Looking into the sweet face of his newborn son Joseph, Jacob thought about how much he wanted out of servitude to Laban. Laban’s unbridled selfishness and self-centeredness not only frustrated him, it kept him in personal poverty. Although rich with family, Jacob wanted to be on his own—on his own land taking care of his own livestock, being the head of his own family, under the guidance of his own father, Isaac—whom he missed very much.
There was a gnawing ache in Jacob’s life. He was spiritually hungry and did not know how to satisfy it.
Jacob longed most for the beauty, spiritual excitement and peace he experienced at Bethel (Genesis 28:11-22). The events of that night remained forever with him.
Finally breaking free from paralyzing frustration, he confronted Laban with modesty and frankness. “Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country. Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee” (Genesis 30:25-26).
Laban was not easily persuaded.
Jacob Seeks Leave of Laban
Laban quickly analyzed the catastrophic loss of his most valuable slave. The master of manipulation responded instantly, “I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake … Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it” (verses 27-28). Laban did not want Jacob to leave his employment. He would fight hard to not lose his best shepherd. He even went as far to admit a great truth to his son-in-law. He affirmed that until Jacob’s arrival 14 years before, he had not been successful. Before Jacob came, he was just a petty shepherd with sickly sheep.
Jacob, an accomplished and talented shepherd, brought new life to Laban’s flocks. With hard work and careful attention, it was not long before lots of healthy lambs were leaping everywhere. Looking at things from a purely physical standpoint, it was Jacob who made Laban a wealthy man. After 14 years of diligent service, Jacob knew the deep-seated selfishness and dishonesty of his father-in-law. He gave little regard to Laban’s observation that Jacob’s God was the power behind the growth of his flocks. The man was a con artist. Jacob wasn’t fooled by Laban’s shallow show of piousness and concern. He knew that Laban never stopped carefully calculating how he could get the most out of him.
Jacob already knew what God had provided Laban—he didn’t need his father-in-law to instruct him about a God he did not know. He slowly and carefully moved the conversation forward. “You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?” (verse 30, English Standard Version).
With a sound measure of boldness, Jacob chided Laban. Jacob wanted Laban to fully understand that it was God who prospered his efforts on behalf of Laban. Actually, the wealth Laban had gained further tarnished his already black character, making him even more despicable. Essentially Jacob let Laban know that he was fat with greed, so much so that Jacob could not even provide for Laban’s daughters and grandchildren.
Attempting to save face, Laban pleaded, “What shall I give you?” Jacob didn’t have to think up an answer to that question. “You shall not give me anything,” he answered quickly. Jacob did not want a handout from Laban; God had firmly promised to prosper him at Bethel. Yet, Jacob was not without a plan. “If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it” (verse 31). Truly the gracious one, Jacob sought no vengeance against Laban. In fact, Jacob offered to continue to shepherd Laban’s flocks, if Laban honored his request. Surely, Laban chortled with glee to himself. He had him again—so he thought.
“Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen” (verses 32-33; English Standard Version). Jacob wanted the opportunity to build his own flocks. Always the conniver, Laban agreed to his son-in-law’s proposal (verse 34).
God Protects Jacob
Jacob and his growing army of sons separated the flocks as agreed and Jacob put into play breeding methods that ensured that he obtained healthy flocks (verses 35-42). “And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maid servants and men servants, and camels and asses” (verse 43). Just like He had done for Abraham and Isaac before him, God greatly increased Jacob.
Things did not go so well for Laban and his sons. Laban, but especially his sons, began to despise Jacob, who became alarmed by what he witnessed and overheard. “And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory. And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before” (Genesis 31:1-2). The tide, now turned to his favor, put Jacob in harm’s way. However, the negative atmosphere building against him would be the energy to propel him back to Canaan and Isaac.
Seeing the coming danger for Jacob, God took action. “And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee” (verse 3). God blessed Jacob with enough wealth to begin to build Jacob’s family into a nation. Laban and his shenanigans had served their purpose. It was time for Jacob to return to the Promised Land. Jacob obeyed God immediately. He held a secret meeting with his two wives out in a field where his flocks were grazing.
With serious sincerity, he looked at them directly and spoke softly: “I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me. And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me” (verses 5-7). Jacob explained to Leah and Rachel how Laban defrauded him (and them) for the last six years. He had changed his agreement with Jacob 10 times. Yet, God protected Jacob from Laban’s fraud.
