An Epic Showdown that Ends in Covenant

Let me invite you to turn in your Bibles this morning to Genesis chapter 31 for Our time of study in the word this morning, we're doing a verse by verse study through the book of Genesis, and as we continue in our study of this book, we come This morning to Genesis 31:22, and my goal this morning is to cover verses 22 through 55. Let me begin with this, about a decade ago, I was experiencing heart palpitations that concerned me enough that I eventually went to the doctor to get the problem checked.

the nurses, when I arrived, ran some tests and took some blood, and then eventually the doctor sat down with me when the results came in. And he told me that everything looked fine from a physical standpoint and that he had no immediate explanation for why the heart palpitations were happening.

It was then that the doctor said to me, what do you do for a living? I told him the truth. I said, I'm a pastor. And then he said, is there something going on right now at your church?

And I said, yes. A major relational conflict had developed between me and a person in our church caused by an intense situation that left a huge fracture in our relationship and a whole lot of pain. I was angry and I was hurt. And this other person was angry and hurt.

I kept just hoping that the situation would go away. And improved, but we're seeing evidence week by week that it was growing worse. Yet I had been too fearful to move into the hard conversations that were needed. And it was as if the doctor saw right through me.

This Kaiser doctor looked at me and said, my prescription. For you is that you get on this right away. So I went back to my office and with a trembling. Ha, I picked up the phone and I started what turned out to be a 2-week conversation over the course of 2 weeks, not nonstop, but Over the length of those two weeks, the conversations were hard, but they became progressively easier.

I was able to say some things that I felt needed to be said and I was able to hear things from this other person that really benefited me to hear. And at the end of two weeks, there was about 75% resolution of the issues between us, enough so. that my heart palpitations went away and have not returned since. About 1 year went by after those 2 weeks of conversations.

And this particular person came up to me after a Sunday morning service and said to me, Pastor Milton, I had a dream this past week that I want you to know about. In the dream, I was being chased by demons. And was in fear of my life. Then out of nowhere, you showed up.

And you protected me from the demons. I just want you to know that I'm grateful that you are my pastor. I thanked the person for sharing that with me. Told them that it made my day.

And then I walked around the corner of the church building there on Lindon Street where no one could see me, and I leaned against the building. And I thank the Lord with tears. I thanked him for the strength that he had given me to move into some hard conversations and I thanked him for serving as my advocate, even in a person's dream. And I thanked him for the gift of peaceful.

Resolution. one of the things that I have found over the years as I'm sure many of you have as well, is that no matter how much we may try to run away from a hard conversation, it's almost impossible. That conversation that you are running away from usually will chase you down and catch up. To you eventually In the meantime, the very fear that is scaring you away from the hard conversation will likely take root.

In your life and begin to manifest itself in other ways as it was doing with me. I've also found that when you run away from a hard conversation and you run away from one problem situation, you end up running right into another problem situation just like it. That's because the devil takes good notes. If he sees that he got you to leave one relationship because of a particular problem issue, he will make sure to introduce that very same issue.

Into another relationship. In the end, none of us really ever succeeds in running away from the hard conversations. But we try, don't we? Just like Jacob tries in Genesis 31 but fails.

In our passage today, we're going to witness the dreaded conversation, the dreaded showdown with Laban that Jacob had tried very hard to avoid, but God is gonna show up and this showdown is going to end with a covenant and a kiss. It's been a crazy 20 years for Jacob. He's run for his life up to Harran. And when he arrived in Iran, he met his uncle Laban.

Little could he have imagined all that would go down between him and Laban over the next 20 years. Long story short, we learned last week that when Jacob When his 14 years of service for Rachel and Leah were completed, Jacob came to Laban and said, send me away now, my service is completed. I want to return back to my home country. Well, Laban asked Jacob to stay and said, tell me the wages you want and I will give you whatever you ask.

