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Genesis 31.25-end 32.1-8
April 23th 2023
When I first started teaching the word verse by verse nearly twenty years back, I would read and study to the best of my ability – which was fraught with error – and had to make some decisions on interpretation which I would make but then later have to correct
Similarly, when I first came to know the Lord and would find myself in some sort of confrontation I would make my stand and then have to repent.
As we mature in the word and the spirit, I’ve witnessed an increase of the Spirit guiding and it gets to the point where it will not let up if something is misaligned in me – it is relentless.
And because everything is misaligned I am in constant confrontation with myself.
So, now if I happen to feel I’ve hurt or maligned someone the Spirit moves me to quickly go to them, apologize and seek to remedy the situation – in most cases – I’m still growing.
Interestingly, the Spirit seems to do this with many things and that includes my interpretation of the Word as we go verse by verse.
Anyway, after last week something as gnawing at me. When I woke up Monday morning I revisited the teaching and I have to make a correction where I was wrong.
Last week I said that our commentators were wrong on verses 35-36 of chapter 30. But they seem to have been right and I was wrong. Let’s reread them really quickly where, speaking of the deal Laban and Jacob made and it read
35-36 And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
36 And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
I said that I thought Jacob did the separating but it seems the commentators were right in that Laban removed them all from the flock and gave them into the hands of his sons to care for and Jacob then took the rest of the flocks that were unmarked and trusted in the Lord to bring forth spotted and streaked ones that he would then get to keep.
So, it seems I was off and the narrative makes more sense now and I appreciate your patience with my errors and praise the Living God for keeping us on track.
Okay, so we left off at chapter 31 verse 21 where Jacob has departed with his wives, sons, daughter and flocks to go back to the land of his father in Canaan and Laban took off after them in hot pursuit.
Before finding him we read that God spoke to Laban in a dream and told him to speak neither good nor evil to him.
Let’s pick it up at verse 25 and read to the end of the chapter or verse 55.
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 spake unto me yesternight, 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?
31 And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me.
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.
36 And Jacob was wroth, and chode 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 betwixt 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 bare 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 yesternight.
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 Jegarsahadutha: 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 betwixt me and thee.
51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt 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 betwixt us. And Jacob sware 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.
Okay back to verse 25 where we read:
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?
Genesis 4 speaks of the first musical instruments made by man and this is the second reference to using them in the making of music and this is the first mention of songs for singing.
Apparently, there were four types of instruments popular for ages anciently and these include a couple of them. And Laban continues and says
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 spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
What Laban is saying in verse 29 is “My hand is unto God to do you evil,” or even, “I have vowed to God that I will punish thee for thy flight, and the stealing of my teraphim; but the God of YOUR father has prevented me from doing it.”
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?
The Word for Gods there is Elohim and means any sort of god. Obviously, this was something that really troubled Laban. Verse 31
31 And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me.
Jacob has some issues with fear. Abraham did. So did his Father Isaac and in both cases they seem to have acted deceptively in the face of it.
The leaving without a goodbye was suspect and rude but Jacob explains why he did it – I was afraid you would hold back my daughters.
Jacob’s fear is going to serve to bring him to God in the chapters to come and we will talk about it next week. But when informed by Laban that his idols were taken Jacob says
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.
While it seems that prior to the law death was rarely administered to others (except in the case of murder) here it seems that the Patriarchs had it in their power to take life even for theft – as Jacob had declared this to be the punishment for whomever took Laban’s idols.
The rabbins suggest that what Jacob was actually saying was, May God take the life of whomever has taken these idols NOT knowing that it was Rachel.
Were Jacobs words binding? It seems so as we will only get out to chapter 35 where it tells us Rachel dies – apparently around the age of 44 and while giving birth to her second son, Benjamin. This was an early death in that day and even before her older sister Leah and many believe the curse from the man who loved her was the reason for her early demise.
We will come to another significant story in the Tanakh where someone makes a hefty impetous promise with death being the result. When we get to the Apostolic Record we will read about the same type of thing when Herod promises to give his wife’s daughter whatever she wishes only to sadly discover that she asks for John the Baptists head.
Anyway
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.
The custom of women was apparently enough to keep Laban from having Rachel stand. And, of course, Laban comes up empty handed. (verse 36)
36 And Jacob was wroth, and contended 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?”
(And he continues and says )
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 betwixt us both.
At this point Jacob makes his defense for everything saying to Laban,
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 bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.
