In this blog, we'll focus on the working being done at Sligo Presbyterian Church, Sligo, Pennsylvania. We'll also look at what's happening in Sligo, Rimersburg, Clarion, and all the other communities served by our congregation.
We're going to spend the summer of 2023 with the Patriarchs. During eleven worship services, beginning on Father's Day, we'll use passages from the book of Genesis to look at Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, focusing on how the Lord was consistently and actively involved in their lives. And by the end of the summer, we should have a better understanding of the one whom they followed and on how that same God can lead us. During this series, we'll look at the stories and passages below:
August 6 - Jacob with Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29:15-28)
August 13 - Jacob Becomes Israel (Genesis 32:22-31)
August 20 - Joseph and His Brothers (Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28)
August 27 - Joseph Tells His Brothers Who He Is (Genesis 45:1-15)
On Sunday, the service focused on what we can learn from the story of Jacob with Leah and Rachel according to Genesis 29:15-28. A video of the service, a recording of the sermon and copy of the bulletin are below. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel at 10:00 a.m.
We're going to spend the summer of 2023 with the Patriarchs. During eleven worship services, beginning on Father's Day, we'll use passages from the book of Genesis to look at Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, focusing on how the Lord was consistently and actively involved in their lives. And by the end of the summer, we should have a better understanding of the one whom they followed and on how that same God can lead us. During this series, we'll look at the stories and passages below:
August 6 - Jacob with Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29:15-28)
August 13 - Jacob Becomes Israel (Genesis 32:22-31)
August 20 - Joseph and His Brothers (Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28)
August 27 - Joseph Tells His Brothers Who He Is (Genesis 45:1-15)
On Sunday, the message focused on what we can learn from the story of Jacob, Leah and Rachel,Genesis 29:15-28. A recording and copy of the sermon are below. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel at 10:00 a.m.
Of course, Maggie and Debbie aren’t here this morning, they’re in Indianapolis. Debbie is reliving the ‘80s with her two best friends from high school, Kathy and Lora. And Maggie is hanging out with her favorite aunt and uncle, Carla and Rick. And although right now they’re not at the same place, at the same time, I believe they have one important thing in common. They both miss me, or at the very least Coco.
Now, they were able to make this little trip without me, which they’re both calling a vacation for reasons I don’t fully understand, because Maggie is between apartments right now, and so she’s been home for the last week. And so, this past Wednesday, as sort of a treat, Debbie thought it would be a good idea to go to a movie, you know, as a family. Of course, as some of y’all may know, there are some powerful movies playing in Clarion right now. I mean, you’ve got Sound of Freedom, all about child trafficking, and Oppenheimer, about the development of the atomic bomb: powerful stuff, right? And so, knowing my love of history, naturally, we saw Barbie.
And you know, as I was working on my sermon yesterday, it hit me that one particular part of the movie really has a lot to do with what we’re talking about this morning. You see, without giving too much away, at one point in the story, the stereotypical Barbie, the one played by Margot Robbie, feels absolutely powerless over what she sees happening in Barbieland. And I’ll tell you, I think that’s the same sort of thing going on in the scripture we’re looking at this morning, namely the passage about Jacob with Leah and Rachel, the only story about the patriarchs we’ve seen so far that doesn’t mention God at all. I mean, it was God who chose Abram and promised Abraham and Sarah a son. And it was God who told Abraham to send away Ishmael and Hagar and to sacrifice his son Isaac. And God played an important role when Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac and when Isaac and Rebekah had twin boys, Jacob and Esau, and certainly when Jacob had the vision of the ladder to heaven at Bethel. You see, God played some part in each of those stories, but when you’re talking about how Jacob ended up married to both Leah and Rachel, God’s name isn’t mentioned at all.
And I’ll tell you, that’s really what we’re going to look at this morning, and I’m talking about those times in our lives when God seems nowhere to be found. That’s going to be our focus. And we’re going to discuss it by looking at the story itself without break and explanation and then by relating it to ourselves. Now that’s the plan.
And like I said, we’re going to start by looking at the story itself. And just to sort of set it up, this was what happened right before verse fifteen. You see, after experiencing his dream at Bethel, Jacob made his way to his uncle Laban, and the two started talking about what Jacob could do in order to earn his room and board. And right after Jacob offered to do some work for Laban, this is what it says in Genesis:
Laban said to him, “You shouldn't have to work without pay, just because you are a relative of mine. What do you want me to give you?”
Laban had two daughters. Leah was older than Rachel, but her eyes didn't sparkle, while Rachel was beautiful and had a good figure. Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he answered, “If you will let me marry Rachel, I'll work seven years for you.”
Laban replied, “It's better for me to let you marry Rachel than for someone else to have her. So stay and work for me.” Jacob worked seven years for Laban, but the time seemed like only a few days, because he loved Rachel so much.