So Jacob names his wages and Laban agrees to those wages. Yet we saw how Laban cheated Jacob and tried to change his wages 10 times over the following 6-year span. However, we saw how God was looking out for Jacob and caused Jacob to prosper at every turn, no matter what Laban was doing against Jacob. Jacob begins after being in this situation for about 6 years under these terms of wages, he begins to hear things that Laban's sons are saying about him behind his back, and he begins to notice that Laban's attitude towards him.

has changed for the worse, and it's during this time that God speaks to Jacob in a dream and tells him to leave Harran and return to Canaan. Jacob, we saw talks it over with his wives and they tell him to do what God has told them to do. And it's then that amazingly, Jacob just loads up everyone in a hurry and begins moving and it's here that both Jacob and Rachel stain their departure with two foolish acts. In verse 19, We learned that Rachel stole the household idols that were her father's.

And in verse 20 we're told literally from the Hebrew text, Jacob stole the heart of Laban, the Aramaan, by not telling him that he was fleeing. We saw last week that both of these acts were wrong and foolish, making this a case of a good departure, poorly done. We ended our study last week in verse 21 where we read the following words. So he, Jacob, fled with all that he had, and he arose and crossed the Euphrates River and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

Jacob's thought is if I can just get to Gilead, I will be safe from Laban. Little does he realize that in exactly 10 days, Laban and his kinsmen will be encamped. In Gilead and angling for a confrontation with Jacob, and the biggest showdown of Jacob's life is going to take place here. And that's what we're gonna see in our passage today.

The way we'll break down our study is we'll observe 6 developments in the story of the epic showdown between Jacob and Laban that happens in our text today. The first development is that Laban pursues and catches up. With Jacob Observe what happens in verse 22. When it was told Laban on the 3rd day that Jacob had fled, then he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of 7 days' journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.

The Hebrew words that are translated, pursued, and overtook are military terms indicating that Laban is clearly on the warpath here against Jacob. However, it is here that God intervenes in a wonderful way on Jacob's behalf and helps to soften Laban's intentions against Jacob. Observe what happens in verse. 24, right as Laban is catching up to Jacob in Gilead.

Verse 24, God came to Laban, the Aramaan in a dream of the night and said to him, be careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad. What is that instruction? Mean Don't speak to Jacob, either good or bad. According to the Jewish Hamash.

Reflecting ancient interpretation of this text, God is telling Laban not to offer Jacob anything good. In order to entice him to return to Iran or to threaten him with harm if Jacob failed to return. I think that's a good explanation. I would only add that God here is telling Laban not to take legal action and pronounce hurtful sentence and penalties against Jacob for running off the way that he did.

The cool thing is, little does Jacob know right now that God is showing up in Laban's dream in this way. Jacob, no doubt is dreading this confrontation. It's, he probably sees the encampment of Laban on the opposite hill and knows that probably tomorrow morning there's gonna be a confrontation. so he's dreading this confrontation, little knowing that God has already showed up and God is already speaking to Laban and preparing Laban's heart for this confrontation.

Has that ever happened to you? I know it's happened to me. I go into some dreaded conversation with someone, expecting the worst, only to discover that God had already started talking to that person and softening their heart for the conversation. And the conversation many times turns out to be not as bad.

As I had thought that it might be. That's what God is doing here for Jacob. This isn't just a showdown involving two people, but 3. It's not just Jacob and Laban, it's Jacob and Laban and Jehovah.

And this one sentence intervention of Jehovah will make all the difference. Whatever confrontations you have, hard conversations that need to take place in your life, it's you and another person, and it's Jehovah. And it's the presence of Jehovah, knowing that God can do a work in your heart and in the other person's heart that gives us the courage to move into the hard conversations rather than run away from them. Observe what happens in verse 25.

Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country and Laban with his kinsmen camped in the hill country of Gilead, probably on The opposing hill in full view of Jacob. So both Laban and Jacob have taken their positions and the showdown is about to commence, which leads us to the 2nd development in the story of Jacob and Laban's epic showdown. Number 2, Laban confronts Jacob for his double theft in his departure.

Laban confronts Jacob in the form of questions that begin in verse 26. Look at what the text says. Then Laban said to Jacob, what have you done by deceiving me? Literally by stealing my heart and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword.

Laban here is assuming wrongly that Jacob took Rachel and Leah by force. And we can hardly blame Laban for thinking this. Jacob never gave Laban. noticed that he was leaving.

