A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

Jacob’s years in Haran produced more than children. After paying for his wives, he
continued working for Laban for wages to be paid in livestock. Though an agreement was struck,
the wages were changed by Laban ten times in six years. Still, God blessed Jacob and the size of
his herds and flocks grew. Jacob practiced a strange mixture of selective breeding and local
superstition to insure his herds and flock would not only increase in number but also in the
quality of the animals. Later he recognized God had overruled in his efforts to insure the desired
results (31:9-12).
THE LONG ROAD BACK TO BETHEL
(Gen. 31:1-35:15) (1909 B. C. )
The call to Bethel (31:1-16)
The increased size of Jacob’s herds and flocks was accompanied by a weakening in the
herds and flocks of Laban. Eventually, Jacob overheard the grumbling of Laban’s sons and
realized his own relationship to Laban was deteriorating. Jacob only had one way to deal with a
problem, so he prepared to run away. But to where would he run? God appeared to Jacob twice
with the answer (vv. 3, 13). It was time to go back to Bethel.
The stolen idols (vv. 17-55)
Jacob and his family left secretly for Bethel so as not to risk a confrontation with Laban,
but Jacob was not the only one with secrets. Unknown to anyone else, Rachel stole the family
idols from her father and hid them in a saddlebag. According to documents found at Nuzi, the
possession of the household gods of a father-in-law by a son-in-law was legally acceptable
evidence that the son-in-law should be recognized as the principle heir of his father-in-law. This
explains why Laban was so anxious to have them returned and Jacob was so incensed that he
should be accused of having taken them. Jacob and his camp had traveled three days before
Laban caught up with them in Mount Gilead.
It is not known what Laban’s intention was outside of recovering his idols. He had with
him enough of an army to cause serious harm to Jacob’s family, but was warned by God the
night before to be careful how he spoke to Jacob. The next day he searched for his idols without
success (Rachel sat on them and was not suspected). Laban returned home, but not before heated
words were exchanged on both sides. Before the two groups split up, a covenant of sorts was
struck and a stone pillar erected and named Jegar Sahadutha by Laban, Galeed by Jacob. Called
the Mizpah Benediction, both names mean “the heap of witness” in the mother tongues of the
two men. In that context, an often quoted statement was made for the first time. “The Lord watch
between you and me when we are absent one from another” (v. 49). Though this statement is
often repeated today as a benediction, the original context of the statement was that of a threat or