Genesis-109-Pursuit

Genesis 31:36-42

"Then Jacob became angry and rebuked Laban. 'What is my fault?' he demanded. 'What is my sin that you have so hotly pursued me? You have searched through all my belongings; what have you found from your household that you have taken? Set it here before my relatives and yours, and let them judge between the two of us. For twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams from your flock. What was torn by wild animals I did not bring to you; I myself bore the loss. You demanded from me what was stolen by day or by night. I was consumed by the heat of the day and the frost of the night; sleep fled from my eyes. These twenty years I have served in your household: fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.'" Amen.

 

Jacob's Fear and Unbelief

Last week's story was about Jacob's flight. He ran away out of fear—a fear of losing everything he had. Despite God's explicit command, there was something he couldn't let go of.

 

We examined how serious this issue is for us and how tightly we cling to it. We also saw how Jesus Christ, who experienced our weaknesses and said, 'Let this cup pass,' triumphed over it. He won that victory for us, granting us His complete obedience as a gift. The one who overcomes Jacob's weakness is not Jacob himself, but Jesus Christ.

 

The root of this fear was not just a desire to hold on to his possessions, but also a lack of faith. Jacob couldn't trust in God's promise. Even though the Lord had clearly said, "I am the God of Bethel," Jacob knew this fact but couldn't bring himself to rely on God.

 

The Difference Between Knowing and Believing

How much do you and I know? We have so much knowledge about God. Even secular historians, not just believers, know that Jesus Christ walked this earth. All scholars agree that Jesus was a great moral teacher.

 

Even more surprisingly, there is a being who knows and believes more about who Jesus is and what He has done than we do: Satan. He knows these facts, believes them, and even trembles because of them. Yet, as we all know, he is not part of salvation. Why? Because he doesn't rely on that truth. It's not the kind of truth he would ever place his trust in.

 

If we consider our knowledge of God's word to be the standard of our faith, we may not have truly encountered or heard the gospel. We might think we have served the Lord with great effort and zeal for our entire lives, when in fact, we may have been serving ourselves. We might have been deceiving ourselves, replacing the Lord with our own ambitions and desires.

 

This is not just something that happens to other people; it's a terrifying reality that can happen to anyone, including myself. It was the same for Jacob. He understood his situation perfectly. He told Laban, "Uncle, if I had told you I was leaving, you would have sent me away empty-handed." That was an accurate assessment. He knew he would lose everything, which is why he ran away in secret. Relying on God in a situation where you know you will lose everything is not an easy thing to do.

 

The Gradual Change of a Confession of Faith

When we're unsure of what's happening, it might be different, but when we choose the Lord and try to walk with Him, we know we will lose many things. Understanding what we must give up to follow this path makes us question what faith truly is. In this, Jacob was no different from us.

 

It was not an easy journey, but through these events, his confession of faith gradually became clearer. In the last verse of today's passage, he declares, "If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But because He was with me, your plans did not succeed." He now acknowledges that he came this far because of God. However, there is still something a bit lacking in his confession.

 

How wonderful would it have been if he had said, "My God, the God of Jacob"? He still says, "The God of Abraham, our ancestor, and my father." He still has a long way to go. We know this because we have read the rest of the Bible. What happens next? The famous Jabbok River incident. God will lead him there. But even in this moment, his life is a process of getting to know God.

 

He recalls the God of Bethel and begins to understand that his life and all that happens on earth are actually pointing to heaven. He is slowly learning that the God he serves and confesses cannot be defeated by the world. Perhaps we all want to become great people of faith after just one prayer or one decision, unapproachable by anyone else.

 

After we decide to follow the Lord, we may vow never to look back. If you are one of those people, you are truly blessed. However, many more of us, including myself, find that under God's guidance, we sometimes take a step back only to move forward again. We often look back on our lives and faith, and we see how God has led us all along.

 

Laban's Attitude, Like the World's

That was how it was for Jacob. When Laban started pursuing him, Jacob did something he hadn't done in 20 years: he rebuked his pursuer. This was because Jacob was starting to see heaven, not just the world. He realized, "This is not the end." If this were the end, Laban's life would be far more enviable, because he loses nothing.