He never gave Laban a chance to talk to his daughters before they left. So Laban had no way of knowing that they were totally OK with this move. Jacob fled like a fugitive. And when you act guilty, you should not be surprised when people assume that you're guilty, as Laban is doing Jacob here.

Laban's questions continue verse 27. He says, why did you flee secretly and deceive me and did not tell me so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with timbrel and with lyre, and did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Laban feels robbed of information that he was entitled to have from Jacob as his father-in-law and as his employer, robbed of the opportunity to send Jacob away with a farewell party, robbed of the opportunity to kiss his daughters and grandchildren goodbye.

This is no small theft as any parent would testify to.

And he points his finger at Jacob. At the end of verse 28 and says, now you have done foolishly. And he's right. And it's sad that an idolatrous scoundrel like Laban has good reason.

To point his finger at a man of God and call him on his actions. Now to be honest with you, there are many commentators who think that Laban is being disingenuous and talking about kissing his family goodbye and throwing a farewell party. And maybe he is, but Jacob will never know, and neither will we because Jacob never gave Laban the chance to reveal his heart by telling him in advance that he was leaving. It's actually possible that Laban would have been fine with Jacob leaving at this particular point, given the changes that have taken place over the previous 6 years.

Maybe Laban would have initially not liked the idea of Jacob leaving. With his family, but perhaps he could have come around to accepting the idea and giving Jacob and his family a proper sendoff. We'll never know because Jacob never gave Laban. The chance Laban continues in verse 29 saying to Jacob, it is in my power to do you harm, and that word you is plural, so he's saying it is in my power to bring legal consequences against all of you.

As he speaks to Jacob and everyone involved in this move, rightly or wrongly, Laban feels like he has rights in this situation, rights that would be honored in a court of law, and he feels good about his chances if he were to enter into litigation against Jacob and those in Jacob's moving party. I would imagine that Jacob has to be bracing for what comes next. Yet what comes out of Laban's mouth is the last thing that Jacob would have expected. While Laban in his mind has the power to bring harmful consequences to Jacob and his family, there is something that is holding him back from doing that.

He says to Jacob in verse 29, but the God of your father spoke to me. Last night Saying be careful not to speak either good or bad. To Jacob It's amazing to me that Laban admits this to Jacob. But he does.

He confesses to Jacob that the God of Isaac has spoken to him and limited him in both directions. He can't promise good things to Jacob in order to entice him to return to Iran, and neither can he inflict harmful legal consequences on Jacob for leaving the way he did. And to his credit, There's so much wrong with Laban. But to his credit, he allows himself to be governed by this one sentence that God had spoken to him.

Verse 30 is the conclusion of Laban's speech. And it features actually a moment of understanding and sympathy with Jacob, but then an accusing question that climaxes the speech. He says to Jacob, Now you have indeed gone away because you long greatly for your father's house. He's saying, I get it.

I, I understand why you have left, you were homesick and I'm, I'm ready to accept that. But then he says to Jacob at the end of verse 30, but why did you steal my gods? And that last question from Laban would have left Jacob utterly thunderstruck because he knew nothing. Jacob knew nothing about Rachel's theft of her father's household idols.

Jacob responds to Laban and this leads us to the 3rd development in this epic showdown between Jacob and Laban. Number 3, Jacob explains his secret departure and he invites Laban to search his belongings. Keep in mind that in Laban's speech on the front end was a question to Jacob in verse 27, he says to Jacob, why did you flee secretly and deceive me and did not tell me? And Jacob answers that question.

Look at verse 31. Then Jacob replied to Laban, because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. In other words, Jacob feared that Laban would somehow view Jacob's move as a violation of their contract and take Rachel and Leah away from Jacob as a result. This might have been a rational fear on Jacob's part or an irrational fear, but it was a real fear nonetheless.

And Jacob is admitting this to Laban, and in making this admission, Jacob is essentially confessing. That he did not trust God to protect him and to keep his wives from being taken away from him by Laban. Then Jacob responds to Laban's accusation regarding the theft of his household idols. Look at verse 32, the one with whom you find your gods shall not live.

