And he fled with all that he had; and he rose up and passed over the river, and set his face [toward] mount Gilead.
Jacob's years with Laban end not with a farewell but with a head start. He puts a great river behind him and heads for the highlands of Gilead — going where God had told him to go, but going in secret.
The ESV names the Euphrates outright. Older translations read "the river," which is Scripture's own shorthand for it. That same river marked a border God had named to Abraham.
This river is first mentioned in connection with the garden of Eden, but cannot be traced from that. Gen. 2:14. It was the north-east boundary of the land promised to Abraham, as the river of Egypt was the south-west. Gen. 15:18. It is called the great river, the river Euphrates, Deut. 1:7, and at times it is simply called "the river." Gen. 31:21.
Gilead was no random destination. It was high ground with plenty of grazing.
This district lies east of the Jordan. It extends from the river Yarmouk, a little south of the Sea of Galilee, to the north corner of the Dead Sea... It is a mountainous district, which accounts for some part of it being called "the mount of Gilead" in Gen. 31:21-25... Pasturage abounds in Gilead.
God had told Jacob to go home. The going, though, was done Jacob's way — timed for the week Laban was busy shearing sheep, with no word said.
But in the manner of his departure we again see the character of Jacob revealed. He should have dealt openly with Laban, met him face to face, and then left with proper notice. Instead he stole away unnoticed while Laban was away shearing his sheep. In doing so he handed Laban fresh grounds for complaint. He had accepted the place of a servant, working for wages, though he was son-in-law to his master. In those circumstances the parting ought to have been arranged by mutual consent.
Jacob had a direct word from God to go home. He still left in secret, and the writers put that down to something missing in him.
Laban's sons murmur, and their father's face is no longer toward Jacob as before. At last Jehovah tells him to return to the land of his fathers. (Genesis 31:3) His mind is made up at once. He gives a touching explanation to Rachel and Leah, and sets out secretly. He had no such confidence in God with a clear conscience as would rid him of fear. The unseen hand of God was there; but the power and the honour of God could not rightly be found in such a course... So he steals away timidly, pursued like a thief by his father-in-law. But God deals seriously with Laban, coming to him in a dream by night.
Another writer names the reason plainly:
But Jacob has to flee. The time has come for him to return to his father's house, and God tells him to return. Why steal away unnoticed? Because he was conscious of sins. He knew he had wronged Laban, and so he was troubled and afraid.
From the outside this looks like a man running from a soured deal. Underneath, it is a homecoming God arranged.
But Jacob is oppressed and unwelcome among the Gentiles. So he returns to the land of his pilgrimage, the land of the fathers — pushed by circumstances, but in truth directed by God.
Jacob handled the escape badly, and it still worked. The protection was God's, not his.
Jehovah was faithful and gracious; Jacob was a fugitive. Laban soon pursued in hot haste with no friendly intent, but in the end he had to bow to God's protection of Jacob.
The wealth Jacob left with came from God, and it had already soured the household. His leaving turned that souring into open hostility.
After all his planning, Jacob has to learn that it is the power of God to which he owes the increase... But his prosperity turns Laban against him, just as spiritual increase separates a person from the world. Then comes the call of God to return to Canaan. Laban can no longer get on with him, yet his withdrawal makes Laban openly hostile. In the same way, the world feels the sting of separation, though there can be no more fellowship.
- Command. God had told Jacob to return to the land of his fathers; the journey itself was obedience, not impulse.
- Conscience. He left in secret because he knew he had wronged Laban, and a guilty conscience left no room for confidence in God.
- Conduct. He reached the right place by the wrong method. A servant owes his master an open parting, and his secrecy handed Laban a fresh complaint.
- Care. He crossed the Euphrates for the high pastures of Gilead as a fugitive. Laban chased him, and had to bow to God's protection of Jacob.
- Consequence. Blessing had already cost Jacob Laban's goodwill. Separation stings the world, and the parting made that plain.
And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.
Jacob has left Haran in secret with his wives, his children and his flocks. For three days Laban hears nothing; then the news reaches him and the pursuit begins.
The three-day gap was not luck. Jacob picked his moment and moved a whole household before the news could travel.
Jacob did not delay his departure. This time he does not consult with Laban, as he had before (ch. 30:25-26). In fact, he does not even inform him that he is leaving. His sons and his wives ride on camels (v. 17). He was able to organise all his possessions and get everything moving three days before Laban even heard that he had left. Jacob owned so much by now that there was of course some distance between him and Laban. Also the time was right for Jacob since Laban was busy with the shearing of his sheep.
