Genesis 31 contains the narrative that describes Jacob’s exodus, or departure, from Laban after working for him for 20 years. If you are familiar with the story, you will know that Laban didn’t treat Jacob with the most integrity. Laban famously tricked Jacob into marrying Leah, Laban’s eldest daughter, whom Jacob did not want to marry. And over a 6 year period, Laban changed Jacob’s wages 10 times (Gen. 31v7).
And if you’re familiar with even more of the backstory, you know that Laban’s treatment of Jacob was Jacob getting a little taste of his own medicine; or in more biblical terms, reaping what he sowed. Jacob was quite the trickster himself – most famously tricking his blind father Isaac into giving him the blessing instead of his older brother Esau, who was out hunting in the fields at the time.
Back in Genesis 31, after many hard years of labor, Jacob finally makes his move on Laban. “And Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he intended to flee” (Gen. 31v20). The deception continues. After Jacob makes his great escape we learn (Gen. 31v22) that it takes Laban 3 days to find out that he had been tricked.
I can’t help but see Christ here. There was no deceit or sin of any form in Christ, yet he played the greatest trick of all time. After Christ died a death on the cross, bearing all the wrath and punishment for all of Jacob’s sin, and ours, he died. But 3 days later, death found out that it had been tricked by the God-Man Jesus Christ. Jesus died; but not unto a death unto which he would stay dead. He died to live, and to live so that other dead people could come alive.
All of Jacob’s and Laban’s little squabbles of trickery were nothing compared to the ultimate trick Jesus put on death.
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