Genesis 31:25-35 comments: Rachel hides her theft of her father's household gods

Genesis 31:25 ¶  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.

Having caught up with Jacob, Laban confronts him. Laban accuses Jacob of running off with HIS daughters like captives taken in war. He makes it sound like he would have been okay with their leaving and would have thrown them a party. A tabret is a musical instrument. See the context? The same word is translated in some places as a timbrel. This is like a tambourine today. Jacob has denied Laban the privilege of kissing his children and grandchildren goodbye, Laban complains. Then, while he admits that he has the power to hurt Jacob, presumably to kill him, take his goods, and return his daughters and grandchildren to his control, that the God of Jacob’s father warned him not to do so, as we have seen.

In verse 30, Laban brings up the accusation that Jacob has stolen his household gods, the images that Rachel had stolen as per verse 19. These gods, these idols, as I noted before, were particular to Laban’s family worship and their theft was a great wrong done to him, in the context of the culture of the ancient world. This is how degenerate the ancient world had become since the time of Noah, worship perhaps brought with his wife or children from the pre-Flood world, perhaps.

Jacob replies, justifying his actions based on his fear of Laban, and acknowledging the severity of the crime of stealing Laban’s household gods and not knowing that it was Rachel who stole them, and promises that whomever stole them will die.

He tells Laban that anything he finds that belongs to him, to take it. Laban does a search but cannot find the images. Rachel has hidden them in the equipment on which she sits, which belongs on her camel. She is sitting on that in the tent. She makes the excuse that she cannot get up because she is in her monthly period. This excuse is accepted and, of course, no one would have suspected that one of Laban’s daughters stole the family images. A woman in the ancient world, when married, left her family worship and that would mean the family images, as well. She was to embrace fully the religion of her husband’s family although she had no part in its inheritance except through her eldest son. Rachel, like many Christians today, cannot let go of the idols in which they place their trust.

It is interesting to note how God does not often punish his people as they deserve as He moves them along in His will. For instance, here the idolatry involved in household gods, clearly against everything that is pronounced in God’s ministry of reconciling mankind to Himself and creating a peculiar, special people for Himself, does not result in Rachel’s immediate destruction. Again, in other places where although we know that God’s plan was for one man and one woman to unite in matrimony for life men create a culture where multiple wives flourish and concubines are not uncommon. And yet, God focuses on His plan and not always on our sin as we think He should. Human beings are an unstable substance to work with but God’s ultimate will cannot be thwarted. We should not want to sin but we should be grateful for His mercy in not giving us what our sin deserves. See Job 11:6 when Zophar unjustly accuses Job of sin and Psalm 103:6-18.

Genesis 31:17-24 comments: Rachel's theft

Genesis 31:17 ¶  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 Padanaram, 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.

In the last passage we saw that God had kept Laban from doing Jacob harm.

7  And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.

We also saw in Abraham and Isaac’s lives how God had protected them from the power of others to do them harm. Jacob and his family are going to make their escape from Laban on camels, a common conveyance in those days. He drove the sheep he had won for himself and carried all of his goods with him. His intention was to return to Isaac in the land of Canaan. Laban, not aware that his daughters and son-in-law had taken off went to shear his own sheep and did not know for three days that Jacob left. He took off after Jacob’s party with plenty of backup. Laban’s force overtook Jacob’s party at Mount Gilead. But, God came to Laban in a dream, as He had come to Abimelech reported back in chapter 20, and warned him not to harm Jacob. In fact, just leave him alone.

Rachel had stolen Laban’s household gods, little figurines used for worship in this world. See comments on 4:16-18. Remember that there were gods a family worshipped and a god the community worshipped if they lived in a city. Each family had their own gods which represented the worship of ancestors. Living under the government of the family with the father as head and priest, the chief domestic divinities were formed from this ancestor worship for protection and success. They were intensely personal to the family and their theft would have been regarded as a great sin against the father of the family. It is also important to note that after the Flood when these gods were formed it was also possible to believe in a more powerful god, a unifying entity, such as a Zeus or a Baal or even Jehovah God, the LORD of the Bible, creator of all things, as well as your household images.[1] This is what happened and this is part of what Jehovah God was undoing by bringing men back from this idolatry after the Flood based in part on the added worship of mighty… men of renown, the giants from whom one can suppose that the famous gods of the ancient world were formed, and ancestors like Noah and Shem.

