I work for a social service organization where we occasionally run up against ethical issues. I am always amazed that the secular liberals I work with don't understand the continuum between morality and legality with ethics sitting in the middle. Thus, in my office, I have a placard posted that reads "Ethics is the difference between morality and legality, between what I ought to do and what the law demands I must do." The placard was a gift from a now-retired social worker who felt that I was the only long-time employee who would not put it in a drawer.

Jacob totally lacked any ethical system as he headed back to Canaan. Legality equated with morality in his mind. That which was not contrary to the law was not a problem for his conscience. The purchase of birthright from Esau, for example, was meticulously legal, but extremely unethical. Clearly, 15 years later, he was still acting on this principle of legality when he manipulated the flocks in order to prosper at Laban's expense. Jacob's actions were usually quite legal, but no where near ethical.

This lack of an ethical framework to guide and govern his conduct resulted in a painful incident as Jacob left Paddan-aram to return to Canaan. As we study this, we might want to recognize our own similarity to Jacob.

The relationship with Laban was quickly souring, so that Jacob thought it a good idea to return home. Rachel and Leah agreed and God had sent a confirming dream. Hastily, Jacob packed all their goods and headed for home. I doubt it was an accident that Laban was shearing the sheep -- Jacob wanted to avoid a confrontation that might result in Laban refusing to release his daughters or the flocks.

We could speculate on Rachel's motives for stealing Laban's household idols, but I'm going to just appeal to the text and archeology. Household gods were a token of righteful claim tothe possessions and headship of the family. Rachel may have felt it secured some claim to Laban's inheritance. Interestingly, she didn't tell Jacob of her theft.

I am not going to post the complete text, but suggest that people read Genesis 21 themselves

Jacob had not counted on the impact his stealthy retreat would have upon Laban when combined with the theft of his gods. Laban assumed Jacob had stolen them. While Laban attempted to conjure a smoke screen by playing the part of the offended father and grandfather, his real interest was in regaining possession of his gods, because the gods were considered a claim on the inheritance.

It took seven days for Laban to catch up to Jacob. I think Laban intended to battle Jacob for the gods and the girls both, but a dream of divine warning changed his plans. God warned Laban not to attempt Jacob's course of action or attempt to cause him harm.

Laban was not upset about the departure itself. Jacob had stated before that he wanted to return home when his term of service was up. What upset Laban was the manner of the departure, which deprived him of any farewell, and the theft of the gods. Most of Laban's protest sounded like that of a loving father and grandfather, but there is insincerity underlying it. Rachel and Leah had noted that they were no longer greatly loved by him. He did not pursue them for seven days just to say goodbye. The gods were at the crux of this matter. If Jacob got away with his gods, he could someday return and make a claim to his estate. This could not be tolerated.

Jacob’s response was not made from a position of strength. His first words are a rather weak defense of his stealthy escape, while his remaining words are in response to the matter of the stolen gods, of which he had no personal knowledge. Jacob did not have sufficient faith that God would deliver him from the hand of his own father-in-law. In his fear he had to question the truthfulness of the words which God had spoken to him at Bethel (Genesis 28:15). Jacob had not yet accepted that he could trust God to accomplish His word without some back-up plan that included Jacob's manipulation or deception.

Since he had little to justify his behavior on the departure and feeling certain that he was innocent of the charge of stealing Laban’s gods, Jacob turned the conversation to this issue, urging Laban to make a diligent search of Jacob’s goods for his gods. Whoever was caught with them would die. Jacob obviously had no idea that his beloved Rachel was the culprit.

Laban clearly didn't suspect Rachel either. He searched Jacob's tent first. That's understandable, since Laban knew to what extremes Jacob had gone to in claiming the inheritance in Canaan. He was the natural suspect in a theft that would give him preeminence over Laban's household.

Laban then searched Leah's tent and the two maids, turning his attention last to Rachel. She successfully concealed her theft by claiming her period. Given the ancient Near-East feelings about blood, it is understandable that Laban did not want to press the matter. Had Rachel's deed been discovered, things might have turned out quite differently. Jacob's sheepishness over his covert escape was overshadowed by his righteous indignation over being accused of something he hadn't done.

