The Gate of Heaven

by Gilbert, Morris

  The spotted and streaked animals that Jacob separated from the pure white ones prospered beyond belief. As Jacob had told his family, they were a far heartier breed, and the females often produced twins. Jacob tried to be secretive about his intentions, but he had to hire extra herdsmen as the flocks and herds grew. It was inevitable that some of these would pick up on the imminent departure and that Laban and his sons would hear of it.

  The result of this was that Laban became more and more belligerent. He made frequent visits, along with his sons, to the flocks, and was stunned to see Jacob’s herds proliferating far more than his own. He tried every way he could think of to go back on his word, but the agreement was recorded, and all he could do was shout, “You’re cheating me!”

  Jacob bore all this well, for the plan unfolded in his mind daily. Over a year had gone by when Jacob was suddenly stopped in the midst of his work by the appearance of the Lord God.

  He had been breaking in the new shepherds, and now as he made his way wearily home, he stumbled from fatigue. He had missed two full nights’ sleep and had eaten little. He paused by the spring, lay on his stomach, and lowered his head to drink. Rolling over onto his back, he tried to summon the strength to get up. The stars overhead were beginning to glow faintly, and he thought it would be so wonderful simply to lie there, but he knew that Rachel would be waiting up for him.

  His eyes were almost closed when suddenly a brightness caused him to open them wider. He looked overhead and saw one star that glowed more than the others. He had a fair knowledge of stars, and for a moment he tried to recognize this one. It did not fit in with any constellation he had memorized, and as he watched, it seemed to grow infinitely bright, sparkling and flashing against the blackness of the sky.

  And then the voice came to him audibly:

  “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.”

  Jacob stiffened, afraid to move. He waited, but there was no further word, so he shook his head and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw no star glimmering more than the others, but he knew he had been in the presence of the great and mighty God!

  Getting to his feet, Jacob felt strength flowing through him. Gone was the fatigue, and he felt that he could run and leap like a young man. Indeed, he did run until he got back to the camp, where he burst into the tent and found Rachel not yet asleep. She sat up and, after one look at his face, asked, “What is it, Jacob? What has happened?”

  “The Lord has appeared to me,” Jacob whispered. His throat was tight as the memory of the visitation filled his heart. “He has not spoken to me for so long, but He is the same.”

  “What did He say?”

  “He said that it was time for us to leave this place and go to my home.”

  Rachel made Jacob repeat everything he had heard, and when he had finished, she asked, “When will we go?”

  “At once.”

  “My father and his sons have gone to look at some cattle over to the west. They’ll be gone for at least a week.”

  “Then we will leave tomorrow.”

  Rachel came forward and put her arms around Jacob. “I’ll be glad to leave this place,” she whispered.

  “So will we all. Come. We will begin to prepare tonight and leave as quickly as we can tomorrow.”

  “Hurry, Mother. Everybody’s ready!”

  “I’ll be right there, Joseph. You go on.”

  As soon as Joseph whirled and left, Rachel took one last look around the camp. Her own tent was packed, as well as all the possessions she could possibly take. Jacob had gathered camels for the heavy burdens, and they were all standing in the morning light.

  Rachel stood irresolutely, for she had slept poorly. One thing had come to her over and over all night: she was troubled about her father’s idols. They are evil things. They nearly destroyed me, and they’re destroying him. By daybreak, the thought had grown stronger, and she shook her head and said aloud, “He hasn’t been a good father, but he might be better if those terrible gods of his didn’t control him.”

  Rachel devised a bold plan. Without hesitation she went into her father’s tent, opened the chest where he kept his idols, pulled them out, and crammed them into a bag. She did not even look at them, for she still remembered the horror of her own experience with them. She now knew that they were nothing but pieces of wood and clay, but her father believed in them, and they were destroying his mind. Quickly she tied the bag shut and ran out of the tent. She found Jacob looking for her.

  “Where have you been?” he said. “We must go.”

  “I’m ready.”

  “What’s that?” he asked but then shook his head. “Never mind. Here, we’ll pack it in with the other things on this last camel.”

  Thankful that she did not have to reveal what she’d brought, Rachel surrendered the bag. Jacob took it, stuffed it in with the other possessions, and moved quickly to the head of the caravan. “All right. We must leave now.”

  The morning march was slow. The animals were not well trained, and it took all the men and dogs to keep them going in the right direction. The sun rose higher, and as Jacob trudged ahead, he paused often to look back at the ragged line of animals. Behind them the huge flocks and herds were scattered over a great distance. He could hear the barking of the dogs and was grateful that he had trained them to help with the herding; otherwise, moving such a large number of animals would have been impossible.

  After a brief noon meal, they traveled until late afternoon. Everyone was tired, and the animals had been harder to drive than ever.

  “We will camp here,” Jacob announced, and everyone sighed with relief.

  By the time dark had fallen, a hasty meal had been prepared and a tent had been put up where the women and the children slept. The men dropped on the ground, where they wrapped themselves up in their robes and blankets and slept like logs.

