Genesis 31

The Story

Jacob had worked hard for several years, but all-in-all, things had gone well for him. Then one day, he noticed a change. He began hearing things and seeing things. He heard his brothers-in-law talking about him, “Jacob has made himself rich by taking everything that belonged to Dad.” When Jacob looked at Laban, his face mirrored his son’s suspicion and hostility. Simply put, Jacob’s father-in-law no longer liked him.

This change was inevitable and it is every con-artist’s greatest fear; that one day his scheme will be uncovered and he will be exposed.

No words were spoken directly–the new cold front was never addressed, but there were looks, there were facial expressions in unguarded moments. Laban’s attitude was different. The son-in-law who had arrived as a wonder-worker was now treated as an intruder. Overnight Jacob was no longer safe with his in-laws.

Then God spoke to Jacob–or perhaps God had been speaking for awhile, but finally Jacob heard him. “Go home,” God said, “return to your own family.” Then, as if God anticipated Jacob’s worry and fear, he added, “I will be with you.”

Leaving Mesopotamia and Laban’s home would be a huge project. Jacob’s first challenge was to convince his wives that this was the right thing to do. So he sent for them to meet him in the open fields where he pastured the livestock and where no one could hear their conversation.

“Your father has turned against me,” Jacob began, “but he hasn’t been able to hurt me, because the God of my father has been with me. The whole time I’ve been here, I’ve worked hard for your father, but in return for my labor he has cheated me repeatedly. All along, I’ve played by your dad’s rules, but every time he changed the rules, God worked it out in my favor, so I’m the one who wound up getting richer.

“I had a dream in which I was like a spectator, watching God take your father’s property and give it to me. Then God spoke to me in the dream. ‘I am the God of Bethel,’ he said, and reminded me of the encounter I had with him on the journey that brought me to your home. After he appeared to me in Bethel, I worshiped him and swore a vow to serve him. He told me that it’s time to go home.”

Until now, there had been all sorts of secret manipulations and maneuvering, but here Jacob brings this to the surface and puts a label to it–he had been “cheated.” Of course, he had done his share of cheating also, but why bring that up? Continue reading →

God Bless Our Dysfunctional Home

Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die.” Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” She said, “Here is my maid Bilhah, go in to her that she may bear on my knees, that through her I too may have children.” Genesis 30:1-3

INTRO: For awhile, my favorite fiction author was Douglas Coupland

I purchased and read each new book he wrote as it came out
– so though the title didn’t appeal to me, I bought and read All Families Are Psychotic
– for the last three weeks, this title frequently come to mind

In chapter 30 the glaring dysfunction within Jacob’s family is revealed

Our first good look at Rachel as a person

Until now, we only know statistics about her – the younger, beautiful sister
– we don’t know her from the inside
• for example, what she felt when she first met Jacob at the well
• or when her father switched her sister for her on her wedding night
• or the fact that she was barren, while her sister had already produced four sons
– now, for the first time we see inside her
“Rachel became jealous of her sister” Continue reading →