Story 51 Life with Laban: Serving the Corrupt and Greedy
In those early days of his marriages, Jacob’s family had grown to eleven boys and a girl! For fourteen years, he worked as the chief shepherd for Laban so that he could marry Rachel and Leah. He had worked very hard, often in harsh weather and for long hours.
Now, in those days, it was normal for a shepherd to receive pay. One out of every five sheep that were born each year would be given to the shepherd for their hard work. Jacob had received nothing all that time. Instead of building up wealth for his own family, he had worked to build up the wealth of his uncle. His uncle had shown no concern to provide for the family of his daughters. In his greed, he was only concerned with taking as much from Jacob as he could get.
The time had come when the fourteen years were up. Jacob was ready to leave. He wanted to take his family back to the Land of Promise. So he went to his uncle Laban and said, “‘Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.’”
Now, according to the customs of his day, Laban should have sent Jacob away with great and wonderful gifts of flocks and riches for all of his hard work. In those days, even a slave would receive such things after so many years of service. But Jacob’s uncle did not want to see him go. He had learned something through magic divination. The reason his household had been so wildly blessed over the years was because of God’s blessing on Jacob. He asked Jacob what he had to do to get him to stay. He was willing to pay any price!
Jacob understood exactly how valuable he was to his uncle. So he pointed out all the ways that God had blessed Laban’s wealth under Jacob’s watch. Laban’s flocks were small when Jacob came, but under Jacob’s care they grew and grew so that now, Laban was a rich man. Jacob agreed to stay and keep working for his uncle, but only if he was given a chance to grow flocks for his own family. He told Laban he wanted to claim every goat with speckles and spots and every dark colored lamb that was born into Laban’s flocks. All the rest would be Laban’s.
This idea did not come from Jacob’s own mind. God came to him in a dream and gave it to him. The Lord said, “‘…I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.’” God knew exactly how difficult Laban had made Jacob’s life, and he promised to be Jacob’s protection. He would bless all the goats with spots and speckles. Jacob trusted the words of God and made them part of his agreement with his uncle.
Goats with spots and speckles and dark lambs were rare and less valued, so Laban was happy to agree. That very day they removed all the goats and lambs that belonged to Jacob from Laban’s flocks. Jacob put his sons in charge of them. They took them a three day journey away from the flocks of Laban.
Jacob stayed with Laban’s animals, just as he promised. And God continued to bless. But Jacob did not act as if he trusted God completely. He was still as sneaky as the rest of his family. He began to take branches of almond, poplar, and plane trees and peel the bark. Then he put them in the water every time the animals came to drink. Jacob thought they had magic power to make the speckled and spotted animals have more babies. He was trying to cheat! Just like Rachel with her mandrake leaves, he was trying to make God’s plan happen in his own way.
God is gracious. He had shown Jacob his plan, and not even Jacob’s lack of faith could stop it from happening! God blessed Jacob with huge flocks of animals through the speckled goats and dark lambs. As Jacob’s wealth grew more and more, he to hired servants and bought camels and donkeys.
Laban’s sons watched on as Jacob’s riches spread. They were angry. They thought he was taking from the wealth of their father. Laban’s family did not have faith in God. They did not understand where all of Jacob’s blessings were coming because God was constantly working behind the scenes, even in the animals, to bless his chosen servant. Laban’s attitude towards his clever but sneaky nephew began to change as well. Tension and resentment grew and grew between the two households. After about six years, the LORD came to Jacob and spoke. “‘Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.’”
Jacob planned on obeying the LORD, but he knew he had to be careful about how he did it. There were many in his own household that would be very curious for the lastest gossip about these powerful, feuding families. So he told Rachel and Leah to meet him out in the fields where they could talk in private.
When they arrived he said:
“‘I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. You know that I’ve worked for you father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. 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. So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me.’”
Even though Jacob tried to cheat Laban, in the end, when the blessings came, he understood that they were from God. What a wonderful picture of God’s grace! Even as Jacob lacked faith and tried to help God by using magic, the LORD remembered his hard labor and blessed him. And for the first time in the Bible, Jacob openly proclaimed the goodness of God. He was growing.
When Leah and Rachel heard Jacob’s plan to sneak away from their homeland, they easily agreed. Their own father had treated their husband like a hired hand, as if he was not family at all! Even worse, he had treated his own daughters like strangers!
For you see, Jacob paid the bride price for Rachel and Leah by working for many years, and Laban received great riches from it. In that culture, some of that money should have been given to Leah and Rachel as a wedding present. It was an important show of love and protection for the bride as they entered life in a new home. Laban had given them nothing, keeping it all to himself. Now, as they prepared to go to the Land of Promise, there was a danger that their father would try to take back all the flocks that God had given Jacob. Laban’s greed had totally destroyed the trust of his daughters. They were ready and willing to leave him.
Imagine what a great and dangerous journey it would be! All the children, Jacob’s wives, and all their servants would be coming with them. They would have to move all of their tents, all of their pots and pans and flocks of animals on the same long trek that Abraham had taken with Sarah on their path to the Land of Promise.
Jacob had his entire family load up on camels. He drove his livestock off in front of them in a grand escape. Jacob knew that once Laban realized they were gone, he would come after them. He had a larger army of men, and he would be angry. Jacob would have to trust in the Lord for his protection.
Before they left, Rachel did an extremely foolish thing. She went to her father’s house and stole some of his idols. She still treasured the false gods of Laban’s family in her heart.
After three days, Laban learned that Jacob and his entire household had fled. He was furious! He was going after Jacob, and all of his men were coming with him. Who knows what evil Laban was planning. The Bible doesn’t tell us. But it was enough that God came to him in a dream to command Jacob’s protection. The Lord warned Laban, “‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’” Wow. Laban wasn’t even allowed to speakbadly to Jacob, let alone hurt him or his family.
Laban still gathered his men and chased Jacob down. After seven days and a three hundred and fifty mile journey, Laban caught up to him. Jacob’s household had just pitched their tents in a place called Gilead when his uncle’s clan came riding up.
What was Laban going to do? Would he ignore God and attack Jacob and his family? Would he try to force his daughters to come back home with their children? Would Jacob and the family of God get back to the Land of Promise?