Genesis 31:17 - Meaning and Application

Here we see Jacob fleeing from Laban. We may suppose he had thought about this for a long time and turned it over in his mind. But when God finally gave him a clear command to go, he did not hesitate or resist the heavenly vision. He took the first good chance to leave, when Laban was shearing his sheep, that is, when he was away with part of the flock in the care of his sons, three days’ journey off (Genesis 31:19).

First, Jacob’s sudden departure was lawful. He did not need to give Laban long notice. God had told him to go, and that was reason enough. It was also allowed by the basic law of self-preservation, which teaches us to protect ourselves when we are in danger, as long as we do no wrong.

Second, Jacob acted wisely in leaving secretly. If Laban had known in time, he might have stopped him or taken his goods by force. Third, Jacob acted honestly by taking only what belonged to him, the livestock he had earned (Genesis 31:18). He took what God’s providence had given him and was content with that. He would not take revenge into his own hands to make up for the harm he had suffered.

Rachel, however, was not as honest as her husband. She stole her father’s images and took them with her (Genesis 31:19). The Hebrew word is teraphim. Some think these were only small figures of family ancestors, like statues or pictures, and that Rachel wanted them because she was leaving for another country. But it seems more likely that these were objects used in religion, household gods, either worshiped or consulted like oracles.

We may hope, as Bishop Patrick suggests, that Rachel did not take them because she valued the metal they were made of, and not even for her own use. Nor did she likely take them because she feared Laban might use them to find out where they had gone. Jacob surely lived with his wives as a man of wisdom, and they had been taught better than that. More likely, she took them to show her father how foolish it was to trust as gods things that could not even protect themselves (Isaiah 46:1, 2).

Next we see Laban pursuing Jacob. On the third day, Laban heard that Jacob had fled. At once he gathered his relatives, that is, the family members who were on his side, and chased after Jacob, as Pharaoh and the Egyptians later chased the family of Jacob. He wanted to bring Jacob back into slavery, or at least strip him of his possessions.

He followed him for seven days (Genesis 31:23). He would not have gone to half that trouble to visit his best friends. But wicked people often work harder to satisfy sinful desires than good people do to show proper love. They can be more intense in anger than in affection.

At last Laban overtook Jacob. But the night before he caught up, God stepped in, rebuked Laban, and protected Jacob, telling Laban not to say anything good or bad to him (Genesis 31:24). That means Laban was not to stop Jacob or argue against his journey, because the Lord had ordered it. We see the same kind of expression in Genesis 24:50.

During his seven-day chase, Laban had been full of anger against Jacob. He hoped to get what he wanted by force. But God came to him and, with one word, restrained him, even though He did not change Laban’s heart. In dreams and in sleep, God has ways of opening people’s ears and sealing instruction in their minds (Job 33:15, 16). He still warns people through their consciences, in quiet inward prompts, which wise people hear and obey.

The safety of God’s people often depends on God’s power over the consciences of wicked people, and on the access He has to them. God sometimes appears in a wonderful way to rescue His people when they are almost at the point of destruction. The Jews were saved from Haman’s plot just when the king’s command was about to be carried out (Esther 9:1).