In just 3 short verses, we have stolen gods, a secret escape and a river crossing. Jacob had worked for Laban for over 20 years, so he knew his movements. He knew when he would be out of sight, and it was then that he would make his big move.
“When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods. 20 Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. 21 So he fled with all he had, crossed the Euphrates River, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.” (Genesis 31: 19-21)
No one knows why she stole them. Probably small clay gods, small enough to sit on them to try and hide them, which, later, we will read she did. I’ve heard speculative sermons on this, but no one really knows why. The truth is, though, that these figures bring nothing but danger to her and Jacob. Carrying old gods always do.
The text says Jacob deceived Laban. God had told Jacob to go. But an old habit crept in; Jacob felt God needed a hand, so his plan was deceptive.
The Euphrates is not just a river. In the ancient world, it was a boundary — the edge of Mesopotamia, the end of the world Jacob had known. Every step west of it was toward a land he had only heard about in his grandfather’s stories. Canaan.
The crossing of rivers in the Bible is always significant. Here are broken people crossing a river; their characters are not developed enough to enter a new chapter, yet they head that way anyway. They are heading towards a country they cannot imagine.
Under the saddle of Rachel are stolen gods. Jacob has again deceived. They are running away, looking over their shoulders.
Why is God not saying something?
His grace overrides the completion of their sanctification, and aren’t we glad it does? As we cling to idols and old habits, still trying to obey, His grace is critical.
This is not a perfect segue into a new chapter. We might baulk at what we know that Laban didn’t at this moment in time. But perhaps faithfulness sometimes is less about getting everything right and more about simply leaving, being obedient to travel into a new chapter. Yes, it was messy, and perhaps you will pay a price for the way you travelled, but you did travel. We will discover that God will meet Jacob on the other side of the River. God was in the new chapter. This is probably your testimony too, or it will be.
Missions Paul 