Jacob said to Laban, “The time is up, and I want to marry Rachel now!” So Laban gave a big feast and invited all their neighbors. But that evening he brought Leah to Jacob, who married her and spent the night with her. Laban also gave Zilpah to Leah as her servant woman.
The next morning Jacob found out that he had married Leah, and he asked Laban, “Why did you do this to me? Didn't I work to get Rachel? Why did you trick me?”
Laban replied, “In our country the older daughter must get married first. After you spend this week with Leah, you may also marry Rachel. But you will have to work for me another seven years.”
At the end of the week of celebration, Laban let Jacob marry Rachel, and he gave her his servant woman Bilhah. Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah, but he had to work another seven years for Laban. [Genesis 29:15-30, CEV]
Now that’s what it says. You see, the same guy who’d already cheated his brother out of his birthright and lied to his father to steal the blessing that should have gone to Esau, Jacob, the “Heel,” was totally ripped off by his uncle and future double father-in-law Laban. I think that’s what you can call karma.
And you know, even though I’m assuming that nobody here has ever faced this specific situation, I think we can all identify with what he must have been feeling. Because, I’ll tell you, I believe we all know there are times when life seems unfair and we feel powerless. I mean, just think about what happened to Jacob; can anyone call this fair? Good night nurse, he’d already made an arrangement with Laban, that in exchange for seven years of work, he’d get to marry Rachel, the woman whom Jacob loved so much. Now that was the contract. But then, on the day of the wedding, after Laban had thrown him a big party, which may have involved some alcohol (something that fortunately we no longer serve at weddings for this very reason), when Jacob woke up the next morning, he discovered he was married to Leah, the sister who wasn’t beautiful and who didn’t have a good figure and who couldn’t get her eyes to sparkle. Now that’s what happened, and after the deed was done, well, Jacob was powerless to do anything about it, wasn’t he? I mean, back in the day, there were no annulments or quickie divorces and so he was stuck with Leah. But since they didn’t seem to have any problems with bigamy, not unlike the reality show Sister Wives, Laban allowed him to work seven more years in order to marry Rachel right now. And you know, if we take the moral issues and general creepiness out, I think we’d agree that all of this really was unfair and that Jacob was really powerless to do anything about it.
And I don’t know about y’all, but as I look at my own life and the lives of folks I know, darn it, there are times when life still seems unfair and I feel powerless. For example, I’m thinking about a middle-aged woman whom I knew well when I was in Weirton whose husband one day just up and left her or about the guy with an extremely sick wife who recently got laid off and lost his health insurance or about my own brother Gary, who in spite of his beauty, is a Type 1 diabetic. And these are just a few examples from my own life, and I don’t believe I’m alone. As a matter of fact, I think everybody faces times when life just seems downright unfair and when we feel powerless to do anything about it. And if you can say that it’s never happened to you or anyone you love, I just have one word for you: wait. You see, sadly, this unfairness and this lack of power, man, it just seems to be a fact of life, a characteristic of living. And that’s true even in the Bible. I mean, as it relates to life not being fair, just listen to what it says in Ecclesiastes:
Here is something else I have learned:
The fastest runners
and the greatest heroes
don't always win races
and battles.
Wisdom, intelligence, and skill
don't always make you healthy,
rich, or popular.
We each have our own share
of misfortune.
None of us know when we might fall victim to a sudden disaster and find ourselves like fish in a net or birds in a trap. [Ecclesiastes 9:11-12, CEV]
And as to feeling powerless, just consider how the disciples must have felt when this happened:
Jesus and his disciples returned to the crowd. A man knelt in front of him and said, “Lord, have pity on my son! He has a bad case of epilepsy and often falls into a fire or into water. I brought him to your disciples, but none of them could heal him.”
Jesus said, “You people are too stubborn to have any faith! How much longer must I be with you? Why do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy here.” Then Jesus spoke sternly to the demon. It went out of the boy, and right then he was healed.
Later the disciples went to Jesus in private and asked him, “Why couldn't we force out the demon?” [Matthew 17:14-19, CEV]
I’ll tell you, it really doesn’t matter who you are or whom you follow, I think we all have something in common: there are times when life seems unfair and we feel powerless.
And you know, when this kind of thing happens, and trust me, it will, we are not feeble and we are not helpless and we are not weak. And I’ll tell you why. You see, when life seems unfair and when we feel powerless, it’s at those times, we can trust in God and do the best we can, and I’m talking about the best we can with what we’ve got. And even though there’s no indication in this Genesis story that Jacob showed any kind of faith, he certainly played the hand he’d been dealt, deciding to work another seven years for the guy who’d pulled a fast one.
