Family Matters - Genesis 31:1-3

31:1-3 - We know that Jacob worked for 7 years for Laban so that he could marry Rachel, then again another 7 years for Leah. At the end of those 14 years, Jacob wanted to go home and start to build a life for his own family, but Laban convinced Jacob to stay and work for him still because Laban had prospered so much because of Jacob’s favor with God. We can tell that Laban was still manipulating Jacob and his wages because when Jacob made that superstitious breed area with sticks so that more spotted and speckled sheep and goats would be born, that means that Laban would still take all the correctly colored animals. So we know that the two families didn’t make a clean split, it was still very much a constant negotiation between Laban and Jacob, and that most often Jacob came out on the losing end of the deal. Laban and Jacob aren’t the only players here though because this is a family affair, and Jacob hears Laban’s sons, his brothers in law, complaining that “Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our fathers hath he gotten all this glory,” or wealth. Even though Laban has been screwing Jacob over from the beginning, his sons still see any success that Jacob has as taking away from their own possessions, probably in the way of inheritance. The irony here is that Laban is actively trying to take away Jacob’s wealth, but Jacob is given that wealth by God, and the sons of Laban could have also been blessed by God with abundance if they would have done what Jacob did. All this talk about Jacob taking Laban’s wealth makes Jacob nervous. At this point, he’s lived with these people for 20 years, he knows them well, and while Laban’s sons aren’t mentioned much in the text, it’s likely that they are just like their father, manipulative and thieving. Maybe at this point, Jacob can see the writing on the wall, and knows that when Laban’s sons who inherit his property and position, Jacob’s place will be, at best vulnerable, and at worst, violent. It’s even to the point that Laban’s “countenance… was not toward him as before,” meaning that Laban’s hostility toward Jacob previously was BETTER than it was now, which is really saying something. It doesn’t necessarily say if Jacob prayed about what to do, or if God just came to him with the answer, saying, “Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.” The promise of following God’s commands here was such a big deal that throughout the treacherous journey home, Jacob relies on that promise to keep going forward and keep hope in what he’s doing alive.