Goodbye Uncle Laban

Genesis Chapter 31

Relations between Jacob and Laban seem to have deteriorated over the years and eventually Jacob decides it is time to leave. God affirms that it is time to go home as well.

Jacob’s wives and family come out to meet him with the flocks and Jacob explains that he is going and that despite Laban having changed their agreement 10 times, God has shown him how to come out on top and really he did not have anything to do with it (spin doctoring perhaps?)

Jacob heads off home little knowing that Rachel has nicked her family gods – interesting that Laban apparently did not know or honour the God of his relatives.

Laban finds family, flocks and gods missing and heads off to teach Jacob a lesson. God speaks to Laban in a dream. Laban then softens his tone a bit but still has a good rant at Jacob. 

Jacob pleads ignorance about the gods, and agrees to searching belongings and promising death to whoever had stolen Laban's household Gods..

Rachel , the guilty party, has hidden the gods in her saddle bag and then gets out of a predicament by claiming that she cannot move due to her period (a topic that was probably as taboo then as it is today) If you want to read a bit more I suggest you have a read of an interesting book “My year of Living Biblically” by A.J. Jacobs – an Agnostic Jew who likes to conduct odd life experiments and share the results. Actually this is one of the books that inspired me to start this blog - so Mr Jacobs, if you ever come across this effort I'd like to say thank you for the inspiration.

In his book Mr Jacobs tries to live by every rule in the Bible. Even, or perhaps particularly, the ones that don't make a whole lot of sense in the modern world. I'm sure I will quote from this book again!

Eventually Jacob and Laban calm down a bit and they agree to part peaceably, though with threats that if Laban hears of Jacob mistreating his girls or taking other wives there will be a reckoning.

Ironically the Mizpah pendant (which comes in 2 halves and is aimed at romantics) that together say “The Lord watch between thee and me while we are apart” (Verse 49) , While it is very sweet and romantic, it was an uneasy truce between two men who really did not trust each other very much!