Jacob went to talk with Laban and asked him to let him go home. He had four wives, eleven sons, and one daughter. He missed his father and mother and wanted to go see them.
Genesis 30:27-33- And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake. And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me. For 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? And 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: I 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. So 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.
Laban didn't want Jacob to go. He saw how God blessed him because of Jacob being there. Remember, that God promised Jacob that He would bless him? Well, God never changes his promises. Even though Jacob was being deceitful and trying to make deals to get what he wanted, God was still keeping his promise to bless him, and Laban wanted to keep getting those blessings!
So, Jacob and Laban come to an agreement that Jacob would work for Laban and for his paycheck he would get goats and sheep.
Genesis 30:34-36- And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word. And 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. And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
So, Jacob separated out the goats and the sheep which he knew Laban considered less desirable. These were what he would work for. He took his sons that were old enough to take care of the sheep and the goats and had them start taking care of these. Then he made sure there were three days between him and Laban. Why?
Genesis 30:37-42- And 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. And 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. And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. And 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. And 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. But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.
Silly Jacob! He thought that he could use deceit to make the cattle conceive in his favor. Do you think he actually made those goats and sheep have less favorable babies so that he could get richer?
Nope! God is the one who makes things how He wants them. He makes people with the kind of hair color and eye color He wants them to have. And He makes animals look the way He wants them to look.
Genesis 30:43- And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
God was going to bless Jacob and keep His promise in spite of Jacob's actions. Why? Because God never breaks His promises!
