20250803_IWillNotLeaveThee

[0:00] That we have together, thank you for your word, which instructs, informs, and encourages us.

[0:10] ! We are so grateful for that.

[0:33] As we look into your word, Lord, please teach us that which you would have us to know. Help us to glean instruction as far as understanding you, trusting you, and also, as Paul told the Corinthians, as something as a warning that I don't do some of the things that they did.

[1:04] So, Lord, help me to practically apply what I learned. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. So, we're in chapter 31, and Laban has been out shearing the sheep, and what happens while he's out?

[1:26] This is review, by the way. Rachel takes his household idols, the teraphim, and they head out.

[1:42] So, they're heading out. They don't say bye. They don't have a party. He's leaving quietly, as it were. However, quietly, you can leave with a few hundred persons and thousands of livestock.

[1:58] But, there they go. Okay, so we're beginning here with our questioning. We'll begin in verses 22 through 24 for the first few, and we'll continue on from there.

[2:16] So, looking especially at those three verses, question. Laban was told about Jacob's leaving.

[2:31] How long was the lapse? Three days. So, on the third day, Laban learns that Jacob's picked up and taken off.

[2:42] What's his response? Okay, he's going to chase him. Malone? Okay, when he says he's taking his brethren, what is he talking about?

[3:00] Not, yeah, his relatives. I'm sorry. And his workers. Yeah, he's not going with five or six persons.

[3:16] As we'll see in a few minutes, he's going with an armed entourage. He's heading after him.

[3:27] Okay, now, how long did it take him to pursue? Seven days. So, there's a three-day lapse.

[3:38] It takes him seven days to catch him. I mean, you're not going 24 hours a day. You don't get in a jet. You're on camels and horses.

[3:48] Yes? Yeah. They were three days away anyway, and presumably, Jacob's moving too.

[4:04] Yeah. In any case, in seven days, in a week, Laban overtakes him. Right? Okay, now.

[4:18] God, then, there's no indication, by the way, that Laban is a godly man. He knows that God has blessed him because of Jacob, but that's all we know.

[4:33] However, God decides to talk to him in a dream, doesn't he? So, what does God tell him?

[4:52] Okay, it's in verse 24. He says, what, specifically? Yeah. Is this a suggestion?

[5:06] How does God word it? You be careful. You don't try to keep Jacob here by making promises, by speaking good.

[5:25] You don't try to keep Jacob here by speaking evil or bad. You don't threaten him. You're not going to promise him anything.

[5:35] You're not going to threaten him. The implication is, God's telling Laban, he's going. He's going. So, does Laban listen to that, by the way?

[5:50] Not really? All right. Now. I'm sorry?

[6:02] Okay. Verses 25 through 28 especially are going to be these questions. Now, Laban overtakes him in the area of Gilead.

[6:16] And what does Laban say to Jacob? Yeah. Yeah.

[6:26] What are you doing? You sneaked away. Is that all he says? Yeah.

[6:40] You've carried them away like they're captives. Now, remember what the daughters had said? He sold us away.

[6:53] He's devoured everything we were worth. That's how they took it. Remember that? So, they don't necessarily see it the same way.

[7:04] But Laban's saying, oh, look. We're family. What are you doing? What are you doing? Laban. You're carrying my daughters and my children.

[7:17] And he calls them my children. I'm jumping ahead. But you're carrying them all away like they're captive. You're sneaking away. What are you doing? In fact, in fact, had you told me, what would we have done?

[7:33] This is, according to Laban, had you told me this ahead of time, what would we have done? We would have had a big party.

[7:48] We'd have sent you away with mirth. Songs. We'd have had a big, a big going away party. Well, I tend to think that in the English translation here, it's, we might have been able to do this had you told me.

[8:17] I don't think he's really equivocating here. Because that's not Laban's style, is it? Laban's style is to say, serve for me seven years and I'll give you Rachel.

[8:32] Oh, by the way, I couldn't do that. Serve with me another seven years and I'll give you Rachel.

[8:46] Oh, what should your wages be? Name your wages. I know you want to leave, but I'll give you whatever you want. What's it going to cost to keep you? That's Laban's style.

[8:59] Now, incidentally, I want to be careful with this, but I'm going to say it anyway because I'm going for a couple of weeks.

