The Story of God: The Showdown

When I was 12 years old I came home from school one day looking for my baseball glove. There was a game on at Rodney Brown’s. I needed my glove, but I couldn’t find it. Then I found out why. My little brother had it. So I asked him to give it back. He wouldn’t. So then I tried to take it away from him. But he still wouldn’t give it up. Pretty soon we were wrestling on the ground over the stupid thing. And that’s when my dad pulled up. Now, the one thing you rarely saw out of my dad was anger. But this was a rare day. No sooner was dad out of the car, then I was the one in trouble. I tried to tell him that it was Jimmy’s fault for not giving me my glove, but he wouldn’t have it.   As far as Jimmy was concerned, I was in the wrong, and he let my dad know it. So I got punished for it.   Has that ever happened to you?

Have you ever been accused of being in the wrong when you were not?   Have you ever been slandered by someone who was trying to deflect scrutiny about their own bad behavior? Well, if you’ve ever been in one of those situations, chances are you’re going to relate to Jacob today. For as we return to Jacob’s situation in the Story of God, that’s where we find Jacob.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Jacob was not a model citizen; he has spent most of his life looking out for number one. But today Jacob is at a crossroads. He’s come to the place where he’s had enough of Uncle Laban’s tricks. He’s come to the place where he’s tired of Laban’s games. It’s time to put up or shut up. Jacob’s taken it from Laban long enough.  For today he’s going to step up and be the man God’s called him to be, and we’re going to see just what got into Jacob that gave him the confidence to stand up to Laban.

The showdown between Jacob and Laban begins in Genesis 30:25, where the narrator reminds us of the events that led to Bad Blood Rising between these two:

Bad Blood Rising: After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “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.” Genesis 30:25-26 Jacob’s fulfilled his contract with Laban. He’s worked for him for 14 years. And now he wants to go home.

But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.” Sound familiar? Pretty much the same thing he said to Jacob 14 years earlier. Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care.  The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?” Genesis 30:27-29 14 years of hard labor has left Jacob with little to show for it. Laban should have helped Jacob prepare for his household. Instead, he leaves Jacob empty-handed. This is just wrong and Jacob knows it. He now wants to build up the wealth of his household.

“What shall I give you?” he asked. “Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied. “But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them:  Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages.  

And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.” 

“Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”

Jacob makes a fair deal. After all, the spotted, dark-colored and speckled goats make up only 20 percent of the flock. So Laban quickly agrees. We now see why: That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons.  Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks. Genesis 30:35-36 Did you see what Laban did here? He immediately goes back on his word, and leaves Jacob with nothing to work with.  Thus insuring Jacob’s going to have to keep working for years.  He can’t leave.  So Laban’s trick him again. What a scumbag!

But not to worry, for now we see something pretty amazing: God prospers Jacob in spite of Laban’s deceit. Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. Genesis 30:37-38

When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. Genesis 30:37-43

Jacob outwits Laban and grows rich in the process. But believe it or not, this time this is not the result of Jacob’s deceit, but God’s instruction. Look at the next chapter, where Jacob explains his prosperity to Rachel and Leah: “In 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. The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’  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.  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.’ Genesis 31:10-13

As a result Jacob realizes that it is God who has prospered him. In fact, God made him quite wealthy in a short period of time. he now has flocks, servants, camels and donkeys.  He had nothing before, now he’s got it made. Yet, Jacob wasn’t the only one to notice this turn of events and so we read: 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.”  And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been. “ Genesis 31:1-2

Now there’s not just bad blood between Jacob and Laban, there’s now bad blood between the sons and Jacob. The result of which is that now Laban’s sons falsely accuse Jacob of theft. And Laban’s not to thrilled with this new development either. So we read: Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” Genesis 31:3

So what does Jacob do? All of a sudden this one time bad boy seems to have grown up, and what we now see is Jacob’s Emerging Faith Listen now to how Jacob speaks to his wives about God: So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. He said to them, “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 your 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. Genesis 31:4-9

Whoa! What’s gotten into Jacob? Jacob is singing a different tune. Jacob is finally acting like a spiritual leader. He’s telling his wives what God has done and gives credit where credit is due. What’s gotten into Jacob? Well, I’ll tell you: God’s gotten into Jacob. Faith’s gotten into Jacob. Whereas before, Jacob only relied on deceit to make his way through life, now we see a man who gives God all the glory. Jacob has changed. He now has a bold faith. So Jacob says with confidence: God has been with me…

God has protected me… God has not allowed him to harm me.

God has prospered me …   God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me. and God has commanded me: Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’ Genesis 31:13

Do you hear it? Jacob is no longer calling the shots, God is. Jacob is now ready to leave Haran and take the dangerous journey back home and he’s confides in his wives about what God has done, and where God is leading, and how he is willing to follow…

But what about Rachel and Leah? Do they see the change in Jacob? Let’s read: Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.” Genesis 31:14-16

Yes! They know full well that Jacob’s wages should have provided them an ample dowry, but Laban has given them nothing. Zip! And now, they too see that is has been Jacob’s God who has provided for them. So they too believe that God is for them. And they now are willing to follow Jacob’s leadership.  Last week they were telling Jacob what to do, now we see them willing to follow him. What a remarkable turn of events.

