Close to Blessing, but far from God - Genesis 30:25-43

Bible Study Lesson for April 14

After the struggle between Leah and Rachel over childbearing, the story’s focus returns to Jacob’s fight with Laban. After Joseph’s birth, Jacob decides it is time to return to his home. If there was any doubt, this seems to make it clear that Joseph is the child Jacob has been waiting for. He will be the heir to Jacob’s wealth. But as of right now, Jacob is an employee of his father in law and he has nothing to call his own except for two wives, their slaves, and a bunch of children. 

Jacob’s question, “But now when shall I provide for my own household also?” is a crucially relatable question. It speaks to the need to provide for your family. Jacob looks at his work and the profit he has gained Laban, and he knows that all the things he has worked for will end up in the pockets of Laban’s sons. Jacob served seven years to secure Rachel, and then seven more when Laban tricked him so that he could finally get her as his wife. Jacob has now apparently served his second seven years and then some, as Leah alone has produced seven children, with a gap between her fourth and fifth sons. And so he asks, “But now when shall I provide for my own household also?”

As in 29:15, Laban responds to this question, “Name your wages.” In the decades between Jacob’s betrothal to Rachel and this moment, Laban has seen how fruitful Jacob’s work is. Laban tries to distance himself from this recognition, “I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” But Jacob shrewdly sees through Laban’s rhetoric: “You yourself know how I have served you, and how your cattle have fared with me.” Jacob has made Laban rich, but Laban must worry that if he gives Jacob the value of his labor, Laban will be left back where he started all those years ago.  

In this passage there is an interesting example of animal husbandry in the Ancient Near East. The way that Jacob ensures his pay relies partly on superstition. It was believed that whatever an animal was looking at during the time of conception could affect the animals conceived. For example, if a goat was looking at striped tent, that goat would produce striped kids. So when Jacob puts the striped rods in the watering places where he knew the flocks would breed, Jacob is using this superstition to have goats that are striped, speckled, and spotted or sheep that are black. Jacob wants this because Laban told him he could only have the black sheep and the striped, speckled, and spotted goats. Rabbis and interpreters have argued that this was a mere trick because Jacob would have known from years of breeding livestock which pairings would be more likely to create black, spotted, striped, or speckled animals. What seems clear is that Jacob’s success in the breeding project is meant to be understood as yet another reflection of God’s providential blessing of his life. Jacob is the bearer of the promise, so God does not allow Laban’s scheming to harm him.

The main question in this passage is: “how should we value people?” Laban values Jacob as an economic boon. Jacob has boosted Laban’s net worth, as a good employee should. But Jacob has gone above and beyond the call of duty, serving for longer than contracted and adding more value than Laban would have expected. Compounding this is that Laban misled Jacob in his first contract, marrying him to Leah instead of Rachel. Laban owes Jacob. But Laban doesn’t want to give Jacob what he owes.

It seems that what Laban really wants is to force Jacob to stay. But it must be stressed that this is not because of any love for Jacob. Nor is it out of love or concern for his daughters or grandchildren. Laban seems to see the world purely in economic terms. Laban wants what is best for Laban, and then for his sons who will carry the family business into the next generations. So Laban sees Jacob’s blessing as the heir of the promise strictly in terms of what gain he can extract from it. But God’s blessing is not so easily manipulated. Laban does everything he can within the terms of their deal to short-change Jacob. But God remembers whom God has blessed, and God blesses Jacob even against all odds.

Sometimes the attractive life of God’s people inspires people to come near for the wrong reasons. In the early nineteenth century, a French author named Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States and wrote a book about his journey. On one occasion he found himself on the bank of a river watching a man being baptized by the local Baptist minister. He asked a bystander why the man wanted to be baptized, and was told, “oh, he plans to open a bank.” There have always been people who associated themselves with the people of God because of what the church could offer them, people who crave status, privilege, customers, or votes. There are opportunist ministers who by their charisma and their entrepreneurial spirit make a living for themselves. Ultimately, people like that are often exposed for their hypocrisy. Like Laban in his relationship with Jacob, or Simon Magus in Acts 8:9-24, they want to be close to the Kingdom, but only because of what it can get them.

Stories like these encourage us to be aware of our own motivations and the motivations of others. We need to realize the possibility that people in relationship with us might have questionable motives. Being wise and discerning about the motivations of others doesn’t mean distrusting them. But it does mean taking steps to protect ourselves in case our trust is misplaced. We can begin to discern the motivations and character of others by examining their fruit (Luke 6:43-45). What do they bring into the world by their words and actions? Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If these qualities are notably absent in another person’s life, perhaps we might be wise to question the motives behind their actions. Even if the actions look righteous, if the motives don’t line up with the way Christians should act, we need to be careful. Like Jacob, perhaps we ought to distance ourselves from those who would use us and our blessing strictly for their own gain.