[9:22] How many of you have heard, I'm not asking for you to agree with it. How many of you have heard, you're supposed to forgive and forget?

[9:40] I would, well, anyway, I'm going to back off. I am going to be a little bit careful. Jacob has forgiven, but he hasn't forgotten.

[9:57] I mean, he knows what he's dealing with. The Apostle Paul talking to Timothy, by the way, for the church. The Apostle Paul talking to Timothy told him to beware.

[10:17] Yeah. He said, he said, mark those that act this way. Don't. Don't mess around there.

[10:29] He also, he also has told others, hey, you pay attention. Demetrius the silversmith tried to do me much harm. You watch out for that guy.

[10:42] Now, he's, yes. Right. No, Jacob did not know to watch out.

[10:59] That's true. However, however, he already knows it. That's why he left secretly, wasn't it?

[11:11] Because he knew he would try to get, Laban would try to stop him. What I'm saying is, if you have heard the expression, forgive and forget, it's one thing to forgive.

[11:23] It's another thing to just keep walking back into the same hole. You do have to, even the Apostle Paul said, I'm not trying to take vengeance on Demetrius, but you watch out for him.

[11:37] You don't trust this guy. He's going, he tried to do me harm. Now, you see another item of, I'll just leave it at that.

[11:56] There is a principle at work here of, perhaps not trying to take vengeance, but being careful that you don't pretend that nature has changed unless you see that nature has changed.

[12:18] What was the, what was the fable about the, the snake, and, well, you knew I was a snake.

[12:31] What, you know, you, you trusted me, but you knew I was a snake. Anyhow, back to this. So, Laban said, we would have had a big party.

[12:47] Is that all he says now? Now, okay. Okay. Now, by the way, is Laban correct in his accusation?

[13:12] We kind of rehearsed this in saying, you should have told me we, we would have had a big party. And the answer kind of is, no, no. Yeah.

[13:24] And now he can't resist saying, I could hurt you. It's in my power to what? To harm you.

[13:37] He's brought armed retainers. It's in my power to hurt you. But God told me I'm not allowed to.

[13:52] Well, well, he has other gods, but he says, the God of your father told me I can't. So, incidentally, it was the, it was Jehovah God that he gave credit to.

[14:14] Jehovah God is blessing me because you were working for me. Back verses ago. So, he continues.

[14:27] Now, what does he ask? He asks a question. And this is very, this is pertinent to what Brad brought up about them getting ready to leave, right?

[14:45] What is Laban asking? Yeah. Okay, you're taking off. God's not going to let me stop you. But why did you take my idol?

[14:57] Why did you do that? And here, by the way, he calls them Elohim. He calls them gods. So, that's where the, before the images, it was translated into English images.

[15:13] That was teraphim. Here, it's Elohim. So, he's equating the two. So, these are actually idolatrous images that he's using.

[15:27] He said, why'd you take them? Okay. Now, by the way, that, that probably is a legitimate question.

[15:40] Okay, you're taking off. You're taking your stuff, but why'd you steal mine? Now, how did he know that they were taken? He was off shearing sheep.

[15:54] Right? Probably. Either because he wanted more than, I'm, I'm going to guess he returned home for provisions and for more men.

[16:14] And, it's possible that Rachel stole them because she didn't want him getting information from the gods.

[16:29] There's no indication here that Rachel hadn't learned something in the household, right? So, Laban may have wanted to consult the teraphim.

[16:40] but whatever the case, Rachel took him. And, Laban thinks that Jacob, he's assigning it to Jacob, isn't he?

[16:54] All right. By the way, does Jacob know? We're going to see that actually expressed here in a verse or two, in a few verses. Okay.

[17:05] So, now, by, we're down towards verse 31. What reason did Jacob answer Laban?

[17:20] This is the reason I fled secretly. What does he say? I'm afraid you were going to deprive me of my wives.

[17:36] and the children. I mean, at this point, there are 11 children, sons.

[17:50] Well, 12 children, Dinah, and 11 boys. so, he said, I figured you'd take them away from me.

[18:03] I figured you'd take them away from me. What does Jacob say about the teraphim?