But you know, as we look at ourselves and try to figure out what we’re going to do when we feel threatened by problems and pain that seem to have more control over us than we have over them, I’m telling you, at those times, we can certainly trust in God, leaning on him for support when life seems to be coming apart at the seams and we don’t know why. You see, we can decide to see God in the same way the Psalmist saw him when he wrote this:
God is our mighty fortress,
always ready to help
in times of trouble.
And so, we won't be afraid!
Let the earth tremble
and the mountains tumble
into the deepest sea.
Let the ocean roar and foam,
and its raging waves
shake the mountains. [Psalm 46:1-3, CEV]
And we can claim the words of Paul when he wrote this to the Romans:
In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don't know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God's people. We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. [Romans 8:26-28a, CEV]
I’m telling you, when life seems unfair and we feel powerless, we can trust in God. But that’s not all.
Because, at those times, we can also do the best we can with what we’ve got. And you know, even if we don’t have much, we all have something: something that we can use to help us deal with what we’re facing and something that we can offer that can keep us moving in the direction we’ve been called and created to go. In fact, even if we have very little to use and to offer, in the sight of God, man, it is enough. But I’ll tell you, regardless of what it is, how we use it, well, that always comes down to a decision. It’s like Paul wrote to the Galatians,
Don't get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don't give up. We should help people whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord. [Galatians 6:9-10, CEV]
You see, regardless of what we have or don’t have, I’m telling you, this we can do. And I’ll tell you something else, as we try to figure out what it is and how it can be used, we can remember that we’re offering it together. And you know, isn’t that what the Body of Christ is all about, working together in order to help people? Sure it is; it always was and it always will be. And if you don’t believe me, just listen to what it says in the Letter to the Hebrews:
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side of God's throne! [Hebrews 12:1-2, CEV]
You see, regardless of what we’re facing or how we feel, at those times, we can trust in God and do the best we can.
Now, like I said, on Wednesday, Debbie, Maggie and I saw Barbie, and I’ve got to admit, I really liked it, although remember, I’m a guy who has no problem wearing a pink shirt. And in case you were wondering, as it turned out, when faced with her own problem in Barbieland, the stereotypical Barbie endures to the end and everyone grows including all the other Barbies and all the Kens but sadly not the one and only Allan. For the most part, they all got beyond their problems.
And you know, that was also true for Jacob and can be true for us. You see, like it was for him, for us, well, there are times when life seems unfair and we feel powerless. But I’ll tell you, at those times, we can decide to trust in God and to do the best we can with what we have. You see, this is something we can do, because there are times when our lives seem a lot like the story of Jacob with Leah and Rachel.
We're going to spend the summer of 2023 with the Patriarchs. During eleven worship services, beginning on Father's Day, we'll use passages from the book of Genesis to look at Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, focusing on how the Lord was consistently and actively involved in their lives. And by the end of the summer, we should have a better understanding of the one whom they followed and on how that same God can lead us. During this series, we'll look at the stories and passages below:
August 6 - Jacob with Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29:15-28)
August 13 - Jacob Becomes Israel (Genesis 32:22-31)
August 20 - Joseph and His Brothers (Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28)
August 27 - Joseph Tells His Brothers Who He Is (Genesis 45:1-15)
On Sunday, we'll focus on what we can learn from the story of Jacob, Leah and Rachel, Genesis 29:15-28. Below is the passage on which we'll focus.
Genesis 29:15-30 [Contemporary English Version]
15 Laban said to him, “You shouldn't have to work without pay, just because you are a relative of mine. What do you want me to give you?”
16-17 Laban had two daughters. Leah was older than Rachel, but her eyes didn't sparkle, while Rachel was beautiful and had a good figure. 18 Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he answered, “If you will let me marry Rachel, I'll work seven years for you.”
19 Laban replied, “It's better for me to let you marry Rachel than for someone else to have her. So stay and work for me.” 20 Jacob worked seven years for Laban, but the time seemed like only a few days, because he loved Rachel so much.
21 Jacob said to Laban, “The time is up, and I want to marry Rachel now!” 22 So Laban gave a big feast and invited all their neighbors. 23 But that evening he brought Leah to Jacob, who married her and spent the night with her. 24 Laban also gave Zilpah to Leah as her servant woman.
25 The next morning Jacob found out that he had married Leah, and he asked Laban, “Why did you do this to me? Didn't I work to get Rachel? Why did you trick me?”
26 Laban replied, “In our country the older daughter must get married first. 27 After you spend this week with Leah, you may also marry Rachel. But you will have to work for me another seven years.”
28-30 At the end of the week of celebration, Laban let Jacob marry Rachel, and he gave her his servant woman Bilhah. Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah, but he had to work another seven years for Laban.
