Laban sucks - Genesis 31:4-16

31:4-16 - As much as I hate on Jacob, when he felt it was time to go, and the Lord confirmed it, he immediately sent for Rachel and Leah, to consult them on the issue. Anciently, women were considered property, so their input was not sought out for big decisions like this usually, but here, Jacob talked to them about it, even AFTER God told him what to do, so that softened my heart for him a little bit. The IM notes, “It is significant to note that Jacob counseled with his wives on the important move he was contemplating. Often modern scholars claim that women in the Old Testament were of low status and were treated as property by their husbands. But this example, and others like it, show that such was not the case.” I’m sure the topic of their father had come up before, but he reiterated his case to them, saying, basically, “I know that I am out of favor with your dad, even more than before, but I have still been blessed by God.” It’s interesting to note here, that if the hand of God wasn’t evident in Jacob’s prosperity at this point, then the girls might have rebutted something like, “you came here with nothing, and now you have all these animals and wives and children, you owe everything you have to our father Laban.” But he’s laying out the case for them to see clearly why he wants to leave, and why he feels like he doesn’t owe Laban anything anymore. Jacob continues, “your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times,” the IM notes that there is no way to prove that’s true, but the theft and deception is in line with Laban’s character, so there is no reason to suspect that it’s not true. Jacob continues that even with those changes, “God suffered him not to hurt me.” This is where we get into the details of their arrangement, and it becomes clear that Jacob’s prosperity could have come from nothing but God. If Laban said “the speckled shall by they wages, then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire, then bare all the cattle ringstraked.” This is truly an ingenious plan by God, in which it is not physically possible for Jacob to be accused of theft or deception. We remember that previously, Abraham had declined the riches of a neighboring king who owed him a favor, “lest you say I made Abraham rich,” he wanted everyone to know that all his good fortune was a gift from God. Similarly Jacob acknowledged that all his good fortune had come from God, even though it’s possible that he didn’t make such a declaration as Abraham did, thus there can be no confusion that “God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.” The only way for Jacob to come out of this relationship with Laban with a positive net gain, is through the hand of God, and it was the perfect plan, even if you account for genetic husbandry. He had a set number of animals, and they just happened to give birth to the kind that would go to Jacob, there is literally no way possible that Jacob could have manipulated that on the scale required so make Laban stop and say “wait a minute, now I want the ones you’re getting.” Then after Laban changed the terms, these same animals would bare the other kind that Jacob was entitled to. There is no reasonable explanation for this phenomenon other than that it was orchestrated by God, and Jacob is asking his wives to consider this when deciding whether or not Jacob would be justified leaving Laban. There’s a part in here where Jacob talks about a dream he had where God sends an angel to announce to Jacob that “all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.” I’m not exactly sure why Jacob included this part or what it’s significance is, other than to legitimize Jacob’s connection of God orchestrating the unbelievable animal births. Jacob is also reminded by the angel of the “vow” he had made to God in Beth-el, “where thou anointedst the pillar.” This makes me wonder if even after all these years, if Jacob had not told his wives about this incredibly significant spiritual experience where he interacted with God himself. What did they talk about then, if not stuff like this? Jacob has given his shpiel and now it’s time to hear what the ladies think, and this is where we realize just how hurt they were by the deal their father made with Jacob initially, his labor for their hand in marriage. Rachel and Leah answered him saying, “Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? Are we not counted of him strangers? For he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.” Now I’m no expert on ancient middle eastern marriage customs, but clearly the way Laban went about this deal was not only socially abnormal but also deeply disrespectful. The IM gives a lengthy explanation, saying, “The dowry was an important part of marriage. We meet it first in Jacob, who worked seven years for Laban to earn a dowry for Rachel. The pay for this service belonged to the bride as her dowry, and Rachel and Leah could indignantly speak of themselves as having been ‘sold’ by their father, because he had withheld from them their dowry… There are indications that the normal dowry was about three years’ wages. The dowry thus represented funds provided by the father of the groom, or by the groom through work, used to further the economic life of the new family… The dowry was thus the father’s blessing on his son’s marriage, or a test of the young man’s character in working for it.” I remember hearing in the Torah lecture series about this, and not only did Jacob work longer than normal for the girls, but instead of putting that money that he earned away for them, Laban kept it. Imagine nowadays a father being given money from the groom’s father to pay for a huge wedding celebration, and instead of using it for that, he pocketed the money and made his daughter get married in the courthouse. This isn’t the perfect analogy, but surely weddings and marriage was a highly celebrated and anticipated event. There would have been suitors, there would have been all types of things that the girls missed out on because Laban decided that he would give the girls to Jacob and enrich himself in the process at the expense of all these people. Even now, 20 years later, they are angry with their father and have hurt feelings because of how the whole marriage thing went down. They both agree that God had not only blessed Jacob but “all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children’s: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.” They agree that their dad is a douchebag, and that God had commanded their husband to leave, and they support the idea because they know that their father has no loyalty to them.