Jacob wanted to have a private conversation
with his two wives, so they met out in the field.
He said to them, “I worked hard for your father,
even though he changed our deal ten times.
The Lord protected me, and every time Laban
changed our agreement, God changed how the
lambs were born. Now your father is angry with
me. So the Angel of God has told me to return to
the land of my fathers.”
Both women agreed with him. They said, “Do
what God has told you to do. Our father sold us
to you and then spent the money. You haven’t
gotten anything from him that doesn’t already
belong to us and our children.”
So without telling Laban, Jacob took all that
he had, and started driving his herds toward
Canaan. Before they left, Rachel stole her father’s
family idol.
Three days later, Laban heard that Jacob had
left. He immediately took a group of men and
chased after Jacob. It took seven days to catch
up with him. The night before, God appeared to
Laban and said, “Watch out! Don’t do anything to
Jacob, good or bad.”
The next day, Laban met Jacob and said,
“Why did you do this to me? You left like a
thief in the night, and took my daughters and
grandchildren like they were prisoners. If you had
told me, I would’ve put on a grand party and sent
you off with a flair.”
“Now you’ve disgraced me, and if I wanted
to, I could destroy you right here. But last
night, the God of your fathers told me not to do
anything to you.
“I suppose I can understand your being
homesick and wanting to go home. But why did
you steal my family idol?”
Jacob said, “I didn’t steal your idol. Look for
yourself. Go ahead. Search our tents. If you find
it, I’ll kill the person who took it.” He didn’t know
that Rachel had taken it.
Laban searched the tents belonging to Jacob,
Leah, and the two maidservants. He then went
into Rachel’s tent. She was sitting on her camel
seat, where she had put the idol. She said,
“Father, please forgive me for not standing. I
am having my monthly period.” Laban looked
throughout her tent and didn’t find his idol.
At this point, Jacob became angry. He said,
“You’ve chased me here like I was a criminal.
You’ve searched everything I have. Have you
found anything that belongs to you? Bring it out
and put it in front of your men.
“No, you haven’t found anything! I worked
for you for twenty years. I endured the extreme
heat in the day, and the frost at night. I worked
without much sleep, so you could prosper. I
endured these hardships, and you still mistreated
me through it all.
“Then you made me bear all the loss for
anything that went wrong. I had to pay you if
someone stole a sheep. If an animal killed a
lamb, suddenly it was my lamb.”
“You changed our agreement ten times. I would
be standing here penniless if God hadn’t made
things right. Now he’s protecting me from you.”
Laban said, “Everything you have belongs
to me. Those are my daughters! Those are my
grandsons! Those are my flocks! But what can I
do now? Let’s make a firm agreement that can’t
be changed. Everyone here will be a witness to it.”
So all the men took stones and piled them
in a mound. Jacob and Laban agreed that
neither man would ever go to the other side of
the mound. Laban said, “These rocks are an
agreement between us. You’re not to mistreat my
daughters and take any other wives.”
Jacob then made a sacrifice to God and
afterwards everyone sat down to a meal. The
next morning, Laban kissed his daughters and
grandchildren, and blessed them. He then
returned to his home.
© God Child