This is basically a vow that's worded in the form of a curse. Jacob doesn't realize it, but he has just put Rachel's life in serious jeopardy. If someone finds her in possession of Laban's household idols, then Rachel dies. Jacob continues, in the presence of our kinsmen, point out what is yours among my belongings and take it for yourself.

For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them. Rachel, if she was listening in on this, had to have been mortified. To hear Jacob speak these words, what a foolish thing she did on so many levels of stealing these household idols from Laban. The story And the text of Genesis is just bristling with narrative tension at, at this point.

What will happen next? Jacob has just given Laban total license to conduct a full investigation of all of his belongings in search of his gods, and Laban happily accepts. And this leads us to the 4th development in the story of Jacob and Laban's epic showdown. Number 4, Laban searches in vain through Jacob's belongings for his gods.

Laban searches in vain through Jacob's belongings for his gods. Observe what Laban does in verse 33. 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, speaking of his household idols. Notice the order of the tents in which Laban does his searching.

He starts where he thinks he's most likely to find the stolen idols, and then he works out from there. So he goes into Jacob's tent first, indicating that he truly thought that Jacob was the one who stole his gods and not finding the gods in Jacob's tent, Laban then goes into Leah's tent. Not finding the gods there, Jacob goes into the tents of Zilpa and Bilha. The lesser wives of Jacob, who were the servant maids of Rachel and Leah.

And then it actually seems that Laban went back into Leah's tent to look again, because the last sentence of the verse says in verse 33, then he went out of Leah's tent. And entered Rachel's tent. In all likelihood, Laban visits Rachel's tent last because in his mind, she's the least likely person to have stolen. His gods Turns out he doesn't know his daughter.

As well as he thought he did. Will Laban find the household idols in Rachel's tent? Observe what Rachel had done already to hide the household idols. From Laban, verse 34, now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel's saddle, and she sat on them, the idols.

She's sitting on these gods. The end of verse 34 reads, and Laban felt through all the tent but did not find them. The only place left in Rachel's tent where the gods might be hidden, were underneath where Rachel was sitting, but observe how Rachel keeps her dad from looking there. Sitting on her saddle in her tent, As Laban comes in, verse 35, she said to her father, let not my Lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is upon me.

In modern day language, she's saying, don't be upset that I can't stand and greet you, Dad. I'm on my period and I'm just not feeling well. Evidently, Laban allows her to remain seated and at the end of verse 35, the text reads, so he searched but did not find the household idols. Evidently, he looked everywhere throughout her tent.

Except underneath where Rachel was sitting. There's no way. of knowing for sure if Rachel was truly factually experiencing her time of the month. All we know is that she said that she was.

And it's probably the most effective thing that she could have said to her dad. It explained why she could not rise when her father entered the tent and in Laban's mind, there's no way his daughter would show such contempt for his gods by sitting on them during her time of the month. If she really is, in fact, on her period, then by sitting on her father's gods, she is showing withering contempt for the gods, treating them as worthless and unclean. And honestly, this would have provoked appropriate snickers.

And laughter from the original Israelite audience of Genesis as they're hearing this story being read. think about it, what, what impressive gods these are of Labans, gods that can be stolen. gods that a woman can sit on and hide from their owner, gods that need Laban to search and rescue them. An incident like this shows the utter buffoonery of idolatry, and this would not have been lost on the Israelites who were hearing the story being read in ancient times.

Once Laban completes his search and ends up finding nothing, it's now Jacob's turn to become furious. Jacob has no idea. We gotta realize he has no idea that Rachel has stolen Laban's household gods. So Jacob now is thinking that Laban has made up this crazy accusation as an excuse to feel through all of Jacob's possessions to see if Jacob had stolen anything of his.

In other words, Jacob views this accusation as another shrewd tactic by the always scheming Laban. Jacob's thinking here is wrong, and it's an unfair assumption on Jacob's part, but it's understandable that he would think this way. Not knowing that Rachel had actually stolen these gods and was sitting on them. This leads us to the 5th development in the story of Jacob and Laban's epic showdown.