  Jacob came by the tent and looked inside. “Is everyone all right?”

  “Yes, we’re fine,” Rachel said.

  Joseph was by her side, and he piped up, “Let me come sleep with you, Father.”

  “No, you stay with your mother, son. Maybe in a day or two you can come with us, but not tonight.”

  Joseph did not argue, but Dinah did. She ran to Jacob, begging, “Let me walk with you tomorrow at the head of everyone, Father.”

  Jacob shook his head, but she pulled at his hand and begged, “Please. I won’t be any trouble.”

  “All right,” Jacob relented.

  Triumph glowed in Dinah’s eyes, and she pulled him down and kissed him. “You and I will go together, won’t we?”

  “Yes, we will, Dinah. All the way to the land of Canaan.”

  Each day the herds moved forward like clouds across the desert floor, and the great beasts carrying the household effects moved on without ceasing. The journey did not get any easier. Six more days went by, and it seemed to Jacob that they had traveled forever. Every day Jacob was up well before dawn, urging the women to cook the morning meal. The women and children would gather what wood could be found, and by dawn he was so anxious to go, he was berating everyone to hurry and get moving. He was anxious to get far away, for he did not want a confrontation with Laban. He was to be disappointed, however, for on the eighth day of their journey, when the women’s tent had just been erected and the animals were being watered at a small creek, Reuben came running to Jacob.

  “Father,” he shouted, “it’s Grandfather—and he has a group of men with him!”

  Simeon had come in with his older brother. “Everyone get your weapons,” he said. “They may cause trouble.”

  Jacob protested, but by the time Laban rode in, all of the male servants, along with Reuben and Simeon, were behind him.

  Laban pulled up his donkey and slid off of it. His eyes were flashing, and he was followed by Lomach
and Benzar and a group of other men—some gathered, Jacob could see, from the nearby inns. Drunkards, most of them, but dangerous all the same. As they approached, Jacob stepped forward and lifted his staff. “Stop where you are, Laban.”

  But Laban advanced until he was only a few yards away, and his men came with him. The two groups lined up, and Jacob saw that his servants were all picking out the man they intended to take down if necessary. “What do you want, Laban?”

  “I want what’s mine! You’re a thief, Jacob!”

  Jacob’s face flushed. “You call me a thief! You’ve stolen from me since the day I arrived in your camp! I worked without pay. I’ve not stolen anything from you.”

  “You have stolen away my daughters! Why would you steal away my children? You have not honored me.” He hesitated and then lowered his tone. Clearing his throat, he said, “It’s in my power to overcome you even now, but last night—” Laban swallowed hard, and his words were muted. “Last night the God of your fathers spoke to me, telling me not to harm you.”

  “I’m glad you’re finally listening to the true God.” Jacob smiled. He saw that there would be no trouble and was greatly relieved.

  “But where are my gods?”

  Jacob stared at the old man. “Your gods? What are you talking about?”

  “Someone has stolen my gods—and it had to be you!”

  Jacob grew angry. “Who do you think wants your gods? No one here has stolen them.”

  The two men began a shouting match, and finally Jacob lifted his staff and said, “Whoever has stolen your gods, let him not live! Look all you please, old man. You won’t find any gods here.”

  Laban stared at his son-in-law, but then he nodded. He turned to speak to his sons. “Find my gods. Search everything.”

  The search began at once. More than once there was a scuffle as one of Laban’s men got too rough.

  When everything had been searched except for the women’s tent, Laban himself went inside. He threw bedding and dishes aside, frantically searching for the gods. He came to his daughter Rachel, who was sitting on her camel saddle on the ground, with the idols hidden under the saddle. “Rachel, where are my gods?”

  Rachel lowered her head. “Let it not displease you, Father, but I cannot rise. The custom of women is on me.”

  Laban stared at her but finally cursed and continued his search.

  Rachel gave a deep sigh of relief. She had feared that if her father had found the idols, there would have been bloodshed, for she knew how her father treasured them. Now, she thought, he will be rid of those dreadful things! Maybe he will be a better man.

  When the search was over, Jacob came to stand before his father-in-law. “Now, old man, you know we are not thieves here. You have behaved as usual, pursuing me and calling me a thief. For years I have worked like a slave for you, and you’ve changed my wages time after time. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands and has rebuked you.”

  Laban stared at Jacob and knew that he was beaten. “Let us make a covenant that will be a witness between you and me.”

  Jacob was familiar with the custom. He began to search for a stone and commanded his sons to bring stones until they finally made a heap.

  When the stone pillar was done, Laban said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”

  Jacob nodded. “So be it.” He hesitated, then said, “Let us not part enemies. We will feed you tonight. You will sleep, and you can get a fresh start in the morning.”

  Among the men gathered, the tension flowed out of them at hearing this agreement, for most of them had been expecting trouble.

  Jacob went to Rachel as her father and his men were being fed. He put his arm around her and said, “All will be well now.” He shook his head. “That crazy old man accused us of stealing his gods.”

