Jacob’s Treaty with Laban
A Final Look at Laban.
- Laban heeded God’s warning.
Proverbs 19:21 (NLT)
You can make many plans,
but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.
Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT)
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.
Psalm 51:10 (NLT)
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Genesis 31:43-55 (NLT)
Jacob’s Treaty with Laban
43 Then Laban replied to Jacob, “These women are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks are my flocks—in fact, everything you see is mine. But what can I do now about my daughters and their children? 44 So come, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and it will be a witness to our commitment.” 45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument. 46 Then he told his family members, “Gather some stones.” So they gathered stones and piled them in a heap. Then Jacob and Laban sat down beside the pile of stones to eat a covenant meal. 47 To commemorate the event, Laban called the place Jegar-sahadutha (which means “witness pile” in Aramaic), and Jacob called it Galeed (which means “witness pile” in Hebrew). 48 Then Laban declared, “This pile of stones will stand as a witness to remind us of the covenant we have made today.” This explains why it was called Galeed—“Witness Pile.” 49 But it was also called Mizpah (which means “watchtower”), for Laban said, “May the Lord keep watch between us to make sure that we keep this covenant when we are out of each other’s sight. 50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you marry other wives, God will see it even if no one else does. He is a witness to this covenant between us.
51 “See this pile of stones,” Laban continued, “and see this monument I have set between us. 52 They stand between us as witnesses of our vows. I will never pass this pile of stones to harm you, and you must never pass these stones or this monument to harm me. 53 I call on the God of our ancestors—the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of my grandfather Nahor—to serve as a judge between us.”
So Jacob took an oath before the fearsome God of his father, Isaac, to respect the boundary line. 54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice to God there on the mountain and invited everyone to a covenant feast. After they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.
55 Laban got up early the next morning, and he kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home.
Examine the Scriptures
Genesis 31:43-55 (NLT)
Laban’s Original intent
Laban Pursues Jacob
22 Three days later, Laban was told that Jacob had fled. 23 So he gathered a group of his relatives and set out in hot pursuit. He caught up with Jacob seven days later in the hill country of Gilead.
Genesis 31:29 (NLT)
29 I could destroy you, but the God of your father appeared to me last night and warned me, ‘Leave Jacob alone!’
- Laban had set out in hot pursuit of Jacob with thoughts of destroying Jacob and taking back his daughters and Jacob’s flocks.
- God intervened!
Genesis 31:24 (NLT)
24 But the previous night God had appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream and told him, “I’m warning you—leave Jacob alone!”
Jacob’s Treaty with Laban
43 Then Laban replied to Jacob, “These women are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks are my flocks—in fact, everything you see is mine.
“In fact” none of this is true.
- Laban had accepted payment from Jacob for Leah and Rachel, as well as all of the flocks Jacob had acquired.
Genesis 29:18-30 (NLT)
18 Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.”
19 “Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.” 20 So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.
21 Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.”
22 So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast. 23 But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. 24 (Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.)
25 But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?”
26 “It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied. 27 “But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too—provided you promise to work another seven years for me.”
28 So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too. 29 (Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.) 30 So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years.
- Jacob had worked 14 years to pay for Leah and Rachel.
Genesis 30:28-32 (NLT)
28 Tell me how much I owe you. Whatever it is, I’ll pay it.”
29 Jacob replied, “You know how hard I’ve worked for you, and how your flocks and herds have grown under my care. 30 You had little indeed before I came, but your wealth has increased enormously. The Lord has blessed you through everything I’ve done. But now, what about me? When can I start providing for my own family?” 31 “What wages do you want?” Laban asked again.
Jacob replied, “Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks. 32 Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as my wages. 33 In the future, when you check on the animals you have given me as my wages, you’ll see that I have been honest. If you find in my flock any goats without speckles or spots, or any sheep that are not black, you will know that I have stolen them from you.” 34 “All right,” Laban replied. “It will be as you say.”
- Laban agreed to give Jacob all of his sheep and goats that were speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep as Jacob’s wages for tending his flocks.
But what can I do now about my daughters and their children?
Laban may have sensed that things were out of his control.
44 So come, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and it will be a witness to our commitment.”
- Laban invites Jacob to make a covenant or treaty with him.
Jacob would not mistreat Laban’s daughters and would not marry other wives. (v. 50)
Jacob would not harm Laban and Laban would not harm Jacob. (v. 52)
45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument. 46 Then he told his family members, “Gather some stones.” So they gathered stones and piled them in a heap.
Stones were used as monuments or physical reminders in the Old Testament.
Jacob at Bethel
Genesis 28 (After his vision of God in a dream)
Samuel
1 Samuel 7:12 (NLT)
12 Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!”
Joshua at Gilgal
Israel crossing the Jordan River
Joshua 4:1-8
A memorial to God’s love and miraculous assistance.
Then Jacob and Laban sat down beside the pile of stones to eat a covenant meal.
(See verse 54)
Eating with other people was a significant event in ancient days, for only parties who were at peace could dine together. (Ligonier Ministries – R.C. Sproul)
Examples in scripture
Revelation 3:20 New Living Translation (NLT)
20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
John 21:12-14 (NLT)
12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.
Exodus 24:1-11 (NLT)
Israel Accepts the Lord’s Covenant
1 Then the Lord instructed Moses: “Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance. 2 Only Moses is allowed to come near to the Lord. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.”
3 Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the Lord had given him. All the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.”
4 Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord’s instructions. Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered against the altar.
7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. Again they all responded, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey.”
8 Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, “Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions.”
9 Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. 10 There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. 11 And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!
- Jacob and Laban sat down together to eat a covenant meal.
47 To commemorate the event, Laban called the place Jegar-sahadutha (which means “witness pile” in Aramaic), and Jacob called it Galeed (which means “witness pile” in Hebrew).
Did Jesus speak Aramaic or Hebrew?
48 Then Laban declared, “This pile of stones will stand as a witness to remind us of the covenant we have made today.” This explains why it was called Galeed—“Witness Pile.” 49 But it was also called Mizpah (which means “watchtower”), for Laban said, “May the Lord keep watch between us to make sure that we keep this covenant when we are out of each other’s sight.
50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you marry other wives, God will see it even if no one else does. He is a witness to this covenant between us.
- Laban invited God to be a witness to this covenant event.
51 “See this pile of stones,” Laban continued, “and see this monument I have set between us.
52 They stand between us as witnesses of our vows. I will never pass this pile of stones to harm you, and you must never pass these stones or this monument to harm me.
53 I call on the God of our ancestors—the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of my grandfather Nahor—to serve as a judge between us.”
God will serve as a judge between us.
So Jacob took an oath before the fearsome God of his father, Isaac, to respect the boundary line.
54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice to God there on the mountain and invited everyone to a covenant feast.
- God was a part of this covenant event.
After they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.
Eating together indicated mutual acceptance.
55 Laban got up early the next morning, and he kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them.
This is the second last recorded activity of Laban found in the Scriptures. (See the next phrase.)
Then he left and returned home.
- Laban left “empty-handed”.
Laban’s name mentioned again in 32:4 and 46:18 & 25 (and a place on the map)
Proverbs 19:21 (NLT)
You can make many plans,
but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.
Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT)
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.
Psalm 51:10 (NLT)
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