So, you can see that Rachel had committed a grievous wrong in that world.

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[1] Numa Denis Fustel De Coulanges, The Ancient City: A Study of the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome (1874, repr. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2006), 123.

Genesis 30:25 - 31:16 comments: Laban's envy

Genesis 30:25 ¶  And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country. 26  Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. 27  And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake. 28  And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. 29  And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me. 30  For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also? 31  And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock: 32  I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire. 33  So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me. 34  And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word. 35  And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons. 36  And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

30:37 ¶  And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. 38  And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink. 39  And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. 40  And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban’s cattle. 41  And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. 42  But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. 43  And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

Jacob wants to take his family and leave Laban, returning to his own country. Laban acknowledges that Jacob has been a wise steward of Laban’s flocks and has made Laban prosperous. He says, tell me what you want and I’ll pay you. Jacob reinforces that under his direction and by his work God has blessed Laban through Jacob which is what Laban admitted. Now, it is time for Jacob to acquire wealth of his own.

It is interesting to note in history how the Jew, living in the countries of the Gentiles, has made Gentiles rich and prosperous by their skills at handling money and commerce. It is also interesting how, like Laban, the Gentiles have, more often than not, resented the Jews, rather than thanked them, as we shall soon see of Laban.

We don’t learn until the next chapter that God has arranged for this method of Jacob acquiring wealth and it is not some arcane and ancient form of sheepherding. It is pointless to try to explain the events regarding the sheep without believing in God’s miraculous involvement in Jacob’s life.

Genesis chapter 31

Genesis 31:1 ¶  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 Bethel, 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’s cousins, Laban’s sons, are envious of Jacob’s success. Laban himself is showing signs of being hostile to Jacob from his own envy. Many commissioned salespersons can relate a story of a manager who resented their success even though the salesperson was making the manager money. It is one of those strange things about business where a boss can resent an employee’s success even when that success puts money in his own pocket. I’ve witnessed it myself at a small single-lot mobile/modular home dealership in the late 1980s.

God told Jacob to go home to where he was from and that God would be with him. Jacob called Rachel and Leah together and reminded them about how their father had changed his wages so many times and yet God had made Jacob successful and blessed him with wealth. He told them how God had appeared to him and said that He had seen how Laban had treated him and told Jacob to go back from where he came. God reminded Jacob that He was the God of Bethel where Jacob had the dream of the ladder to heaven. Most importantly, Jacob understood that God was responsible for the condition of the sheep and was behind what happened.

The Bible teaches us that God often uses people and methods to express His will which go beyond natural explanations but involve natural means. It is an important aspect of God’s will, using human agency while being responsible for the effort Himself. For instance, in Exodus 17 Israel is victorious if Moses’ hands are held up and they begin to lose if his hands are lowered. So, his arms are held up by rocks to keep them up. But, we know that it was God who gave the victory. Why not just have them win without Moses’ even being there? Simply because the action invested authority in God’s man and God working with human efforts that would be impotent without Him God moves His will forward. Neither Jacob putting sticks in water troughs nor Moses holding up his hands have any power to accomplish anything without God’s direct will being involved. This teaches us not to wait for a miracle passively but to pray and get busy, praying that God will work through you, if what you want to do is His will. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wait for God’s direction, revealing His direct and perfect will, and inspiration, giving understanding, but it just shows that God may use your efforts, no matter how weak and irrelevant they may seem, to accomplish His purpose.

The treatment the doctor applies to your sickness heals you but the Bible teaches that it is God who does the healing, only often as not, through human agency and effort. A family hurt is soothed because you went and apologized to a family member and although God did the soothing He used your willingness to act favorably in the matter to accomplish the calming. Understand, though, that the doctor’s effort without God’s will or your words of regret would have no effect without God. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that it was all you or the doctor’s great skill alone. And although God can heal without a doctor and can level out family difficulties without your apology He more often than not will use them both to perform His will.

