Cheaters Never Prosper?

Genesis 30:27 ff

The context is in Genesis 29 as Jacob agrees to work seven years for Laban in exchange for his daughter, Rachel. Laban deals dishonestly with Jacob and gives him Leah instead. So Jacob marries Rachel also in exchange for an additional seven years of work. Interesting wages to say the least. But Laban, recognizing a good thing when he sees it, doesn't want Jacob to leave. That's the first thing to take away--are you a worker that people don't want to see leave, or are you a worker that people can't wait to get rid of? If you have never asked yourself that question, take a minute to do so right now. When you leave where you are currently working, will people be sorry to see you go?

The next part is not particularly easy to interpret. Jacob agrees. As his wages, he wants all of the sheep that have spots or stripes. Laban agrees for two reasons. First, the solid white sheep are better. Second, he plans to hide those that already have spots anyway. Once again, he tries to cheat Jacob.

But where it gets difficult is that Jacob is not exactly on the up and up either. Jacob messes with the watering hole, trying to get the healthiest sheep to breed in such a way as to have lambs with stripes and spots. Geneticists will tell you his trick was worthless--it was God that actually blessed Jacob. But let's take Jacob's intentions at face value. Just as Laban was cheating Jacob, Jacob was trying to manipulate the situation against Laban. What I find interesting is that God blesses Jacob in spite of his scheming. Why does God bless Jacob over Laban when both were cheating? The answer may lie in Jacob being of Abraham's line or of God being God and choosing who He wants to bless. I don't think it's a justification for cheating, but I do think it is an intriguing case.

Just to emphasize that it's not an excuse to cheat, Jacob's plan backfires in a sense at the beginning of chapter 31. Laban's sons are none too happy with Jacob stealing their father's wealth. As Laban tracks Jacob down, there seems to be the hint of anger until God warns Laban about crossing with Jacob.