Jacob recognized Laban’s "hurt feelings" as a mere facade. Laban had concluded that Jacob had finally stepped over the line. Before, he'd bent to rules mercilessly, but he hadn't broken them. The only problem was that Jacob hadn't taken the gods, so now Laban had been caught empty-handed. Unable to produce the evidence, Laban had to stand there while Jacob took his inventory. Delighting in the upper hand, Jacob reminded him that Laban's herds had not suffered from neglect under Jacob's care and that Jacob himself had not eaten at Laban's expense. Jacob even replaced the animals lost to natural causes. Jacob worked hard, suffering the hardships of a shepherd's life while Laban had changed his wages repeatedly.

Expending his store of frustration, Jacob then asserted that God was on his side. All his prosperity, Jacob maintained, was God's blessing on his life. Jacob overstated here, because God had never indicated to Jacob that His blessing was in anyway related to Jacob's works. In fact, God had revealed just the opposite (verses 10-13). The warning which God had issued to Laban on the previous night was proof to Jacob that God was on his side. God had rendered judgment, and Jacob maintained that he had been proven innocent.

While I do believe that God did see all of Laban's abuses of Jacob, I do not believe that Jacob's prosperity was a reward for his piety or productive genius. God blessed Jacob because God chose to bless Jacob, not because Jacob deserved it. Though unable to prove that Jacob had stolen his gods, Laban was not overly impressed with Jacob's righteous indignation. I will post this section because I think it is an oft-quoted passage that is much misunderstood.

"Laban replied to Jacob, "These women are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today or the children to whom they have given birth? So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, you and I, and it will be proof that we have made peace."

"So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. Then he said to his relatives, "Gather stones." So they brought stones and put them in a pile. They ate there by the pile of stones. Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.

"Laban said, "This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement today." That is why it was called Galeed. It was also called Mizpah because he said, "May the Lord watch between us when we are out of sight of one another. If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize that God is witness to your actions."

"Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you," Laban said to Jacob. "This pile of stones and the pillar are reminders that I will not pass beyond this pile to come to harm you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to come to harm me. May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, the gods of their father, judge between us." Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.

Laban reminded Jacob that everything he'd taken with him had been given to him by Laban -- his wives were Laban's daughters, his children were Laban's grandchildren, the flocks were from Laban's flocks. Unable to retrieve his gods, Labam made a covenant with Jacob that assured Jacob could never make use of those gods to encroach upon Laban's possessions in the future. Wisely, Laban called upon Jacob's God to hold Jacob in check. They set a monument to remember the covenant and shared a meal to celebrate it. Laban managed to get Jacob to swear before his God to several particulars. He would never mistreat Laban's daughters or take other wives in addition to them. They'd never cross the marker boundary to harm one another. Having received these assurances, Laban bid farewell to his daughters and grandchildren and returned to his home.

Jacob seems to have come away from this encounter with Laban as the unchallenged winner, but did he, really? Jacob may have convinced himself and his wives of his innocence, but he has not convinced us nor had he changed the mind of Laban. Laban felt certain that Jacob was a crook, but being warned by God, he could do little to stop him. The treaty which he initiated was no tribute to Jacob’s character.

Consider this! Laban had lived in close association with Jacob for 20 years, and was convinced of his lack of integrity. He believed that Jacob stole his gods, that he'd underhandedly gotten possession of his flocks. He felt compelled to get Jacob to swear a holy oath that he would not mistreat his wives or someday return to Laban with hostile intent. Does this sound like a man who was convinced that Jacob was a godly man? Just as the covenants between Abimelech and Abraham (21:22-24), and later Abimelech and Isaac (26:26-31), were evidence of the carnal state of these patriarchs, so this treaty with Laban reveals the character flaws of Jacob. He was a man who could not be trusted. He would, at least, keep the letter of the law, which is why Laban held him to it. What a poor testimony to Jacob's character.

Sadly, Jacob seems to have been convinced of his own integrity, certain that God was on his side because of his uprightness. Being a legalist, Jacob prided himself on keeping the letter of the law. He had made a deal with Laban, and he had always lived up to it. Oh, he had peeled those poles all right, but that was not a breach of their agreement.

Jacob, I believe, had no real system of ethics. He equated morality with legality. Whatever was within the law was morally right, thus, he could stand before Laban with justified righteous indignation and demand that any evidence of wrongdoing on his part be put forth. He could claim with great assurance that God was on his side. How could this not be true when Jacob had always lived within the law?

The error of legalism is that it equates morality with legality, believing that righteousness and keeping the law are the same thing. A man may have no system of ethics whatever, but so long as he does not break the law he feels morally pure. He feels confident of the approval and blessing of God.