In other words, in all that I did toward you, Laban, I took the high road and absorbed the losses.
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.
We talked about the time he had served but now its broken down for us – 14 for the daughters and six where he gleaned the flocks of all of its speckled, spotted ringstraked and brown offspring.
And then Jacob gets down to the brass tacks which I love about him, saying
42 Unless 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.
This was probably the reality of working for Laban. And Jacob adds
God hath seen mine affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
It’s sort of strange that Jacob should say, “and unless the GOD of my father (who was Isaac) and the God of Abraham” and then he adds, “and the FEAR of Isaac,” had been with me, surely you would have sent me away empty.
What does he mean? Apparently, he is saying that unless the God of His father and grandfather were not known to Laban, and unless Laban was not afraid on Isaac His father, he would have been sent away empty handed. There could be other interpretaions.
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?
In other words, Laban is sort of saying, in the face of these my family what sort of recourse do I have except to make peace with you. (Verse 44)
It’s the plight of parents when they become grandparents. Sometimes if you want to see the grandkids you have to play by the parents rules. And out of love we comform.
44 Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
Now, what is the Hebrew word for covenant, remember? “Bereeth” And it means? “To cut!”
And we remember that a covenant was established among the parties between the cut parts of an animal sacrificed.
Imagine that you have five sheep and your neighbor does too and you have a disagreement over something. And you make a covenant together. This means that one of you would offer up one of your animals, you would cut it and promise to comply with your agreement with each other – and then you would eat the meat and offer up the blood and the fat of the animal up to God on an altar.
What we are about to read will be some of the details of this covenant that Laban and Jacob make with each other.
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.
This heap of rocks that Jacob made would apparently serve as both a table, an altar and a memorial for the agreement between these two men.
47 And Laban called it “Jeg arsa hadu tha” (which is Chaldee for the Heap of Witness), but Jacob called it Galeed. (which means the same thing in Hebrew).
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.
This is a tangled translation here and perhaps it should read:
“And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed and Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.”
Mizpah means “a watchtower” and the thinking is that God would stand upon the watch tower and make sure that both sides would comply with the stipulations of the covenant.
Continuing on, Laban adds to the language of the covenant and says,
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 betwixt me and thee.
The order of the words in this verse make following them a bit rough. Taking them all into account it seems that
Laban was concerned that Jacob could take other wives – something that would diminish the inheritance his daughters and grandchildren would receive.
But we also seem to read that there was no man present to witness their agreements together which appears to suggest that part of the agreement was Jacob would not take any other wives in.
Finally, Laban seems to then appeal to God himself as being a witness between the two men relative to this part of their covenant together.
51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee;
Now, in Genesis 31:45 we read, And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar:
So, it appears that verse 51 is translated oddly and should read, “The pillar which thou SEEST betwixt me and thee,” instead of the “Pillar which I cast.”
A big deal? Sort of and not. But it does show that there can be minor problems in the text. Anyway, Laban goes on and says,
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.
We will use this pilar and heap to remind us of our boundaries and the agreement we have with each other. And Laban adds
53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.
Verse 53 is an issue too.
Some say the issue is theological others say that it is linguistic. Why?
Because in and through His words, Laban includes his belief in the pagan gods with the God’s of Abraham. Is this true? We read in Joshua 24:2
And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.
Linguistically, some suggest that this verse has been messed with a bit and therefore sounds like Jacob is allowing Laban to mix his pagan gods with YHWH, but because the clause that leads us to read it this way is not in the Septuagint, and is lacking in other MSS, it is believed to be an addition OR Laban distinguished between the Gods through the use of their Gods and Our Gods in his words.
I’m gonna go with Laban included the pagan gods of Terahs other son Nahor here along with the God of Abraham and that in the face of this, Jacob made it clear that he swore by the God 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.
I would suggest that this was the meal where the animal was sacrificed in the covenant was made and that not only Jacobs brethren ate of it but Laban and his men too. Could be wrong but see no reason why this wouldn’t be at this point in the narrative. The next verse tends to support this view too as it says
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.
GENESIS 32! Let’s read verses 1-8
Genesis 32:1 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:
5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;
8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
Alright, let’s go back to verse 1
Genesis 32:1 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
We have met angels (Septuagint, anggelos – messengers) before and not only that we have pointed out that God (in every case thus far) when working with human beings uses messengers.
Augustine helped clear the matter up when he declared that the term, angel, “a name, not of nature, but of office.”
