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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
G E N E S I S
CHAP. XXXI.
Jacob was a very honest good man, a man of great devotion and
integrity, yet he had more trouble and vexation than any of the
patriarchs. He left his father’s house in a fright, went to
his uncle’s in distress, very hard usage he met with there, and
now is going back surrounded with fears. Here is,
I. His resolution to return,
II. His clandestine departure,
III. Laban’s pursuit of him in displeasure,
IV. The hot words that passed between them,
V. Their amicable agreement at last,
&c.).
| Jacob’s Departure. | B. C. 1739. |
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1 And he heard the words of Laban’s
sons, saying, Jacob hath
taken away all that was our father’s;
and of that which was our father’s
hath he gotten all this glory.
2 And
Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban,
and, behold, it was not toward
him as before.
3 And the LORD said
unto Jacob, Return unto the land of
thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and
I will be with thee.
4 And Jacob
sent and called Rachel and Leah to
the field unto his flock,
5 And said
unto them, I see your father’s countenance,
that it is not toward me as
before; but the God of my father hath
been with me.
6 And ye know that
with all my power I have served your
father.
7 And your father hath deceived
me, and changed my wages ten
times; but God suffered him not to
hurt me.
8 If he said thus, The
speckled shall be thy wages; then all
the cattle bare speckled: and if he
said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy
hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.
9 Thus God hath taken away
the cattle of your father, and given
them to me.
10 And it came to pass
at the time that the cattle conceived,
that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in
a dream, and, behold, the rams which
leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked,
speckled, and grisled.
11 And the
angel of God spake unto me in a dream,
saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am
I.
12 And he said, Lift up now thine
eyes, and see, all the rams which leap
upon the cattle are ringstraked,
speckled, and grisled: for I have seen
all that Laban doeth unto thee.
13 I
am the God of Beth-el, where thou
anointedst the pillar, and where thou
vowedst a vow unto me: now arise,
get thee out from this land, and return
unto the land of thy kindred.
14 And Rachel and Leah answered
and said unto him, Is there yet any
portion or inheritance for us in our
father’s house?
15 Are we not counted
of him strangers? for he hath sold us,
and hath quite devoured also our
money.
16 For all the riches which
God hath taken from our father, that
is ours, and our children’s: now
then, whatsoever God hath said unto
thee, do.
Jacob is here taking up a resolution immediately
to quit his uncle’s service, to take
what he had and go back to Canaan. This
resolution he took up upon a just provocation,
by divine direction, and with the advice
and consent of his wives.
I. Upon a just provocation; for Laban
and his sons had become very cross and ill-natured
towards him, so that he could not
stay among them with safety or satisfaction.
1. Laban’s sons showed their ill-will in
what they said,
v. 1.
It should seem they
said it in Jacob’s hearing, with a design to
vex him. The last chapter began with Rachel’s
envying Leah; this begins with Laban’s
sons envying Jacob. Observe,
(1.) How greatly they magnify Jacob’s prosperity:
He has gotten all this glory. And
what was this glory that they made so much
ado about? It was a parcel of brown sheep
and speckled goats (and perhaps the fine
colours made them seem more glorious),
and some camels and asses, and such like
trading; and this was all this glory. Note,
Riches are glorious things in the eyes of
carnal people, while to all those that are
conversant with heavenly things they have
no glory in comparison with the glory which
excelleth. Men’s over-valuing worldly wealth
is that fundamental error which is the root
of covetousness, envy, and all evil.
(2.) How
basely they reflect upon Jacob’s fidelity, as
if what he had he had not gotten honestly:
Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s.
Not all, surely. What had become of those
cattle which were committed to the custody
of Laban’s sons, and sent three days’ journey
off?
They mean all that
was committed to him; but, speaking invidiously,
they express themselves thus generally. Note,
[1.] Those that are ever so
careful to keep a good conscience cannot
always be sure of a good name.
[2.] This
is one of the vanities and vexations which
attend outward prosperity, that it makes a
man to be envied of his neighbors
(Eccl. iv. 4),
and who can stand before envy?
Prov. xxvii. 4.
