Episode 297 - "Jacob and Laban make peace" - Genesis 31:43-55
Gen. 31:43 Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne? 44 Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me.” 45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. 48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he named it Galeed, 49 and Mizpah, for he said, “The LORD watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight. 50 If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.”
Gen. 31:51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. 53 The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac, 54 and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.
Gen. 31:55 Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned home.
Before I reflect upon what I see as meaningful in this section, I’d like to address a few details. According to what I can discern from scholars, the name of the “heap of stones” given by Laban and its corresponding one given by Jacob are not different meanings; just different languages. They both mean “heaps of stones.” Mizpah means something like “watch place.” The point is that Laban and Jacob come to an agreement that they will be peaceful toward each other, and that this monument is a reminder of that agreement.
What I love about this ending to the Laban-Jacob story is not just that there is a peaceful resolution, but that for the first time in the Biblical accounts of Laban, Laban is not so obsessed with getting his way. The LORD had clearly revealed Himself to Laban in the past, and yet Laban had retained household gods. Laban has always sought to manipulate circumstances for his own selfish interest. But now, in the wake of Jacob confronting this history of Laban’s unjust treatment, Laban’s pride appears to dissipate like the air in a weak balloon.
In desiring to do what is good and right for his daughters and grandchildren, Laban, who had come after Jacob with what appears to be a militia and uttering words about his right to do Jacob harm, now suggests a covenant of peace, and Jacob readily concurs. They set up a heap of stones and a marker as a reminder of the agreed-upon terms of the relationship. What a wise concept. The setting up of a physical and visible reminder of the peace agreement is not simply for accountability. Such reminders can serve to turn one’s thoughts away from past offenses and remind us of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and all that is good.
What I love most about this story is that Jacob’s confrontation appears to have a “faith-effect” on Laban. Laban invoked the name of the “LORD,” the God of Abraham, as the judge of obedience to this covenant agreement. He did not invoke his household gods in any way, and the story concludes with Laban kissing his daughters and grandchildren and blessing them before he returned home in peace.
This is one more example of the LORD being with Jacob as promised. I can’t help but see how this is another example of God’s promise to Abraham that the LORD would bless those who blessed him. While Laban had repeatedly cheated Jacob, the LORD used the strained relationship between Laban and Jacob to patiently develop faith in each of them. What an awesome God!