Thursday, January 15, 2009

Buyer Beware

In Gen 30 &31 we see Jacob and Laban struggle with each other, eventually Laban realizes that he is blessed because of Jacob and uses this as a means to get him to stay and earn more wages. Jacob uses Laban's insight of YHWH's blessing and thereby increases the publicity that YHWH is blessing Jacob not Laban by managing Labans animal stocks.
After 20 years of getting the upper hand, Laban is not paying sufficient attention to Jacob's success and soon realizes that Jacob is not the underdog any longer. Laban shows us that he seen his daughters as goods to be traded Ch31:15, they were not happy to see their bridal price squandered. His animals were few before Jacob turned up, though he had more than Jacob had at the time. The two part with a covenant, a line in the desert sand of their relationship. Laban swears by the God of Abraham and God of Nahor his grandfather, Jacob swears by the Fear lit "terror" of Isaac. I wonder what is Laban's attitude as he goes home. He is now left with no daughters,or grandchildren and a feeble flock.

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