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36 Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? 37 Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both! 38 These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. 39 That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. 41 Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. 42 Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.” ~ Genesis 31:36-42
Today, we return to our study of Genesis 31 where we having been observing the process of sanctification that was coming about in the life of Jacob. You will remember that whereas justification is us getting into heaven, our sanctification is heaven getting into us now. Justification is being made right in the eyes of God through believing in the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross for the forgiveness of our sin. Sanctification is growing in the wisdom of God making us able to be effective witnesses before others for God while we remain on this earth.
In v.36-37 of today's passage we read, "36 Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? 37 Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both!"
Jacob's confidence grew with the growth of his sanctification. This is the nature of the truth, it bolsters us into the realm of the sure. The Lord Jesus said it well when He said, "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." The freedom here is quite widespread from being set free from the control of others to being set free from our low sense of value. Knowing the truth produces trust in God in us.
If Laban had found his idols among the belongings of Jacob, he would have completely had the upper hand on Jacob. In addition, Laban would have had some ground to make the claim that Jacob had stolen some of his flock. But, since the idols were not found, Jacob had the upper hand. And, even though Rachel had stolen the idols, Jacob was still found to be without guilt. The accuser could no longer accuse him and he was vindicated before all present.
Jacob’s words in today's passage to Laban are so perfectly reflected in Zechariah that it really is astonishing. In Zechariah 13:1-2 we read, "In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. 2 'It shall be in that day,' says the Lord of hosts, 'that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.'"
So many years after today's events, this prophecy will be fulfilled in the nation of Israel, picturing what God will do for Israel one day in the future, Jacob was cleared of all guilt with reference to the missing idols of Laban. Laban's actions of pursuing Jacob and accusing him were baseless. From his posture of innocence, Jacob explained, in front of everyone, the mistreatment he had received from Laban. This doubled Laban’s guilt and it doubled the vindication of Jacob.
In v.38-40 of today's passage we read, "38 These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. 39 That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes."
At this point, Jacob was 97 years of age and for the last twenty years, he worked 7 years for Leah, 7 for Rachel, and then 6 for whatever possessions he had at this point. During all of that time Jacob showed his attentiveness to the flocks. There had not been any miscarriages among the flock. This meant the sheep had been all well tended to by Jacob who also said that he didn’t eat the rams of the flock. The female are rarely eaten because they are the ones who birth baby lambs and thus increase wealth, but the rams are sometimes taken for meals. However, Jacob never did this. He never dipped into what belonged to Laban. Over those twenty years Jacob had been faithful to Laban and trustworthy and Laban benefitted greatly.
Jacob then pointed to the predators in the open fields who from time to time would kill one of the flock. Although it wasn’t any fault of Jacob’s, he bore the loss. Later, under the law, and speaking of exactly such an occurrence in Exodus 22 we read, "If it is torn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make good what was torn." The fact that this is in the law as a protection for the people indicates that this is what was right and honest. Jacob and Laban were before the time of the law, but the general principle of honesty would dictate that Jacob shouldn’t have to pay for such a loss, but he did.
And more, any animal that was stolen, Laban required from Jacob. Based on Laban’s dishonesty as presented by Jacob, it was an indication that Laban could have stolen from the flock and then demanded a replacement as well, thus stealing from Jacob twice. Jacob aired all of this in the presence of the people to show that he had been both mistreated and unfairly acted against.
Then Jacob brought up the issue about drought. In that part of the world, the days were extremely hot and the nights very cold. As the day heats up over the open expanses, the area ached from the lack of moisture. If it weren’t for wells, it would have been intolerable for both man and animal. At night it got so cold that any humidity in the air settled to ground level and turned into frost. This is the normal weather and it would be multiplied in one direction or another as the seasons changed, but it would have never been comfortable. Due to the cold and the frost, the wild animals, and the thieves, Jacob had many of long nights. Sleep literally escaped him most of the time for 20 years.
In v.41-42 of today's passage we read, "41 Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. 42 Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night."
In these uncertain conditions, Jacob continued for 20 full years under three promises, twice for wives and then for set wages. However, seven of those years were for a wife he didn’t want. Only during the last six it was for wages. And even then, Laban constantly cheated Jacob by changing the agreed terms. Jacob revealed, in front of everyone hearing his confident speech that his wives and his flocks were rightfully his and he was deserving of far more based on the work he provided.
Jacob was now being defined by God. In John 8:32 the Lord Jesus said, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." The truth of God lead to more than just an intellectual understanding. Knowing God’s truth leads us to the place where we begin to understand that the Lord Jesus has performed on our behalf and we need not do anything to add to God's acceptance of us. Ironically, having been set free from sin, we now are becoming slaves to God who defines us best.