God had told Jacob to go home. He did not need to flee, and the reason he did lay inside him.
His mind is at once made up. He gives a moving explanation to Rachel and Leah, and sets out in secret. He did not have the kind of confidence in God, held with a clear conscience, that frees a man from fear. The hand of God was there, unseen. But God's power and honour could not rightly be shown in a course like that. Grace would give him these another day. They could not be his yet. So he steals away in fear, chased like a thief by his father-in-law. God, however, deals seriously with Laban, coming to him in a dream at night.
Jacob had worked for Laban for wages, like a servant. That kind of arrangement carries obligations when it ends.
But in the way he left we again see Jacob's character revealed. He should have dealt openly with Laban, met him face to face, and left with proper notice. Instead he stole away unnoticed while Laban was away shearing his sheep. In doing so he gave Laban fresh ground for complaint, for he had put himself in the place of a servant, working for wages, though he was son-in-law to his master. In those circumstances the two men should have agreed on the parting together.
The manner was wrong; the move itself was not. Jacob had reasons to go, and Laban's own household had given him most of them.
Jacob was under no obligation to stay. Laban and his sons showed plainly how much they disliked his growth and their own decline. He wanted a word from God, Who gave it to him. His wives were of one mind with him. So he seized the first opportunity, which Laban's shearing supplied, to be gone. Now Laban and all the clan overtook Jacob on Mount Gilead. What just objection could they raise?
The scheming did not begin on the night he left. It grew out of what Jacob believed about God's promise.
Now, in Jacob's case, all his toiling and working, like his miserable bargain before, is the result of his ignorance of God's grace, and his inability to put full confidence in God's promise. God had promised him the whole land of Canaan, with no conditions at all. Yet this is the man who could say, "IF God will give me food to eat and clothing to put on." He could have had only a very faint grasp of who God was, or of what His promise was. Because of this, we see him trying to do the best he can for himself.
Laban set out wanting revenge. By his own admission, he never took it.
Laban first speaks of Jacob's foolishness in leaving Haran secretly. He then tells Jacob that he had the power to do him harm. Yet he admits that God stopped his desire for revenge, by warning him to speak neither good nor bad to Jacob.
- News. Jacob left during the sheep-shearing. Laban heard nothing for three days.
- Fear. Fear drove the secrecy: no confidence in God, no clear conscience — so he was chased like a thief.
- Cost. Jacob had served Laban for wages. Leaving without notice gave Laban a fair complaint.
- Right. Even so, Jacob had God's word to go and no duty to stay. Laban had no just objection.
- Restraint. Laban had the power to harm Jacob. He admitted that God's warning stopped him.
And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey, and overtook him on mount Gilead.
Jacob has slipped away in secret, and three days later the news reaches Laban. What follows is a seven-day chase. It raises one question: who is in control — the man doing the chasing, or the God who had told Jacob to go home?
The distance covered tells its own story about Laban's determination.
The journey was long, but Jacob ought to have realized that Laban would pursue him. Jacob had a three-day start before Laban learned he had left (v.22). Even so, Laban did not delay. He took others with him and went after Jacob. After seven days he caught up with him.
God had already told Jacob to go home. So why the secrecy? One writer traces it to Jacob's conscience.
But Jacob has to flee. The time has come for him to return to his father's house, and God tells him to return. So why slip away in secret? Because he was conscious of his sins. He knew that he had wronged Laban, and so he was troubled and afraid.
The way he left shaped the way he was caught. A man who leaves like a thief gets chased like one.
He gives a touching explanation to Rachel and Leah, and leaves in secret. He did not have the confidence in God, with a clear conscience, that would have freed him from fear. The unseen hand of God was there. But the power and the honour of God could not be rightly found in such a course... So he steals away in fear, chased like a thief by his father-in-law. God, however, deals gravely with Laban, coming to him in a dream by night.
One writer points to the household idols Rachel had taken as the main reason for the whole chase.
Soon Laban pursued and overtook Jacob. God warned the Syrian to beware how he treated Jacob. It seems the main reason for the pursuit was the teraphim (household gods). Rachel had stolen them, and Laban wanted them back. Laban's household practiced idolatry, even though he used the name of Jehovah (verse 49).
Laban arrives at Gilead as the injured party. But he had no real claim, and his own conscience was far from clear.
