Holly Bible - KJV with Concise Commentaries by Z Selam - HTML preview
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2. When he began to have a stock of ringstraked and brown, he contrived to set them first, and to put the faces of the rest towards them, with the same design as in the former contrivance; but would not let his own, that were of one colour, Ge 30:40. Strong impressions, it seems, are made by the eye, with which therefore we have need to make a covenant.
3. When he found that his project succeeded, through the special blessing of God upon it, he contrived, by using it only with the stronger cattle, to secure to himself those that were most valuable, leaving the feebler to Laban, Ge 30:41, 42. Thus Jacob increased exceedingly (Ge 30:43), and grew very rich in a little time. This success of his policy, it is true, was not sufficient to justify it, if there had been anything fraudulent or unjust in it, which we are sure there was not, for he did it by divine direction (Ge 31:12); nor was there anything in the thing itself but the honest improvement of a fair bargain, which the divine providence wonderfully prospered, both in justice to Jacob whom Laban had wronged and dealt hardly with and in pursuance of the particular promises made to him of the tokens of the divine favour,
Note, Those who, while their beginning is small, are humble and honest, contented and industrious, are in a likely way to see their latter end greatly increasing. He that is faithful in a little shall be entrusted with more. He that is faithful in that which is another man's shall be entrusted with something of his own. Jacob, who had been a just servant, became a rich master.
38 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.
39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle
ring-streaked, speckled, and spotted.