Number 5, Jacob unleashes on Laban and defends his own integrity. He unleashes on Laban and defends his integrity. It's now Jacob's turn to tear into Laban, and he does. As one writer says, what follows is 20 years of frustration pouring out of Jacob in a diatribe of ferocious intensity.

Observe what Jacob does in verse 36. Says then Jacob became angry, literally he became inflamed. He's on fire at this point. And he contended with Laban.

He tears into Laban. And Jacob said to Laban, what is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me? Though you have felt through all my goods, what have you found of all your household goods?

Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen that they may decide between us two. Jacob's feeling pretty righteous at this point. And he's soaking in the limelight of the vindication that is his by virtue of the fact that Laban found nothing of these idols among Jacob's possessions. What follows next from Jacob.

is a speech that is so refined in its language that some commentators think it's poetry. It's probably not poetry, but the refinement of the rhetoric. That follows here shows that this is one of those speeches that Jacob has been rehearsing for years. You, you ever done that?

You ever practice what you would say to a person that you have something against? You ever practice those speeches in the shower or in the car? And you feel so right as you're rehearsing these speeches with the words that are coming out of your mouth that you imagine the person listening to you and hearing your words. And just falling on the floor at your feet with their hand over their mouth, totally defeated and saying to you, you win and I lose.

You are so right, and I am condemned. I repent in dust and ashes. You ever had those fantasies? I have.

And it seems that Jacob has also as 20 years of frustration come pouring out of him in the following verses. Listen to what he says beginning. In verse 38, and we call this stanza number 1. He says, these 20 years I have been with you.

Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks. That which was torn a beast I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. You required it of my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

Thus I was by day. The heat consumed me and the frost by night and my sleep fled from my eyes. These words sound like the lyrics of a woeful country music song that would have been sung by shepherds back in this day. And the second stanza of Jacob's complaint starts in verse 41.

These 20 years, I have been in your house. I served you 14 years for your two daughters and 6 years for your flock, and you changed my wages 10 times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty handed. And that's his speech.

In verse 42, Jacob describes God in three ways. He describes him as the God of my father. In other words, the God of Isaac. He describes him as the God of Abraham, who was his grandfather.

But he also describes God as the fear of Isaac. Which is a fascinating expression for God. The fear of Isaac, we could translate this, the awesome one of Isaac, or the one Isaac feared. Basically, Jacob is saying if the God of Isaac, the God of Abraham, even the awesome one of Isaac had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away.

Empty handed. Jacob knows that the outcome of the last 20 years would have been very different. If the true God had not been for him through all of these afflictions and hardships. Jacob then says, the end of verse 42.

God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so he rendered judgment last night. What judgment is Jacob referring to? The judgment last night that Jacob is speaking of is the judgment that was voiced by God when God spoke to Laban in a dream, saying, be careful that you do not speak to Jacob, either good or bad. Jacob is assuming that what God spoke to Laban the night before was a verdict of sorts.

That's his interpretation. And Jacob assumes that God arrived at this verdict because he's seen every wrong that Jacob has experienced at the hand of Laban. Well, Laban now being reminded of what God had spoken to him in a dream. The previous night buckles at this point.

And this leads us to the final development in the story of Jacob and Laban's epic showdown. And that is number 6, Laban and Jacob make a covenant of peace with one another. That's not really the outcome you would have expected, right? But this revelation from the Lord to Laban ends up proving powerful.

Laban here is going to be the one who suggests the covenant. And he's not gonna suggest it because he feels that all of his grievances have been addressed. He's gonna suggest it because there's nothing else that he can do, given the one sentence of revelation that God had spoken to him the night before. Observe what Laban does in verse 43.

Then Laban replied to Jacob, the daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these, my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? This claim by Laban about all of his daughters and grandchildren and so forth being mine is as wrong as it is grandiose. Laban is claiming too much for himself, but it doesn't matter.

One writer says these words of Laban are not a snobbish outburst, but a pitiful complaint. Another writer calls this a cry of frustration, the last gasp of a dying argument. Laban stands before Jacob, a defeated man without any recourse. And this is his admission of helplessness and defeat because of how God has spoken to him, one sentence that prevents him from taking any action against Jacob.

