More changes take place in Jacob's life in Gen 31, but yet, we continue to see a faithful God who works ceaselessly through it all.
(A) Jacob’s dream: the true and living LORD initiates Jacob’s faith and his move (Gen 31:1-21)
Jacob's wealth displeased Laban's sons (who were also his brothers-in-law). Laban' sons complained that they had no inheritance, because all their wealth had gone to Jacob. Jacob realised that he was now out of favor with Laban and his household (Gen 31:2). At this point, God calls Jacob to return to what he had come from (Gen 31:3). Like the call first made to his grandfather Abraham, this call came at a time of wealth, comfort and security.
How did God appear to Jacob? This God did not appear magically in fire or thunderous lightning. This is a speaking God that reveals himself through words. Do you spend time listening to God? Are you listening to his words? Notice also how in verse 3 the personal, covenantal name of God is being used ("the LORD", which is Yahweh). As we've seen in previous passages, this is the name God uses when He is in a personal relationship with an individual. Verse 3 is more than a command to physically relocate, but is all about the covenant. This God now sought Jacob, and the covenant would unfold through him. God also promised his presence in the command to Jacob. The God who speaks promises himself and his presence. And this is why Jacob goes.
Following his encounter with God, Jacob conveyed his plans to his wives (Gen 31:4-12). In explaining his decision to relocate, Jacob attributed favour, protection, prosperity and justice to God, and a divine revelation and relationship with God himself. He points explicitly to the security and provisions of God. This is clearly unlike the Jacob we have read of so far, who spent a significant part of his life not responding to God. This is a Jacob that has changed.
This change could have resulted from encountering God in his dream (Gen 31:13). In his dream, God refers to himself as the God of Bethel, where God first appeared to Jacob in a dream and renews the covenant with him (Gen 28). However, then, Jacob did not fully believe, and established a pillar, not an altar. To the Jacob in Genesis 28, God was still a distant being. Why does God bring up Bethel in Genesis 31? Twenty years have passed since the first encounter. This is the same God, but a different encounter, different time, different place. God was helping Jacob connect the dots, from the first encounter, through the events in Laban's household, and finally, at the point the command was given in Genesis 31. God also reminded Jacob of the vow that he made. God had protected him all these twenty years and now God had come to claim him. This is a God that comes to us in terms that we understand, within the confines of our experience, to help us make sense of our lives. The God of the Bible is not one that stands at the top of the ladder and shouts instructions through an ancient book. This is a God that comes down to us, speaks to us in our own experiences and circumstances and points to all the instances that He has been a part of. Do you see Him at work in your life?
Upon hearing all these, Rachel and Leah agreed to move (Gen 31:14-21). Finally the sisters agreed on something! This is indeed some sign of growth.
(B) Laban’s dream: the true and living God intervenes and protects Jacob (Gen 31:22-30)
Jacob sets off with his family without informing Laban, and Laban is understandably furious. At this moment, God intervenes and appears to him in a dream (Gen 31:22-24). Notice how Laban is being referred to as "Laban the Aramean", where his ethnicity is being highlighted. God was appearing to an unbeliever to protect Jacob.
Laban caught up with Jacob and his family, and he was upset that he was not allowed a proper farewell with his daughters and grandchildren. He also accused Jacob of removing his household gods from his possession. Why was Laban so upset about the latter? Perhaps he believed that these gods were responsible for his wealth, or that he needed them for divination purposes, or that they were made of precious materials like gold.
In verse 29-30, we read of Laban's interesting problem. In the dream, God told him that he could neither say anything good (i.e. bless) nor say anything bad (i.e. curse) Jacob. Laban could do nothing against Jacob, who enjoyed the protection of the Lord. Laban's blessings were not needed and dismissed, because it cannot be compared and is insignificant compared to the provisions and blessings of God. God interposed himself, and He is more than enough to bless and protect Jacob. No man, no harm can come to Jacob without God's permission.
(C) The covenant: vertical acts of grace by the true and living God creates horizontal peace (Gen 31:31-55)
Laban was upset that he lost his household gods. This is what upset him so much. In contrast we see Jacob's confidence in his God, who is not like those idols. Jacob was so confident, he gave permission of Laban to search his possessions. We see here how these gods that Laban is so invested in are mere dead objects that are no help and can be stolen! Ironically too, the gods he sought could also be hidden under a ceremonially unclean woman, his daughter Rachel. In this passage, the writer of Genesis is trying to show that idols have no ability to save and are nothing even of themselves.
It is worth pausing to consider if we know this God of words, the God of Jacob or are we worshiping dead idols like Laban? There are many kinds of idols in our life today -- idols of prosperity, security, love, materialism, but these things will not satisfy. Maybe we too, like Rachel, are sitting and hiding our own household gods. Maybe we've lost our gods and have taken our eyes away from the true God? Who is the God you worship? Is it the true God or is it just your idea of God?
At the end of this passage, in an attempt to make peace, the two men make a covenant. However, both men are actually responding very differently. Laban sets up a pillar and invokes the name of God, referring to him with the covenantal name (Yahweh) (Gen 31:49), then the Creator God (Elohim), then as Abraham's god and finally the god of Abraham's father. Laban did not actually know God. To him, God was like his household gods. In contrast, Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac and offered a sacrifice instead (Gen 31:53). This was his first ever sacrifice, and after that, they fellowshiped. This is amazing, if we compare this to the pillar that Jacob established at Bethel in Genesis 28. Jacob recognized that he could have peace with Laban only because of God's protection. God moved Jacob's heart by allowing him to participate in the covenant of grace. Finally, he understood and knew God personally, not abstractly!
At the end of this episode, we see how this is not a story of God saving a man out of a sticky situation. It is a picture of a God that also continues to save sinners, bringing them to himself. We are like Jacob, in need of God's protection, and recipients of his initiating grace. Do you recognise it? If we do, and we profess faith in the ultimate sacrifice -- Jesus, we realize that we have the same security and protection of the Lord. Like Jacob, despite the circumstances we face, despite the conflicts with those around us, or the uncertainties in life, we can sing "It is well with my soul!".
The ESV Gospel Transformation Bible sums it up nicely, and this will be the closing thought:
In short, as the Lord himself told Jacob at the beginning of this chapter, “I will be with you.” God was on Jacob’s side. God was with Jacob. This, and no other reason, is the explanation for Jacob’s continued prosperity despite his own sins and relational adversity. Rachel’s theft of her father’s household gods (Gen 31:19), whether as a claim upon his property (such idols were sometimes valuable in themselves or associated with land deeds) or as a superstitious hope, were not the cause of her family’s deliverance (Gen 31:29, 42, 53).
As with Jacob, unless the God of such grace is with us and on our side, our hopes and future are empty. But this covenant-keeping God is with us through the ministry of the ultimate Son of Jacob, the Lord Jesus Christ.