Genesis 29 tells us that Jacob went to the land of the people of the east and saw the shepherds who came from Haran. "And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she kept them. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept" (vv. 9-11). When he met God on his way, he worried about food and raiment. When he had reached the land of the east and met his relatives, the first thing he did was weep. This weeping tells us what he experienced on his way and what he expected to face in the future. A scheming and calculating man usually does not weep. He weeps only when he finds that he cannot do anything anymore. Jacob wept at this point.
God was also ready to begin another work in him. When he arrived at his uncle Laban's house, his uncle said to him, "Surely thou art my bone and my flesh," and Jacob abode with him for a month (v. 14). After being a guest of his uncle for a month, his uncle said in a seemingly polite way, "Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?" (v. 15). From this word we see that Laban's mind was also the mind of a businessman. He and Jacob turned out to be the same kind of person! When Esau was with Jacob, he could not deal with Jacob. But when Jacob met Laban, Jacob found it hard to deal with Laban. A quick-tempered person may often come across another quick-tempered person. A stingy person may often come across another stingy person. A proud person may often come across another proud person. A person who likes to take advantage of others may often come across another person who equally likes to take advantage of others. These are all thorny trials. This was what Jacob was faced with at that time. God's discipline put him before a man like Laban. "Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?" Apparently this word sounded nice. Actually, Laban was saying that Jacob should not eat his food for free, that he should work a little, and that he would be given a little money. Laban was only putting it in a nice way. In the past, Jacob was a son at home. Now he had to be a hired worker! This was God's discipline through the environment.
He served Laban, and the payment he wanted was Rachel. For Rachel's sake, he served Laban seven years. In the end he was cheated by Laban and was given Leah instead. Formerly he deceived others; now he was deceived! So he served Laban seven more years for the sake of Rachel. During those fourteen years, he served his uncle for the sake of Laban's two daughters. In all he served his uncle for twenty years. During this time, his uncle deceived him and changed his wages ten times. Originally it was agreed that he would get a certain sum of money after he finished his work. But after the work was finished, he was told that something was wrong, and his wages were changed. Laban changed Jacob's wages ten times. On the average, this was one change every two years. Jacob was indeed being tried.