Whom Heaven blesses hell curses,
and all its children on earth.
2. Laban himself said little, but his countenance
was not towards Jacob as it used to
be; and Jacob could not but take notice of
it,
He was but a churl at the best,
but now he was more churlish than formerly.
Note, Envy is a sin that often appears in the
countenance; hence we read of an evil eye,
Prov. xxiii. 6.
Sour looks may do a great
deal towards the ruin of peace and love in a
family, and the making of those uneasy of
whose comfort we ought to be tender. Laban’s
angry countenance lost him the greatest
blessing his family ever had, and justly.
II. By divine direction and under the convoy
of a promise: The Lord said unto Jacob,
Return, and I will be with thee,
v. 3.
Though
Jacob had met with very hard usage here,
yet he would not quit his place till God bade
him. He came thither by orders from
Heaven, and there he would stay till he was
ordered back. Note, It is our duty to set
ourselves, and it will be our comfort to see
ourselves, under God’s guidance, both in our
going out and in our coming in. The direction
he had from Heaven is more fully related in
the account he gives of it to his wives
(v. 10-13),
where he tells them of a dream he had
about the cattle, and the wonderful increase
of those of his colour; and how the angel
of God, in that dream (for I suppose the
dream spoken of
and that
to be
the same), took notice of the workings of his
fancy in his sleep, and instructed him, so
that it was not by chance, or by his own
policy, that he obtained that great advantage;
but,
1. By the providence of God, who had
taken notice of the hardships Laban had put
upon him, and took this way to recompense
him: “For I have seen all the Laban doeth
unto thee, and herein I have an eye to that.”
Note, There is more of equity in the distributions
of the divine providence than we are
aware of, and by them the injured are recompensed
really, though perhaps insensibly.
Nor was it only by the justice of providence
that Jacob was thus enriched, but,
2. In
performance of the promise intimated in what
is said
I am the God of Beth-el, This
was the place where the covenant was renewed
with him. Note, Worldly prosperity and
success are doubly sweet and comfortable
when we see them flowing, not from common
providence, but from covenant-love, to
perform the mercy promised–when we have
them from God as the God of Beth-el, from
those promises of the life which now is that
belong to godliness. Jacob, even when he
had this hopeful prospect of growing rich
with Laban, must think of returning. When
the world begins to smile upon us we must
remember it is not our home. Now arise
(v. 13)
and return,
(1.) To thy devotions in
Canaan, the solemnities of which had
perhaps been much intermitted while he was
with Laban. The times of this servitude
God had winked at; but now, “Return to
the place where thou anointedst the pillar
and vowedst the vow. Now that thou beginnest
to grow rich it is time to think of an
altar and sacrifices again.”
(2.) To thy comforts
in Canaan: Return to the land of thy
kindred. He was here among his near kindred;
but those only he must look upon as
his kindred in the best sense, the kindred he
must live and die with, to whom pertained
the covenant. Note, The heirs of Canaan
must never reckon themselves at home till
they come thither, however they may seem
to take root here.
III. With the knowledge and consent of
his wives. Observe,
1. He sent for Rachel and Leah to him to
the field
(v. 4),
that he might confer with
them more privately, or because one would
not come to the other’s apartment and he
would willingly talk with them together, or
because he had work to do in the field which
he would not leave. Note, Husbands that
love their wives will communicate their purposes
and intentions to them. Where there
is a mutual affection there will be a mutual
confidence. And the prudence of the wife
should engage the heart of her husband to
trust in her,
Jacob told his
wives,
(1.) How faithfully he had served their
father,
v. 6.
Note, If others do not do their
duty to us, yet we shall have the comfort of
having done ours to them.
(2.) How unfaithfully
their father had dealt with him
v. 7.
He would never keep to any bargain
that he made with him, but, after the first
year, still as he saw Providence favour Jacob
with the colour agreed on, every half year
of the remaining five he changed it for some
other colour, which made it ten times; as if
he thought not only to deceive Jacob, but
the divine Providence, which manifestly
smiled upon him. Note, Those that deal
honestly are not always honestly dealt with.
(3.) How God had owned him notwithstanding.
