Slices
Prepare
If God has told you to do something, does that mean you should pursue that goal by whatever means possible? When is it right to obey the authorities around you, and is it ever right to use subterfuge to achieve your goals?
Bible passage
Jacob flees from Laban
31 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, ‘Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.’ 2 And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude towards him was not what it had been.
3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, ‘Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.’
4 So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. 5 He said to them, ‘I see that your father’s attitude towards me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. 8 If he said, “The speckled ones will be your wages,” then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, “The streaked ones will be your wages,” then all the flocks bore streaked young. 9 So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me.
10 ‘In the breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. 11 The angel of God said to me in the dream, “Jacob.” I answered, “Here I am.” 12 And he said, “Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.”’
14 Then Rachel and Leah replied, ‘Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? 15 Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. 16 Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.’
17 Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, 18 and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.
19 When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods. 20 Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. 21 So he fled with all he had, crossed the River Euphrates, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.
Explore
Not only was Jacob’s home life full of jealousy and squabbling, his relationship with his in-laws has become strained. Rather than being a poor relation for Laban to exploit, Jacob has become rich at Laban’s expense – and Laban’s sons resent that! I wonder if God had been speaking to Jacob before things got so tense. Was Jacob too comfortable (and making too much profit) to listen? Or, was it as a result of things getting tense that Jacob was sure that he heard God telling him to leave? However it was, verse 3 indicates that Jacob hears God’s message and so he takes action.
Jacob’s planning seems to be quite underhanded – secret meetings with his wives away from their home (v 4), then sneaking off without telling Laban that he was going (vs 20,21). Although verse 3 clearly says that the Lord told Jacob to go back to his homeland, verse 20 indicates that he and his family ran away. Did God’s command justify the means Jacob used to obey it?
Respond
Can you think of a time when your circumstances contributed to your hearing God more clearly? How did you respond? Use Psalm 139:23,24 as a prayer, inviting God to search your heart and see if there are any offensive ways in you.
Deeper Bible study
Exile and Exodus form major themes in the lives of God’s people. Do you feel in one of these at present? Lay your situation before the Lord, seeking his perspective.
Knowing when to leave is important in life. There comes a point at which you have overstayed your welcome. Clearly, Jacob’s continued presence in Haran is beginning to raise some hackles (vs 1,2), suggesting that it is time to move on. Jealousy and false accusation have polluted the atmosphere – and that’s not all. More importantly, there is the pull factor of God’s call to return home and the repeated promise, ‘I will be with you’ (v 3).1 Other patriarchs had similar sojourns on foreign soil before the call to return – Abraham and Joseph in Egypt (although admittedly it was only Joseph’s bones that returned); Isaac in Gerar, Moses in Midian. Their times of exile were not vacations. They were tough, but they produced wiser, humbler and richer people. Like Jacob, they all return having become success stories in kingdoms where their God went unrecognised. Jacob describes his success as a plundering of the rich man (see v 9), against all the odds. Like his descendants,2 he takes his spoils with him. That’s life, for the child of God; suffering and blessing, reverses and victory intermingling. Walking in line with God’s purpose will involve suffering, but it carries the possibility of triumph over suffering and opposition. God’s people are ‘more than conquerors’,3 sustained by the Father’s love, secure in their hope. We are people living out the promise. That means that, ultimately, nothing can harm us (v 7).
So, Jacob leaves. He does so surreptitiously, under cover but under God’s command. He has the consolation that his wives now identify with him rather than their father and brothers. They have seen through their father’s disparaging attitude and now hook their future to Jacob and the call of God on his life.
There are times and seasons in all our lives. How does your season feel at this moment? Is God calling you to persevere or to move on?
1 See also Gen 28:15 2 Exod 12:36 3 Rom 8:37
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Job 11,12; Luke 17
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for youth workers across the country, who at times may feel isolated or alone, and for staff and LMPs as they seek opportunities to connect with them, and that they might also connect with other youth and children’s workers in their area.
