In a very real sense, the rest of Genesis
presents the life of Jacob, including his trials with
Laban, Esau, and his own sons. The story of Joseph is
actually a part of Jacob’s history.

Jacob traveled about seventy miles from
Beersheba to Bethel, a three-day journey. The transfer
of the birthright from Esau to Jacob had been validated
by Isaac, and now God gives Jacob the assurance that
henceforth he is to be recognized as the vehicle of
promise.

The first 77 years of Jacob’s life were spent in
Canaan. He spent the next 20 years in Haran, some 400
miles northeast of Canaan. Jacob’s mother had been
raised in Haran and his grandfather, Abraham, had been
there years before. While in Haran, Jacob began to reap
some of the sin he had sown. He suffered years of
hardship. A wife he did not want was forced on him by
deceit, just as he had gotten his father’s blessing by
deceit. Jacob spent some 20 years of toil, trial, and
testing with his Uncle Laban. God used Laban and the
difficult circumstances of life to discipline Jacob and
prepare him for the tests that lay ahead.

In chapter 30 Jacob, the schemer, is again at
work. Instead of trusting God to meet his needs, Jacob
again used his own plan. Once again this is a picture of
flesh striving against the Spirit. After all Jacob had
been through, isn’t it strange that he had still not
learned that God was in control of every situation? The
flesh may derive plans that look successful, but true
success comes only through God’s divine plan for our
lives.