BULLETIN ARTICLE
15 September 2019
GOD ALWAYS VINDICATES
Jacob, after twenty years of serving his father-in-law Laban, possessed nothing in material wealth, except for his two wives and 11 children. He wanted to return to his homeland Canaan and was prepared to leave with nothing. Upon hearing this, Laban realized he would be losing his right-hand man. Jacob was the one who had expanded his herd and increased his wealth and that it was the LORD of Jacob who has blessed him because of Jacob.
In negotiating for a fair wage from Laban, Jacob asked for the speckled or spotted sheep/goats and dark coloured lambs. It is ancient shepherding contract that a fair share would amount to about 10-20%, hence it was a reasonable proposition to ask for the speckled and spotted animals as these typically represented a smaller proportion in any flock. Though Laban agreed, he secretly removed all such animals and had his sons take them to a distant location which was three-day journey away. This cunning and crafty nature of Laban was seen as early as when he as a brother attempted to stop his sister Rebekah from leaving with Abraham’s senior servant after promising she could go. As a father, he tricked Jacob into marrying his older daughter, Leah first and made Jacob worked for another seven years for Rachel. And now, twenty years later as a grandfather, he lied and cheated again. Laban was a man with a history of lies, trickery and duplicity.
Anyone with some understanding of animal husbandry would imagine it impossible for Jacob to receive a share of the speckled or spotted animals, since there were none left for him to breed. All were taken away by Laban’s sons. Jacob must have thought on how to produce speckled or spotted young lambs from white coloured sheep or goat? He attempted some sort of selective breeding technique by placing fresh cut branches with peeled bark at watering troughs in direct view of the mating flocks. Logical or not, God’s intention to vindicate and bless Jacob was not thwarted by Laban’s trickery nor Jacob’s ill-founded theory. As Jacob would later testify to his wives that it was God who made him exceedingly prosperous for he “has seen” all that Laban has been doing – “taken away all Laban’s livestock and given to him”. Laban schemed to deprive Jacob from material possessions and hence thought he would not be able to leave. But God intervened and provided – he always does to those who follow him!
This repeated character and nature of God’s justice reveals his eyes over people. He is the El-Roi (The God who sees me) who sees and will expend justice to all. He will correct injustices. He will multiply the blessings to those who deserve and he will reprimand, discipline and punish the stubborn, the disobedient and the evil-doers. God is Judge. “He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity. The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble” (Psalm 9:8-10). Our God is a God of love, mercy and justice who will always take care of all who believe in him, love him and follow him. In whatever circumstances or situations we find ourselves in, we can be certain that God will always vindicate us and he will provide – he is “JEHOVAH JIREH (THE LORD WILL PROVIDE)”.