[18:23] Yeah Right He said if we took these You show me You can go through my stuff If you find them We'll bring them here And we'll kill them Because He did not know That Rachel had done this He's assuming that Laban's lying again But Rachel had taken them Okay now we're sticky aren't we So What does Laban do He starts going through all the

[19:24] All the tents Looking for his idols Now Did he find them But Rachel has them So why didn't he find them She hid them in the In the camel's Tack The Saddlery For the camels She hid them there And then she claimed that She couldn't Rise before her father Because she was At that time So He doesn't find them Now Where are we Jacob gets angry Oh I can't imagine that

[20:25] By now He's pretty put out By now He's pretty put out And he says what Right What What have I done to you That you Pursue hotly And that you make these accusations If I've wronged you Bring it here And let Our brethren Judge Let's bring it to the courts Now What did they find Nothing Now Jacob is going to continue And make a bit of an accusation Against Laban Isn't he A bit

[21:25] He's going to let it fly Here for a while Huh It's only been pent up For 20 years Right A rant Well I don't think it's so much A rant As it is Look You've made these accusations And you haven't found anything But here's the way It really is Well he's angry That's for sure I doubt it It says he was very wroth So I'm I'm guessing When it says he was wroth It means he was Wroth Okay So what does he say Let's Delineate some of it I've been with I'll get it started I've been with you 20 years And during that time What about your flock The ewes and the goats

[22:30] Haven't miscarried That's If you're reading King James It's cast their young That's what that They haven't miscarried What What else Right He said He said The normal Attrition rate You made me Bare Right Is that not what he says By normal attrition I'm talking about If they If they got lost If they were stolen Or if A wild animal Killed them Who bore the loss Jacob Okay Anything else Then he talks about How the work was At night

[23:32] The frost got me In the day The heat got me I was hungry I went without sleep I worked hard For you Laban Okay Keep going You've changed my wages Ten times I've worked Twenty years here What's going on Okay So He Then says What to Laban Here's the finish This This gives us a clue As to He understands Laban's character If it had not been For what If it hadn't been For God's intervention What You'd have sent me Away with nothing

[24:33] That's what you were Intending to do By the way What an uncle Right This is uncle Laban This isn't a Somebody They have no Relationship with Okay So Laban's going to Respond You're at Verses Forty three Now Laban's going To respond To Jacob's Lambast What does Laban say Okay These are my Daughters Keep going These are my Children And And these Are my Flocks You think

[25:34] Everything That you See Is Mine It's all Mine Be careful Laban Remember what God said Now What do They do Now Laban's got It Laban's Made his Statement But it's Not going to Stick Is it That is It's not Going to Change Anything Because Because Everyone Apparently Knows That it's A false It's a False claim They're Really His daughters Are married By the way For a

[26:34] Lesson For me When Something Is Given If it's An object Or In the Case of This When the Daughter Is Married She Is Now Formed Her Own Family With Her Husband It It Will Do Well To Remember That Because Now There's This Family She's No Longer It's Not That She Doesn't Have A Father Anymore But He Is Not The Head Of Her House Anymore Right That's Pretty Important And It Cuts Both Ways It Cuts Both Ways So That's

[27:34] Not Really True And The Grandchildren Are Just That They're Grandchildren But They're Children Of Dad And Mom They're Not His There's There's Kind of A joke About Well The Grandchildren Are Mine To Spoil And Eh But Sometimes That Could That Can Get In The Way Can't It Sometimes That Can Get In The Way For A Grandparent Who Doesn't Doesn't Truly Recognize The Boundary That Can Cause Problems In In Households So There Are Some Some Principles That Apply Cross Dispensationally And That's One Of Them So He

[28:36] Says They're All Mine But Let's Get Together So What Does Laban Say And What What's This Covenant Going To Consist Of Yeah Yeah A Non Aggression Treaty This Is Going To Be A Non Aggression Treaty We're Going To We're Going To Set This Up And This Will Be A Witness That You Will Not Cross Over This To Do Me Harm And I'll Not Come This Way To Do You Harm Is That Fair To What He Said Okay Whose Idea Was This Covenant Laban Suggested It Maybe He's

[29:36] Remembering Even As He Spoke Maybe He's Remembering What God Said I Don't Know In Any Case He Says He Realizes I'm Not Getting Them Back Jacob's Not Staying Jacob Is Going At This Point He Knows It So They Set Up The Covenant And They Made A Well What What Did The Stone Of Witness That's That's An Old Testament Thing What's It For It's A Reminder It's A Reminder What Other Stones Of Witness Do Remember After

[30:38] The Children Crossed The Sea On Bright Land And They Came Out And Set Up A Hello So That When The Children Saw All All Right Any Others!

