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Amputated gifts?

49-second video

Some churches don’t want some of the gifts–isn’t that like the body of Christ amputating some members? Some churches don’t want other gifts and just collect members amputated from other churches. Don’t we all need one another to be one body?

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Facing the past: preparing for Esau’s wrath—Genesis 32

Part 1: Strategizing

Rebekah had promised to call Jacob when his brother’s anger subsided (27:45), but he had never received such word from her. (Whether she has passed away in the meantime is not clear; some time after Jacob returns to the land, her nurse Deborah apparently is with Jacob’s family and passes away in 35:8.) Again, although Jacob strategizes as best as he can, ultimately he can trust only God’s call and promise of protection (31:3).

Jacob has reason to fear; Esau is coming with four hundred men (32:6), which is no ordinary welcoming party. This was larger than cities in the region often fielded as armies; it appears larger than Abram’s army that defeated hostile kings (14:14). (Abram did have other allies with him besides his 318 servants, so possibly Abram’s total force was larger, but if so, probably it was not much larger.) (Indeed, Esau’s army may even include descendants of Abram’s force, who were members of his household. Perhaps Esau, learning that Jacob had a great company with him (32:5), wanted to be prepared; they had not parted on ideal terms.

Strategizing

Jacob strategizes as best as he can to salvage as much as possible if things go badly (32:7-8; 33:1-2), as well as doing his best to ensure a happier outcome (32:13-21; 33:3). Preparing as well as praying is not unbelief; it is common sense. One may compare David taking five smooth stones (1 Sam 17:40); he knew that God would give Goliath into his hands (17:46), but he did not know if he would fell him on the first shot. Likewise David sent gifts to the elders of Judah in 1 Sam 30:26, while also waiting for God to exalt him (Prov 18:16; 21:14). Likewise, the apostles replaced Judas while waiting for the Spirit to come (Acts 1:15-26).

Jacob arranges his wives and children in the hope that if trouble does come, some, especially Rachel and Joseph, can escape (Gen 32:7-8, 22-23). Does Jacob have good reason to fear harm to his wives and children? Conquerors more often enslaved than killed women and children; slaves were considered part of the plunder. It seems likelier, therefore, that his wives and daughters would at most be enslaved, though in a worst case scenario slaughter was possible. Because Esau’s wives had been an issue with his parents, and a reason for Jacob being sent abroad, he might prefer to kill Jacob and seize his wives. As for Jacob and his sons, Jacob’s birthright would not outlive him if both he and his sons were dead.

The gifts Jacob plans to offer Esau are huge, and far more than what most people had. In the long run they were not worth as much as the blessing, but on a merely earthly level—what Esau seems to value—they might appear to be more than what Jacob had taken from Esau. Esau would not be likely to harm the gift-bearers in front, even if he was angry with Jacob; and the gifts were calculated to assuage his anger (Prov 21:14). The four hundred men could well be servants in Esau’s household. After twenty years (Gen 31:41), Esau probably de facto controls much of Isaac’s wealth at this point, something that Isaac himself might approve and that Jacob would not contest. But if the men are allies, they would want plunder from the expedition; the gifts would satisfy any obligations on Esau’s part, allowing him to repay, at no cost to himself, any who had joined him.

But Jacob knows that strategy alone is not enough; he must have the help of God. This is the subject of the next installment.

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Laban catches up with fleeing Jacob—Genesis 31

Jacob takes his family and flees toward Canaan without informing his father-in-law. Why does Jacob leave Laban secretly? Although Laban claims that he would have sent Jacob away with a celebration (31:27), clearly Laban has not been willing to let Jacob go. Jacob expects that Laban would send him away empty (31:42) and even forcibly take back his daughters (31:31). The language of “fleeing” (31:20-22, 27) normally connotes at least strongly perceived danger, such as when Jacob fled to Haran from Esau (27:43; 35:1, 7).

Even now Laban would have harmed him had God not spoken on Jacob’s behalf (31:29)—though this may be partly because of the alleged theft of his gods, since Jacob can appeal to the kin’s recognition that this pursuit was not justifiable otherwise (31:36-37). (Could Laban’s relatives be expected to side with Jacob here? My wife Médine tells me of similar situations in Africa, where respectable kin judging an intrafamily case will sometimes evaluate a situation fairly. Their own reputation for wisdom and fairness is at stake in such cases.)

How can Jacob hope to succeed in his escape? Jacob cannot hope, with his flocks and herds with him (cf. later Israel leaving Egypt), to outpace Laban if he pursues. Although Jacob waits until Laban is several days’ journey away with his flocks (31:19, 22), if Laban decides to pursue him there will be little doubt which way Jacob has gone, and no way to keep such a massive caravan secret. Jacob is loaded down with children and flocks; Laban and his relatives can pursue with faster animals.

So why does Jacob even attempt to escape with his flocks? Jacob will lose everything if he goes away on Laban’s terms; nor can he simply wait for Laban’s death, for Laban now has sons who will inherit his property (31:1). Still, Jacob risks violence if he goes, and that risk seems higher than the probability of reaching Canaan safely. So why does he go? God has told him to return home (31:13). Jacob and his wives understand that only God can protect them, and that is in fact what happens (31:24, 42). (That an angry Esau awaits him if he escapes Laban may be another incentive to depend solely on God; see chaps. 32—33, esp. 32:6.)

Laban pursues and “overtakes” Jacob (31:25), the sort of dramatic language used for Joseph’s steward overtaking his brothers (44:4, 6, though the hostility there is feigned) and Pharaoh’s army pursuing Israel (Exod 14:9; 15:9). Catching up with Jacob, he declares openly that he would have harmed him had not God restrained him in a dream (Gen 31:29). Jacob now experiences the same sort of protection through a potential enemy’s dream that his grandparents had experienced with Abimelech (20:3-7)!

Although Jacob returns to Canaan partly because of God’s promise and command (28:13, 15; 31:13), Laban claims that Jacob left because he longed for his father’s household (31:30). This explanation is not completely false, but Laban has a reason for attributing such motives to Jacob: Jacob will accuse Laban of exploiting him (31:38-42), and Laban protects his honor by attributing different motives to Jacob (Jacob’s kin ties, which Jacob had mentioned in a more conciliatory conversation in 30:25). Laban also guards his honor by making sure that he does not appear weak for not attacking Jacob; this was because of God’s voice in 31:29 and because he would not risk harming his daughters and grandchildren in 31:43. So he settles for making sure that Jacob, who is leaving anyway, cannot come back to cause him more trouble (31:52).

Sometimes there are multiple reasons for something. In this case, Jacob could not have hoped to escape apart from God’s promise and call. God proved faithful in fulfilling this promise. But now that Laban would release him and Jacob would return to Canaan, he had another matter to face: Esau. (Next installment.)