Gen. 30:27-31:327And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. 28And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. 29And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me. 30For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also? 31And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock: 32I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire. 33So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me. 34And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word. 35And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons. 36And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks. 37And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. 38And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink. 39And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. 40And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle. 41And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. 42But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. 43And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses. 1And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory. 2And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before. 3And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. (Genesis 30:27‑31:3)
“AND LABAN said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thine eyes, tarry; for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.” v. 27. Laban was not one to embrace any thought toward God in his life, but was quick to see that God was with Jacob. He pressed him to rain with him, so that he himself might prosper still further and said: “Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.”
Jacob yielded to the pleading, because he too saw an opportunity for his own personal gain and a chance to out scheme the older man. Thus delaying his return to his own country, he was to spend six additional years in this foreign land. Ah, poor treacherous heart of Jacob, which prolonged the days in which his family continued amid the idolatry and unhealthy atmosphere of that worldly place, for earthly gain. And yet God watched over him, for God’s ways with His own are not determined by their purposes, but according to His grace and goodness.
In the years that followed Jacob was successful in building up a great flock of goats and sheep for himself, all in accordance with his bargain with Laban, but at the expense of the older man, as well. “And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.” v. 43. As Jacob’s prosperity is recited, the riches of Abraham while he was in Egypt (Chap. 12) and the riches of Isaac while in the land of Abimelech (Chap. 26) are both brought to mind. It will be remembered that in both instances their possessions brought upon them the envy and enmity of those among whom they dwelt, a sorry, but helpful lesson those who will hearken, that rich in this world’s goods are a pop source of happiness.
If God had not interrupted the earthly prosperity of Jacob, perhaps he would never have been content to leave Laban’s side in spite of his many trials. However, Laban’s sons were not unaware of what was taking place and, at the end of six years, they complained to their father: “And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory. And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.” Chap. 31:1,2.
“And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.” v. 3. This is the first recorded instance of Jacob hearing the Lord’s voice since he arrived in Haran twenty years before. He had now reached a point of fear and uncertainty, which was exactly what was required to cause him to look away from self. No longer in a position to bargain for himself in the face of his father-in-law’s anger, how welcome to his ear must have been the voice of the One who had spoken to him at Beth-el and who would now direct his way for him.
ML-10/23/1966