The Book of Genesis establishes the foundation on which the Bible rests. It offers us insight into the nature of both God and humanity, and it begins a story of promise and hope that will culminate in the coming of Jesus. Over sixteen weeks, we’ll study the Genesis, focusing on the following:
Session 15 - Joseph and His Brothers, part 2 (Genesis 42:1 – 45:28)
Session 16 - Israel in Egypt (Genesis 46:1 – 50:26)
During our eleventh discussion in this series, we looked at Genesis 28:10 – 31:55. The passage is below:
Genesis 28:10 – 31:55
Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first. Then Jacob made 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 clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one tenth to you.”
Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the people of the east. As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying there beside it; for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well. Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” He said to them, “Do you know Laban son of Nahor?” They said, “We do.” He said to them, “Is it well with him?” “Yes,” they replied, “and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with the sheep.” He said, “Look, it is still broad daylight; it is not time for the animals to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.” But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”
While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep; for she kept them. Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and wept aloud. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son; and she ran and told her father. When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him; he embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.
Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” Laban said, “This is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn. Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife. (Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maid.) So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. He served Laban for another seven years.
When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. Leah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Reuben; for she said, “Because the Lord has looked on my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also”; and she named him Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons”; therefore he was named Levi. She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord”; therefore she named him Judah; then she ceased bearing.
When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” Jacob became very angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” Then she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, that she may bear upon my knees and that I too may have children through her.” So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife; and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son”; therefore she named him Dan. Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed”; so she named him Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Then Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. And Leah said, “Good fortune!” so she named him Gad. Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. And Leah said, “Happy am I! For the women will call me happy”; so she named him Asher.
In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.” When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him, and said, “You must come in to me; for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. And God heeded Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, “God has given me my hire because I gave my maid to my husband”; so she named him Issachar. And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good dowry; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons”; so she named him Zebulun. Afterwards she bore a daughter, and named her Dinah. Then God remembered Rachel, and God heeded her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach”; and she named him Joseph, saying, “May the Lord add to me another son!”
When Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know very well the service I have given you.” But Laban said to him, “If you will allow me to say so, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you; name your wages, and I will give it.” Jacob said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you, and how your cattle have fared with me. For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly; and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?” He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything; if you will do this for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it: let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages. So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.” Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in charge of his sons; and he set a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was pasturing the rest of Laban’s flock.
Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the rods. He set the rods that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, the flocks bred in front of the rods, and so the flocks produced young that were striped, speckled, and spotted. Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and the completely black animals in the flock of Laban; and he put his own droves apart, and did not put them with Laban’s flock. Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob laid the rods in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the rods, but for the feebler of the flock he did not lay them there; so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. Thus the man grew exceedingly rich, and had large flocks, and male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys.
Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s; he has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him as favorably as he did before. Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your ancestors and to your kindred, and I will be with you.” So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was, and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me as favorably as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. You know that I have served your father with all my strength; yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not permit him to harm me. If he said, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore speckled; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father, and given them to me. During the mating of the flock I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats that leaped upon the flock were striped, speckled, and mottled. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the goats that leap on the flock are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and return to the land of your birth.’” Then Rachel and Leah answered him, “Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father’s house? Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has been using up the money given for us. All the property that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.”
So Jacob arose, and set his children and his wives on camels; and he drove away all his livestock, all the property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s household gods. And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. So he fled with all that he had; starting out he crossed the Euphrates, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead. On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. So he took his kinsfolk with him and pursued him for seven days until he caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night, and said to him, “Take heed that you say not a word to Jacob, either good or bad.”
Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsfolk camped in the hill country of Gilead. Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me, and carried away my daughters like captives of the sword. Why did you flee secretly and deceive me and not tell me? I would have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre. And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? What you have done is foolish. It is in my power to do you harm; but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Take heed that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ Even though you had to go because you longed greatly for your father’s house, why did you steal my gods?” Jacob answered Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. But anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsfolk, point out what I have that is yours, and take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods. So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two maids, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah’s tent, and entered Rachel’s. Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. Laban felt all about in the tent, but did not find them. And she said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched, but did not find the household gods.
Then Jacob became angry, and upbraided Laban. Jacob said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? Although you have felt about through all my goods, what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsfolk and your kinsfolk, so that they may decide between us two. These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. That which was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself; of my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. It was like this with me: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”
Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about their children whom they have borne? Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I; and let it be a witness between you and me.” So Jacob took a stone, and set it up as a pillar. And Jacob said to his kinsfolk, “Gather stones,” and they took stones, and made a heap; and they ate there by the heap. Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed. Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he called it Galeed, and the pillar Mizpah, for he said, “The Lord watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other. If you ill-treat my daughters, or if you take wives in addition to my daughters, though no one else is with us, remember that God is witness between you and me.” Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and see the pillar, which I have set between you and me. This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor” —the God of their father—“judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac, and Jacob offered a sacrifice on the height and called his kinsfolk to eat bread; and they ate bread and tarried all night in the hill country. Early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them; then he departed and returned home.
_02.jpg)
