Genesis 30:25-43 - Overcoming Deception

Genesis 30:25-43

Jacob’s Agreement with Laban

25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country. 26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you.”

27 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.” 28 Then he said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.”

29 So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. 30 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?”

31 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: 32 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. 33 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.”

34 And Laban said, “Oh, that it were according to your word!” 35 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. 36 Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37 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. 38 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. 39 So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40 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.

41 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. 42 But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. 43 Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Jacob had worked seven years for his bride, only to be deceived into taking another before her and having to work an additional seven years for the one he was promised initially.  After serving out those fourteen years and prospering himself as well as his father-in-law Laban, and after Joseph was born to later deliver his people (though it would be the son Judah to deliver many nations through the Messiah, Genesis 29:35, Matthew 1:2-3) would be the channel of salvation in the line of the Messiah, Jacob pleaded to be granted leave to return home as promised before all the deception.  Laban wanted to continue prospering at Jacob’s expense as he admitted, “the LORD has blessed me for your sake,” and so Jacob was asked for a final wage for all he had done along with his freedom and that of his wives and children.  He had grown his uncle’s flock magnificently over the years and so cleverly outwitted Laban by asking for the speckled and spotted sheep and goats as his wages, then making the stronger ones mate to produce these exact types for himself.  He did this by first taking the existing speckled and spotted ones and separating them from the others for his plan to work while continuing to feed and care for Laban’s flocks.  He put peeled wood sticks in front of the strongest of Laban’s flocks as they drank so they would bear after their likeness and kind as God designed.  This is how he overcame the deception of Laban in providing for himself wages in stock before leaving with full wages for all the time he made Laban rich over the years. This may seem deceptive itself, yet Jacob used God’s design of animals reproducing after their own kind (Genesis 1:25) with wisdom from the LORD on how to come up with such a method.  God prospered and honored the sincerity and hard work of Laban and taught deceptive Laban a thing or two about honorable dealings.  Sometimes He will give us the wisdom to overcome those who deceive us as well, and in those times we need to look to the Lord for wisdom and guidance.  If not, then we trust His sovereign justice to prevail instead, overcoming evil (Romans 12:17-18, 21) with doing good.