He had protected him from Laban’s
ill-will: God suffered him not to hurt me.
Note, Those that keep close to God shall be
kept safely by him. He had also provided
plentifully for him, notwithstanding Laban’s
design to ruin him: God has taken away the
cattle of your father, and given them to me,
v. 9.
Thus the righteous God paid Jacob for
his hard service out of Laban’s estate; as
afterwards he paid the seed of Jacob for their
serving the Egyptians, with their spoils.
Note, God is not unrighteous to forget his
people’s work and labour of love, though
men be so,
Providence has
ways of making those honest in the event
that are not so in their design. Note, further,
The wealth of the sinner is laid up for
the just,
Prov. xiii. 22.
(4.) He told them of
the command God had given him, in a dream,
to return to his own country
(v. 13),
that they
might not suspect his resolution to arise from
inconstancy, or any disaffection to their country
or family, but might see it to proceed
from a principle of obedience to his God,
and dependence on him.
2. His wives cheerfully consented to his
resolution. They also brought forward their
grievances, complaining that their father had
been not only unkind, but unjust, to them
(v. 14-16),
that he looked upon them as
strangers, and was without natural affection
towards them; and, whereas Jacob had looked
upon the wealth which God had transferred
from Laban to him as his wages, they looked
upon it as their portions; so that, both ways,
God forced Laban to pay his debts, both to
his servant and to his daughters. So then
it seemed,
(1.) They were weary of their own
people and their father’s house, and could
easily forget them. Note, This good use we
should make of the unkind usage we meet
with from the world, we should sit the more
loose to it, and be willing to leave it and
desirous to be at home.
(2.) They were
willing to go along with their husband, and
put themselves with him under the divine
direction: Whatsoever God hath said unto
thee do. Note, Those wives that are their
husband’s meet helps will never be their
hindrances in doing that to which God calls
them.
17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his
sons and his wives upon camels;
18 And he carried away all his cattle, and
all his goods which he had gotten, the
cattle of his getting, which he had
gotten in Padan-aram, for to go to Isaac
his father in the land of Canaan.
19 And Laban went to shear his sheep:
and Rachel had stolen the images that
were her father’s.
20 And Jacob stole
away unawares to Laban the Syrian,
in that he told him not that he fled.
21 So he fled with all that he had;
and he rose up, and passed over the
river, and set his face toward the
mount Gilead.
22 And it was told
Laban on the third day that Jacob
was fled.
23 And he took his brethren
with him, and pursued after him
seven days’ journey; and they overtook
him in the mount Gilead.
24 And God came to Laban the Syrian
in a dream by night, and said unto
him, Take heed that thou speak not
to Jacob either good or bad.
Here is,
I. Jacob’s flight from Laban. We
may suppose he had been long considering of
it, and casting about in his mind respecting
it; but when now, at last, God had given him
positive orders to go, he made no delay, nor
was he disobedient to the heavenly vision.
The first opportunity that offered itself he
laid hold of, when Laban was shearing his
sheep
(v. 19),
that part of his flock which was
in the hands of his sons three days’ journey
off. Now,
1. It is certain that it was lawful
for Jacob to leave his service suddenly, without
giving a quarter’s warning. It was not
only justified by the particular instructions
God gave him, but warranted by the fundamental
law of self-preservation, which directs
us, when we are in danger, to shift for our
own safety, as far as we can do it without
wronging our consciences.
2. It was his
prudence to steal away unawares to Laban,
lest, if Laban had known, he should have
hindered him or plundered him.
3. It was
honestly done to take no more than his own
with him, the cattle of his getting,
v. 18.
He took what Providence gave him, and was
content with that, and would not take the
repair of his damages into his own hands.
