Genesis 31:38-50

³⁸ These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and the rams of your flocks I have not eaten.

³⁹ I did not bring to you what was torn by wild animals. I took the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

⁴⁰ I was like this: the heat consumed me by day, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.

⁴¹ These twenty years I have been with your household. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.

⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, you would have already sent me away empty-handed. God saw my trouble and the labor of my hands and he rebuked you last night.”

⁴³ Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne?

⁴⁴ Come now, let us swear to a covenant, between me and you. And let it be a witness between me and you.”

⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument.

⁴⁶ And Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a pile, and they ate there by the pile.

⁴⁷ Laban named it Jegar-sahadutha,[1] but Jacob called it Galeed.[2]

⁴⁸ Laban said, “This pile is a witness between me and you today.” Therefore he named it Galeed,

⁴⁹ and Mizpah,[3] because he said, “The LORD is watching between me and you, because we are hidden, each man from his companion.

⁵⁰ If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.” _________________________________________

a treaty at Mizpah

After 20 years of service to Laban, God had blessed Jacob with a large family and many possessions. In fact, his wealth had increased so much that he was now seen as a threat to Laban. Jacob left at the command of God, but did so secretly. Laban and his men overtook them after seven days. The two make a treaty with each other, calling on the LORD to protect them from doing harm to each other. It is unfortunate that after 20 years by each other’s side – these men find it hard to trust each other.

Some see the Mizpah monument as a sort of prayer, where these two men are asking for the LORD’s protection while they are away from each other. It was really a sign of mistrust, asking the LORD to protect them from each other. Putting up Mizpah monuments is not one of those quaint Old Testament practices we should be incorporating into our culture.

LORD, make us people who generate trust and respect. Forgive us for being such poor representatives of the God we confess.

[1] Jegar-sahadutha: witness pile (Aramaic)

[2] Gale’ed: witness pile (Hebrew).

[3] Mitspah: observation post (Hebrew).