Jacob is so blessed that God intervened and spoke this powerful one sentence instruction to Laban the night before. A defeated man, Laban says to Jacob in verse 44, so now, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between You and me. Typically, In ancient times, it is the weaker party who suggests a covenant with the stronger party. Because it's the weaker person who needs the covenant from the stronger for their protection.

And that's what Laban is doing here in suggesting that they enter into a covenant, that they make a covenant. Laban is admitting defeat. Which makes, in my opinion, Jacob's response all the more wonderful. Seeing that Jacob would know if he's thinking, and we know he was, that he has the upper hand in this conversation now.

And he could have seen that this asking for a covenant is An indication that Laban knows he's lost the argument that he's not going to be able to take action against Jacob. And Jacob could have exploited that upper hand and rejected Laban's request for a covenant. And there would have been nothing that Laban could have done about it. But in a show of great kindness, Jacob, Jacob agrees to the covenant and actually shows enthusiasm for the idea.

Observe what he does in verses 45 and 46. Then Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. Jacob said to his kinsmen, And the word kinsman is the Hebrew word for brothers, which often was used to just speak of relatives, which probably would have included even Laban. And Laban's relatives.

Laban was Jacob's uncle and father-in-law, and the men who came with Laban would have been relatives as well. You might want to write down the reference Genesis 29:15, where Laban himself uses this word to describe Jacob. And so Jacob says to his kinsmen, and I think we can understand this to mean his own kinsmen who were in his traveling party, as well as including Laban and those who were with him. He said to his kinsmen, gather stones.

So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. Jacob and Laban, it seems now are finally working together on a common enterprise that they agree on, and Jacob wants his kinsmen all involved in this together with them. While they're building this monument together, they sit down and they have a lunch together. Both Laban and Jacob participate in naming the place and another act of unity.

In verse 47, the text says, now Laban called it, he called the place Jagar Sahautha. Which is an Aramaic expression that means heap of witness, pile of witness. But Jacob called it Gallaid, which is the Hebrew. So Jacob gives it an Aramaic name.

But, or Laban gives it an Aramaic name, but Jacob gives it a Hebrew name. Glade, which means the same thing, heap of witness. Though they're giving the same place two different names, the meanings of both names is virtually identical and is affirming of the other person's name. In fact, it seems that Jacob gets the idea for the way he names the place from something that Laban himself said.

Look at verse 48. Laban had said, this heap is a witness. That's what Laban said. And we could read the Hebrew this way.

He said, this gal is an aid. Between you and me this day. Therefore, it was named Gul Aid. In other words, this is the reason Jacob named the heap of stones Glaid because of something that Laban had said.

This heap of stones was named Glade. Verse 49 and Mizpah, which means watchtower, for he, Laban said, May the Lord, may Jehovah watch between you and me when we are absent from one another, absent one from the other. If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us, see, God is witness between you and me. To Laban's credit, he's concerned for his daughters.

He wants Jacob to promise never to mistreat. Rachel and Leah, and he wants Jacob to promise that he will take no wives in addition to Rachel and Leah. And he's basically telling Jacob that if you ever do mistreat my daughters or take another wife besides them, God will see what you have done. And he will judge you for it.

Every father of daughters, I have 2. can identify with what Laban is expressing here to his son-in-law. As for Laban and Jacob being at peace with each other, Laban continues in verse 51 and following. The text says Laban said to Jacob, behold this heap and behold 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 by this heap to you for harm, and you will not pass by this heap and this pillar to me. For harm. This is good in my opinion, and both Jacob and Laban will swear. To abide by this, they will promise that they will never move toward each other's.

Direction for the purpose of doing harm to the other from this day forward and the pillar and the heap of rocks stand as silent witnesses of these promises that Jacob. Or that Laban is suggesting. What Laban says next is unfortunate, but typical of an idolater. In verse 53, Laban says to Jacob, the God of Abraham.

And the god of Nehor. The god of their father, who was Tara, Judge. Between us. And the Hebrew verb judge.