Jacob was under no bond to stay. Laban and his sons gave ample signs how distasteful to them were his growth and their decay. He wanted a word from God, Who gave it to him. His wives were of one mind with his own... Now Laban and all his clan have overtaken Jacob on mount Gilead. What righteous objection could he raise? No doubt the warning God gave Laban alarmed his guilty conscience. But there was no true fear of God in him, and no sense of his own injustice — even if Jacob had been no more than a faithful servant.
Laban set the pace of the chase. He did not decide how it ended.
Jehovah was faithful and gracious, Jacob a fugitive. Laban soon pursued in hot haste with no friendly intent, but in the end he had to bow to God's protection of Jacob.
One writer follows the story past the moment Laban catches up.
Laban is warned to be careful what he says or does to Jacob, and he is even forced to admit it himself. While Jacob lays his complaint before him, Laban in the end cannot help seeking Jacob's help, and he enters into a special covenant with the very man he had overtaken in his flight.
Nothing in Jacob's conduct here earns the protection he receives, and that is exactly the point the chase makes visible.
Jacob was not walking with God at this time, but God was walking in pure grace with Jacob. This is also a picture of God's preserving hand over the nation of Israel. That hand stays on them even when they have failed badly and are wandering and seeking their own way.
- Conscience — Jacob slipped away because he knew he had wronged Laban. Guilt, not faith, set the terms.
- Consequence — a man who leaves like a thief is chased like one. Laban chased him seven days and caught him at Gilead.
- Case — Laban had no righteous claim. Jacob was free to go, and it was Laban's conscience that was uneasy.
- Control — the pursuit was hot and unfriendly. In the end Laban had to bow to God's protection of Jacob, and make a covenant with the man he had chased.
- Crown — Jacob was not walking with God, but God was walking with Jacob. His preserving hand was grace, not reward.
And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, Take care thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
Jacob has slipped away from Haran with his family and flocks, and Laban has chased him down for seven days. Before they meet, God warns Laban in a dream, and the ban on even a good word raises a question about who is really in charge here.
Jacob's secret escape was no act of faith. It did not stop God from acting for him. (Older translations call Laban "the Syrian" rather than "the Aramean.")
Jacob set out secretly. He did not have the kind of confidence in God, with a clear conscience, that sets a man free from fear. God's unseen hand was there, but the power and the honour of God could not rightly be found in such a course. So he steals away timidly, chased like a thief by his father-in-law. God, however, takes Laban firmly in hand and comes to him in a dream by night. He warns Laban the Syrian to be careful what he says or does to Jacob, and Laban himself ends up admitting it.
The way Jacob left gave Laban a real grievance. And the man God warns in the dream is a stranger to Him.
By stealing away while Laban was off shearing his sheep, Jacob gave him fresh ground of complaint. Jacob had accepted the place of a servant working for wages, though he was son-in-law to his master, and the parting ought to have been arranged by mutual consent. The situation had become critical — so critical that God stepped in. This time He spoke to Laban, who had no direct knowledge of Him. Laban speaks of Him to Jacob as "the God of your father." In a dream God warned Laban not to overtake Jacob with violent speech or action. Because of this, Laban took an attitude only of complaint, with a note of reproach in it about the stealing of his gods.
The ban on speaking "bad" is easy to understand; Laban was furious. The ban on speaking "good" is the surprise, and it defines the whole scene.
Of course, he was most likely to speak bad to Jacob, for he was angry with him. God made it clear that Laban was not Jacob's judge. It is interesting, however, that Laban must not speak good to Jacob. Why is this? It is because God was dealing with Jacob, and Laban must not interfere.
Later, face to face with Jacob, Laban repeats the warning himself.
Laban tells him that he had the power to harm Jacob. Yet he admits that God's warning — to speak neither good nor bad to Jacob — stopped his desire for revenge.
A stopped hand is not a softened heart.
The warning God gave Laban alarmed his guilty conscience. But no true fear of God was there, and no sense of his own injustice — even if Jacob had been no more than a faithful servant.
The same rule reaches far past one family quarrel. Grant applies it to the way nations treat a people God is dealing with Himself.
This reminds us of God's words to Laban: "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad" (Gen. 31:24). God was dealing with Jacob. Laban must not excuse Jacob or defend him in wrongdoing, and he must not accuse or condemn him either. Nations too must learn to leave others for God to deal with, instead of taking it on themselves to interfere one way or the other.
