The Great Escape Text: Genesis 31:1-21
Introduction: The Friction of Blessing
One of the paradoxes of living in a fallen world is that God's blessing frequently creates friction. When God decides to prosper one of His saints, it is often taken as a personal offense by the ungodly who are standing nearby. The rain of God's favor on one man's field feels like a drought on another's. This is not a bug in the system; it is a feature. God's blessings are designed to distinguish, to separate, and to highlight the difference between the one who serves God and the one who does not. Abel's acceptable sacrifice provoked his brother to murder. David's victories for Saul provoked the king to a murderous jealousy. And the fruitfulness of the Church provokes the rage of a barren world.
Here in Genesis 31, we see this principle worked out in the life of Jacob. After twenty years of hard service under a deceitful and manipulative father-in-law, God has blessed Jacob immensely. But this blessing has not created a happy, blended family. It has created a toxic environment of envy, suspicion, and resentment. Laban's sons are grumbling, and Laban's face has grown cold. The atmosphere is ripe for a separation, and this is precisely what God intends. Jacob's sojourn in Paddan-aram was a necessary season of discipline and growth, but it was never meant to be his permanent home. The time has come for him to leave the house of bondage and return to the land of promise. This is not merely a family dispute; it is a pivotal moment in the history of redemption. God is moving His man, and when God moves His people, it is always toward the inheritance He has promised them.
The Text
Then Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that belonged to our father, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this wealth.” And Jacob saw the face of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly. Then Yahweh said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kin, and I will be with you.” So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field, and he said to them, “I see your father’s face, that it is not friendly toward me as formerly, but the God of my father has been with me. You also know that I have served your father with all my power. Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to harm me. If he spoke thus, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore speckled; and if he spoke thus, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. Thus God has delivered your father’s livestock and given them to me. Now it happened at the time when the flock were mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, and mottled. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your kin.’ ” Then Rachel and Leah said to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father’s house? Are we not counted by him as foreigners? For he has sold us and has also entirely consumed our purchase price. Surely all the riches which God has delivered over to us from our father belong to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.” Then Jacob arose and put his children and his wives upon camels; and he drove away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had accumulated, his acquired livestock which he had accumulated in Paddan-aram, in order to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. Now Laban had gone to shear his flock. Then Rachel stole the household idols that were her father’s. And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing. So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed the River and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
(Genesis 31:1-21 LSB)
The Sour Atmosphere (vv. 1-2)
The first signs of trouble are audible and visible. Jacob is confronted with the poison of envy.
"Then Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, 'Jacob has taken away all that belonged to our father, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this wealth.' And Jacob saw the face of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly." (Genesis 31:1-2 LSB)
The accusation from Laban's sons is the native language of covetousness. They see Jacob's prosperity not as the blessing of God on diligent labor, but as theft. Their worldview is a zero-sum game. For Jacob to have more, their father must have less. They cannot conceive of a God who creates wealth; they can only conceive of men who shuffle it around. This is the seed of all socialist thinking: a deep-seated resentment of the success of others, coupled with the slanderous assumption that all wealth is ill-gotten.
Jacob not only hears the grumbling of the sons, but he sees the confirmation on the father's face. "The face of Laban... was not friendly." In the ancient world, the face was the map of the heart. To have a man's favorable face was to have his blessing and protection. To lose it was to be exposed and in danger. The relationship has curdled. God often uses these atmospheric pressures, these changes in the countenance of men, to get us to lift up our own countenance to Him. The souring of earthly relationships is frequently God's way of telling us that it is time to move on.
The Divine Commission (v. 3)
Right into this tense situation, God speaks with perfect clarity and timing.
"Then Yahweh said to Jacob, 'Return to the land of your fathers and to your kin, and I will be with you.'" (Genesis 31:3 LSB)
God does not command His people in a vacuum. He speaks into the concrete realities of our lives. The human hostility was the prelude to the divine direction. God's command confirms what Jacob was already sensing from his circumstances. And the command comes with the great covenant promise: "I will be with you." This is the engine of all biblical faith. Abraham was called with this promise. Isaac was sustained by it. And now Jacob is sent forth with it. He is not being sent back to face Esau on his own strength, but in the strength of the God who goes with him. This promise is the foundation of all Christian courage.
Jacob's Appeal to His Wives (vv. 4-13)
Jacob now demonstrates wise, covenantal headship. He doesn't issue a decree from on high. He calls his wives out to the field, away from the ears of Laban's household, and makes his case.
