Laban overtakes Jacob

Rachel remains the enigmatic one here.  She steals her father’s household idols – most likely marketable works of art.  Was it the money? Was it to get back at a father who had betrayed her?

The resolution to this is that the relationship will remain unresolved.  Rachel not only stole, but also deceived her father to hide her misdeed.  The light is glaring on Rachel.  Petty larceny could have cost Jacob everything – and Rachel her life.  She will never see her father again.  The wound will remain for the rest of her life.

The temptation to sin always vests in the moment when the consideration of consequences is nowhere to be found.  It is often said that we all known this.  We call it justification. Yet strangely in the moment, sin never makes a bit of sense and simultaneously makes all the sense in the world.