Genesis – Jacob & Laban
Copyright © 2014 – Optimal Unity
In order to understand the Bible from a mystical, symbolic and spiritual perspective we need to appreciate it is not important if we are talking about real people that existed, these are characters representing your thought patterns, conflicts that go on inside your mind, formation and delivery of ideas, egos, tempers, personalities, so it provides a tremendous outlet for us when we break the code to be able to realise what is written thousands of years ago concerning our operation as a human being and how we live.
In this story Jacob who was a child of promise was working for his father Laban, so here Jacob represents the ego the personality, and Laban the father-in-law here represents the mind. A deal was struck where Jacob met his wife Rachel, Jacob said of all the cattle I want the spotted ones, and you have all the ones that are pure, right away we get the aspect that Laban represents that which is the pure thoughts of the divine mind and Jacob represents that of the Lower Mind, thoughts that are scary and frightening. Following this then Laban sorted through the cattle and took the spotted ones and sent them away, what this is saying here is that the divine mind does not want us to have spotted cattle to it does not want us to have the scary frightening thoughts. But Jacob wanted them he wanted spotted cattle so he ritually placed rods at the thoughts so that the offspring of the flock would be spotted, which is silly, what this is trying to say is that what you put before you, what you start to concentrate on can become real, that is what the idea of that was. So Laban went away and Jacob took all the strong ones, the personality aspects of our mind that are very strong combative and kind of difficult, that is what we look for, we look for strength in combat and competition, Jacob ran of with all of this and that is when the Father starts to chase after Jacob.
To put this into perspective, the spotted cattle are your lower thoughts, and thoughts that are negative thoughts, they are the thoughts that hurt you can cause you a lot of problems, and the pure ones are thoughts from the higher mind which are the thoughts from God.
So if we look at:
Quote:
Ephesians Chapter 5:27
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
God is looking for a church not having spots, so wherever we run into in the Bible things that are spotted are thoughts that are our own making that generally cause us lots of problems, a lot of difficulty. So here we have a conflict going on and the conflict now is between Jacob and Laban, but this is talking about you, this is talking about a conflict that is going on in your mind, the Bible is always talking about conflicts, Adam and Eve had a conflict with God, Cane had a conflict with Abel, Jacob had a conflict with Easu, Samson had a conflict with Delilah, Jesus had a conflict with organised religion, it never ends there is always a conflict that goes on. Each one of us is part of this, it is a struggle, and it is a struggle between the lower mind and the higher mind.
So the situation is now that Jacob represents that part of you that’s sits between Easu the brother a thought pattern in the mind that Jacob is afraid off and Laban the father the divine mind and Jacob is in the middle of it, in the middle of this struggle, it is coming from both ends of his mind. Seems to be the spiritual side coming at him but also the fleshly carnal side coming at him and you are caught right in the middle of this kind of struggle.
Remember Jacob has run of with the spotted cattle, he has made the spotted cattle strong and the pure cattle week in another words we are in charge of our thinking we are creating our own combat we are creating our own competition and we are creating our own problem and we are running of we are going to try to get as far away from the father Laban the divine spiritual mind we can. And what we are doing is running away from the spiritual Laban and running right back to the direction which is the brother Easu that is out to kill us.
Watch the wisdom that comes out of this:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:2
And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.
Here then, this is your ego and you are really having a problem with your spiritual side, some of don’t even know what the spiritual side is, you are having a problem with yourself which is Easu, so here is the instruction that comes from God, so to say:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:3
And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.
His instructions is go back to your brother, your problems and I will be with you, return to the place where all of this started, who is telling you this, it says in the Bible it is God that is saying this, but keep this in mind.
Here is the point where you had the opportunity, you prospered when you were serving the divine side, the spiritual side, you decided that you want to much for your self, you wanted to be on your own you took the thoughts symbolised by the spotted things, now you are taking all that you made on the spiritual side and you are running away from the spiritual side which is the right side and you are running to the left side the physical lower carnal mind, back to the conflict.
What this is saying is inside of you there is a deep emotional conflict going on.
And what is our first reaction after we realise the mess we are in.
