GEN1354 When Laban’s search for his idols turns up nothing Genesis 31:33, Jacob unleashes a tirade against him.   Jacob contrasts his own integrity with Laban’s perfidy during their entire twenty-year relationship. Genesis 31:36-42 Only at this point is Laban moved to propose a covenant of peace between himself and Jacob [this verse]. Jacob’s integrity has finally made its impact upon Laban.   The encounter between Jacob and Laban at Gilead brings into sharp relief the contrast between authentic and false integrity.   While Jacob adheres to an objectively verifiable standard of honesty, Laban’s claims are not subject to verification.   Masquerading as a doting father, Laban berates Jacob for depriving him of the opportunity to embrace his daughters and grandchildren before they took leave of him. Genesis 31:28 Laban’s protest that he would have sent off Jacob amidst musical accompaniment amounts to nothing more than an unsubstantiated claim, bordering on mockery in the light of their previous relationship. Genesis 31:27 Finally Laban’s assertion that God commanded him to do Jacob neither good nor evil amounts to another unverifiable claim. Genesis 31:29 The Gilead episode demonstrates that championing the cause of integrity often requires polemics with both attackers and evildoers.  If integrity is to elevate the moral climate of society, its exponent must choose his battles carefully.  The temptation to disprove the charges of an attacker must be resisted if such polemics would divert society’s attention from one’s own honest.   Jacob resists the temptation to explode Laban’s masquerade as a doting father.  To do this, Jacob would only have to relate to Laban Rachel and Leah’s reaction when Jacob asked them to flee with him. “Rachel and Leah answered him, saying: ‘have we any share or heritage left in our father’s house? Are we not regarded as strangers by him? He has sold us, and then used up our money.’” Genesis 31:14-15 A lesser man would have seized the moment for sweet revenge by setting the record straight.  Jacob, however, knows that his prime concern must be to establish his own integrity.   The true feelings of Leah and Rachel toward their father are secondary.   To avoid diverting attention from the central issue, his own integrity, Jacob allows Laban’s self-serving pretense as a doting father to go undisputed.   Jacob, who epitomizes integrity, chooses his battles carefully and is not obsessed with a need to set the record straight as regards his opponent’s wrongdoing.   All this demonstrates that Jacob subjected himself to objectively verifiable standards and formulated his commitments in precise and unequivocal terms.   CASE 26-27