him but he had also practiced deceit against Laban. Now the two have met but each one does not know all concerning the other, yet Jacob has the best of the argument for the property that Laban claims Jacob to have stolen, (his images) have not been found, so Jacob goes for him. "Twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee: I bare the loss of it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. Thus I was in the day the drought consumed. me, and the frost by night and my sleep departed from my eyes. Thus have I been twenty years in thy house. I served thee fourteen for thy two daughters and six for thy cattle and thou has changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away empty. God hath seen my afflictions and the labor of my hands and rebuked thee That speech would surely be convincing, did we not know the speaker's former life so well. True he had served Laban twenty-years but there had always been a bargain made between the two. Laban got fourteen years service out of him for Rachel, but where could Jacob have gone and gathered the immense riches that he had the last six. Turn back to the forty-third verse of the thirtieth chapter where it reads: "And the man increased exceedingly and had much cattle and men-servants and maid-servants, camels and asses." He had nothing to begin with; where else could he have gathered such riches. Again, he does not say my God has been with me; no sir, not a mention of his God, but always laying back on his father's God and keen and quick to catch a point, when Laban tells him he would have hurt him but for the God of his father; immediately he brings it into play and strengthens his argument with it. Ah, Jacob, you sharper, you can even convince Laban of your sincerity but your day is coming. They get together and go off by themselves and come to an understanding. Each one in his own heart knows he has wronged the other, but now they will settle. Jacob's wives are Laban's daughters and it would appear that Jacob is not to take another wife and all the property he has will go to Laban's grandchildren. They make a covenant between them and have a feast and confirm their covenant with an oath, and the next morning Laban kisses his sons and daughters and returns to his lands. Two Rogues have agreed. |