- Pursuit. Jacob ran in fear, and Laban chased him like a thief. The fault in his flight did not stop God from meeting Laban on the road.
- Intervention. The crisis was serious enough that God spoke to a man who did not know Him, warning him off violent speech and violent action.
- Silence. God forbade even a good word, because Laban was not Jacob's judge. God was dealing with Jacob Himself.
- Restraint. Laban had the power to harm, and he admitted that the warning stopped his desire for revenge. It alarmed his conscience, but it gave him no true fear of God.
- Reach. One warning to an angry father-in-law becomes a standing lesson. Where God is dealing with someone, others must not step in to defend or to condemn.
And Laban came up with Jacob; and Jacob had pitched his tent on the mountain; Laban also with his brethren pitched on mount Gilead.
Two camps sit on the same ridge in Gilead. One is Jacob's. The other belongs to the uncle who has chased him for seven days. The meeting looks like the moment everything falls apart. But God has already spoken to Laban in the night, and the reader knows what Jacob does not.
The "mount of Gilead" is not one peak. It is a whole highland region east of the Jordan:
This district lies east of the Jordan. It stretches from the river Yarmouk, a little south of the Sea of Galilee, to the north corner of the Dead Sea... It is a mountainous district, and that is why part of it is called "the mount of Gilead" in Genesis 31:21-25. Some of the mountains are 2,000 to 3,500 feet high... Gilead has plenty of pasture.
Good grazing land is where a man moving flocks would stop. It is also where a pursuer would find him.
The problem was not that Jacob left. It was how he left:
But the way he left shows us Jacob's character again. He could have dealt openly with Laban, met him face to face, and then left after proper notice. Instead he slipped away unnoticed while Laban was away shearing his sheep. That handed Laban fresh ground for complaint. Jacob had put himself in the place of a servant working for wages, even though he was his master's son-in-law. In that situation, the two of them should have agreed on the parting together.
Jacob made up his mind quickly. But he left in secret, and one thing was missing:
His mind is made up at once. He gives a moving explanation to Rachel and Leah, and then leaves in secret. He did not have the kind of confidence in God, held with a clear conscience, that frees a man from fear. God's unseen hand was there. But a course like that could not rightly show the power and the honour of God... So he slips away in fear, and his father-in-law chases him as if he were a thief. God, however, deals seriously with Laban, and comes to him in a dream at night.
The dream came before the two camps ever faced each other. And its terms are strange — Laban was forbidden to say anything good as well as anything bad:
Of course, he was likely to say something bad to Jacob, since he was angry with him. God made it clear that Laban was not Jacob's judge. But it is striking that Laban must not say anything good to Jacob either. Why is that? Because God was dealing with Jacob, and Laban must not interfere.
The chase was meant to put Jacob in the wrong. It did the opposite. Laban had no fair complaint to make, and his own words gave him away:
Laban and all his clan have now caught up with Jacob on mount Gilead. What fair objection could he raise? The warning God gave him certainly alarmed his guilty conscience. But there was no true fear of God in him, and no sense of his own injustice — even if Jacob had been nothing more than a faithful servant... He may have feared being robbed or attacked, but the loss he complained about was his stolen gods. He valued them next after his profits, and he admitted he worshipped idols without any shame.
What happened to Jacob here would later happen to a whole nation:
When Jacob finally left his house, it was like an escape from an enemy's hand, or out of a bird-catcher's trap. It was a kind of exodus... Laban was Jacob's Pharaoh, and Padan-aram was his Egypt. Laban would gladly have kept him slaving away, or at best sent him off with nothing. But the Lord pleaded for Jacob with Laban, as He later pleaded for Israel with Pharaoh.
Seen this way, the two tents on Gilead are the last act of a long captivity. The pursuer arrives with power in his hand and a muzzle on his mouth.
- Overtaken. Laban caught up with Jacob in the hills of Gilead, where the grazing was good and the flocks could rest.
- Undermined. Jacob slipped away in secret instead of parting face to face. That handed Laban a fresh complaint.
- Afraid. Jacob's secrecy came from a conscience that was not clear, not from trust in God.
- Restrained. God reached Laban first, in a dream. Laban could say nothing good or bad, because God, not Laban, was dealing with Jacob.
- Delivered. The escape is a small exodus. The Lord pleaded Jacob's cause with Laban, as He later pleaded Israel's with Pharaoh.