Laban was Jacob's uncle, his mother Rebekah's brother. He went back to her homeland to find a wife, per his father Isaac's instruction. He met Rebekah and fell in love with her, so he made an agreement with her father, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.” (Genesis 29:18) But when the time had come, Laban tricked him, got him drunk at the wedding festival, and sent his oldest daughter Leah into the wedding chamber instead.
Jacob was very upset, but agreed to work for Laban another seven years to pay for Rachel to become his wife. After that time was up, he married Rachel. Laban also gave both Leah and Rachel maid servants. Long story short, Jacob had children by all four of them, a total of eleven sons and one daughter. (Genesis 29:31-30:24)
Now, Jacob was ready to go back to the promised land that God had promised his grandfather Abraham, then his father Isaac, and later himself. It was there that Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.” (Genesis 28:10-22)
And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.” (Genesis 30:27) How powerful, for someone else's life to be blessed because a child of God is around them. People should be able to say that their lives are blessed because we're in it. Then he said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.” So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the Lord has blessed you since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?” (Genesis 30:28-30)
So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks: Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages. So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be considered stolen, if it is with me.” (Genesis 30:31-33)
And Laban said, “Oh, that it were according to your word!” So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons. Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks. (Genesis 30:34-36)
Remember during those days, the wealth of a man was in his possessions, not money. Also, the animals "without blemish" were coveted, which we will study more in future lessons regarding sacrifices. Laban had no problem letting Jacob take all the speckled and spotted sheep, lambs and goats for his wages. Then Laban allowed Jacob to move a distance of three days' journey away, so that he could have more easily find out in time if Jacob had only taken what he said he would take and nothing else before Jacob continued on back to his family. The point being, if any of the animals reproduced unspeckled or unspotted animals, then Jacob would have had to sneaked an unblemished on, and it would be considered stolen. If stolen, his punishment would be for he and his family to stay and continue to work with Laban and not return to his family.
Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods. And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink. So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban’s flock. (Genesis 30:37-40)
Basically, Jacob used the wood from almond and chestnut trees to make a divider of the land between his and Laban's flock, even though he had moved a three days' journey away. Shepherd's traveled with their flock, always grazing in fresh pastures. Then Jacob peeled the rods from the trees into strips and arranged them in an area for the flock to go and conceive. Even though Jacob left the unblemished flock with Laban, the unblemished would conceive blemished offspring. So Jacob did this to make sure the blemished offspring from Laban's flock would not get mixed in with his flock.
And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. (Genesis 30:41-43)
God promised Jacob that He would bless him and keep him, and He did exceedingly abundantly above all that Jacob could ask or think. Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this wealth.” And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before. Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.” (Genesis 31:1-3)
So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, and said to them, “I see your father’s countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me. And you know that with all my might I have served your father. Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me. If he said thus: ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked. So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. (Genesis 31:4-9)
“And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’” (Genesis 31:10-13)
God blessed Jacob and increased his livestock, and God caused Laban's livestock to diminish. Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money. For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.” (Genesis 31:14-16)
Not only did Laban mistreat Jacob, but he defrauded his daughters also. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:17-19) And that's exactly what Jacob did, and now God had repaid Laban for what he had done. We waste our time and energy when we try to get people back for doing wrong to us. If we are children of God, we should "let go and let God". He will take care of us, and take care of them.
Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s. And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead. (Genesis 31:17-21)
They probably would have escaped days journeys before Laban would have noticed, had Rachel not stolen the household idols that were her father’s. Yet again, don't choose a spouse just based upon looks! (Genesis 29:17) We will study in the next lesson the conclusion to this problem...
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