Rachel and Leah both agree that Laban, their father, had not been exactly upright in his dealings. He had taken their money by cheating their husband. The wealth that Jacob had gotten from Laban was theirs and their children’s. In the end they were willing for Jacob to do whatever God led him to do.

Proverbs 13:22 ¶  A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

Genesis 30:14-24 comments: Joseph is born to Rachel

Genesis 30:14 ¶  And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes. 15  And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s mandrakes. 16  And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. 17  And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son. 18  And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar. 19  And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son. 20  And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun. 21  And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah. 22  And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. 23  And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: 24  And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.

In these passages we have been shown a great example of God’s permissive will. We have seen events occur that God did not specifically command or ordain but we see the actions and reactions of human beings and how God wove their free will into His will that a people should be formed whom He would enter in at a singular point in history as the Son of God, God in the flesh, who was and is Jesus Christ.

Mandrakes were, according to some authors, thought to be useful for stimulating fertility as well as for having an aphrodisiac quality. This was a purely humanistic and superstitious belief which, like others of man then and now, God simply ignores. Here, we are told of the argument between Rachel and Leah regarding mandrakes. Yet, it is only when God chooses to acknowledge or hearken unto Leah that she conceives. God cares not a whit for your rabbit’s foot, whether you think wearing your socks inside out is lucky, or for any other lucky charm you carry from your heathen ancestors. His will shall be done regardless of such accouterments. Do not mistake the mention of something in the Bible for God’s approval or for any power on its part. It merely reveals the incomplete and imperfect understanding of the Bible’s characters, similar to our own in many cases.

God heard Leah and gave her Issachar, meaning that God has paid Leah. He is sort of like her payment for giving up the mandrakes, in her thinking. She then gave birth to Zebulun, named so because God had lifted her up and given her a plentiful dowry with which to bless her husband.

Finally, she gave birth to a daughter named Dinah. Although it is not evident from the text Dinah’s name has a similar meaning to Dan’s in it being judgment.

Rachel is not forgotten. We’ve seen this use of the word remembered before, if you recall, in comments on 8:1.

And God remembered Rachel does not say, in this context, that God forgot about her but that God revisited her, brought her back into play, turned His attention to her. In pre-1611 dictionaries something remembered was something worthy to be mentioned, thought about, or spoken of, not as it is often today, something I had forgotten but has now come to mind.

Joseph’s name means that Jehovah, which is what LORD is with all capitals, has added, which is evident by the context.

Genesis 30:1-13 comments: Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher

Genesis 30:1 ¶  And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. 2  And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? 3  And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. 4  And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. 5  And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. 6  And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan. 7  And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. 8  And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali. 9  When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. 10  And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son. 11  And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad. 12  And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son. 13  And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

Rachel envied her older sister’s success at giving their husband four sons. She holds Jacob responsible for her infertility. Jacob angrily states that it is God who has withheld a baby from her, which is true. God is in complete and immanent control of conception and birth, the entire process.

Here, she does something entirely alien to us, a repeat of Sarah’s behavior with Hagar. She offers her handmaid, who obviously has no rights to herself, as a surrogate for herself as a wife. This, what we would consider adultery, must not have been uncommon in the ancient world. Here, and elsewhere, we get a picture of the method of childbirth used in this part of the ancient world. …she shall bear upon my knees. Note the following;

Exodus 1:16  And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

The modern child-bearing position is on your back. The ancient was sitting on someone’s knees or a stool, a birthstool, pictures of which relics can be found on the internet if you are interested. I have read, though I cannot confirm, that birthstools were used in Europe during the Middle Ages. One Jewish source I read reported that ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics show the development of a chair type device with a hole where the seat is normally, much like a toilet seat today.

Bilhah does conceive and bear a son whom Rachel called Dan. The power to name is the power of dominion over someone or something as we saw from Adam. Rachel owns Bilhah and counts her children as her own. Dan, from the context, means judge and Strong’s confirms this. The Hebrew word also comes from a primitive root meaning to plead a cause before a judge so that we can see from the context, if we do not go to Strong’s, what God wants the name to mean.