Yet Rachel was not so honest as her husband;
she stole her father’s images
(v. 19)
and carried
them away with her. The Hebrew calls them
teraphim. Some think they were only little
representations of the ancestors of the family,
in statues or pictures, which Rachel had a
particular fondness for, and was desirous to
have with her, now that she was going into
another country. It should rather seem that
they were images for a religious use, penates,
household-gods, either worshipped or consulted
as oracles; and we are willing to hope (with
bishop Patrick) that she took them away not
out of covetousness of the rich metal they
were made of, much less for her own use, or
out of any superstitious fear lest Laban, by
consulting his teraphim, might know which
way they had gone (Jacob, no doubt, dwelt
with his wives as a man of knowledge, and
they were better taught than so), but out of
a design hereby to convince her father of the
folly of his regard to those as gods which
could not secure themselves,
II. Laban’s pursuit of Jacob. Tidings
were brought him, on the third day, that
Jacob had fled; he immediately raises the
whole clan, takes his brethren, that is, the
relations of his family, that were all in his
interests, and pursues Jacob (as Pharaoh and
his Egyptians afterwards pursued the seed of
Jacob), to bring him back into bondage again,
or with design to strip him of what he had.
Seven days’ journey he marched in pursuit
of him,
He would not have taken
half the pains to have visited his best friends.
But the truth is bad men will do more to
serve their sinful passions than good men
will to serve their just affections, and are
more vehement in their anger than in their
love. Well, at length Laban, overtook him,
and the very night before he came up with
him God interposed in the quarrel, rebuked
Laban and sheltered Jacob, charging Laban
not to speak unto him either good or bad
(v. 24),
that is, to say nothing against his going
on with his journey, for that it proceeded
from the Lord. The same Hebraism we
have,
Laban, during his seven
day’s march, had been full of rage against
Jacob, and was now full of hopes that his
lust should be satisfied upon him
(Exod. xv. 9);
but God comes to him, and with one
word ties his hands, though he does not turn
his heart. Note,
1. In a dream, and in
slumberings upon the bed, God has ways of
opening the ears of men, and sealing their
instruction,
Job xxxiii. 15, 16.
Thus he admonishes
men by their consciences, in secret
whispers, which the man of wisdom will hear
and heed.
2. The safety of good men is
very much owing to the hold God has of the
consciences of bad men and the access he has
to them.
3. God sometimes appears wonderfully
for the deliverance of his people when
they are upon the very brink of ruin. The
Jews were saved from Haman’s plot when
the king’s decree drew hear to be put in
execution,
| Laban’s Pursuit after Jacob. | B. C. 1739. |
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25 Then Laban overtook Jacob.
Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the
mount: and Laban with his brethren
pitched in the mount of Gilead.
26 And Laban said to Jacob, What hast
thou done, that thou hast stolen away
unawares to me, and carried away my
daughters, as captives taken with the
sword?
27 Wherefore didst thou flee
away secretly, and steal away from
me; and didst not tell me, that I
might have sent thee away with mirth,
and with songs, with tabret, and with
harp?
28 And hast not suffered me
to kiss my sons and my daughters?
thou hast now done foolishly in so
doing.
29 It is in the power of my
hand to do you hurt: but the God of
your father spake unto me yesternight,
saying, Take thou heed that thou speak
not to Jacob either good or bad.
30 And now, though thou wouldest needs
be gone, because thou sore longedst
after thy father’s house, yet wherefore
hast thou stolen my gods?
31 And
Jacob answered and said to Laban,
Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure
thou wouldest take by force
thy daughters from me.
32 With
whomsoever thou findest thy gods,
let him not live: before our brethren
discern thou what is thine with me,
and take it to thee. For Jacob knew
not that Rachel had stolen them.
33 And Laban went into Jacob’s tent,
and into Leah’s tent, and into the two
maidservants’ tents; but he found
them not. Then went he out of Leah’s
tent, and entered into Rachel’s tent.
34 Now Rachel had taken the images,
and put them in the camel’s furniture,
and sat upon them. And Laban
searched all the tent, but found them
not.
35 And she said to her father,
Let it not displease my lord that I
cannot rise up before thee; for the
custom of women is upon me. And
he searched, but found not the images.
We have here the reasoning, not to say
the rallying, that took place between Laban
and Jacob at their meeting, in that mountain
which was afterwards called Gilead,
v. 25.
