Genesis 30:32: “Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages.”
Ever since his encounter with the Lord at Bethel, Jacob had made it his habit to wander off into the fields to meditate. On Joseph’s birthday he prayed: “Lord, you have given me more children than my father and grandfather combined. And I am thankful for that. But how can I provide for my family? For fourteen years I have worked for my brides, and now I have nothing to show for my children. I must return home to my father’s house. I’m better off with my own kinfolk.”
At a set date Jacob met with Laban in his shop. Respectfully, he addressed his uncle: “You know how hard I have worked for you these fourteen years. As of today, I have paid the bride price and now I would like to return home to my father’s household.” Laban replied: “I knew someday I would have to kiss my daughters and grandchildren goodbye. Like your grandfather Abraham, you are a vagabond. Your home is always somewhere else.”
Jacob knew his uncle enough to know that in his eyes he was a valuable slave. And so he was not surprised that he would make it difficult for him to leave. He decided to be straightforward with him and said: “You know that I’m no vagabond – but the time has come to provide for my own household. I have worked for you all these years and your livestock has increased greatly under my care.” Laban nodded and said: “I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me on account of you. That’s why I want you to stay.” Leaning forward he added: “Name your wages.”
Now Jacob was surprised. He hadn’t expected that Laban would give him the power to determine his own wages. After a brief moment of consideration Jacob had an offer to make. “Then livestock should be my wages. And in order to easily separate your flock from mine, I suggest that my sheep are dark colored and my goats are speckled. With your permission I’ll go through your flocks and herds and remove the dark colored and speckled animals. These shall be my wages.” Laban smiled and said: “I knew you would come to your senses. It is agreed. Let it be as you have said.”
Directly after the meeting, Laban went out in the fields to meet with his sons and instructed them to remove all dark-colored sheep and speckled goats and put a three-day journey between them and the rest of Laban’s flocks. So when Jacob looked over Laban’s flock the following day all he could find was solid colors – white sheep and black goats. And he got angry when he saw that his uncle had tricked him again. “I could need a little help, Lord” he prayed, “Didn’t You say that You would watch over me wherever I go? How come it feels like I’m on my own here! I guess I’ll have to resort to my own bag of tricks to deal with my uncle.”
At the time people believed that whatever the mating animals set their eyes on would influence the appearance of their young. So Jacob took an almond branch and peeled it so that the white of the branch showed and placed it near the water hole where the goats came together to mate. The following spring a lot of speckled and a few striped goats were born. Goats were ordinarily solid black in the Ancient Middle East. When his uncle saw the unusual offspring he intervened and said to Jacob: “I have changed my mind. Only the striped goats go to you.” And so Laban collected the speckled goats and added them to his flock.
The following fall season when the animals were in heat Jacob arranged for the sheep to see the speckled goats in Laban’s herd while they were mating. When speckled lambs were born the next spring, Laban changed Jacob’s wages again and said: “I thought we agreed upon solid-colored black lambs.”
However, the Lord remembered Jacob and in the spring to follow most of Laban’s flocks and herds produced solid-colored black lambs while the majority of the goats gave birth to striped offspring. “The dark wool of the solid-colored sheep is worth much more when I sell it in my shop since this wool does not need any dye. From now on only the speckled lambs and goats go to you while I keep all solid-colored lambs and goats as well as the striped goats.” Again Jacob had only a meager reward for all of his hard work, but by then he had noticed that the hand of the Lord was with him. He often wandered off into the fields to thank the Lord, praying: “I have come to realize that my own schemes and trickery get me nowhere. But I think I understand now that I can always count on You.”
The following year, most of the animals had speckled offspring and Jacob’s livestock tripled overnight. As years went by he grew exceedingly prosperous and hired his own staff to help him manage his large flocks. He also purchased a number of donkeys and camels. When Laban and his sons saw that the Lord was with Jacob and no ruse they came up with could harm him they became exceedingly jealous of him and their attitude toward him changed.