Is plural Not singular. We should probably translate this expression this way. Laban is saying the God of Abraham, who's the true God, and the gods of Nehor, who are the gods of their father, Tera, judge plural between us. And the plural of the Hebrew verb translated judge indicates that Laban is calling more than one God.

To be a witness of this covenant, we know from later revelation that the father of Abraham. And Nehor, whose name was Tara, was indeed an idolater. Write down the reference, Joshua 24:2. where Joshua speaks of Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nehor, saying that he, along with others served other gods.

So it seems that Laban is bringing in more than one deity here into this covenant. These deities are called to judge between Jacob and Laban in the days to come. These are the gods that Laban swears by in his covenant. Laban is swearing by Jehovah, the God of Abraham.

And he's also swearing by the gods of Terra and Nehor. Laban's father Jacob is going to participate in this covenant, but he will swear by no God other than the one true God. Look at verse 53. So Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac.

This can be translated, Jacob swore by the awesome one of Isaac. Or Jacob swore by the God whom Isaac feared. Jacob is entering into a covenant of peace with Laban, but he will not compromise. The integrity of his faith in the one true God.

He swears only by God and by no other. As typical with covenants, blood must be shed and a covenant meal be eaten together, so observe what Jacob does next. Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain. He's not gonna leave this to Laban to do.

Because who knows who Laban would have offered that sacrifice to. Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain. And called his kinsmen, his brothers, his relatives, which I think would have included his uncle Laban. And Laban's kinsmen.

In other words, everyone that is there. Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and called his kinsmen to the meal and they ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain. We see both Jacob and Laban as active participants in these covenant proceedings and you get the sense that as much as they can, they're enjoying this moment of unity very much. Old animosities or at least some of them are melting away.

And Making way for new feelings. These men are showing measures of grace to one another. And here they are working together on something and cherishing what they have in agreement, eating a covenant meal together and spending the evening hours together on The mountain. Who saw that coming?

Amazingly, observe what happens in verse 55, the final verse of the chapter. Early in the morning. Laban arose and kissed his sons and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned.

To his place The sons that Laban would have kissed. would have included Jacob, who was his son-in-law, along with Laban's grandsons, the sons of Jacob. Laban's daughters would have included Rachel and Leah. And Lavin's granddaughter, Dinah.

The daughter of Jacob This is a powerful moment that is both poignant and bittersweet, a far better ending than any of us would have imagined. Things start off in the showdown awful, but they end up in a pretty nice place. We must say though that the resolution here is not perfect. Laban is still an idolater and Rachel still has Laban's household idols, and she seems to have gotten by with her theft for now.

But the resolution is decent And not without its beauty. I'm so glad, guys, that God did not let Jacob flee. And bypass the hard conversation with Laban that he needed to have. I'm glad that Laban chased after Jacob and I'm glad for the good result that seems to have come of it.

Conflict resolution is important. Having the hard conversations is important and it is the better way than just leaving a relationship. Or a church. Or a care group.

Or a marriage. And I love the fact that Jacob and Laban didn't just get things to a place of quasi resolution and then just feel satisfied with that and move on. No, they built a monument together and they seem to have eaten a meal together while, while building that monument. They make promises to each other and then enjoy another meal with everyone together, providing everyone involved a powerful final memory.

A good memory that will do their hearts good in the days to come. On top of that, an animal gets sacrificed as a part of their covenant proceedings. Seeing an animal die for the sake of this covenantal peace between Jacob and Laban will help all of them to take this piece seriously. And to keep their promises in the days to come.

I ask you this morning, how diligent are you about pursuing peace and reconciliation with others? Do you just let things go and settle for talking about people behind their backs, but not to their face? Jacob and his wife seemed all too happy. To criticize Laban while talking amongst themselves, but then they sneak off with no plan to say those things to Laban himself.

Are you like that? When you do conflict, resolution or reconciliation with people. Have you ever considered sealing your reconciliation with something tangible like a physical token? of peace or a meal together or promises that are spoken to each other.

What Jacob and Laban do here might give all of us some ideas to think about along those lines. I found that when two people have been at odds for a long time and then they have this powerful conversation. Those conversations often end wonderfully with everyone hugging each other. And then the parties go home and they go to sleep and they wake up the next morning and like they find themselves thinking the old way.

