Genesis 31

Ge 31:1-21.

ENVY OF

LABAN AND

SONS.

1. he heard the words of Laban's sons--It must have been from

rumor that Jacob got knowledge of the invidious reflections cast upon

him by his cousins; for they were separated at the distance of three

days' journey.

2. And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban--literally, "was

not the same as yesterday, and the day before," a common Oriental form

of speech. The insinuations against Jacob's fidelity by Laban's sons,

and the sullen reserve, the churlish conduct, of Laban himself, had

made Jacob's situation, in his uncle's establishment, most trying and

painful. It is always one of the vexations attendant on worldly

prosperity, that it excites the envy of others

(Ec 4:4);

and that, however careful a man is to maintain a good conscience, he

cannot always reckon on maintaining a good name, in a censorious world.

This, Jacob experienced; and it is probable that, like a good man, he

had asked direction and relief in prayer.

3. the Lord said . . . Return unto the land of thy

fathers--Notwithstanding the ill usage he had received, Jacob might

not have deemed himself at liberty to quit his present sphere, under

the impulse of passionate fretfulness and discontent. Having been

conducted to Haran by God

(Ge 28:15)

and having got a promise that the same heavenly Guardian would bring

him again into the land of Canaan, he might have thought he ought not

to leave it, without being clearly persuaded as to the path of duty. So

ought we to set the Lord before us, and to acknowledge Him in all our

ways, our journeys, our settlements, and plans in life.

4. Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah--His wives and family

were in their usual residence. Whether he wished them to be present at

the festivities of sheep shearing, as some think; or, because he could

not leave his flock, he called them both to come to him, in order that,

having resolved on immediate departure, he might communicate his

intentions. Rachel and Leah only were called, for the other two wives,

being secondary and still in a state of servitude, were not entitled to

be taken into account. Jacob acted the part of a dutiful husband in

telling them his plans; for husbands that love their wives should

consult with them and trust in them

(Pr 31:11).

6. ye know that . . . I have served your

father--Having stated his strong grounds of dissatisfaction with

their father's conduct and the ill requital he had got for all his

faithful services, he informed them of the blessing of God that had

made him rich notwithstanding Laban's design to ruin him; and finally,

of the command from God he had received to return to his own country,

that they might not accuse him of caprice, or disaffection to their

family; but be convinced, that in resolving to depart, he acted from a

principle of religious obedience.

14. Rachel and Leah answered--Having heard his views, they

expressed their entire approval; and from grievances of their own, they

were fully as desirous of a separation as himself. They display not

only conjugal affection, but piety in following the course

described--"whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do"

[Ge 31:16].

"Those that are really their husbands' helpmeets will never be their

hindrances in doing that to which God calls them" [HENRY].

17. Then Jacob rose up--Little time is spent by pastoral people

in removing. The striking down the tents and poles and stowing them

among their other baggage; the putting their wives and children in

houdas like cradles, on the backs of camels, or in panniers on

asses; and the ranging of the various parts of the flock under the

respective shepherds; all this is a short process. A plain that is

covered in the morning with a long array of tents and with browsing

flocks, may, in a few hours, appear so desolate that not a vestige of

the encampment remains, except the holes in which the tent poles had

been fixed.

18. he carried the cattle of his getting--that is, his own and

nothing more. He did not indemnify himself for his many losses by

carrying off any thing of Laban's, but was content with what Providence

had given him. Some may think that due notice should have been given;

but when a man feels himself in danger--the law of self-preservation

prescribes the duty of immediate flight, if it can be done consistently

with conscience.

20. Jacob stole away--The result showed the prudence and

necessity of departing secretly; otherwise, Laban might have detained

him by violence or artifice.

Ge 31:22-55.

LABAN

PURSUES

JACOB--THEIR

COVENANT AT

GILEAD.

22-24. it was told Laban on the third day--No sooner did the

news reach Laban than he set out in pursuit, and he being not

encumbered, advanced rapidly; whereas Jacob, with a young family and

numerous flocks, had to march slowly, so that he overtook the fugitives

after seven days' journey as they lay encamped on the brow of mount

Gilead, an extensive range of hills forming the eastern boundary of

Canaan. Being accompanied by a number of his people, he might have

used violence had he not been divinely warned in a dream to give no

interruption to his nephew's journey. How striking and sudden a change!

For several days he had been full of rage, and was now in eager

anticipation that his vengeance would be fully wreaked, when lo! his

hands are tied by invisible power

(Ps 76:10).

He did not dare to touch Jacob, but there was a war of words.

26-30. Laban said . . . What hast thou done?--Not a

word is said of the charge

(Ge 31:1).

His reproaches were of a different kind. His first charge was for

depriving him of the satisfaction of giving Jacob and his family the

usual salutations at parting. In the East it is customary, when any are

setting out to a great distance, for their relatives and friends to

accompany them a considerable way with music and valedictory songs.

Considering the past conduct of Laban, his complaint on this ground was

hypocritical cant. But his second charge was a grave one--the carrying

off his gods--Hebrew, "teraphim," small images of human figures,

used not as idols or objects of worship, but as talismans, for

superstitious purposes.

31, 32. Jacob said, . . . With whomsoever thou findest thy

gods let him not live--Conscious of his own innocence and little

suspecting the misdeed of his favorite wife, Jacob boldly challenged a

search and denounced the heaviest penalty on the culprit. A personal

scrutiny was made by Laban, who examined every tent

[Ge 31:33];

and having entered Rachel's last, he would have infallibly discovered

the stolen images had not Rachel made an appeal to him which prevented

further search

[Ge 31:34, 35].

34. Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's

furniture, and sat upon them--The common pack saddle is often used

as a seat or a cushion, against which a person squatted on the floor

may lean.

36, 37. Jacob was wroth--Recrimination on his part was natural

in the circumstances, and, as usual, when passion is high, the charges

took a wide range. He rapidly enumerated his grievances for twenty

years and in a tone of unrestrained severity described the niggard

character and vexatious exactions of his uncle, together with the

hardships of various kinds he had patiently endured.

38. The rams of thy flock have I not eaten--Eastern people

seldom kill the females for food except they are barren.

39. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee--The

shepherds are strictly responsible for losses in the flock, unless they

can prove these were occasioned by wild beasts.

40. in the day the drought . . . and the frost by

night--The temperature changes often in twenty-four hours from the

greatest extremes of heat and cold, most trying to the shepherd who has

to keep watch by his flocks. Much allowance must be made for Jacob.

Great and long-continued provocations ruffle the mildest and most

disciplined tempers. It is difficult to "be angry and sin not"

[Eph 4:26].

But these two relatives, after having given utterance to their pent-up

feelings, came at length to a mutual understanding, or rather, God

influenced Laban to make reconciliation with his injured nephew

(Pr 16:7).

44. Come thou, let us make a covenant--The way in which this

covenant was ratified was by a heap of stones being laid in a circular

pile, to serve as seats, and in the center of this circle a large one

was set up perpendicularly for an altar. It is probable that a

sacrifice was first offered, and then that the feast of reconciliation

was partaken of by both parties seated on the stones around it. To this

day heaps of stones, which have been used as memorials, are found

abundantly in the region where this transaction took place.

52. This heap be witness--Objects of nature were frequently thus

spoken of. But over and above, there was a solemn appeal to God; and it

is observable that there was a marked difference in the religious

sentiments of the two. Laban spake of the God of Abraham and Nahor,

their common ancestors; but Jacob, knowing that idolatry had crept in

among that branch of the family, swore by the "fear of his father

Isaac." They who have one God should have one heart: they who are

agreed in religion should endeavor to agree in everything else.