Again, Bilhah, on behalf of Rachel bears Naphtali, whose name means wrestling. Then, Leah, realizing that she was no longer having children, gave her maid, Zilpah, to her husband. She then conceived and bore Gad, whose name means a troop. Certainly, their family was becoming a troop. Zilpah then bears Asher for Leah and Jacob. The word blessed here is defined as being happy in something you have received at the hand of God.

Genesis 29:31-35 comments: Leah's gives birth to Reuben, Simeon, Levi, & Judah

Genesis 29:31 ¶  And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. 32  And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. 33  And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. 34  And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. 35  And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.

See comments on chapter 25:29-34 for an explanation of how hate can be used as to hold in low esteem or to hold in contempt or just to love less. God gives His blessing on Leah by making it possible for her to conceive as she is held in lower esteem by Jacob than Rachel. But Rachel was barren in that she could not conceive. In gratitude Leah named her first born, Reuben, which means, “Behold, a son,” according to Strong, while the context would imply God seeing Leah’s misery, her affliction. In fact, there are those other than Strong’s who define this Hebrew name as, “who sees the son,” or, “the vision of the son.” Another Jewish source has it as, in opposition to Strong’s view, is, “He has seen my affliction (misery.)” Look at the context and think for yourself what Reuben’s name means. Strong’s, while depended upon by most Bibles today is not the absolute source of definition for Bible words and names. The Bible itself is. I would presume that the Holy Spirit knows what He wants a word to mean in context.

Leah and Jacob’s second son is named Simeon. In the context meaning, “he has heard,” also confirmed by Jewish sources. Levi, the third son, would then mean, “joined to,” and Judah, from whom the line of Christ comes, would mean, “praise.” We might think of these four births as saying, “God has seen my misery. He has heard me. Now, my husband and I will be united and I will praise God.”

Genesis 29:1-30 comments: Jacob, Rachel, and Leah

Genesis 29:1 ¶  Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. 2  And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well’s mouth. 3  And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well’s mouth in his place. 4  And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. 5  And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. 6  And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. 7  And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. 8  And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.

Genesis 29:9 ¶  And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep: for she kept them. 10  And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11  And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. 12  And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s brother, and that he was Rebekah’s son: and she ran and told her father. 13  And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. 14  And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month.

Jacob went back in the direction from whence Abraham had come. So, he finds a well with three flocks of sheep waiting to be watered by a well that had a great stone covering it. What tremendous preaching material you can get from passages like this. Think of the Resurrection of Christ leaving a tomb covered by a great stone, giving living water to those sheep thirsting for it. There are so many possibilities with this. Three flocks might represent Noah’s three sons whose descendants overspread the whole earth waiting for this life-giving water. Such good preaching material and I’m sure you can think of more.

Can you see Jacob in this scene as a type of the angel of the Lord rolling the stone away from Christ’s tomb? (Matthew 28:2)

Genesis 29:15 ¶  And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? 16  And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17  Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. 18  And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. 19  And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. 20  And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. 21  And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. 22  And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. 23  And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her. 24  And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid. 25  And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? 26  And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27  Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. 28  And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. 29  And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. 30  And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.

Laban calls Jacob his brother, which clearly in this context means a close relation, as Jacob is his nephew. Brother can easily be used to refer to someone who is a comrade or a fellow believer in Christ. It can also refer to the brotherhood of mankind as in Genesis 9:5.

Jacob, the trickster, is now going to be tricked. Laban is a very clever man. He allows Jacob to work seven years under the promise of Jacob receiving Rachel as his bride. Instead he gives Jacob Leah, her older sister. Notice that the wedding ceremony is a feast at the end of which the father just gives his daughter to the husband-to-be. Not very romantic from the point of view of today’s woman.