 

Laban claimed everything as his own. Following verse 42, verse 43 says, "Laban replied to Jacob, 'The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks you see are my flocks...'" Laban's way of thinking was simple: "Everything I see, everything you see, everything here is mine." He believed everything was his property, so he thought Jacob had stolen his possessions and run away.

 

This attitude of Laban's is very similar to the world, which constantly tempts and holds on to God's children, telling them, "You are mine, and what you have is also mine." It is also much like the attitude of Satan, who the Bible says holds power over the world. While we can't call Laban "Satan," he certainly is the one who best illustrates that kind of mindset.

 

However, his lies and the power he tried to use against Jacob were eventually broken. This was because Jacob was beginning to realize that the world cannot overcome God.

 

Laban didn't come to say goodbye to his children. He didn't come to throw a farewell party. Yet, he spoke as if he loved his children and cared deeply for Jacob's family. "If you had told me, I would have thrown a proper farewell party for them," he said, still telling lies.

 

Why We Are Deceived: Greed

This attitude is no different from the world's. But we are so easily deceived by these obvious lies, and that is because of the greed within us. When you see stories in the news, you often hear how swindlers approach people. "I'm telling you this because it's you," they say. "If you give me your money, I will surely multiply it tenfold."

 

It's astonishing how people who doubt God so easily believe these words and lose all their possessions. Of course, at first, the scammers give them some profits, so they think it's real and eventually hand over their entire fortune. Even after the fraud is exposed and they know the person was a scammer, you can hear them tell reporters, "He's not that kind of person." We, who can't fully believe in God, so easily believe the world. This is because it approaches us as if it cares for us and cherishes us the most.

 

It's not just scammers; the world itself is like this. You might think, "I'm not going to be fooled." But it's exactly those people who are the main targets. When do we know we are being deceived? When we look at worldly things and call them "blessings from God." We may think, "God is giving me this blessing," but in reality, these are things that will end in this world. Nevertheless, we see them as if they were eternal blessings from God.

 

The Meaning of True Blessing

If your business is struggling and suddenly thrives, you might easily think, "Wow, God has blessed me." But then, if your business is failing, does that mean it's God's curse? Of course not.

 

God does entrust us with material wealth and gives us blessings. This is not to say that it's bad or that these things won't happen. However, the reason He gives them is not for us to view them as the ultimate blessing, but to lead us toward spiritual blessings. Don't you know by now that God gives us these things to make us reflect on our lives, to realize what it means to rely on Him, and to bring glory to His name?

 

Even if a miracle heals you from sickness and pain, your life will bring new pains, new mountains, and new tunnels. God leads your life this way because He loves you and wants you to know what is eternal through these experiences.

 

If, instead, we live as if we will be here forever, rather than using the world to prepare for eternity, then we are deceived. Don't be fooled. Jacob and his family now know the truth. He gained wealth and a large flock, but he knows with certainty that it did not come from his own efforts; it was given by God. The owner is now clear. You will soon see, when he meets Esau, that these things are no longer what he pursues.

 

He does not hesitate to give everything to Esau. The direction and manner of his life's pursuit have clearly begun to change. Perhaps he is not yet fully transformed, but he knows that through these experiences, he is learning what God wants to teach him. How different his life has become! Laban's lies are ultimately shattered. When his words fail, Laban doesn't give up. He changes his strategy and accuses Jacob.

 

Satan's Accusations and Our Sin

In verse 30, Laban says to Jacob, "I understand that you wanted to go home to your father's house. That's fine. But why did you steal my gods?" He was referring to the teraphim that had been taken.

 

Laban continued to question Jacob. "You say you're innocent? You're a thief. You're stealing from me right now. You've always been a thief. Didn't you deceive Esau and steal his birthright? Aren't you now deceiving me and stealing my possessions?" This accusation is like the one we constantly hear from Satan in this world. "Are you really a child of God? Do you truly believe God is behind you? Are you sure He will take care of you? Look at your hands—don't you still hold on to the idol of teraphim? You say you believe in God, but what do you truly love? You say you're moving toward God, but don't you always look back and long for the world? With this idol still gripping your thoughts and hands, how can you claim to be a child of God? You are a sinner."