Jacob was much like the Jews of Jesus' day who felt that their descendance from Abraham assured them of God's favor (John 8:39), believing that a meticulous keeping of the law made them acceptable to God. This puts the Sermon on the Mount in an entirely different light for me. Jesus spoke these words to Jewish legalists who felt that merely living within the law was sufficient to merit them a righteousness acceptable to God. Jesus illustrated that a much greater righteousness was necessary (Matthew 5:20). A genuine faith was not about form but faith. Genuine members of the kingdom were those whose hearts were pure before God. Thus our Lord dealt more with motives than with methods, with function over mere forms. The law was only a minimum standard; it was not intended to make men feel righteous but to demonstrate to men how far from God’s holiness they fell. The New Testament does not tell us that the standards set by the Old are no longer valid (Matthew 5:17), for those who walk in the Spirit will fulfill the requirement (singular) of the law (Romans 8:4). Legalism is sinful because men love to set human standards which, if they are kept, produce human righteousness. Christian liberty views the standard for our thoughts and actions as requiring conformation to Jesus Himself (Romans 8:29).

Jacob may have felt self-righteous, but Laban was totally unconvinced. He resorted to a legal covenant because that was all he could trust Jacob to do—keep a few rules.

Many Christians today are no different than Jacob. Often, we too are legalists. We think that we are pious and holy because we do not smoke or drink or curse. Ask those who have to work for us or employ us and they may do just as Laban did—get it all down in writing. You see, even with all our pious talk the world knows better, for they have to live with us too. While we may keep a certain list of do’s and don’t’s, we may undermine and manipulate; we may deceive and destroy; we may seek our success at the expense of others.

True righteousness involves much more than keeping a few rules to the letter. It is a matter of the heart. No wonder so many unbelievers (and Christians) are reluctant to do business with Christians. They know that while God may be with us, we do not always act in a godly way.

Ethics is the difference between legality and morality. We live in a day when Christians and non-Christians alike think that whatever is legal is legitimate Christian activity. Like Jacob, we have our own pole-peeling and wheeling and dealing, which we think God is obliged to bless. No wonder the world is trying to legalize homosexuality and abortion. To them, legality is morality. If it is not illegal, how dare we call it immoral, they suppose.

The Bible does draw clear at times. There are absolutes and rules. Above all these, however, is another standard of conduct which we call ethics. Many Christians seem to have few of these, yet ethics is what sets a true Christian apart in the eyes of the world. How many of us have convictions that cause us to avoid certain practices, even if they are legal? Christian ethics should be so high that legalistic rules are never necessary, at least for those who are righteous (1Timothy 1:9-10).

The bottom line for Jacob was faith. He tried to sneak off without telling Laban because he was afraid (verse 31). He trusted God but not enough to do that which was honorable. He did not think God could spare him and his family if he acted honorably before Laban. His God was too small. For many of us, this is the reason why we are reluctant to live by firm convictions -- we do not trust God to be able to bless us under these added restrictions. It seems we have forgotten how Elijah had barrels of water poured on his sacrifice so that those who watched could only give God the glory (1Kings 18). A faith that is firm does not fear to live in such a way that only God can be given the glory.

Finally, Jacob’s actions remind us that Christian can do the will of God in a way that is offensive to the character of God. God had commanded Jacob to leave Paddan-aram and return to the land of promise (verse 3). He obeyed the command, but he did not do God's will in God's way. Sometimes we get so caught up in the fact that what we are doing is right that we forget to ask if how we are doing God’s will is right. Our methods must always be consistent with our Master if our actions will be honoring to Him.

A relative made the money to build a construction company in Texas by getting into business arrangements with folks who have money, talking them into investing in a construction project, then taking the whole of the first check (meant to pay the sub-contractors) and skipping town, leaving his business partners to pay the subs off before they could get the rest of the money. He made a great profit while his business partners frequently ended up bankrupt and looking like fools. He would pull these "cons" in another state and then return home to Texas to build his legitimate business.

Several years ago, this man allowed his son-in-law to become a manager in his business. He then scaled back on his own duties to start semi-retirement. Imagine his surprise when his step-daughter, who worked as a bookkeeper in the business, and son-in-law suddenly announced they were opening a business of their own in another town. See you later, dad! An audit of his books showed that his son-in-law had been skimming off the top of the business for a long time. Being as they were family, this man ended up hurt financially and looking like a fool, yet unable to do anything about it.