Laban’s excuse is that the custom of the country is for the older to be married before the younger but it seems more likely that Laban probably worried that his oldest, not so beautiful and well favoured, would not find a husband. As Leah is tender eyed, which carries with it the implication of weakness or deficiency in Early Modern English and in the Hebrew text, perhaps she was a bit cross-eyed, who can say. Jacob was drawn to the prettier daughter. This type of carnal attitude seems more worthy of Esau and marriages based on this do not have a good foundation. But, let’s give Laban the benefit of the doubt and agree it was the custom not to marry the younger before the elder. He still tricked Jacob, the clever deceiver. You have to wonder if he did not know whom he was consummating a marriage with that perhaps this feast included a liberal supply of wine as one could reasonably assume that her veil would be taken off when the marriage was completed.

It appears from a literal reading of the text that Jacob gave Leah a week of being the only wife and then received Rachel, for whom he worked an additional seven years to pay off her father. Notice the difference here between Jacob and Isaac. In the Ancient Near East a bride did not just marry a husband but joined another family, leaving the family of her birth. Rebekah was brought to Isaac. Here, Jacob is in bondage to his brides’ father. Also, while we might wonder about the dowry given by the bride’s family there was also the ancient “bridewealth” given by the groom’s family. Here, Jacob’s servitude for fourteen years serves that function and he will leave with wealth after another six years.

Jacob has worked for Laban up to this point and acquired two wives with their handmaids and his living in the process.

Genesis 28:10-22 comments: Jacob's ladder

Genesis 28:10 ¶  And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11  And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12  And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13  And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14  And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15  And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

God’s choosing of Jacob to continue His ministry of reconciliation, of reconciling man to Himself, is confirmed here in this dream. The dream has special significance as prophecy. For Jesus Himself refers to its meaning.

John 1:51  And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

Christ is the ladder from earth to heaven. He is the bridge between man and God. This is an important fact of human history, perhaps the most important fact after God’s existence. There is no other way to go from here to there except through Him.

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Acts 4:12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

All other founders of religion, messiahs, or masters were either deluded or frauds or both.

John 10:8  All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

Jehovah God reinforces the land grant given to Abraham and Isaac now to Jacob and to his posterity. All the families of the earth will be blessed through Jacob and his descendants. Indeed, the Saviour of the world will come through this line. The gospel will be preached around the entire earth. God’s reconciliation will circle the globe and the whole earth will hear about His forgiveness and His desire to have mankind restored to his relationship with God.

God promises protection, that He will stand by Jacob, and that His will, God’s will, will be accomplished.

Hebrews 13:5b  …for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Isaiah 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Genesis 28:16 ¶  And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. 17  And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18  And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19  And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. 20  And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21  So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: 22  And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

Jacob awoke from his dream frightened. He considered that the location of his dream was the doorway to Heaven, the abode of God, itself. He then prepared a commemoration of what happened with the stone he had prepared for his pillow and poured oil over it. We will see stones set up for memorials later as well as oil poured on things and people to signify their sanctification, being set apart for God, as well.

Leviticus 8:12  And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.

Joshua 4:3  And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. 4  Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: 5  And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: 6  That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? 7  Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

A town named Bethel will form about this but first it will be called Luz

Genesis 35:6  So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.

Jacob makes a curious vow, which would not be acceptable for a Christian knowing what we know now and having what we have. He says that if God protects him and gives him food and clothing and brings him back to his father’s house in peace then the God of his fathers will be his God. He calls the stone he set for a pillar and a memorial God’s house and promises to render to God the tenth, the tithe of his increase, to God.

One of the things that confuses the preacher who tries to put the Christian back under the Old Testament is the Old Testament personage’s proclivity to make deals with God. God promises them something if they respond a certain way and they promise to serve God if He provides certain things for them. A preacher reflects this when he talks about doing business with God.  The Old Testament saint was promised a physical, temporal blessing of bounty and success on this earth if he obeyed. The Christian is not promised wealth, land, or worldly things. He or she will have an amazing relationship with God but also tribulation and suffering with a hope and promise of eternal life when this life is over.

God’s ministry of reconciliation required the creation of maintenance of a people and a place as the seat of God’s work. But, with Christ the seat of God’s work is not in a specific location apart from the heart of every Christian. There are no sacred spaces in New Testament Christianity save for that heart of flesh in which abides the Spirit of God.

