for he instructed his family to put away all of them. Rachel
seems to want to hold onto some of the ways of her people. She has
not yet learned to trust in the true God of Israel.
- Genesis 35:2 Then Jacob
said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away
the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change
your garments:
- 3 And let us
arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto
God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me
in the way which I went.
- 4 And they gave
unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and
all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them
under the oak which was by Shechem"
When Jacob went to worship God, back in
Bethel, the gods had to go.
He left in fear just like he did years ago
from the face of his brother Esau.
- Genesis 31:32 With whomsoever
thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren
discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For
Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
- 33 And Laban went
into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two
maidservants' tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of
Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.
- 34 Now Rachel had
taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat
upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.
- 35 And she said to
her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up
before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he
searched, but found not the images.
She must have claimed to have been having a
monthly period that women have which would have excused her not
being hospitable to her father. Laban fell for it. Perhaps though he
knew that she had them and knew what Jacob had said and would not
want to kill his own daughter.
- Genesis 31:36 And Jacob was
wroth, and chided with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to
Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so
hotly pursued after me?
- 37 Whereas thou
hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy
household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy
brethren, that they may judge between us both.
- 38 This twenty
years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not
cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.
- 39 That which was
torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bore the loss of it;
of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or
stolen by night.
- 40 Thus I was; in
the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my
sleep departed from mine eyes.
- 41 Thus have I been
twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy
two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast
changed my wages ten times.
- 42 Except the God
of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had
been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath
seen mine affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee
last night.
- 43 And Laban
answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters,
and these children are my children, and these cattle are my
cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this
day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they
have born?
- 44 Now therefore
come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for
a witness between me and thee.
- 45 And Jacob took a
stone, and set it up for a pillar.
- 46 And Jacob said
unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made
an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.
- 47 And Laban called
it Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.
- 48 And Laban said,
This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore
was the name of it called Galeed;
- 49 And Mizpah; for
he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent
one from another.
- 50 If thou shalt
afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside
my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness between me
and thee.
- 51 And Laban said
to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have
cast between me and thee;
- 52 This heap be
witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over
this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap
and this pillar unto me, for harm.
- 53 The God of
Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge
between us. And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac.
- 54 Then Jacob
offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat
bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the
mount.
- 55 And early in the
morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters,
and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his
place.
Jacob finally let loose and stood up for
himself and confronted Laban with all his trickery and deceit. They
made a covenant of peace and departed in peace.
If it wasn't for the mercy and intervention
of God in this matter, they would have been bitter enemies for life.
Christ brings us a better way to live. We don't have to worry about
things the world has to worry about. If we lost things here, we have
and inheritance that will never fade away.
We see now why God may have originally called
Abraham to leave that land behind. Idolatry. God hates idolatry.
What it does is substitute a false god so called in place of our
real God, our Father in Heaven. It's demonic
and evil to worship idols and false deities. God does not want His people mixed up in this. It is
dangerous and will bring in dangerous doctrines. Child sacrifice and
the sacrifice of infants come from idolatry. If our doctrine is
faulty, sin will follow. DC
Genesis 32
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