I'm not sure what to say about this chapter, to be honest. Most of it is pretty straightforward: Jacob feels threatened by his father-in-law, who has mistreated him over the past twenty years, so he flees with his family and all he owns. Laban pursues him, and because he is not as burdened with young and possessions he catches Jacob and asks for an account of what happened. This is where it gets a little odd, though, as he claims that his idols were stolen when Jacob left. Rachel did indeed steal them, but due to a little bit of lying she manages to keep that fact hidden.
I really wish I knew why she even bothered to do that. Was it just to get back at her father for the way he had mistreated Jacob? Was it perhaps because she actually believed they had power? And would Jacob really have followed through with his promise that anyone found with the idols would be killed as punishment (if she had been found out)?
Toward the end of the passage we once more get an account of a peace pact, this time between Jacob and Laban. I guess these sorts of folks had enough possessions and people in their employ to the equivalent of small countries in that time period, and having that sort of status probably merited this kind of behavior.
Voting on Laws
15 years ago
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I have no clue about the idols, either.
What I do find interesting is that Laban caught up to Jacob in Gilead. We sometimes hear of the "Balm of Gilead" as something that brings rest or peace to a person's soul. This story is a neat little testimony to that...that in Gilead Jacob and Laban were finally able to come to some sort of peace after all of the unfairness and strife.
Funny note: Gilead literally means "Rocky Region." That's a kind of poetic justice. Things were rocky between Laban and Jacob, and they found peace in the midst of a rocky place. Too coincidental to be a coincidence if you ask me.
Those are some very cool insights, Kas! I'll have to look up that phrase "balm of Gilead" - it sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't remember where else I've heard of it.
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