  Rachel wanted to weep. She hated to hide anything from Jacob, but it was too early to tell him yet. What frightened her were Jacob’s words earlier: “Whoever has stolen your gods, let him not live.” She believed that curses were terrible things, and the fear that was planted with those words of Jacob went with her from that day forward.

  The next morning Laban rose early. He came and kissed his daughters and his grandsons, and with one last despairing look, he mounted his beast and rode away, his men trailing after him.

  Jacob waited until they had become small in the distance, and then he put up his hands and gave a cry. “At last we’re free! Come, we will go to the land of my fathers!”

  Chapter 22

  The worst part of the journey, the barren desert, was behind Jacob. Still he could not shake off the sense of disaster that seemed to hover over him. The long line of cattle and sheep and goats and pack animals and ox carts seemed to crawl along like a worm in the dust, and he expected each moment to hear that Esau was approaching. If it had not been for this, he would have been excited, for he was approaching the land that he had loved in his youth. The bluish heights in the east, Moab and Ammon, were the lands of the children of Lot. Far off to the south glimmered Edom and Seir; ahead of him, the land of Gilead brought back memories of the day so long ago that he had fled his brother, Esau.

  Jacob was so preoccupied with his dark thoughts that he did not hear Reuben, who approached and spoke to him.

  “Father, did you hear me?”

  Jacob started, turned, and saw Reuben standing to his right.

  “Don’t you think we should stop for the night?” Reuben asked.

  Jacob had to collect his thoughts. “Yes, I think so.”

  “Is something wrong, Father?”

  Jacob felt the need to talk to his firstborn. He loved Reuben, who was good-hearted and the largest and strongest of his sons, but somehow the two had never really been as close as Jacob had hoped. Still, Reuben was the firstborn, and gnawing on his lower lip for a moment, Jacob finally blurted out, “I’m worried about my brother, Esau.”

  “But he’s your brother,” Reuben said. “Brothers shouldn’t have fears of each other.”

  The guilt that Jacob had felt for years had been rising like a flood within him ever since he had left Paddan Aram. “You are a good-hearted man, my son, and like to see the best in everyone. You don’t realize what a bad young man I was when I was your age.”

  “I can’t believe that!”

  “I wish I were as good as you think I am, but in all truth, I was not.” The words boiled out of Jacob’s mouth, and he began telling the whole story, as if by confessing it to another the guilt would leave. Finally he shook his head. “I robbed my brother, thinking only of myself.”

  Reuben stood silently. This side of his father he would never understand. He had always revered Jacob, held him high in love and esteem, but as Jacob told his story, it was as if he were speaking of someone else. Finally Reuben suggested, “Maybe we could go someplace else.”

  “No, we’ve got to go back to my home. That’s what the Lord has told me to do.”

  “Well,” Reuben said slowly, “if God has told you to do it, then it must be that no harm will come to us.”

  Jacob’s eyes lit up for a moment. “Why, perhaps that’s the way it will be,” he said hopefully.

  “God wouldn’t deliberately hurt you, Father.”

  Jacob patted Reuben on the shoulder. “You’re a good man, my son. Let’s pause here for the night.”

  “All right. I’ll put up the tent for the women.”

  Reuben turned and left his father. The conversation troubled him, and as he went about the business of getting everyone settled in for the night, he mulled over his father’s words. He had great difficulty believing that his father had cheated his own brother. It went against everything he knew of Jacob.

>   Dan and Simeon helped him set up the women’s tent, and when the tent was up, those two left.

  “Thank you, Reuben.”

  Reuben turned to Bilhah, who had come to smile at him.

  “Why, you’re welcome.”

  “You always look out after us.”

  Reuben had always felt close to Bilhah. She was as simple as he himself was. Neither of them were deep thinkers, and many times they had talked together about the simpler things of life, the things that they knew—the herds, the flocks, the equipment. He had always felt comfortable with her.

  Looking across to Leah, who was unpacking the vessels for cooking the evening meal, Rachel asked, “What sort of a life do you think we will lead when we get into Canaan, Leah?”

  Leah was in a bad humor. “We may all be dead,” she said sharply. She threw a pot out on the ground and began to search for the flour she had brought. “I’m going to bake some bread tonight somehow.”

  “What do you mean we might all be dead?”

  “I mean from what I hear about Esau, he’s not a man to forget an injury. He might kill Jacob right off. Then what will happen to us?”

  “Don’t talk that way!” Rachel said sharply.

  “Talk is that Esau’s not a forgiving man.”

  “Maybe his parents will be able to reason with him—it’s been such a long time.”

  The two women were arguing when Jacob came. Rachel took one look at him and saw the trouble in his face. “Sit down, Jacob, and rest. You’re not sleeping enough.”

  Jacob slumped to the ground, and both women could tell from his face that he was preoccupied.

  “Don’t worry about Esau,” Rachel said. “I’m sure he’s forgiven you for what you did to him.”

  “I’m not sure at all about that,” Leah said sharply. “A man never gets away from what he does—nor a woman, for that matter.”