FBCHS Bible Study-"Rebekah's Brother Laban"

Rebekah's Brother Laban

Gen. 29:15-30

Today we meet another figure with a prominent role in the history of God’s people. As the father of Leah and Rachel, the mothers of the twelve tribes of Israel, Laban has blood ties to the people of the Lord. But Laban does not share Jacob’s faith (Gen. 29:1–30; 31:2), and not surprisingly, he gives God’s chosen man much grief. Right away we expect Laban to play a mixed, if not adversarial, role in the history of the church. His name is likely related to the cult of Sin, a moon god worshiped in Haran where Laban’s great grandfather Terah settled (11:31–32). Laban’s connection to pagan worship becomes clearer later on when we read of his household idols being stolen (chap. 31). The Almighty called Abraham to worship Him, but many of the patriarch’s relatives remained enslaved to false gods.
Though not a believer, Laban would give wives to Isaac and Jacob and thus, more descendants for Abraham. His motivations were not pure, but the Lord used them to accomplish His sworn oath to Abraham. Thus, God is shown to be sovereign over believer and idolater alike and often uses those with crooked motivations to help His people (see Dan. 3). We should not fear the machinations of the wicked, for the Lord will ultimately use their intent for our evil to further His intent for our good (Rom. 8:28).