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22 And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. 23 Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. 24 But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.” 25 So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead. 26 And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? 27 Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? 28 And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing. 29 It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ 30 And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?” ~ Genesis 31:22-30
Today, we return to our study of Genesis 31 where Jacob and his family have finally departed for the Promised Land which is a term designated for the region of the world that God promised as a heritage to His people, Israel. The Promised Land was an endowment from God initially made to Abraham, the father of the Jews, who had been chosen also to be the father of all who would believe in the God of the Bible. God promised to bless Abraham and lead him into the land from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River that would belong to his offspring as an everlasting heritage. The physical blessings have always been for the advancement of the spiritual blessings. What profit is there if we gain the whole world and yet forfeit our soul?
In v.22-23 of today's passage we read, "22 And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. 23 Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead."
Previously, Laban’s flocks were kept three days journey apart from Jacob’s so that they would not get intermingled with Jacob's flock. Because of this, it took three days for Laban to hear the news that Jacob had departed. And since Laban took his brethren with him, it was six days after Jacob left because it would have taken three days for the brethren to get to Laban. This is why it took Laban and his brethren seven days to catch up to Jacob.
With a smaller group, Laban moved much more quickly than Jacob. Still, it took a full week before Laban caught up within sight of Jacob's caravan. It was on Mount Gilead that Laban finally caught up to Jacob and his family. This is the first mention of Gilead in the Bible. The name "Gilead" comes from the contraction of two words, one means "spring," and the other "perpetual." It was at the perpetual spring that Laban met up with Jacob. I can hear the Lord Jesus' words to the woman at the well, "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
A careful reading of the Bible reveals there are three scriptures that reference the balm of Gilead. But unless the verses are considered together, it is easy to miss their significance. The first is found in Genesis 37:25-26 which reads, "As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelite traders coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm, and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt." These verses record the story of Joseph who was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. The traveling merchants purchased Joseph, then delivered him to Egypt. Although it might seem as though the mention of spices, balm, and myrrh are superfluous details, they are recorded intentionally.
The other two references to balm are found in the book of Jeremiah. They concern the prophet’s lament over God’s impending judgment of Israel in Jeremiah 8 & 46. Based on those passages, we discover that the balm produced in the region of Gilead was both valuable and rare. And, although the balm brought physical healing, it really represents spiritual health. Even though God had delivered Israel from slavery and they had walked through the Red Sea, the people still looked elsewhere for spiritual fulfillment. They even worshipped other gods. Eventually, we discover in the New Testament, all of this points us to the only One who provides real and lasting fulfillment, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In v.24-25 of today's passage we read, "24 But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, 'Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.' 25 So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead."
Similar to the way Laban ran down Jacob, God ran down Laban in a dream. Through this dream God told Laban not to harm Jacob. The wording in v.24 is quite awkward, the meaning is that Laban was not to threaten Jacob. God was not only with Jacob but He also was protecting him. Who knows what Laban would have done to Jacob in those mountains had God not run down Laban. Revealing is the fact that according to Joshua 20:8 Ramoth Gilead which means "Highest Gilead" would later be a city of refuge for those who would have accidentally harmed another. All of the cities of refuge whispered of the Lord Jesus long before He came to be born of the young teen-aged girl in Bethlehem.
In v.26-30 of today's passage we read, "26 And Laban said to Jacob: 'What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? 27 Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? 28 And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing. 29 It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, 'Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.' 30 And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?"
Laban’s comments to Jacob came from a man who seemed to have come to rescue his stolen daughters. In an attempt to get the upper hand in their negotiations, Laban talked about the things he would have done had he known they had left Haran. Jacob and his wives knew better; Laban was a scam and probably hadn’t kissed his daughters since the night of their wedding, if he even did it then.
The way Laban spoke to Jacob was different because God had told him in the dream to not harm Jacob or else. Laban told Jacob that he was his own source of power and he could have harmed him. But Laban found out that there is a much greater Power. Amazingly, even though God revealed Himself to Laban like He did, Laban was still preoccupied with his idol gods. For some, it doesn't matter how much revelation of Himself that God gives, they are just not going to believe in Him and bow themselves before Him. Aren't you grateful that we came to that place where we entered into a personal relationship with this God who is so good? Having done so, we are now in the family of God.
