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V’yeitzei

He went out
“Laban Laborers”

Genesis 28:10-32:2
Hosea 12:12-14:10 (A);
11:7-12:12 (S)

excerpted from TorahScope, Volume I

In this week’s Torah reading, we are given some important images regarding the personal character of the life of the Patriarch Jacob. In his early life, it can be easily detected that unlike Abraham and Isaac who preceded him, Jacob did not necessarily place his total trust in God. On the contrary, at times Jacob tried to “bargain” with God:

“Jacob vowed a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and the LORD will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give a tenth to you’” (Genesis 28:20-22, WMB).

This kind of attitude in approaching the Almighty is not unique to Jacob, nor to any other human being. In fact, in his early life, Jacob approached God the same way he approached any mortal person. His experiences with his tasking father-in-law, Laban, would teach him some important things, causing him to rely more on God and less on himself, steadily molding him into the man of faith the author of Hebrews considered him to be, albeit with him being known for his dying words (Hebrews 11:21-22).

V’yeitzei is a Torah portion which most people can identify with if they have spent any time working for others. Sadly, the world is full of people who are driven by the spirit of Laban, who are only out to serve themselves and their self interests (Genesis 29:21-35). Consider what Jacob might have felt, after laboring for seven years to marry Rachel as his wife—and then on his wedding night he got the unattractive Leah. All Laban said on the morning after was, “It is not done so in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn” (Genesis 29:26, WMB), flippantly annulling their previous agreement (Genesis 29:18-20). Those who make promises and conveniently forget to honor them are all over the world. All that hard work and waiting for nothing, it would seem… Human nature is such that interchanges and short dealings, like those between Laban and his son-in-law Jacob, are fairly common around the globe. People make promises which are easily broken, because the consequences of broken vows do not necessarily surface immediately.

But before we recall some of the injustices we may have had to endure, by the fracturing of pledges, it would probably be beneficial to first recollect all of the promises we have personally dishonored. It is easy to point a finger at those who twist the truth and have selective memories about their commitments, but what about our own vows which are uttered in the quieter moments of life? How about those simple promises to read the Bible, pray consistently, stop smoking or drinking, stop overeating, get more exercise, lose weight, help one’s neighbors, put others’ needs ahead of mine, or devote more time to one’s marriage relationship? The list could go on and on. We have each made these types of promises to ourselves, to our spouses, to our children, or to our Creator. The problem is that it is much easier to examine the speck in our brother’s eye, rather than work to remove the log which clouds our own vision of our true self. Yeshua’s words were quite direct:

“Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:1-5, WMB).

Before we remove our brother or sister’s speck, can we learn anything from how Jacob dealt with the challenges of having “the real Laban” for his father-in-law? In so doing, can we remove any logs we have in our eyes? Is it possible that God gave Jacob a father-in-law, just like Laban, to work out some issues in his life? Is it also possible that He has given each of us our own Laban-like experiences, in order to mold us into useful servants for His purposes?

I believe this is why spiritual self-examination can be so fruitful. In His economical ways, God orders all of life’s circumstances so that His people can benefit from the trials and admonishments which surface. Remember that one of the benefits of being a child of the Living God, guarantees that He will discipline and admonish us using a variety of means:

“You have not yet resisted to blood, striving against sin. You have forgotten the exhortation which reasons with you as with children, ‘My son, don’t take lightly the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, and chastises every son whom he receives [Proverbs 3:11-12].’ It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with children, for what son is there whom his father doesn’t discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have been made partakers, then you are illegitimate, and not children. Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days disciplined us as seemed good to them, but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:4-11, WMB).

Those who are legitimate sons and daughters of God will be disciplined by Him. What does this say to those who claim faith in Messiah Yeshua, but have possibly never been chastised by anything? Let us simply pray that such people might pick up a Bible, read, and be convicted without having to endure anything too harsh.

The Power of Words

Remember how critical words were spoken from Toldot (Genesis 25:19-28:9) last week. Jacob made sure that Esau verbally swore to relinquish his birthright (Genesis 25:33), and the birthright promises were permanently transferred. Isaac, once he spoke the blessing over Jacob, was unable to rescind his words of blessing upon the younger (Genesis 27:33), and the blessings have flowed ever since to Israel rather than to Edom. These are two great examples of how powerful one’s words can, and how utterances can become vows, promises, pledges, blessings, or even curses. They have an incredible impact on both the individual who speaks them, and those to whom the statements are directed.

Jacob understood this principle about the power of words, having grown up in the tents of his parents Isaac and Rebekah, and hearing about his grandfather Abraham. He knew that the Most High had visited his fathers at different times and imparted some very powerful verbal promises to them. In audible and visual encounters, the Holy One had promised a multitude of descendants to each of them, and the Land of Canaan as an inheritance for their progeny. You can imagine Jacob’s reaction as he was fleeing from Esau’s anger, when he had a dream-vision at Bethel. Here, as his head was resting on a rock, he dreamt about seeing a ladder with angels ascending and descending from Heaven. Then, the Almighty Himself spoke these confirming words to Jacob in the dream:

“Behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, ‘I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give the land you lie on to you and to your offspring. Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your offspring, all the families of the earth will be blessed. Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken of to you’” (Genesis 28:13-15, WMB).