There's like an instant degrading that starts happening after a powerful meeting and a few days can go by, a week or two can go by, and it's like the meeting never happened. So maybe something like a tangible symbol, a meal together, things that are specific and tangible to create new memories, additional follow up conversations. To bring closure and to seal resolution that everyone is working towards. I would also ask you this question this morning.

How much does God's word govern your behavior when it comes to conflict resolution? God spoke one sentence to Laban. One sentence and Laban allowed himself to be governed by that one sentence of revelation from God. When you have a conflict with others, do you give heed to God's word?

And do you do what God says, or do you just ignore God's words and follow the voice inside your own head? Instead God has spoken to us 800,000+ words, not just one sentence in this book, the Bible, and he's told us how to pursue peace with one another. He tells us in the New Testament that Jesus died and shed his blood so that we would be at peace with God and with one another. How much do you value the blood that Jesus shed, so that we can be at peace, not only with him but with each other?

In the New Testament, God speaks sentences to us, telling us what to do in conflict situations. He tells us to pursue peace with all men. In as much as it lies within us to live peaceably with all men in Romans 12, he tells us to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other just as God in Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32.

Yes, he calls us to admonish one another, to admonish the unruly. But he also calls us to Examine ourselves and to take the log out of our own eye first before we go dealing with a speck in someone else's eye. He calls us to be humble and willing to receive rebuke and to be ready to confess our own sins when needed. These are good words.

These are good sentences. That God has spoken to us, and they're far more than what Laban had to work with. He just had one sentence. And it made all the difference for him.

How much do the words that God has spoken to us in His word impact your behavior in a conflict situation? Is there, is there anyone in your life right now, or in the church that you've been running away from that you need to begin moving toward and pursuing peace with them? Is there someone perhaps who is running away from you? And you need to pursue them as Laban pursued Jacob.

Is there anyone you need to apologize? To and ask for forgiveness. Think about what God did for you and for me, and I'll close with this. We sinned against God, we rebelled against him, then we fled from him in far worse ways than Jacob fled from Laban.

But God came into the world in pursuit of us, in the person of Jesus Christ. He camped among us. In the person of Jesus Christ. And at God's command, Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

And through his shed blood, we now have atonement for every sin that we've ever committed. And oh Jesus, he does confront us for our sins, and he calls our sins. What they are, yet we're never in any doubt that he loves us. And every time we gather around the Lord's table in our care groups and on Sunday mornings, Jesus is inviting us to eat the covenant meal together.

with him in celebration of what he's done to save us and to reconcile us to God with the reconciliation we did not deserve. He makes a covenant of peace with us and he promises to keep his word. Saying, I will never do you harm. I will always and only do good to you and we'll always work all things together for your good, even though we still keep failing Him every day.

What is not to love about a savior like Jesus? If you have never believed in him for salvation, believe in him. Today, call upon his name, even right now where you are seated, be reconciled to God through Christ and then join us on this journey that we're all stumbling along on of seeking to mirror the same love toward one another as we pursue. Reconciliation.

With each other. Let's pray together. Lord, do a, do a good sweet work. And all of us, I'd be stunned if there's anyone in this room that can't think of somebody.

That they need to Pursue Reconciliation with, even right now, Lord, bring. Bring that person or those persons to our minds. And then help us to begin to pray right now that you would prepare our hearts and that you would prepare their hearts. For the hard conversation that needs to be had.

And give us the courage and the humility. And the grace That we need Some of these conversations need to happen inside of a marriage between husband and wife, or between parents and children, or between brothers and sisters in Christ. Or between an employee and their boss, or boss and their employee. Whatever it is, Lord, help us to be agents of your merciful peace in the world.

May there just be significant advances even this week. In peace Both in our hearts and in our relationships and in our homes, and we thank you for the gospel of Jesus Christ that gives us Both the motivation and the pattern to follow. We thank you for pursuing peace with us the way that you have. We thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to give of our offerings to you.

And return to you a portion of what you have blessed us with. Receive what we give in this offering. And use every penny that is given for the glory of Jesus. In whose name we pray, and all God's people said,