But as they get ready to leave, there’s a bit of a twist. Even though they now clearly believe in the God of Abraham, they still have some old habits that they’ve yet to rid themselves of. So what we see next is that Old Habits Die Hard When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods. Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. So he fled with all he had, crossed the Euphrates River, and headed for the hill country of Gilead. Genesis 31:17-21   Let’s stop here for a moment… Jacob is finally maturing in his faith and giving God the glory for all He has done – great sign of spiritual maturity. He’s now obeying God by now returning to the land, but Jacob still struggles with deceit.and fear. And Rachel? She believes in the God of Abraham, but steals her father’s household gods.   We’re not sure why? Maybe she’s not ready to go all in with Jacob’s God; maybe she figures if one God is good, then three of four more gods is better; or maybe this is her way at getting back at Laban. Whatever it is, the one thing we know about Rachel is that she’s still got a ways to go in her faith.

But isn’t that how it is with us? God becomes real for us and we begin to trust Him, but sometimes old habits die hard, we still struggle with sin. This story serves as a reminder of God’s grace to us. Jacob and Rachel were far from perfect, they still had areas where they needed to change, but that never stopped God from blessing them. You see, God’s love for us is not based on our behavior; it’s based on His commitment to love us. That’s the God of Jacob. The same God who loves you.

Now, back to the story. Now we come to The Showdown  The showdown at the Gilead Corral. Laban’s heard that Jacob has fled, so he purses him with everything he’s got. His armed for battle. But God intervenes in a dream and tells him not to harm Jacob. So the next day Laban overtakes Jacob: Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You’ve deceived me, and you’ve carried off my daughters like captives in war. Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn’t you tell me…

…I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’  Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father’s household. But why did you steal my gods?” Genesis 31:26-30

Notice how Laban tries to come off as the victim; and he couches everything he says under the threat of violence.  He’s in the right and Jacob is in the wrong.  Listen to how he accuses him:

“You’ve deceived me”

“You’ve carried off my daughters”

You ran off secretly

You deprived me of giving a proper goodbye.

“I have the power to harm you”   “But your God told me not to, so then why did you have to steal my gods?”   What a blame-shifter! Finger-pointer. He takes no responsibility for the deceitful things he has done and throws all the blame on Jacob. What a jerk! But then, Jacob answered Laban, “I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. But if you find anyone who has your gods, that person shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods. Genesis 31:31-32

This plays out better then most Hollywood scripts. Rachel’s now put the whole journey in jeopardy, and Jacob – he’s put Rachel’s life in jeopardy. Everything now rests on whether or not Laban finds the household idols. So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he found nothing. After he came out of Leah’s tent, he entered Rachel’s tent. Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel’s saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing. Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I’m having my period.” So he searched but could not find the household gods. Genesis 31:33-35

Now it’s Jacob’s Turn.  Twenty years of pent up frustration with his father-in-law is about to spill out. Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. “What is my crime?” he asked Laban. “How have I wronged you that you hunt me down? Now that you have searched through all my goods, what have you found that belongs to your household? Put it here in front of your relatives and mine, and let them judge between the two of us. Genesis 31:36-37

I worked hard for you. I never cheated you. I always did more than what was required. This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. Genesis 31:40-41

Then he lays down the hammer:  If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Awesome One of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.” Genesis 31:40-42

Jacob is now vindicated, Laban is defeated and proves he is defeated by admitting that he is powerless and so seeks to make a treaty with Jacob – a treaty that’s meant to make Laban look good – to make it look like he’s being gracious and letting Jacob go. But in reality, it is Laban’s surrender. Even though Laban stands in front of Jacob with superior numbers… by seeking to make this treaty to protect himself from Jacob… Laban now acknowledges that Jacob’s God is the superior God.

And so this showdown between Jacob and Laban is really a showdown between the God of Abraham, the Awesome One of Isaac and the household gods of Laban. And the God of Jacob has won the day convincingly!

And Jacob now stands on his own two feet. He’s a changed man, a confident man – who could stare his adversary in the face and win the showdown. Why? Because God was with Jacob, and Jacob was now a man of faith.

What has happened here is that God took a fearful deceiver and transformed him into a courageous leader.   I don’t know about you, but Jacob’s story gives me hope; because in many ways we are like Jacob. We still have faults, flaws and fears… but God wants to transform us into a people of faith.

Why do I believe this? Because God has not changed: He still keeps His Word. He still protects us and wants to provide for us. But most importantly, He is With Us.  And when you believe that God is with you,  He will give you the courage and confidence to face anyone or anything.

The God of Jacob is with us. Do you know this God?