[31:08] Right Jacob Set Up A Pillar! And Anointed It And Called It Do You Remember What He Called It Bethel Bethel The House Of God Okay One Of The Perhaps The Most Remarkable One That I Remember Is When The Children Of Israel Are Entering Canaan Joshua Is Going To Lead Them Into Canaan Jordan Is In Flood What Does God Tell Joshua To Do And This Specifically Has To Do With Remembrance He Said Take A Man From Every Tribe And What's That Man To Do He's To Pick Up A Rock

[32:09] From From From Over Here And He's To Carry It Into The Middle Of The River And They're Going To Make A Heap In The River And Then They're Going To Pick Up A Rock From The River And They're Going To Carry It Over Into Canaan And Make A Heap As A Stone Of Remembrance And Ever After When Your Children Say Hey Dad What's That What Are Those Stones Doing There You're Going To Tell Them Thus Far Has The Lord Brought Us By The Way We Have A hymn About That That's Been Reworded I Still Like The Old Words Here I Raise Mine Ebenezer Hither By Thy Help I Have Come And I Hope By Thy Good

[33:09] Pleasure Safely To Arrive At Home Jesus Sought Me When A Strang Okay The Stone Of Remembrance Is An Important Thing For Us Because As You're Passing It On To Children And Grandchildren!

[33:30] And Nephews And Nieces To The Next Generations It's Important To Remember This Is What God Does This Is What God Has Done Because The Next Generation Needs To Be Reminded Of What They Have Not Physically Seen With Their Own Eyes Because Someday Joseph's Going To Be Old And Israel's Going And He's Going To Die In Egypt I Know We're In The Time Machine He's Going To Die And They're Going To Put Him In A Sepulcher They're Going To Mummify His Body Bury Him Like An Egyptian And Then There Is Going To Arise Another King In Egypt Another

[34:30] Pharaoh Who Knew Not Joseph Nor What He Had Done And Then They're Going To Forget They're Going To Forget To That Joseph's Family The Israelites Are Important People Don't Misuse Them And That's Going To Change Well That's Always Going To Happen Isn't It If They're Not Reminded And That And It's It's An Important Thing To Pass It On So They Raise Up This Memorial And They Say Here Is Our Covenant A Non-aggression Pact!

[35:18] And What Happens? They They Named It Each One Named It Something Different I Don't Know What Those Names Mean By The Way Okay One In Chaldea And One In Hebrew Okay Alright Now And They Called It Mizpah In Verse 49 And Then Jacob Well I Don't Know Who Says It But Well

[36:18] One One Is Acknowledging His Own And One Is Acknowledging Jehovah However Here Here In Verse In Verse 49 He Says I Assume It's Jacob The Lord Watch Between Me And The While We Were Absent One From Another It Might Have Been Laban But But The Idea At Least The Idea Puts Between Me When Nobody's Watching God Is You Know I Want God To Watch Out What You're Doing I I I I too because of verse 50? Because he says, if you mistreat my daughters or take other wives and no one is there to see it, God is witness between us. Okay.

[37:47] Good point. I agree. And so God is the witness and then Laban says to Jacob, this is the witness pillar, reiterating, reiterating the covenant. And then he says, interestingly, the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, now he's going back, the God of their father judged between us. And then Jacob made an oath by his father, Isaac, and agrees. And then, then they ate the covenant. They ate, they broke bread together. And then what happens? Verse 55, early in the morning. They get up the next day, Laban blesses them, and he leaves. And he leaves. Now, by the way, we will hear no more of Laban hereafter, as far as any, any history of Laban. We'll hear the name maybe, but we aren't going to hear any more of Laban. This is the end of what we know about Laban is when he leaves Jacob and goes home. And we will end there today. Thank you very much. God bless you. Have a great week.

[39:49] Thank you.