At least fourteen years passed while Jacob lived with his father-in-law Laban. They were eventful years with new babies, mostly boys, born just about every year. Jacob’s place on Laban’s property was a busy family compound, bustling with life and activity.

Jacob made a living wage working for his father-in-law, but he really needed to accumulate wealth of his own.  He was going to leave Laban and go back to his father Isaac. How would he support his huge family when he quit his job and gave up his wages? And how would he supply their needs on the thousand-mile-plus trek back to Canaan?

Blessed Because of Jacob

Laban and Jacob knew that God blessed and prospered Laban because of Jacob. Jacob worked hard, but he was also endowed with a promise from God that helped the people around him do well. As Jacob was leaving Canaan, God met him at Bethel and said:

“I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:13-15

Laban was the first of the people on earth whom God blessed through Jacob and his offspring. Not only was Jacob a source of blessing himself, he was also raising a strong work force for the future in his eleven sons (the twelfth, Benjamin, was yet to be born).

Wealth for Jacob

Laban sheltered and fed Jacob’s family and from his point of view, Jacob owed everything to him. Jacob believed Laban owed quite a lot to him, too, since it was while Jacob worked for him that Laban became a wealthy man.

Jacob wanted to build some personal wealth, so Laban suggested gifting it to him. “ ‘What shall I give you?’ he asked.” (Genesis 30:31), but Jacob wanted assets with no strings attached. He suggested that they sort out the livestock so that there could be no question about whose was whose. He asked to keep all of the animals with speckles or spots, and all of the lambs with dark coats.

Laban agreed to this and promptly took all of the stock of that description far away so Jacob couldn’t use them for breeding. He put them into his sons’ care and left all of the other animals with Jacob.

Jacob developed a curious method for producing animals with specks, spots and dark coloring. He peeled the bark in strips from tree branches so the white inner wood was exposed. The animals saw these branches when they came for water and when the strongest ones mated, Jacob made sure they faced the branches. Soon he had marked flocks and herds that belonged to him. He leveraged his stock to gain wealth and became exceedingly prosperous.

Why did Jacob’s method work to produce the livestock he needed? There is no scientific proof that reproduction in animals is influenced by what they look at as they mate. The idea came to Jacob in a dream and he believed God would bless him if he did what he saw in the dream. What Jacob did may have appeared superstitious, but it was also an act of faith that God honored.

Trouble in the Family

Laban’s sons resented Jacob becoming rich off their father despite the agreement between Laban and Jacob. Things grew tense and God finally told Jacob it was time to go. He called Leah and Rachel to meet him in the fields and told them what God had said. They were ready to go with Jacob to Canaan; they felt used and estranged from their father.

Jacob made what must have been a slow getaway. He put his wives and children on camels, drove his flocks and herds ahead of him and created a caravan carrying all of his earthly goods. Fortunately, he was able to travel for three days before Laban found out he had left.

God allowed Laban to catch up with Jacob, but warned him not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.  Laban was perhaps the first empty-nester taught by God to keep his opinions to himself.

Laban wanted to indict Jacob with all kinds of crimes and misdemeanors, but there was only one he could actually name. His household gods were missing and he thought Jacob had stolen them. Rachel took the gods, probably to spite her father, but stealing them also showed how powerless those household gods were. Laban lost his gods, couldn’t find his gods, and had to go home without his gods.

Treaty

Jacob and Laban made a treaty before they parted. Laban complained about losing his daughters and grandchildren, but he was helpless to change the will of Jacob’s God. He made Jacob swear that he would never mistreat Rachel and Leah, and never take other wives. Then they set up a monument and promised never to go past it with intent to hurt each other. Jacob made a feast for his relatives and the next morning they parted peacefully.

Laban may have felt bereaved as this big part of his family left him, but when he returned home he was still better off than he had been before he met Jacob. He and his sons could continue to build on the prosperity Jacob brought them.

And Jacob was now free to travel back to Canaan . . . to an uncertain future . . .  in the land where his brother Esau, who had vowed to kill him, was waiting.