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:7
And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
We blame someone else, your father deceived me, he did it not me, I had nothing to do with it, always it is the same thing, that is the way it is, you are never going to be able to accept that fact that maybe just maybe the mess you are in has something to do with your self. And religion comes along and they don’t want you to deal with that because you may be able to straighten yourself out so what they say don’t worry about it, the Jesus will come down on a white horse and will save all of this, you had nothing to do with this, it is not your responsibility, somebody else is going to save you.
Then what do we do, after we have blamed everyone else for our mess, we start to construct a story:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:8-9
If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.
Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
Jacob cheated, but he says don’t blame me for that God did that to him, the very turmoil continues, we have the possibility of bearing the child of promise but we are also in deep conflict and also generated in us in this deep conflict is alibis.
The beautiful part in this is that:
Before Abram could be set free he had to become Abraham.
Before Jacob can be set free he has to become Israel.
Before you can be set free you have to become I AM.
It has to come from within you, the very private intimate personal change in the operation of our mind; you have to be willing to submit your mind to your own higher divine spiritual direction.
Here you are you have this turmoil that you have created, and yet you are trying to justify it, then you alibi it because you took all the spotted things, and spotted cattle are thoughts of the lower mind we now get introduced to another animal here that is called the ram and the ram is a divine thought, a spiritual thought, when you get a spiritual thought generally you think that is from God, yet in religion you created a lot, and you think it is part of the alibi, you can read something in the Bible, hear something at church, be inspired on the internet, hear something on TV, which gives you the opportunity to justify the disaster you have created.
When a ram mixes with your cattle, generally that is a divine impulse that a going to help you solve the problems of the negative thoughts of your mind.
There is a deep mystical message in then when you read:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:10-12
And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled.
And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.
And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.
Here is an Angel it is an inner impulse that speaks to Jacob, look at the rams that have leaped upon the cattle they are spotted. Because the Angel has seen everything that Laban who you are blaming has done, all of these things that you thought were from God are from you. You have created the mess and then you created that which is going to take you out of the mess and now you are deeper then you ever were.
So here then we find what we thought was divine what we thought was God is of our own creation, and now we get to the point in:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:17
Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels;
Jacob rose up his wives and sons onto camels, what this means is that this is the part where you are starting to realise “I am in a mess”. Nothing has helped me, work has not helped me, family has not helped me, religion has not helped me, education has not helped me, you are all by yourself in this, so he raises up his wives which are the spiritual parts of him, he raises up everything and he places them up on camels, camels are important mystically because they live on inner water, they take water on the within and they can go long distances across the barren desert.
And in:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:18
And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padanaram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.
So now the story start changing a little, we are starting to see something here, we have realised our predicament, the deceit the mistakes we have avoided and we need to go back , back to the father, call it God, call it the right hemisphere a of the brain , call it the inner divine presence, if you can picture this caravan crossing the desert which actually represents the thoughts in your head which are in confusion trying to find that place inside of you where your father, your mother exists, something inside of you that can open to you a way out of the problems you have created.
So you set out back to return to the land of the father. And it says:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:20
And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled.
In another words we steal our unawares there is no communication with the mind we are now starting to move into meditation there is no need for you to explain to yourself, there is no need for you to anyone, you have to move way, you have to steal away, you have to come into the darkness of your inner self, you have to find that quiet time away, shut the door, close the door on everybody, for a time you have to be alone, for a time you have to be by yourself, then you energise, you steal away, and you start crossing the desert of your mind to try to find that which is the father.
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:21
So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead.
He fled with all that he had, everything that you have is right inside of you, your mind, you can make a Kingdom, and you can make magnificent beautiful things if you will learn to start from within yourself. He is fleeing with all of his thoughts, and he sets his face towards Mount Gilead. Mount Gilead, means – ‘the hill of testimony’ this represents the high place inside of your mind where you will be able to speak within yourself and you will be able to listen within yourself, that is were you are going now.
Here the number three again:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:22
And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.
