John Calvin Commentary Genesis 31:44

"And now come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee." — Genesis 31:44 (ASV)

Let us make a covenant, I and thou. Laban here acts as men conscious of guilt are accustomed to do when they wish to guard themselves against revenge; this kind of trepidation and anxiety is the just reward of evil deeds. Besides, wicked men always judge others by their own disposition, from which it happens that they have fears on all sides.

Moses previously relates a somewhat similar example when Abimelech made a covenant with Isaac. Therefore, if we desire to possess tranquil minds, we must take greater care to act sincerely and without causing injury to our neighbors. Meanwhile, Moses shows how forgiving Jacob was and how easily he allowed himself to be reconciled.

He had endured many grievous wrongs; but now, forgetting all, he freely extends the hand of kindness. And he is so far from being stubborn in defending his own right, that he, in a way, anticipates Laban himself, being the first to take a stone and set it up for a pillar.

And truly, it is fitting for the children of God not only to embrace peace eagerly, but even to search for it ardently, as we are commanded in Psalm 34:14.

Regarding the heap of stones, it was always the practice to use some ceremony that might confirm the compact on both sides. On this occasion, a heap of stones was raised so that the memory of the covenant might be passed down to posterity.

That Jacob took part in this was, as we have said, a proof of a mind inclined towards peace. He freely complained, indeed, when it was right to do so; but when the time for reconciliation arrived, he showed that he cherished no bitterness.

Moses, in later relating that they ate there, upon the heap, does not follow the chronological order of events. For, on both sides, the conditions of the covenant were agreed upon and declared before the feast was celebrated; but this figure of speech (as we have seen before) was quite common.