Here is,
I. The high charge which Laban exhibited
against him. He accuses him,
1. As a renegade that had unjustly deserted
his service. To represent Jacob as a
criminal, he will have it thought that he intended
kindness to his daughters
(v. 27, 28),
that he would have dismissed them with all
the marks of love and honour that could be,
that he would have made a solemn business
of it, would have kissed his little grandchildren
(and that was all he would have
given them), and, according to the foolish
custom of the country, would have sent them
away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret,
and with harp: not as Rebekah was sent
away out of the same family, above 120
years before, with prayers and blessings
(ch. xxiv. 60),
but with sport and merriment,
which was a sign that religion had very much
decayed in the family, and that they had lost
their seriousness. However, he pretends
they would have been treated with respect at
parting. Note, It is common for bad men,
when they are disappointed in their malicious
projects, to pretend that they designed nothing
but what was kind and fair. When
they cannot do the mischief they intended,
they are loth it should be thought that they
ever did intend it. When they have not
done what they should have done they come
off with this excuse, that they would have
done it. Men may thus be deceived, but
God cannot. He likewise suggests that Jacob
had some bad design in stealing away
thus
(v. 26),
that he took his wives away as
captives. Note, Those that mean ill themselves
are most apt to put the worst construction
upon what others do innocently.
The insinuating and the aggravating of faults
are the artifices of a designing malice, and
those must be represented (though never so
unjustly) as intending ill against whom ill is
intended. Upon the whole matter,
(1.) He boasts of his own power
(v. 29):
It is in the
power of my hand to do you hurt. He supposes
that he had both right on his side (a
good action, as we say, against Jacob) and
strength on his side, either to avenge the
wrong or recover the right. Note, Bad
people commonly value themselves much
upon their power to do hurt, whereas a
power to do good is much more valuable.
Those that will do nothing to make themselves
amiable love to be thought formidable.
And yet,
(2.) He owns himself under the
check and restraint of God’s power; and,
though it redounds much to the credit and
comfort of Jacob, he cannot avoid telling him
the caution God had given him the night before
in a dream, Speak not to Jacob good nor
bad. Note, As God has all wicked instruments
in a chain, so when he pleases he can
make them sensible of it, and force them to
own it to his praise, as protector of the
good, as Balaam did. Or we may look upon
this as an instance of some conscientious regard
felt by Laban for God’s express prohibitions.
As bad as he was he durst not injure
one whom he saw to be the particular
care of Heaven. Note, A great deal of mischief
would be prevented if men would but
attend to the caveats which their own consciences
give them in slumberings upon the
bed, and regard the voice of God in them.
2. As a thief,
Rather than own
that he had given him any colour of provocation
to depart, he is willing to impute it to
a foolish fondness for his father’s house,
which made him that he would needs begone;
but then (says he) wherefore hast thou
stolen my gods? Foolish man! to call those
his gods that could be stolen! Could he
expect protection from those that could
neither resist nor discover their invaders?
Happy are those who have the Lord for their
God, for they have a God that they cannot
be robbed of. Enemies may steal our goods,
but not our God. Here Laban lays to Jacob’s
charge things that he knew not, the common
distress of oppressed innocency.
II. Jacob’s apology for himself. Those
that commit their cause to God, yet are not
forbidden to plead it themselves with meekness
and fear.
1. As to the charge of stealing
away his own wives he clears himself by
giving the true reason why he went away
unknown to Laban,
He feared lest
Laban would by force take away his daughters,
and so oblige him, by the bond of his
affection to his wives, to continue in his service.
Note, Those that are unjust in the
least, it may be suspected, will be unjust also
in much,
If Laban deceive
Jacob in his wages, it is likely he will make
no conscience of robbing him of his wives,
and putting those asunder whom God has joined
together. What may not be feared
from men that have no principle of honesty?
2. As to the charge of stealing Laban’s gods
he pleads not guilty,
He not only did
not take them himself (he was not so fond of
them), but he did not know that they were
taken. Yet perhaps he spoke too hastily
and inconsiderately when he said, “Whoever
had taken them, let him not live;” upon this
he might reflect with some bitterness when,
not long after, Rachel who had taken them
died suddenly in travail. How just soever
we think ourselves to be, it is best to forbear
imprecations, lest they fall heavier than we
imagine.
