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The Beginning of the End
God himself intervened to protect His servant. “It is in my power
to do you harm,” said Laban, “‘but the God of your father spoke to
me last night, saying, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither
good nor bad.” That is, he should not force him to return, or urge
him by flattering promises.
Laban had withheld the marriage dowry of his daughters and
treated Jacob with cunning and harshness, but he now reproved him
for his secret departure which had given the father no opportunity to
make a feast or even say goodbye to his daughters and their children.
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In reply, Jacob plainly set forth Laban’s selfish and grasping
conduct and appealed to him as a witness to his own faithfulness and
honesty. “Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the
fear of Isaac, had been with me,” said Jacob, “surely now you would
have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and
the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”
Laban could not deny the facts and now proposed a covenant of
peace. Jacob consented, and a pile of stones was erected to repre-
sent the agreement. Laban named this pillar Mizpah, which means
“Watchtower,” saying, “‘May the Lord watch between you and me
when we are absent one from another. ... The God of Abraham, the
God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.’ And
Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac.”
To confirm the treaty, the parties held a feast. The night was
spent in friendly fellowship, and at dawn Laban and his company
departed. With this separation all connection between the children
of Abraham and the dwellers in Mesopotamia ended.
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