Reading: Genesis 31 – 33
God is in charge
Jacob has to admit it. It was not by his own cleverness and tricks that he gained prosperity and offspring. It had been the God of his fathers, the Lord whom he had met at Bethel who kept His promise. Empty- handed and alone he fled from his brother, but now he returns with a large household and huge flocks. Jacob had been a stubborn man, a lonely man to fight for his own success. But now he is forced to acknowledge that God stood by his side in everything, and now –after twenty years of struggle and blessing- God is sending him home.
God used three triggers to send Jacob back to the land he had promised to his fathers. Laban no longer sees Jacob as his greatest asset in bringing prosperity. Not only has Jacob’s wealth grown quicker than his own; it seems that recently Laban is losing his precious flocks to his nephew! Consequently, Laban’s sons are losing their patience: it is their own inheritance that this imposter from the south is taking away! Why does their father keep up with this any longer? Jacob becomes aware that his presence is no longer appreciated, but perhaps he first ignored it as he was getting good at the competition. At any rate, God Himself comes to Jacob and tells him that the time has come to return, and He adds the assurance that He will continue to protect him.
So, Jacob calls his wives and he tries to convince them that they should leave. Instead of boasting of his tricks by which he supposedly enriched himself, he complains about their father’s cheating. He credits God with his good fortune, and he relates to them God’s personal call to return home. The women agree; they know their father’s way of doing business, and Laban has rarely shown them any fatherly love; they have been treated like livestock (‘Leah’ means cow; ‘Rachel’ means female sheep) to trade in at the right time for his personal prosperity.
Yet, Jacob does not fully trust in God. He still does things his way, and so he sneaks out when Laban is at the annual shearers’ festival. Once again, Jacob flees in fear! His most beloved wife, Rachel, uses the opportunity to steal her father’s household gods to secure their good fortune for the future, but she does not tell her husband. Yet, by doing so, she shows who her god is, and thereby she sets the whole family up for a curse. If it had not been for God’s protection, Jacob would have encountered serious disaster.
Separation and Peace
Laban must have had great hopes of better fortune. Perhaps, if Jacob stayed longer, fortune would once more return to Laban. Apparently he tried hard to give the gods some help in turning things back into his favor. Yet, before this could happen, Jacob has run off- with his wives and all the children and flocks! Already angered by their misfortune and loss, Laban and his relatives are furious and chase after them! Yet, just before he can chase them down, God appears to Laban. He warns him not to take revenge on his nephew Jacob!
So they meet, and to ensure they don’t lose face the men blame each other. At the end there is only one concern left: Laban accuses Jacob of stealing his household gods, but Jacob challenges him to prove this, offering the life of the person in whose possession he might find it. Rachel is not a stranger to trickery and deceit, so she pleads for mercy, claiming to have her period while she sits on the household gods. God saves her while He mocks the false gods who are publicly defiled by a woman who is menstruating on top of them.
When Laban is satisfied, the men make a peace treaty, building a monument as future witness to their promises. There is reconciliation as the accounts are settled, and the men vow that they will not pass the monument to harm each other. Jacob has to promise to look after Laban’s daughters and not to take any other wives beside them. Then they have a farewell dinner, and the next day Laban and his relatives return home.
Yet, Jacob needs to fight one more battle. In coming home he needs to be reconciled with his past and with his brother. And in the process he comes to realize that all the time he has struggled with God. Therefore, he must be reconciled with God before he can be reconciled with his brother. And only after he is touched and changed by God can he become Israel: the father of God’s people.
Peniel
First Jacob meets angels (messengers of God) in preparation of his encounter with God. He calls the place Mahanaim: ‘Two Camps’. So, Jacob sends his messengers ahead to meet his brother with gifts. Esau will meet messengers of Jacob in preparation of his encounter with his brother. When these messengers return with the news of Esau’s approach, Jacob divides all his possessions into two camps. Now, perhaps for the first time in his life he experiences real fear. And in the terror of his heart he seeks his God. Finally, Jacob prays a real and personal prayer. In this prayer he addresses God as the faithful covenant God. He confesses his own unworthiness and expresses his thanksgiving for God keeping his promises and blessing him. Then, he pleads with God to save him and to uphold His blessing of continued care and protection. In this moment of deepest despair Jacob learns to pray to God. Jacob never was a man of prayer. In fact, Abraham’s servant was a more godly man than Abraham’s grandson. Isaac may have been a disappointment for us if we had high hopes for the promised son of Abraham, but at least Isaac had prayed when his wife could not get children (25: 21). Yet, when Rachel begged Jacob to do the same, Isaac’s son refused to pray! (30: 1, 2). Yet, in this one prayer we find a glimmer of hope. It is God who, through the circumstances, teaches him to pray!
That night, however, Jacob is not yet at peace. He prepares elaborate gifts as peace offerings for his brother who had sought to kill him twenty years earlier. It is a long and terrible night for Jacob. All night he is planning and scheming how to survive the wrath of Esau. It is one thing to have the blessing of his father and of God, yet at the critical moment these blessings cannot bring him assurance and peace of heart. So, he prepares the groups and sends them on their way. Finally, deep into the night Jacob is alone.
Then Jacob has a mysterious encounter. He wrestles with a man who seems to be weaker than Jacob. Yet, in the end He only needs to touch his hip to give him a limp as a reminder for life. When Jacob realizes this man is God, he tries once more to secure a blessing. He gets his blessing, and his name is changed. Jacob is now called “Israel”. He is a changed man, as he has been touched by God. The limp is a reminder, so is his new name. He is no longer the deceiver who tries to take someone else’s place, he is the one who has struggled and who has overcome.
Now Jacob is ready to meet his brother. If he has survived the encounter with God, he no longer needs to fear this encounter. Jacob takes on a very humble attitude bowing seven times for Esau and calling him his lord. He has given elaborate gifts, but he tactfully avoids any close encounter or company. After an exchange of formal greetings they go their separate ways.
Food for Thought
1 Notice how the story of Jacob’s time up north has somewhat of a chiastic form, like the Flood story:
2 Do you already know the story about Israel’s time in Egypt? What is similar in these stories? Think of:
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God meets Jacob and promises protection and prosperity
Jacob arrives at Laban’s place
- While Jacob struggles, God gives him a large family and flocks
Jacob leaves Laban’s place
- God meets Jacob, and shows him that He kept His promises Jacob receives God’s blessing; he prepares to meet Esau.
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