III. The diligent search Laban made for
his gods
(v. 33-35),
partly out of hatred to
Jacob, whom he would gladly have an occasion
to quarrel with, partly out of love to
his idols, which he was loth to part with.
We do not find that he searched Jacob’s
flocks for stolen cattle; but he searched his
furniture for stolen gods. He was of Micah’s
mind, You have taken away my gods, and
what have I more?
Judg. xviii. 24.
Were
the worshippers of false gods so set upon
their idols? did they thus walk in the name
of their gods? and shall not we be as solicitous
in our enquires after the true God?
When he has justly departed from us, how
carefully should we ask, Where is God my
Maker? O that I knew where I might find
him!
Job xxiii. 3.
Laban, after all his
searches, missed of finding his gods, and was
baffled in his enquiry with a sham; but our
God will not only by found of those that seek
him, but they shall find him their bountiful
rewarder.
36 And Jacob was wroth, and chode
with Laban: and Jacob answered and
said to Laban, What is my trespass?
what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly
pursued after me?
37 Whereas thou
hast searched all my stuff, what hast
thou found of all thy household stuff?
set it here before my brethren and
thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt
us both.
38 This twenty years
have I been with thee; thy ewes and
thy she goats have not cast their young,
and the rams of thy flock have I not
eaten.
39 That which was torn of
beasts I brought not unto thee; I
bare the loss of it; of my hand didst
thou require it, whether stolen by day,
or stolen by night.
40 Thus I was;
in the day the drought consumed me,
and the frost by night; and my sleep
departed from mine eyes.
41 Thus
have I been twenty years in thy house;
I served thee fourteen years for thy
two daughters, and six years for thy
cattle: and thou hast changed my
wages ten times.
42 Except the God
of my father, the God of Abraham,
and the fear of Isaac, had been with
me, surely thou hadst sent me away
now empty. God hath seen mine affliction
and the labour of my hands,
and rebuked thee yesternight.
See in these verses,
I. The power of provocation. Jacob’s natural
temper was mild and calm, and grace
had improved it; he was a smooth man, and
a plain man; and yet Laban’s unreasonable
carriage towards him put him into a heat that
transported him into a heat that
transported him into some vehemence,
His chiding with Laban, though it may
admit of some excuse, was not justifiable, nor
is it written for our imitation. Grievous
words stir up anger, and commonly do but
make bad worse. It is a very great affront
to one that bears an honest mind to be
charged with dishonesty, and yet even this
we must learn to bear with patience, committing
our cause to God.
II. The comfort of a good conscience.
This was Jacob’s rejoicing, that when Laban
accused him his own conscience acquitted
him, and witnessed for him that he had been
in all things willing and careful to live
honestly,
Note, Those that in
any employment have dealt faithfully, if they
cannot obtain the credit of it with men, yet
shall have the comfort of it in their own
bosoms.
III. The character of a good servant, and
particularly of a faithful shepherd. Jacob
had approved himself such a one,
1. He was very careful, so that, through his
oversight or neglect, the ewes did not cast
their young. His piety also procured a
blessing upon his master’s effects that were
under his hands. Note, Servants should
take no less care of what they are entrusted
with for their masters than if they were entitled
to it as their own.
2. He was very
honest, and took none of that for his own
eating which was not allowed him. He contented
himself with mean fare, and coveted
not to feast upon the rams of the flock.
Note, Servants must not be dainty in their
food, nor covet what is forbidden them, but
in that, and other instances, show all good
fidelity.
3. He was very laborious,
He stuck to his business, all weathers; and
bore both heat and cold with invincible patience.
Note, Men of business, that intend
to make something of it, must resolve to endure
hardness. Jacob is here an example to
ministers; they also are shepherds, of whom
it is required that they be true to their trust
and willing to take pains.
IV. The character of a hard master.
Laban had been such a one to Jacob. Those
are bad masters,
1. Who exact from their
servants that which is unjust, by obliging
them to make good that which is not damaged
by any default of theirs. This Laban did,
Nay, if there has been a neglect, yet it
is unjust to punish above the proportion of
the fault. That may be an inconsiderable
damage to the master which would go near
to ruin a poor servant.