My experience is that con artists are often more blind to the cons of others than are the people who are their habitual victims.

Genesis 30 depicts two con artists trying to out-con one another. In the grace and provinence of God, Jacob came out the winner, but for reasons that were completely different than he intended. Many of us, like Jacob, tend to give God the credit for prospering our sinful efforts to get ahead, yet in this case, it was in spite fo Jacob's conniving that he left Laban as a wealthy man. Neither his spirituality nor his shrewdness afforded him benefit here.

GENESIS 30:25-36

The 14-year contract of service for Leah and Rachel must have been fulfilled shortly after Joseph's birth. Jacob sought his release to return to his homeland and family. I think time was of the essence. Jacob missed his family. Isaac was still alive (though we don't know if Rebekah was) and Jacob probably wanted to see him and introduce him to the family before he died.

Jacob had fulfilled his obligation to Laban and was free to go, but Laban was reluctant to allow it because he had recognized that his prosperity resulted from Jacob's presence. To get Jacob to remain, Laban appealed to his profit motive. Jacob had nothing monetary to show for 14 years of labor. That had all gone toward a dowry. Laban suggested they renegotiate their contract and Joseph name the terms.

Jacob was a good con artist. He first strengthened his position by emphasizing his past value. Jacob now had a family and his wages must be adequate to support them. Laban will have to enrich the pot.

Expecting a hard deal, Laban must have been shocked when Joseph offered easy terms. Normally goats in the ancient Near-East were either black or dark brown, seldom white or spotted with white. Sheep were nearly always white, infrequently black or spotted. Jacob offered to continue to tend Laban's flocks in exchange for the rarer of the offspring of those flocks.

Everyday Jacob would examine the flocks and remove any specked or spotted animals. The newly born spotted or striped antimals would become Jacob's property, kept seperate from Laban's flocks. Since spotted and striped animals were considered of lesser quality, this removed them from the breeding pool and improved Laban's chances of a prized flock.

Jacob and Laban must both have departed while chuckling to themselves, thinking they'd entered a deal they could manipulate to their own advantage at the expense of the other. Rather than conscientiously tending the flocks of Laban while looking to God for the increase, Jacob decided to resort to schemes and devices.

GENESIS 30:37-40

I am not particularly up on sheep and goat farming, but it would appear that the first technique of the peeled poles had some sort of prenatal influence on the flocks. Jacob apparently thought that the dappled sunlight during mating and conceiving would produce offspring that resembled their parents' environment. It appeared it worked. I suppose setting up the flocks so that the normal sheep could see the speckled sheep was meant to do the same thing.

The third phase of Jacob's plan was genuis because it employed selective breeding. Lambing occurred in the spring and the fall. Those born in the fall were thought to be hardier since they must endure the winter. Jacob placed his peeled poles only in front of the superior animals, assuring (at least in his mind) that the strong animals went to him.

We assume that Jacob's great prosperity (verse 43) was due to his shrew techniques in manipulating the mating of the flocks. Jacob certainly assumed that. We know today that that Jacob's techniques would have had not affect on the offspring of the sheep and goats. Visual impressions at the time of concept do not affect the outcome at birth.

From a spiritual perspective, it did not work because God does not bless carnal effort. Jacob did not prosper because he pulled one over on Laban. Jacob’s success was not the product of his schemes.

GENESIS 31:1-2

Jacob had arrived at Paddan-aram penniless and had now become prosperous at Laban's expense. Laban apparently had daughters at the time, but no sons (else why would Rachel be herding the sheep). It had seemed like a good idea at the time to adopt a near relative. Thinking of Jacob as a son and potential heir, Laban had liked Jacob's materialist ways -- especially when they benefited him. Now that Laban had sons of his own, however, he could see their inheritance being snaked by a con artist. He suddenly didn't like Jacob so much.

GENESIS 31:3-16

As far as the Bible records, Jacob had not received a revelation from God for 20 years, not since he left Canaan. Now he received divine direction to return home. What circumstances suggested Jacob do, God instructed Jacob to do. Jacob did not worry about convincing his father-in-law, but he did find it necessary to discuss the matter with his wives who must choose between their father and their husband. They convened the family conference in the field, which says that Jacob expected eavesdroppers.