 

Jacob, in fact, had unknowingly been involved in the theft of the teraphim. The Bible isn't saying Jacob was innocent, but rather that the teraphim reveal the spiritual condition of Jacob and his family. Laban was demanding them back.

 

Do you know what the truly sad thing is? When Satan accuses us, saying, "Aren't you like this?" the sad truth is that his accusation is a fact. It's not a lie. The things Satan accuses us of are true. Our hands still hold on to our own 'bread'. We have our own life, our health, and so many other things that we seem to value more than God's kingdom. And that hurts. It hurts deeply.

 

God's Righteousness, Not Our Own

Jacob was not aware of this, but he was one of the people who should have felt most stung by the word "thief." Remember what Esau said? "Isn't it fitting that he's named Jacob? He deceived me and stole my birthright."

 

Because of this, Jacob suffered for 20 years. But when he hears the accusation of theft, instead of feeling remorse, he strangely rebukes Laban. There is truth in what Jacob says to Laban: "I have worked so hard for you. I toiled day and night without rest." But there is also something absurd in his confidence. The basis of his bold claim is, "Because I have done so well and worked so hard for you, God has seen my hardship and is protecting me."

 

In one sense, what he says is true. He was diligent and clearly tried to live faithfully. But did God protect him because of that? If so, why did God protect him at Bethel? Why in the wilderness? Why did God take care of him for those 20 years?

 

Despite this, there was still a part of his statement that held a deeper truth: "I can say this because God is with me." He said, "If the LORD, the God of my father, had not been with me, I would have gone away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night He rebuked you, my uncle."

 

This statement contains both truth and Jacob's deception. The deceitful part is the belief that he was protected because of his own efforts and hardship. He still had more to learn. God did not protect him because of his toil and suffering. On the contrary, God remained with him and kept His promise despite his sin—the very sin that had brought him to this point and the many idols he would have to abandon during his long years of training.

 

This was the true love and salvation God showed him. Jacob, who was unaware that his beloved wife Rachel had stolen the teraphim, was boasting, thinking he was clean and righteous and that God was on his side because of his own merit.

 

But how easily do we fall into this trap? When we pray, we say we are sinners and that we are nothing, as if we are humble. But when we ask God to be on our side, we always give Him a reason: "But I haven't missed a single worship service. I have prayed diligently. I have read the Bible faithfully." We even say, "At least I believed in Jesus."

 

How foolish is that? "I believed in Jesus, so I'm different from them." How are we different? If God had not called us repeatedly, who among us would be here today? The reason we call salvation "God's work" is to learn true humility. It's difficult to fully understand or explain the amazing things that have happened in our lives, and it's not that God ignored us to bring us here, nor is it that we chose Him. There is a mysterious work of God, but our confession is always the same: "It is not me, but the Lord. We know it could not have come from us."

 

Only by the Righteousness of Jesus Christ

We can see that this is what Jacob is learning. God protected him despite his sin. We, who know Jacob's entire life story, understand this even better. What saved Jacob was not his own righteousness, but God's grace, God's love, and God's righteousness.

 

That is why He is the "God of Bethel." The one who, in a dream, showed Jacob a ladder—or rather, a stairway—reaching up to heaven with angels ascending and descending, is the same God who came to us, just as He came to Jacob. And that person is Jesus Christ.

 

Jacob never climbed that stairway himself. Christ came to us, became our tabernacle, and protected us. The accusations of the world, the accusations of Satan, cannot be defeated by our own power or merit. Even if you dedicate your whole life to serving the Lord, become a missionary in Africa, or give your entire life to others in some remote place, your efforts will not be enough to break free from these accusations. They won't even come close.

 

If we have even a little understanding of the grace God has shown us, we know we cannot overcome Satan's accusations on our own. In fact, the more faithfully you serve the Lord, the more sensitive your conscience will become. The more you serve, the more you will realize what a sinner you are, which is a more biblical truth. This is why the Apostle Paul, whom we respect so much, wrote in his last book of the Bible, "I am the worst of sinners." He came to understand his own sin even more deeply. This doesn't mean he was broken, but that he knew who he was and how great the Lord's grace was.