Leah and Rachel Follow Jacob
Jacob told Laban’s daughters how God intervened on their behalf. “If he [Laban] said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked. Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me” (Genesis 31:8-9). Rachel and Leah listened intently. Neither was shocked or surprised. Jacob thought to himself, “What are they thinking?”
He continued, “And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled. And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee” (verses 10-12). Jacob wondered if his wives were getting the great significance of his story. The great God of the vast universe was directly involved in building Jacob’s flocks—their financial livelihood.
Jacob saved the most critical part of his story for last. He wondered, how would the mothers of his children react? Jacob told them that the spirit being revealed its identity to him. “I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred” (verse 13). Jacob’s palms began to sweat. He waited for his wives’ reaction.
Rachel and Leah spoke to Jacob, “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” (verses 14-15). We should not be surprised at the sisters’ statements. They knew for some time that Laban had defrauded them as he defrauded their husband. They were quite sick of it. They had been sold to Jacob as property for profit. And their father had gobbled up their inheritance.
Rachel and Leah encouraged their husband, “For 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” (verse 16). Jacob was ecstatic—his wives were with him. He packed his entire household: the wives, the children, the servants, the livestock, the tents, and left Haran immediately (verses 17-18). His servitude was broken—forever.
Laban Pursues Jacob
Since Laban was away shearing sheep, it took three days for him to discover that Jacob and his family were returning to Canaan. Laban was incensed. His anger burst into white-hot flames. Like Pharaoh and his charioteers, Laban gathered a small army of relatives to capture Jacob and bring him and his family back to Haran.
It took seven days of hard riding to catch up to his son-in-law. Laban found Jacob and his large entourage camped at Mount Gilead (verse 25). Seeing Laban and his men approaching caused a panic in the camp. Jacob had no idea that Rachel had stolen some idols that were her father’s (verses 19, 32), most likely because they were of some monetary value.
Laban tracked Jacob down, got right in his face and said, “What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword? Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp? And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing” (verses 26-28). Laban was extremely upset. Yet, it was not over the loss of daughters or grandchildren. He was ticked over the loss of wealth!
Laban boiled, “It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?” (verses 29-30). Laban worked to intimidate Jacob. He reminded Jacob that he could hurt him, but that his God had warned him not to even consider saying something good or bad about Jacob. This is really quite humorous. Laban could threaten all he wanted, but if he laid a hand on Jacob—God planned to lay a hand on him. Jacob had nothing to worry about.
Study the rest of this chapter on your own. Jacob and Laban made a non-aggression pact among themselves—essentially getting out of each other’s hair. “And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place” (verse 55). The Bible does not indicate that Jacob ever heard from Laban again.
There is a vital lesson we must learn from Jacob’s experience with Laban. Why did Laban hold so much power over Jacob? Like Satan the devil does to all of us, Laban was able to exploit Jacob’s lusts. Jacob lusted for Rachel—Laban knew it. It didn’t take Laban (inspired by Satan) long to trap Jacob into a horrible polygamous lifestyle. Jacob, his wives, concubines and family suffered greatly because of his lust. God allowed Laban to control Jacob’s life for 14 years to teach him that he had to overcome lust. Sin destroys families and nations. Sin always disrupts and greatly impedes the Work of God. Satan knows our lusts and opens up all opportunity for us to be held captive by them. We must put lust and all sin out of our lives.
We must see that only God and His awesome power could deliver Jacob from Laban. While Jacob relied on himself, his talents, great intellect and his own powers of reasoning, his tragic situation only grew worse. How often are we relying on ourselves, and not the power of God’s Holy Spirit? The fruits in our lives, or the lack of them, tell us the whole story—if we are willing to take an honest look at ourselves. God used 20 years of slavery to teach Jacob that lesson. We don’t have that much time to learn that. With God’s help we can learn from Jacob’s life. Pentecost provides us the perfect time to think on and emphasize the important lesson of using God’s power to conquer our lusts.
Peace with Esau
As Jacob traveled the dangerous way back to Canaan, God’s angels protected his caravan from any harm (Genesis 32:1-2). This should have been very comforting to Jacob. Yet, he was not put at ease, because Jacob, his family, servants and flocks had to pass through the land of Seir, the country of his brother Esau. Jacob was still greatly terrified of Esau (verse 7). Not totally trusting of God’s protection, he divided his small army into two bands so that at least one could survive if Esau attacked (verse 8). However, at this point we see a huge breakthrough in Jacob’s life.