2. Those also are
bad masters who deny to their servants that
which is just and equal. This Laban did,
It was unreasonable for him to make
Jacob serve for his daughters, when he had
in reversion so great an estate secured to him
by the promise of God himself; as it was
also to give him his daughters without portions,
when it was in the power of his hands
to do well for them. Thus he robbed the poor
because he was poor, as he did also by
changing his wages.
V. The care of providence for the protection
of injured innocence,
God took
cognizance of the wrong done to Jacob, and
repaid him whom Laban would otherwise
have sent empty away, and rebuked Laban,
who otherwise would have swallowed him
up. Note, God is the patron of the oppressed;
and those who are wronged and yet
not ruined, cast down and yet not destroyed,
must acknowledge him in their preservation
and give him the glory of it. Observe,
1. Jacob speaks of God as the God of his father,
intimating that he thought himself unworthy
to be thus regarded, but was beloved for
the father’s sake.
2. He calls him the God of
Abraham, and the fear of Isaac; for Abraham
was dead, and had gone to that world
where perfect love casts out fear; but Isaac
was yet alive, sanctifying the Lord in his
heart, as his fear and his dread.
| Jacob’s Covenant with Laban. | B. C. 1739. |
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43 And Laban answered and said
unto Jacob, These daughters are my
daughters, and these children are my
children, and these cattle are my cattle,
and all that thou seest is mine:
and what can I do this day unto these
my daughters, or unto their children
which they have born?
44 Now therefore
come thou, let us make a covenant,
I and thou; and let it be for a
witness between me and thee.
45 And
Jacob took a stone, and set it up for
a pillar.
46 And Jacob said unto his
brethren, Gather stones; and they
took stones, and made an heap: and
they did eat there upon the heap.
47 And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha:
but Jacob called it Galeed.
48 And
Laban said, This heap is a witness
between me and thee this day. Therefore
was the name of it called Galeed;
49 And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD
watch between me and thee, when we
are absent one from another.
50 If
thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if
thou shalt take other wives beside my
daughters, no man is with us; see,
God is witness betwixt me and thee.
51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold
this heap, and behold this pillar, which
I have cast betwixt me and thee;
52 This heap be witness, and this pillar
be witness, that I will not pass over
this heap to thee, and that thou shalt
not pass over this heap and this pillar
unto me, for harm.
53 The God of
Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the
God of their father, judge betwixt us.
And Jacob sware by the fear of his
father Isaac.
54 Then Jacob offered
sacrifice upon the mount, and called
his brethren to eat bread: and they
did eat bread, and tarried all night in
the mount.
55 And early in the
morning Laban rose up, and kissed
his sons and his daughters, and blessed
them: and Laban departed, and returned
unto his place.
We have here the compromising of the
matter between Laban and Jacob. Laban
had nothing to say in reply to Jacob’s remonstrance:
he could neither justify himself
nor condemn Jacob, but was convicted by his
own conscience of the wrong he had done
him; and therefore desires to hear no more
of the matter He is not willing to own himself
in a fault, nor to ask Jacob’s forgiveness,
and make him satisfaction, as he ought to
have done. But,
I. He turns it off with a profession of
kindness for Jacob’s wives and children
(v. 43):
These daughters are my daughters. When he
cannot excuse what he has done, he does, in
effect, own what he should have done; he
should have treated them as his own, but he
had counted them as strangers,
Note,
It is common for those who are without natural
affection to pretend much to it when it
will serve a turn. Or perhaps Laban said
this in a vain-glorious say, as one that loved
to talk big, and use great swelling words of
vanity: “All that thou seest is mine.” It
was not so, it was all Jacob’s, and he had
paid dearly for it; yet Jacob let him have his
saying, perceiving him coming into a better
humour. Note, Property lies near the hearts
of worldly people. They love to boast of it,
“This is mine, and the other is mine,” as
Nabal,
my bread and my water.