 

Satan's accusations cannot be broken by our righteousness. They can only be broken by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. While our righteousness is still like filthy rags, God's righteousness—the righteousness of Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us—is what shatters Satan's accusations. This is why we have the well-known verse from Romans 8:1: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." No one can call you a sinner any longer.

 

This means that "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death." Why is it called the "law of sin and death"? It's the Law, and even though the Law is good and true, it kills us precisely because it is so right. We simply cannot live up to it. And this is why Paul says those beautiful words: "For what the Law was powerless to do, because it was weakened by the flesh, God did." This is what salvation is.

 

God Met Laban

In this way, the accusations of Laban, the accusations of the world, the accusations of Satan, were broken because of God. Laban’s last resort was his power and strength. He said, "I have the power to destroy you, to hold you back, to break you, to tear you down, and ultimately, to bring you to death." That was his power.

 

But it was not Jacob who appeared to him; it was the Almighty. The Almighty stood him before God. All of Laban's power was broken before the omnipotent God. Imagine Jacob running away for ten days. He started three days before Laban, but he had no idea who was chasing him. He just kept running with his children and his possessions. It was a difficult and exhausting journey. He was trembling with fear.

 

We might think God should have appeared to him and said, "Do not fear, do not be dismayed, for I am your God." Wouldn't it have been wonderful if He had appeared to him again, just as He had before? But while Jacob was exhausted and trembling with fear, perhaps thinking, "God, have you forgotten about me?" God didn't appear to Jacob; He appeared to Laban.

 

Jacob was worn out and setting up camp in the wilderness to rest. At almost the same time, Laban arrived and set up his own camp, which the Bible calls a 'military encampment' because for Laban, this was a war—a matter of life and death. But that night, God appeared to Laban.

 

Our Korean Bible translates it very literally: "Do not speak to Jacob, either good or bad." This sounds like "Don't argue with him" or "Don't decide who is right or wrong." It sounds as if God is saying, "Just forgive Jacob." But that's not it at all. The Hebrew is an idiom, and it's like saying in English, "Don't screw with my son." That's what God was telling Laban.

 

Jacob didn't know this had happened. He had no idea that God had appeared to Laban. The son was unaware, he was exhausted and terrified, but God was protecting him.

 

A Son and Daughter, Full in a Father's Heart

There was a father who was a very silent and gruff man. He rarely spoke, like many fathers in Korea. His son, who lived abroad from a young age, didn't see him often. He would sing songs into a tape recorder and read letters to this distant father, but what feeling could he have for a father he rarely saw? He just did it because his mother told him to.

 

Later, he met his father as an adult, but their relationship was awkward. They had nothing to say to each other. The son was sure that his father didn't know him, since he hadn't been there to see him grow up. Then the son got married. On the wedding day, his father handed a bag to his daughter-in-law. After their honeymoon, the couple opened the bag.

 

Inside, they found the certificates and awards the son had received in kindergarten, his elementary school diplomas, his prize-winning drawings, and his writing manuscripts, all carefully stacked in the bag. The son had never truly known his father. The father's heart had been full of his son the entire time.

 

Likewise, Jacob still didn't truly know his Father, but his Father's heart was full of Jacob. That's why God met Laban. The heart of our Father, God, is full of His sons and daughters. Yes, it is full of you. "Do not touch my son, my daughter." Right now, God is meeting your Laban for you. He is meeting your sickness, your children, your failures, and your temptations for you. He is meeting your tears, and ultimately, He will even meet your death for you.

 

And to death, the Lord will say, "Death, do not touch my son. O death, where is your sting? For he is my son, and she is my daughter." The Lord will eventually meet even death for you. "Do not touch my son and my daughter, for My heart is full of them."

 

Let us pray.

 

Dear Lord, let the sound of this gospel captivate us. For us, Your children, who may forget and even resent our Father, You met Laban in that very moment. You fought against my sin, my tears, and You met me in my failure and my sin.

 

Since that Father is our Father, Lord, just as You have filled Your heart with us, fill our hearts with our Father. Let our hearts be filled with our Father, Jesus Christ.

 

In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.