"I see your father’s face, that it is not friendly toward me as formerly, but the God of my father has been with me... Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to harm me." (Genesis 31:5, 7 LSB)
His argument is a beautiful contrast between human treachery and divine faithfulness. He starts with the observable fact: "your father's face has changed." But he immediately pivots to the greater reality: "the God of my father has been with me." He recounts Laban's incessant deception, "changed my wages ten times," a number signifying a complete and thorough pattern of dishonesty. Yet, for every instance of Laban's cheating, Jacob testifies to God's overruling providence: "God did not allow him to harm me."
Jacob then explains how God systematically dismantled Laban's schemes. Whatever color Laban named as his own, God would cause the flocks to produce the other color for Jacob. Jacob recognizes that his own cleverness with the poplar sticks was secondary. The true cause was God's direct intervention. He says plainly, "Thus God has delivered your father's livestock and given them to me." This is not theft; it is divine restitution. God, the ultimate owner of all things, has simply transferred assets from a deceitful man to the man He has chosen to bless.
To seal his case, Jacob reveals a dream where the Angel of God, the pre-incarnate Christ, appeared to him. The Angel gives two crucial pieces of information. First, He confirms that the results of the breeding program were His doing, "for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you." God is a God who sees injustice. He is not a detached observer. He is the vindicator of His people. Second, He identifies Himself: "I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me." This is a call back to covenant. God is reminding Jacob of his pledge from twenty years prior. God has fulfilled His side of the vow, protecting Jacob and prospering him. Now it is time for Jacob to fulfill his, to "arise, leave this land, and return."
The Wives' Consent (vv. 14-16)
Rachel and Leah's response is unanimous and wholehearted. Their loyalty has been completely transferred from their father to their husband.
"Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father’s house? Are we not counted by him as foreigners? For he has sold us and has also entirely consumed our purchase price." (Genesis 31:14-15 LSB)
They see their father's character with stark clarity. He has treated them not as daughters to be cherished and endowed, but as commodities to be sold. He took the bride price, which should have been set aside for their security, and "entirely consumed" it. He broke the covenant of fatherhood. By his own actions, he has made them "foreigners" in their own home. Their conclusion is therefore simple and righteous. They affirm Jacob's testimony that the wealth is a gift from God, and it rightly belongs to them and their children. Their final word is a model of wifely submission and faith: "now then, do whatever God has said to you." This is a portrait of a household united under God's command.
The Departure and the Deception (vv. 17-21)
With his family united behind him, Jacob acts with speed and decisiveness.
"Then Jacob arose and put his children and his wives upon camels... Then Rachel stole the household idols that were her father’s. And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing." (Genesis 31:17, 19-20 LSB)
The departure is swift. But two details complicate the narrative. First, "Rachel stole the household idols." These teraphim were likely small pagan gods, perhaps connected to claims of inheritance. This act is a black mark on the story. It shows that Rachel, despite her confession of faith in the God of Jacob, still had one foot in the superstitious paganism of her father's house. It is a reminder that our sanctification is often a messy business, and we are prone to carry worthless idols with us when we flee from bondage. This theft will cause significant trouble very shortly.
Second, "Jacob deceived Laban." The Hebrew says he "stole the heart" of Laban, meaning he kept him in the dark. Is this sinful deception? Given that Jacob was escaping a hostile, covenant-breaking employer who had repeatedly cheated him and would have certainly prevented his departure by force, this was an act of strategic wisdom. Laban had forfeited his right to the truth through his own treachery. This was not a lie told for personal convenience; it was a necessary tactic of escape from a tyrant. Jacob fled with all that was rightfully his, crossed the Euphrates, and "set his face toward the hill country of Gilead." He was finally on his way home.
Conclusion: Fleeing Paddan-aram
This story is a microcosm of the Christian life. We are all sojourners in a foreign land, serving masters who are often hostile to us and to the God we serve. And there comes a point in every believer's life, and in the life of the church, where God says, "Arise, leave this land, and return."
This requires us to be spiritually discerning. We must learn to read the room, to see the coldness on Laban's face, and to hear the grumbling of his sons. We must be attentive to the voice of God that confirms our circumstances and gives us our marching orders. And we must be prepared to act decisively when the time comes.
But as we go, we must be careful not to do as Rachel did. We must be diligent to leave the household idols of our former life behind. Do not pack the little superstitions, the secret sins, the worldly attachments of the land you are leaving. They are worthless, and they will bring nothing but trouble on the road. Flee from the bondage of this world, but do not steal any of its accursed things.
Our faces are to be set toward the hill country of the New Jerusalem. We are returning to the land of our ultimate Father, to the inheritance He has promised us. And we go with the same promise that propelled Jacob across the river: "I will be with you." That is all the provision we need.