Genesis 31: 30, 31 “And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me.”
We can compare this passage to John 19: 10, 11 (“Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.”) Many times people believe they have the power to do things but they delude themselves. God’s will happens whether we like it or not! Laban believed that he had the power to do to Jacob whatever he wanted but he was still under God’s authority. Jacob was afraid of Laban but Laban was afraid of God so Jacob was safe. In this case Laban had to speak carefully to Jacob. Instead of attacking him with his family group he told him that he understood that Jacob wanted to return to his own family. However, Laban was angry because his household gods had been taken. Poor Jacob, he didn’t even know that Rachel had stolen the household gods and blundered along trying to explain why he went. He knew that he had made a contact to marry Laban’s daughters but he also knew that Laban had tricked him out of other agreements to he told Laban that he expected him to do what he had always done, that is, to trick him and invalidate the contract. Though all these things, while Jacob was trying to scheme and plan for his own benefit, God was in control over ruling so that the story of redemption would continue unabated. Philippians 1: 6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” reminds us that God always finished what He started. He began the work of redemption on the day that Adam and Eve sinned and He was not going to let Laban interfere along the way to prevent the work of redemption from being finalised.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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