We are in chapter 31 of Genesis with our word for today. יּ֥וֹכַח the root of our word is יָכַח argue, be found in the right, rebuke, reproach, decide, prove. It is used 59 times in the Old Testament. We tend to think of arguing in the sense of stating your case and rebuking are negative things but that is just not the case. Leviticus 19:17-18 You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall תּוֹכִ֙יחַ֙ reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him…you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Proverbs 28:23 Whoever מ֘וֹכִ֤יחַrebukes a person will in the end gain favor rather than one who has a flattering tongue. Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his בְּתוֹכַחְתּֽוֹrebuke, because the Lord יוֹכִ֑יחַdisciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. The reason this is a positive thing is because it is an act of love to protect and prevent real harm to someone you care about. There are times when God stops someone in the tracks for this very reason, which is how our word is used in our chapter today.
Laban is headed out to catch Jacob who has fled from him. But before he can reach Jacob God shows up. Genesis 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” Now watch how our word is used when Laban meets up with Jacob and Jacob speaks to him. Genesis 31:42If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and יּ֥וֹכַח rebuked you last night.” So what was it that Laban needed to be rebuked for by none other than God himself? Genesis 31:6-7 You know that I have served your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. What I find interesting is that Laban still thought that everything belonged to him even after God rebuked him. Genesis 31:43 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 for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne? What he is saying is that I don’t agree with you and God for that matter but I can’t do anything about it because God is protecting you. And this is true because we see God has been doing this very thing. Genesis 31:7,9 But God did not permit him to harm me…God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.
Laban’s relationship with his family was based on how they benefited him not being a source of goodness for his family. This is why God was protecting Jacob from Laban’s harm and why he directed him to go back home. Genesis 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred. I will close with my favorite usage of this word. Because it pictures a God who loves you and me and wants to argue this very important point about our need to be connected to him. Isaiah 1:18 Come now, let us וְנִוָּֽכְחָ֖הreason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