The number 3 means – ‘new life’ a change, something new will happen, number 3 means it is not going to be the way it was, before, Joseph was in the pit three days and three nights, Jesus was in the tomb three days and three nights, the sun sits in the bowels of the Earth three days and three nights before it rises and spring comes. So 3 always means something new is going to happen.
Next you have the number seven.
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:23
And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.
The seven represent the seven chakras that run up the spine.
So here we have the confrontation in the mind, we are coming to the confrontation on the hill the higher part of your mind, between Jacob which is the ego aspect of your lower mind and that which is Laban which is the father divine aspect of the mind and here we have this conflict, now we know the way Adam and Eve got into trouble is that they took from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, you can not eat from that tree, because things that you think are good for you can be evil and the things you think are evil can actually save you, you don’t know, there is no way of knowing that is why you have to go to the Tree of Life which is at the right hemisphere of the brain and you have to touch that through meditation. But look at The Tree of Knowledge in this statement:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:24
And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad, what is being said there is do not try to get out of your problems by taking from The Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. Don’t try to take the thoughts that come to you from the left side to solve your problems. Don’t say anything, how do you refrain from saying anything good or saying anything bad, you take no thought. Don’t take any thoughts that are good don’t take any thought that are bad, take none of them.
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:25
Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.
So here is the confrontation, and remember you are not going to hear anything from the mind, Laban, when you are in meditation you are on Mount Gilead, and you wont be confronted with anything good or evil. But the confrontation takes place and now here is the point.
Look what it says:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:26
And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword?
What have you done, why me, so we are going into the why me mode as we launch into this mystical cleansing, then we say:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:27
Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?
If you had only done this, if only I had done that, then this would not have turned out this way, now it says:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:30
And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
The mind is saying, Laban has taken the place of the mind, and the mind it is saying to you, you want to go back to the father, you want to go back to the higher part of your mind, then I have a question to ask you, Ok you took everything, you don’t want to be around here anymore, this is your mind talking to you, and asks what is going to happen to all of the things you have been raised with, why have you stolen my Gods, this is representative of the thoughts of your religion traditions, doctrines, systems.
And Jacob turns around and says:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:32
With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
Whomsoever you find with your gods, let him not live. But Jacob did not know that the one that had stolen Labans Gods was his wife Rachel who would give birth to Joseph of the Coat with many colours, and Laban draws his sword and says whoever I find that has stolen my Gods I will kill him. Jacob says go to it.
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:31-33
And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two maidservants' tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.
Laban is searching the tents; your mind is seeking the truth your mind is trying to find its traditional roots, then he goes into Rachel’s tent:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:34
Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.
Rachel represents the emotions that have been lifted to the point of spirit, Rachel is your spirit, she is your feminine spirit she is hiding those evil Gods from the mind. She has taken them and she is hiding them: She put them in the camels furniture the camel that can go great distances, the spirit hides the old religious thoughts that used to drive you into guilt and into fear and into all of this expectation, Rachel is hiding them so that they can not bother you anymore, so she is sitting on them, and Laban comes in with his sword and generally when your father comes in you would rise to meet him, she can not get up, look what she says in:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:34
And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images.
Rachel uses the excuse of the menstrual cycle to keep sitting, and she stays sitting. Here the woman is the spirit, the blood is the power the inner power of the spirit, and the power of the spirit is now flowing and the old ways are covered by the blood to make preparation for a new life because when the blood flows it ovulates and makes way for new life, the blood is flowing from the spirit preparing for a new life and covering by the power of that blood all the old thoughts that hurt and brought guilt and fear and set you away from God. She will not move.
Then Jacob and Laban in Genesis 30:37-43 the story line goes on with the struggle between Jacob and Laban and get up to the point of testimony and an accord is made, higher meditation is entered into, it says in:
Quote:
Genesis Chapter 31:54
Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.
They stayed all night, that means they were in the meditation of the higher mind, then they parted, Jacob and Laban parted, Jacob parted from the mind, finally he was free from the mind, you have done this through mediation, that is the first thing you have separated from the thoughts of the mind, now you can go back to the fathers house, now you can have a realisation within you, now you are ready to meet God face to face.
Original at http://optimalunity.org/genesis-jacob-laban/