Therefore, it is used on anyone or thing that brings a message, human or heavenly.
Heavenly messengers are here called God’s host, camp, or army, as in wars; for angels are God’s soldiers, (according to Luke 2:13); which fight for God’s people against their enemies, (Daniel 10:20); of whom are “thousand thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand, (Daniel 7:10); and they are all sent forth to minister for them that shall be heirs of salvation, (Hebrew 1:14);
Most beautifully, Psalm 34:7 says that angels “pitch a camp about them that fear God.”
Because I believe that in this age of fulfillment where God has had the victory over all things, I see angelic heavenly beings as part and parcel of this economy and do believe that they are here and working to protect believers from things of which we may not have any knowledge.
I am not afraid of too many things in life – except huge natural powers like massive earthquakes and tsunamis, and injury harm or illness in my family, but I am terrified, due to experience, of God pulling back his angelic troops from me and those I love. Terrified. Why
Because He has done it to me a couple of times and when He does all the powers of Dark seem to rush in with a vengeance and I am left utterly flattened in the wake of it all.
I can distinctly remember four experiences in my life where God has pulled back the troops and I have been left to fend off the onslaught alone. It always ends with me in the fetal position begging for the return of His protection.
I cannot explain it. It is subjective. But in accordance with the word.
Jacob is traveling here and sees the masses of angelic hosts (Verse 2)
2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
We are not told why Jacob saw the hosts here, but it seems to be a way for God to remind Him that he had his back.
The name he gave the place is Mahanaim which means, “the two hosts,” which could mean the angels that formed one and the company he traveled with forming another. Another idea is he was simply saying that there were two hosts that he saw.
Joshua 21:38 tells us that a city was built in that place afterwards and that it was inhabited by the priests of God – which is sort of wild, right?
Unfortunately, the doctrine of the ministration of angels has been radically abused by believer and non-believer alike. Like everything in scripture, miracles, healings, restorations to life, cattle, fish or bread being multiplied, women getting pregnant, people becoming wealthy – whatever – the glory and the credit ought to go DIRECTLY to the Lord – with nothing in-between – whether those things are angels, pilled rods, mandrakes, or anything else in heaven or earth.
Always God. All glory to.
We will see how some people will wrongly worship angels in scripture. Or how they will speak of their angels, or give them names, or reflect their imagery in art, stone, or whatever it may be.
So, believing that angels exist? Fine. Ever making them an object of devotion or adoration or even reference? Not so much.
3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
It appears that Jacob sent these human angellos or messengers out some time before he witnessed the heavenly host and it seems that he sent them to pave the way for his older wilder brother to get used to the fact that Jacob was coming back.
The land of Seir was in Edom at the south end of the Red Sea and was previously inhabited by a people called, Horites but Esau and his men drove them out and took over. In this we have Isaacs promise to Esau that by the sword he would live come to fruition – which was not really good news for his younger brother .
In any case, Jacob sends his messengers out to meet Esau (verse 4)
4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:
5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
At this point Jacob is still recognizing the superior “earthly nature” of his brother because the time had not yet arrived where the prophesy that, “the elder should serve the younger” should be realized.
Jacob, ever the strategist, is trying to make inroads with his brother who he hasn’t heard from or seen for at least 20 years. What happens next God will use to bring Jacob closer to the way He wants Jacob to live
6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.”
Jacob was well aware of what he did to his older wilder brother who has been living by the sword, as the old saying goes, “conscience is a ruthless accuser.”
Think for a minute as we wrap this up. Jacob was fearful of his brother because the last time they saw each other Esau said that he was going to kill him.
But over the course of the last 20 years, Jacob has had some amazing things happen to him at the very hands of God.
He watched the angels ascend and descend on a latter and on that occasion God said to Him in a dream
Genesis 28:15 Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
Jacob prospered immeasurably by the hand of God when Laban was trying to take advantage of him, and He multiplied his wealth.
Just recently God allow Jacob to see the heavenly host which seems to be a reminder that God was with him, right?
But how does Jacob respond to all these heavenly supports even to the point of God speaking to Him and Him seeing the heavenly host? Verses 7-8
7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;
8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
As we will discover next week, this will lead to a defining moment for Jacob – and we will cover that then. BY THE WAY – it will be a prerecorded teaching as I have to be in California that day. So tune in rather than show up!
Comments/Questions/Prayer
Kathy Maggie/David/My family/Eric
