What a mess. Jacob had been a trickster all his life, and now he had met his match. He wanted to marry Rachel, the woman he loved (Genesis 29:18), but his father-in-law had tricked him into marrying Rachel’s sister Leah as well (Genesis 29:23-25). Oh, and Laban also got Jacob to work for him for 14 years as part of the bargain.

And after the 14 years were over, Laban tricked Jacob yet again. Jacob agreed to keep on taking care of Laban’s flocks, only taking the spotted and speckled sheep and goats for himself (Genesis 30:32). Laban agreed, but before Jacob had a chance to collect his wages, Laban told his sons to cull out all the animals that matched Jacob’s description, and to take them so far away that Jacob couldn’t find them (Genesis 30:35-36). Jacob was left with a flock of white sheep and black goats – again, on the losing end of a bargain.

But that wasn’t the end of Jacob’s troubles. For his two wives were quite naturally jealous of one another. Leah was upset because Jacob didn’t really love her, and Rachel was jealous of all the children Leah was able to bear. So the two sisters competed with one another, even giving their maidservants to their husband as concubines so they could boast about the number of sons they gave him.

Nevertheless, the difficult years in Laban’s house had taught Jacob some valuable lessons. He had learned the limitations of relying on his own trickery – after all, it had to have been a humbling experience to be on the receiving end of the same kind of deception he had dished out to his father and brother. But more importantly, Jacob had seen how God had kept His promises, even through the same situations that had caused him so much pain.

For think about it. If Jacob had gotten his way, if he had ended up married only to Rachel, he would have had only one son, Joseph, by the time he went back to the Promised Land. Instead, God used Laban’s trickery and the two wives’ jealousy to give Jacob twelve sons, each of whom would become the ancestor of one of the tribes of Israel. Moreover, God made sure that all those white sheep and black goats Jacob was tending ended up having lots of speckled and spotted lambs and kids (Genesis 31:7-9). Through all the strife in Jacob’s family, God thus kept His promise to protect Jacob and to give him many descendants (Genesis 28:14-15).

And the good news is that our God still keeps His promises. And our God is still able to use the difficult circumstances of our lives to bless us and to increase our faith. Will we trust in Him today?

Genesis 30:25-36 (NASB)

25 Now it came about when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my own country.
26 “Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me depart; for you yourself know my service which I have rendered you.”
27 But Laban said to him, “If now it pleases you, stay with me; I have divined that the LORD has blessed me on your account.”
28 And he continued, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.”
29 But he said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you and how your cattle have fared with me.
30 “For you had little before I came, and it has increased to a multitude; and the LORD has blessed you wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?”
31 So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock:
32 let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted sheep, and every black one among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages.
33 “So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen.”
34 And Laban said, “Good, let it be according to your word.”
35 So he removed on that day the striped and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, every one with white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the care of his sons.
36 And he put a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.