II. He proposes a covenant of friendship
between them, to which Jacob readily agrees,
without insisting upon Laban’s submission,
much less his restitution. Note, When quarrels
happen, we should be willing to be friends
again upon any terms: peace and love are
such valuable jewels that we can scarcely
buy them too dearly. Better sit down losers
than go on in strife. Now observe here,
1. The substance of this covenant. Jacob
left it wholly to Laban to settle it. The tenour
of it was,
(1.) That Jacob should be a
good husband to his wives, that he should
not afflict them, nor marry other wives besides
them,
Jacob had never given
him any cause to suspect that he would be
any other than a kind husband; yet, as if he
had, he was willing to come under this engagement.
Though Laban had afflicted them
himself, yet he will bind Jacob that he shall
not afflict them. Note, Those that are injurious
themselves are commonly most jealous
of others, and those that do not do their own
duty are most peremptory in demanding duty
from others.
(2.) That he should never be a
bad neighbour to Laban,
It was agreed
that no act of hostility should ever pass between
them, that Jacob should forgive and
forget all the wrongs he had received and
not remember them against Laban or his
family in after-times. Note, We may resent
an injury which yet we may not revenge.
2. The ceremony of this covenant. It was
made and ratified with great solemnity, according
to the usages of those times.
(1.) A pillar was erected
(v. 45),
and a heap of
stones raised
(v. 46),
to perpetuate the memory
or the thing, the way of recording
agreements by writing being then either not
known or not used.
(2.) A sacrifice was
offered
(v. 54),
a sacrifice of peace-offerings.
Note, Our peace with God is that which puts
true comfort into our peace with our friends.
If parties contend, the reconciliation of both
to him will facilitate their reconciliation one
to another.
(3.) They did eat bread together
(v. 46),
jointly partaking of the feast
upon the sacrifice,
This was in token
of a hearty reconciliation. Covenants of
friendship were anciently ratified by the
parties eating and drinking together. It
was in the nature of a love-feast.
(4.) They
solemnly appealed to God concerning their
sincerity herein,
[1.] As a witness
(v. 49):
The Lord watch between me and thee, that is,
“The Lord take cognizance of every thing
that shall be done on either side in violation
of this league. When we are out of one
another’s sight, let his be a restraint upon
us, that wherever we are we are under God’s
eye.” This appeal is convertible into a
prayer. Friends at a distance from each
other may take the comfort of this, that when
they cannot know or succour one another
God watches between them, and has his eye
on them both.
[2.] As a Judge,
The God of Abraham (from whom Jacob descended),
and the God of Nahor (from whom
Laban descended), the God of their father
(the common ancestor, form whom they both
descended), judge betwixt us. God’s relation
to them is thus expressed to intimate that
they worshipped one and the same God,
upon which consideration there ought to be
no enmity between them. Note, Those that
have one God should have one heart: those
that agree in religion should strive to agree
in every thing else. God is Judge between
contending parties, and he will judge righteously;
whoever does wrong, it is at his peril.
(5.) They gave a new name to the place,
Laban called it in Syriac, and Jacob
in Hebrew, the heap of witness; and
(v. 49)
it was called Mizpah, a watch-tower. Posterity
being included in the league, care was
taken that thus the memory of it should be
preserved. These names are applicable to
the seals of the gospel covenant, which are
witnesses to us if we be faithful, but witnesses
to us if we be faithful, but witnesses
against us if we be false. The name
Jacob gave this heap (Galeed) stuck by it,
not the name Laban gave it. In all this rencounter,
Laban was noisy and full of words,
affecting to say much; Jacob was silent, and
said little. When Laban appealed to God
under many titles, Jacob only swore by the
fear of his father Isaac, that is, the God
whom his father Isaac feared, who had never
served other gods, as Abraham and Nahor
had done. Two words of Jacob’s were more
memorable than all Laban’s speeches and
vain repetitions: for the words of wise men
are heard in quiet, more than the cry of him
that ruleth among fools,
Eccl. ix. 17.
Lastly, After all this angry parley, they
part friends,
Laban very affectionately
kissed his sons and his daughters, and
blessed them, and then went back in peace.
Note, God is often better to us than our
fears, and strangely overrules the spirits of
men in our favour, beyond what we could
have expected; for it is not in vain to trust
in him.
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