Jacob explained that their father's attitude had changed strangely recently. Jacob cast himself in a very favorable light. He was the knight errant while Laban was the real villain. Jacob had worked hard while Laban had cheated him, continually changing the terms of their agreement. The evidence of Jacob's integrity ws that had had made him prosperous. That proved his innocence. Besides, God had spoke to Jacob, confirming His blessing and directing him to return to Canaan. He'd had dreams to the same end. Convinced that they were no longer in their father's favor, Rachel and Leah chose Jacob. In their defense, Laban had treated them like prize breeding sows, so they may no longer have trusted him.

Of course, Jacob's scheme had nothing to do with his prosperity. Look at the words describing the dream. The males who were mating were striped, speckled and mottled (verse 10, 12). In the dream there were no peeled poles or segregated flocks, but only male goats with striped or mottled coats were mating. What determined the offspring of the flocks was not the circumstances (visual impression) at conception, but the characteristics of the males who mated. The Bible, while not a book of science, presents a scientifically correct explanation here. God had appointed that only the mottled males would mate and therefore conceive offspring. All of Jacob's efforts had been wasted. The hand of God had operated in spite of Jacob's scheming, not because of it.

Again, we return to the first readers of this book. The parallels between Jacob's sojourn in Paddan-aram and Israel's bondage in Egypt must have been starkly evident to them. Jacob's sin necessitated this departure just as Joseph's journey was the result of many sins. Jacob went to Paddan-aram a poor man, but left with a large family and great wealth. Joseph was sent to Egypt a slave, but when the nation emerged at the exodus, they were many and had considerable wealth. As Laban was judged by God by his wealth being given to Jacob, so Egypt was judge by the wealth the Israelites carried out at the exodus.

Of primary importance is the understanding that Jacob's wealth did not come through his scheming, but in spite of it. Jacob was not blessing by God because of his godliness, but due to God's grace. The Israelites needed to understand that their blessings were a gift from God, apart from the sin-stained work of their own hands. God deals with His people in grace.

Jacob never fully grasped the folly of his efforts to outwit Laban. It seems he never fully perceived the sinfulness of his motives and methods. The end justified the means and he believed that one who prospered was blessed by God. Prosperity, to Jacob, proved piety. Moses, perhaps because he'd given up the courts of Pharoah for faith in God, saw this more deeply. Success cannot be equated with spirituality.

For us today, there are important lessons here as well, speaking about ritual and right behavior. Religion is as distinct from Christianity as Jacob's pole-peeling was from God's sovereign grace in his life. Countless people are trying to work their way into God's heaven by their own devices -- including church membership, baptism, confirmation, communion, charity, etc. All of these activities may have great value for one who is already a Christian, but they are useless to one who is trying to win God's approval and blessing by doing them. The appearance of benefit may be there, but not the reality of it. Those who attempt this route to God may appear to be Christians and their devotion to duty may seem commendable, but self-effort is mere pole-peeling in God's estimation.

The only way to enter God’s heaven is to recognize that we are undeserving of it. We must come to distrust anything we are or do to merit the favor and blessing of God. The work of salvation is God’s sovereign work, accomplished by His Son, Jesus Christ when He bore the penalty for our sins. Salvation comes when we trust in nothing more and nothing less than the sufficiency of Jesus Christ for our eternal blessings.

There are genuine Christians who foolishly conclude that the success which they experience is proof of God’s blessing and approval of their carnal and unspiritual methods. Like Jacob they suppose that any method that appears to work must be acceptable to God. You see it throughout evangelical churches today. Results are often more important to us than righteousness. We can fool the world, but God knows our hearts. Eventually, He will make us stand and give account for our deeds. We have not been commanded to be victorious, only obedient (John 15:1-8). Will we try to excuse our deceitfulness by insisting we live in a "crooked and perverse generation" (Philippians 2:15)? We have come to believe that the only way to survive in such a society is to out-con the cons, despite what the Bible teaches (Philippians 2:14-16).

Many of us, like Jacob, fail to "adorn the doctrine of God" (Titus 2:10) in our work lives. We contract for labor with our employer but then conclude he is not so interested in our future as we are. We begin to look out for our own interests at the expense of our boss. We begin to build our own little empires just as Jacob set his flock apart from Laban’s. We begin to spend an enormous portion of our time trying to figure out how we can get more of what belongs to the company. Rather than working diligently and leaving our well-being in God’s hands, we take matters into our own hands. While we may, like Jacob, stay within the letter of the law, we get ahead at the expense of another.

Such conduct by Christians is not to the glory of God. Such does not "seek first the kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:33). May God enable us to trust in Him and His grace rather than in our schemes and the work of our hands.