Genesis 31

         Through Laban’s sons Jacob learns that his uncle is now very displeased with him because of the increase of Jacob’s livestock and wealth. At the same time, God commands Jacob to return to the land of his fathers and his family there. So Jacob calls together Rachel and Leah and explains the situation to them. He explains how Laban deceived him for the last few years, changing his wages ten times, and how he struck a new bargain with Laban regarding the speckled and ringstraked livestock. Jacob concludes with the explanation that it was God who increased Jacob’s livestock and wealth, and now God has commanded him to return to Canaan, the land of his birth. Rachel and Leah agree with Jacob, saying “…whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.” (v.16)
          So Jacob packs up his household and everyone starts the long trek towards Canaan. In the process, Rachel steals the images of her father’s household gods. According to my study Bible, “In the ancient Nuzi texts the gods were given as part of an inheritance. Possibly Rachel took them as an extra precaution, since she was leaving her homeland and would have little other legal claim to her father’s inheritance.” After about ten days, they make camp at the mountains of Gilead. This is where Laban, who didn’t learn of Jacob’s departure until three days after he was gone, catches up to Jacob.
 
           Verses 26-30: Laban confronts Jacob, demanding to know why he secretly left, thus robbing Laban of the opportunity to say goodbye to his daughters and grandsons. He accuses Jacob of acting as a thief, slipping away in the night as if taking captive Laban’s daughters by force? Laban also claims that he would have been happy to send Jacob away, that it would have been an occasion to celebrate (v.27). He concludes with an explanation that God spoke to him in a dream, instructing him not to harm Jacob, and then he accuses Jacob of stealing the household gods.
            It's interesting to note here that Laban considers the “…God of your father…” (v.29), as he puts it to Jacob, to be just another god, one of the many different deities that the people of this time worshiped. It never occurs to Laban that none of his household gods have ever spoken to him in a dream, yet he seems to fear the God of Isaac and Jacob enough to do as He commanded. Sadly, all Laban really cares about is getting back his idols.

       Verses 31-32: Jacob admits that he stole away in secret because he was afraid Laban would kidnap Rachel and Leah and not allow them to leave. After all this time, Jacob is wise to Laban’s cunning and penchant for deceit, and he knew that Laban was outright lying when he said that he would have sent Jacob and his household off with music and celebration. But, rather than confront Laban about all that, Jacob instead tells him that whoever has stolen the idols will be sentenced to death. Of course, he was unaware that it was Rachel who had committed the theft.
 
         Verses 33-35: Laban searches Leah’s tents first but comes up empty handed. Then he goes to Rachel’s tent. She has hidden the images in the camel’s saddle and now sits upon it, apologizing to her father because it’s her time of the month and she’s unable to rise. Laban searches the rest of the tent but can’t find the idols.
 
          Verses 36-42: Jacob has finally had enough, and he confronts Laban again, this time more forcefully. He demands that Laban set before him and his house the things that he accuses Jacob of stealing. Jacob then launches into a list of grievances that he has suffered at Laban’s hand in the last two decades. In that time he suffered lack of sleep and endured the elements in order to watch over the flocks as they were grazing. And the few times that a wild beast did manage to kill one of the  sheep or goats, Jacob bore the loss out of his own wages, as Laban expected it. (v.39) As if that weren’t bad enough, Laban changed his wages ten times, meaning that he reneged on whatever original agreement the two of them had had in addition to the reward of Laban’s two daughters. (v.41) Had it not been for the grace of God and His providence, Jacob would have been turned out of Laban’s household empty handed. He concludes with the statement that God had rebuked Laban the night before because of his wrongs against Jacob. (v.42)
 
        Verses 43-55: Laban and Jacob come to an agreement, and Jacob sets a stone between them as a pillar. (Genesis 28:18, 35:14, Joshua 24:26-27) He then asks the other men with them to gather stones, and they build a heap. Laban calls it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob names it Galeed. According to my study Bible, both of these names mean “Heap of Witness” in Aramaic and Hebrew, respectively. Laban invokes the name of God in verses 49 and 50 as a witness to this oath, but only because Jacob appears to him to have such great reverence and respect for God, not because Laban himself believes in or has any faith in God. If there is any redeeming quality in Laban’s character, it’s that he seems to genuinely care about his daughters and grandchildren. (v.50) He tells Jacob that the pillar he set up will be a boundary for their two houses. Neither of them will cross into the other’s territory. They will go their separate ways, Jacob keeping all that he has earned from Laban’s house, and Laban will not pursue him any further. Both men swear to the oath, although Jacob’s swearing is in genuine fear of the one true God, the God of his father Isaac. (v.53) Laban has no such reverence or respect for Jacob’s God.
           Jacob then offers a blood sacrifice upon the nearby mountain, after which his and Laban’s men share a feast together. In the morning, Laban bids farewell to his daughters and grandsons and then returns to his own lands.
 
          What we see in this chapter is Jacob finally realizing what it feels like to be used and taken advantage of by the selfish ambitions and greed of another. Laban had done to Jacob exactly what Jacob had done to Esau and Isaac. God had used Laban to strengthen and purify Jacob’s character, to force him to see where he had done wrong and what he now needed to do to fix it. This is why God commanded Jacob to return to the land of his birth. Jacob needed to face Esau and own up to his transgression. Jacob’s confrontation with Laban was just the first step. The truly difficult – and potentially life threatening – confrontation still lies ahead.