This inability to see the difference between the relationship these people had with God and our relationship with God creates a totally upside down doctrinal attitude. Paul said;

1Corinthians 1:22  For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

As God was drawing these men and women to Him in His ministry of reconciling mankind to Himself they needed and wanted proof, some kind of sign, prodigy, or sort of figurative contractual agreement that underscored and confirmed His word and His promises. The gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the confirmation of what God has promised us. We need no other and we do err greatly if we downplay the importance of the indwelling of the Spirit of God as the seal of our salvation, the deposit on that promise, and what secures the believer in Christ.

Ephesians 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 4:30  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

When you receive Christ as your Saviour the Holy Spirit indwells you in a way that it indwells no person who has not trusted Him. The proof that you have the Spirit inside you is what comes out of you which should give most so-called Christians pause to wonder if they are truly believers in Christ or just caught up in some kind of counterfeit Christian culture.

Galatians 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26  Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Ephesians 5:8  For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9  (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10  Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

 It is also of note in this passage to see that the skeptic who says that the ancient Jew was unaware of any concept of Heaven as put forward in the Bible is wrong. Jacob clearly had an understanding that there was a Heaven and that it was not a place on this earth.

Genesis 28:1-9 comments: Isaac blesses Jacob while Esau takes another wife

Genesis 28:1 ¶  And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 2  Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother. 3  And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; 4  And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham. 5  And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

Amazingly, to us anyway, Isaac, knowing now of Jacob’s deception blesses him again. Perhaps he was relieved that Jacob would be going away. But, he commands Jacob to go to his Uncle Laban’s house and take a wife from his own people. Genetic deterioration would not have been significant in those early days of man’s history as it is now in our degenerated state. Marrying a cousin would not necessarily have been unhealthy but, even if it was, it was a practice not uncommon.

Isaac blesses Jacob in that he may be multiplied and a great many people will come from him. Remember the blessing Rebekah received?

Genesis 24:60  And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

Isaac passed on the blessing given by God to Abraham regarding the land grant, and to his posterity. Clearly, Jacob did not physically receive this inheritance but it is for his posterity. Many prophecies in the Bible are for a future time, not the time in which they are given.

Hebrews 11:8  By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9  By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11  Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 12  Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. 13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Always keep in mind how God’s plan of reconciling mankind to Himself is playing out in this history.

Genesis 28:6 ¶  When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; 7  And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram; 8  And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; 9  Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

Esau, like other men in this culture, gathered to himself several wives as the phrase took unto the wives he had indicates. Is Esau here, though, defying his parents or is he trying to please them by marrying a distant relative? Ishmael is his uncle (Isaac and Ishmael had the same father but not the same mother) so Mahalath is his cousin.

Genesis 27:30-46 comments: Jacob forced to leave his family

Genesis 27:30 ¶  And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31  And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me. 32  And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau. 33  And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed. 34  And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. 35  And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing. 36  And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? 37  And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? 38  And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. 39  And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; 40  And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

It doesn’t take long for Isaac to realize what has been done to him. He was suspicious but with Esau’s immediate entry after Jacob’s departure it was pretty obvious. Verse 33 shows that Isaac, even if deceived, was not going to revoke his blessing. Indeed, there is no indication that it was even possible to revoke a blessing already made. God had blessed Ham and Noah’s prophecy, after Ham’s behavior, was directed at Ham’s son, not Ham.

Genesis 9:1 ¶  And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth…24 ¶  And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. 25  And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

Esau begs for a blessing but Isaac acknowledges that Jacob came with subtilty, a trait we learned about Satan in chapter 3, a trait which will come back to haunt Jacob as he is tricked by his uncle shortly in a similar manner.

Verse 36 tells us Jacob’s name should mean supplanter, someone who replaces, who takes someone’s place, and Strong’s dictionary, although not the only authority and which should never be taken as equal to the Bible itself, agrees. Esau accuses Jacob of taking away his birthright when he willingly gave it to Jacob and here, in truth, he accuses Jacob of taking his blessing, which was the ultimate consequence of his surrendering his birthright.

Esau pleads for a blessing but Isaac tells him there is none left. He has made Jacob his heir. So, Isaac does bless him, in a manner of speaking, although Esau will hate Jacob for that blessing. He will take that blessing and make it his excuse for wanting to kill Jacob when his father dies.