Jacob turned to God and prayed fervently, “O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude” (verses 9-12). This is one of the most moving prayers recorded in the Bible. Study it carefully. It contains the honest, humble, simple and sincere requests of a man being converted by God.
Jacob’s prayer is a short summary of Jacob’s fantastic history with God—how God had forgiven him of all his wretched sins, how God had shown him great truths, and how God passed His glorious promises on to him. Jacob’s heartfelt and moving prayer for deliverance from Esau demonstrates his submission to trust and wait on God. At this point, Jacob stopped relying on himself. This prayer reveals the spiritual depth God had built in Jacob during his 20 years of service to Laban (Genesis 31:38-41).
Jacob had his servants prepare a tremendous gift for his brother. He knew that his family’s passing through Edom held national significance—one nation was passing through another. He wanted to show his brother great respect and let him know that he would not take any riches from Seir. Jacob planned to give Esau “Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals” (Genesis 32:14-15). This was an incredible gift. If Esau used it properly, he could build great wealth for himself. Jacob’s gift reveals the status of the great wealth God had bestowed upon him.
Remarkably, Jacob’s fears about Esau were completely unfounded. When Esau learned that Jacob was near him, he “ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept” (Genesis 33:4). Take the time to study this chapter. Jacob and Esau resolved their differences for that time. Yet, we know that Obadiah reveals there will be disastrous tension between Jacob and Edom, both physically and spiritually, in the very near future. You should review Gerald Flurry’s booklet Obadiah: The Most Terrifying Message in the Bible.
Jacob Wrestles God
On the night before Jacob was reunited with Esau, he sent his family to a safer place (Genesis 32:22-23). Even though he separated himself from his family, he was not alone. Jacob had the most remarkable experience. While Jacob feared for his life because of Esau, a man met him in the darkness and wrestled him to the ground. This man became a greater threat than Esau. Stephen Flurry explained: “In the middle of the night, the one who became Jesus Christ … actually seized Jacob and held him down as though trying to prevent him from completing his trip to Canaan. Before long, Jacob and his ‘attacker’ were engaged in an intense wrestling match.
“God, here, was testing Jacob to see if he would give up as easily as his brother Esau had. He wanted to see how highly Jacob esteemed the birthright blessings. …
‘Touched’ in Genesis 32:25 means to strike with force. When Jesus Christ saw that He could not prevail against Jacob, He jolted Jacob’s thighbone right out of its socket! What a perfect opportunity for Jacob to finally give up and let go.
“But notice what happened in verse 26: ‘And he [Christ] said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he [Jacob] said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.’
“I will not let go! What a warrior Jacob had become!
“Now notice—it was immediately after this that Christ proclaimed, ‘Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed’ (verses 27-28).
“Jacob, in other words, had to qualify for a family name as great as Israel, which means a warrior or soldier of God—or a champion for God.
“Previously, his name meant he would supplant others by nipping at their heels—by taking advantage of people unfairly. Israel, on the other hand, means one who prevails or overcomes!
“What a beautiful type all of this was! As Paul wrote in Galatians 6:16, true Christians today are called the Israel of God—we are spiritual Israelites. In that context, think about your own spiritual wrestling match—your commitment to God and His commandments; your willingness to earnestly pray and study every day—to put God’s way of life into diligent practice” (“The Man Who Became Israel,” theTrumpet.com).
Although Jacob experienced 20 years of intense hardship, God used these two decades to weld Jacob into the progenitor of the greatest nation to appear on Earth. Before he re-entered the Promised Land, Jacob had to be fully converted first. What God needed him to accomplish required it. When he would not let Christ go, God knew he could convert the supplanter into a great champion of God. Do we see how awesome is the conversion process?
Israel at Bethel
Isaac’s son and his large family arrived safely and in good health at Bethel. The older and seasoned patriarch looked over the place of stones he had slept on 20 years ago. Spiritually he felt incredibly satisfied. Jacob knew that God now gave him a new beginning. Jacob made sure that he and his family started out strong as they resettled in Canaan. He put first things first. “And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother” (Genesis 35:7). Jacob put God first by building an altar to honor and worship his Provider, Protector and Friend. He name the piece of ground on which he built the altar Elbethel, which means the place of God. God was well pleased.
“And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him” (verses 9-13). Now converted, God insisted that Jacob be called by the name Israel only. With the name came the prophecy of Jacob’s family forming the two great nations of the United States and Britain. This is our earliest history that we must never forget.