April 19, 2010 – Genesis 31

It appears, although it doesn’t specifically say it, that Jacob has learned the lesson of duping his father into a blessing.  He appears to be obeying God’s commands without much questioning.  Another way to look at it, Jacob is very obedient to the women in his life.  He received the blessing because his mother told him to and he left the lands because his wives convinced him to.  I imagine Rachel is going to have some consequence for taking the idol, but she seemed to escape round one.  We will see this scene play out at other times with people keeping idols or treasures when they were not suppose to for the good of the group.  Not just in the Old Testament either.  In the early Christian community St. Peter caught a couple keeping property and they were struck down in front of the community.  A strong emphasis is placed on cleansing the whole community.  The idea or parable of leaven follows this.  Even a little leaven will cause the bread to rise and you must take it out completely.