Isaac does give Esau a blessing but it is the blessing for a person who must live off the land, living by the sword, until he frees himself from his brother’s yoke. This, too, is a prophecy for a future time, as we will see, although Esau takes it very personally and immediate.

2Kings 8:22  Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day.

Genesis 27:41 ¶  And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. 42  And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. 43  Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; 44  And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away; 45  Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? 46  And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

At this point Esau planned on killing Jacob once their father had died. Someone, perhaps a servant or even Esau himself, told Rebekah who told Jacob. She told him to run away to his Uncle Laban. A few days clearly just means a period of time until Esau’s heat of anger dies down. In fact, Esau will not be full of rage at Jacob when they meet again. God did not permit Esau’s wrath to fester and turn into a quest for revenge. Rebekah promises to call Jacob from his exile. And, she tells Isaac that she wants Jacob to leave lest he, too, take Hittite wives.

Proverbs 16:7  When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Genesis 27:6-29 comments: Jacob and his mother, Rebekah, deceive Isaac

Genesis 27:6 ¶  And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 7  Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death. 8  Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 9  Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: 10  And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. 11  And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: 12  My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. 13  And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. 14  And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. 15  And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: 16  And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: 17  And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

Genesis 27:18 ¶  And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? 19  And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. 20  And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me. 21  And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. 22  And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23  And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him. 24  And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. 25  And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26  And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. 27  And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: 28  Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: 29  Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

As God’s plan of reconciling man to Himself unfolds in its particulars, the theme of the Bible, here we find the deception of a feeble old man by his wife and son. We have no evidence to say that Isaac knew what we know, that Esau had given up his birthright to Jacob for a meal. In fact, it is possible that may not have been legal from a cultural perspective anyway. The fact that Jacob felt justified, along with his mother who probably did know what Esau had been willing to do, is what matters here. It is the fulfillment of prophecy given to Rebekah, not to Isaac.

25:23  And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

Isaac blesses Jacob, thinking he was blessing Esau, passing on authority over his siblings. He also repeated God’s blessing on Abraham to Jacob.

Genesis 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Jacob’s blessing is bit more earthy and more immediate than Abraham’s though. Rather than promising that Jacob will be a blessing to all families of the earth, which Jehovah Himself will do later, he is told that nations will bow to him and he will rule over his own siblings. He is now given the birthright and we see the foundation laid for the fulfillment of the prophecy and curse against Canaan from earlier on. The nations of Canaan will bow down and those who curse his progeny will be cursed.

Genesis 9:25  And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26  And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 27  God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

To curse the Hebrews was in the hearts of Balak, king of Moab, and the other kings of Canaan. It was the commission he wanted to give to Balaam, the heathen prophet.

Numbers 22:4b …And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5  He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me: 6  Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.

Although Balaam refused to outright curse the Hebrews he was willing to offer counsel to subvert them and make rotten their culture and standing with God from the inside.

Numbers 31:16  Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.

But, this desire to curse the Hebrews, came back on them.

Numbers 31:8  And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

Jacob, posing as Esau, has deceived his father to gain the blessing that would have gone to Esau. But, we shall soon see that Jacob is to be sent away. He will not control his father’s wealth and he will have no opportunity to rule over his brethren. This prophecy is for future generations about to be revealed. We will see that Esau is not going to remain as unhappy as we will see him in the next passage, or as angry. Essentially Esau loses nothing but his place in God’s ministry of reconciliation, which matters little to a carnal man like himself as it does not matter to many Christians, who prefer a worldly kingdom to a heavenly one.

For centuries many countries in Europe and the United States of America viewed themselves as God’s chosen vessel. They tried to create in their minds God’s kingdom out of a temporal physical place. This Replacement Theology where an organization like the Catholic or Anglican churches or a country like Spain, Germany, England, France, Russia, or the United States declares that it is divinely inspired and God’s special country is the work of many carnal men. They failed and were judged by God and are being judged because man is an incorrigible sinner and the Christian’s home is in heaven and his capital is the New Jerusalem, not Madrid, Berlin, London, Paris, Moscow, or Washington D.C.