In Genesis, chapter thirty-one, verse nineteen, Rachel went to her father’s house while he was out and stole his “household gods.” These household gods were a collection of small, commonly used idols; The question is, why did Rachel steal them?
Archaeological discoveries in that area show that possession of these images may guarantee a double portion of the inheritance when the father died. Rachel and Leah felt cheated out of any family possession. So, Rachel took the images and then lied to keep them: not for worship but for financial gain. We know that Rachel worshiped the God of Jacob, at least at times, but it’s likely that she and others in her family worshiped other gods as well, hoping to be blessed by all of them. It’s also possible that Rachel was emotionally attached to these household idols as items from her childhood.
Jacob does not know that his wife Rachel stole the house idols from her father, Laban. Why did Rachel do it? It may be that, in addition to worshiping Jacob’s God, Rachel still felt the need to rely on the gods she grew up with for protection and provision. It may be Rachel felt possessing the idols would give her a stake in the family inheritance. Or maybe she was just angry at her father and took them as an act of petty revenge.
God warns Laban not to interfere with Jacob’s return to Canaan. However, Laban has accused Jacob of stealing his household idols, to which Jacob would have had no claim whatsoever. Neither man knows the identity of the actual thief, but Jacob has rashly invited Laban to search among all of his company’s belongings. Particularly, Jacob declares that if any of his people have Laban’s house idols, they will kill that person.
Laban searches tent by tent for his stolen house idols. He guesses Jacob had stolen them since they went missing when Jacob fled. However, Jacob knows he did not take them, does not know anyone in his family to have them, and assures nobody in his company has them. Unfortunately, Jacob is wrong. His wife Rachel stole them and now faces a death sentence if they find them during a search.
Rachel seems as though she did not give Laban the stolen items back. Unfortunately, she died due to childbirth complications after having a son. The stolen items Rachel had did not benefit her then and now. It only caused problems for her and her family.