What was Jacob’s response to this exhilarating experience? He woke up and began to utter all kinds of statements and declarations. He took up the stone pillow,[1] renamed the town,[2] and uttered this recorded vow to God:

As you can imagine, this was a very exciting interchange for Jacob. He had clearly been in the presence of God Himself, and his actions indicated a real desire to accomplish His will. His vow to God revealed a sincere desire to be dependent upon the Almighty who had just appeared to him in a dream—and who had been faithful to his fathers. But did you notice the “if/then” aspect of Jacob’s vow? Jacob basically told God, “If You give me everything, then You will be my God.” This sounds like he was bargaining and expecting the Most High to perform, before he gave Him the allegiance He required as Creator. To top it off, consider some of the stinginess of only offering 10% of all which would be given to him—in view of everything God had promised!

You could conclude that if one has all of his needs supplied, is given protection from enemies, and relative peace is present in his father’s house—that one might be willing to give back more than just 10%. How about 20% or perhaps even 35%? The problem is that the Lord ultimately requires 100%. Even if we only give 10% of our actual resources to those who serve Him on a full-time basis, we are expected to wisely use the remaining 90% of our resources and possessions, and in some way acknowledge Him as the Provider. Anything less than this, and one runs the risk of taking what is holy and wasting it (cf. Matthew 7:6).

How serious is it if our time, energies, and resources are not all dedicated to God and to His purposes? Will one fall from the ranks of the chosen? Yeshua taught that “many are called, but few chosen” (Matthew 22:14, WMB). You probably recall this word from reading the Scriptures, but are you aware of the larger context of where Yeshua said it? The Lord called all to the wedding feast of His Son in the Kingdom to come:

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who made a wedding feast for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner. My cattle and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding feast!”’ But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise; and the rest grabbed his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. When the king heard that, he was angry, and sent his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited weren’t worthy. Go therefore to the intersections of the highways, and as many as you may find, invite to the wedding feast.’ Those servants went out into the highways and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good. The wedding was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who didn’t have on wedding clothing, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here not wearing wedding clothing?’ He was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.’ For many are called, but few chosen” (Matthew 22:2-14, WMB).

In this parable, Yeshua instructed His Disciples that one must be attentive to the situation at hand. When you are invited to a wedding feast, make the effort to dress like you are actually a part of the feast. If you plan to show up without any real concern for the festivities, then will you be subject to being uninvited—in this case being cast out and eternally punished? If you are only allowing a percentage of your being to attend (10% or 20%, or maybe even 50%), then you will not understand the dress code and proper protocol. Not only will you not enjoy what the Lord has invited you to, but you will be thrown out and never allowed back in.

What Jacob would discover in ensuing chapters is that only partial commitment to the Lord is not sufficient (Genesis chs. 32-33). Jacob would come to a place where he realized that apart from Him, he could do nothing.[3] Absolute dependence upon God for not only provision and protection, but life itself, allows one to be useful for His work and purposes here on Earth. Only when Jacob was confronted with the possible slaughter of his family and his own death by the estranged Esau, would he finally be willing to concede his lack of strength and cleverness in his own abilities to the Lord (Genesis 32:7-12).

At this critical juncture in his life, Jacob humbly approached Esau, to receive whatever Esau determined to do (Genesis 33:1-17). Even though he had taken some precautions for the survival of at least part of his family, he placed 100% of his life in the hands of his brother, who decades before he had robbed of his birthright and the blessings of their father Isaac. Jacob, through the both literal and figurative, wrestled with the Most High (Genesis 32:24:32) and with the tools He used like Laban, and had finally come to a place where he depended on God for all things. Consider the humility Jacob demonstrated in approaching Esau:

“He himself passed over in front of them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother” (Genesis 33:3, WMB).

Are we at such a point in our own lives, where the various Laban experiences convict us about the dark secrets we may carry? Have we gotten to the point where we are dependent upon the Lord for everything? Do we give Him 10%—or 100% of all that we have to give?

Vows Allow

Have you made vows to the Lord which have not been kept? Do you even remember all of your commitments to not only Him, but other promises made over the years? If we would each be absolutely honest, we could probably each remember commitments made which have not been met. By remembering these things, perhaps we can begin to extend some mercy to the “Labans” of our lives who have had a larger purpose than just exemplifying ways we should not be demonstrating. If we view past, negative experiences with such “Labans” through the Father’s eyes, then we might be able to understand how He frequently uses calculating and conniving people to get our attention. He might even want to have us practice extending mercy and grace and love to those who mistreat us. We do have some serious challenges in life when we are asked to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us:

“But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45, WMB).

Contemplate these words spoken by Yeshua in His Sermon on the Mount. Consider the reward for loving and praying for your enemies and those who persecute or mistreat you: you will be sons and daughters of your Father in Heaven! Imagine how tough it is for a holy and righteous God to stomach all of the sinful things He witnesses on Earth, and still each day He showers His blessings upon us in the seasons of nature—in spite of all the wretched sin which continues unabated. In God’s forbearance and patience, could He not be giving sinful humanity a chance to change from its wicked ways?

Was God not, in ages past, trying to get Jacob to be more like His fathers Isaac and Abraham? Was not faith the critical component which set Abraham apart from his peers? Is Abraham not the father of the faithful? Should we not be more faithful like him—even though we sometimes have the tendency to be like Jacob, or even Laban?

Rather than critique the works of the various “Labans” we have encountered in life, perhaps we should simply pray for them and love them, so that the Lord’s righteousness would shine through us. If we have learned how not to be calculating and conniving, then we need to let God use us so that none will perish. The Apostle Peter admonished, “The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but he is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, WMB).