Jacob has a reputation of being a deceiver, but it seems to me that this is a terrible misunderstanding of Scripture, maybe even slander. Although Jacob's life was full of lies, as far as I can recall, only one of them was his.

Jacob often struck deals that worked to his great benefit, whether because of the foolishness of the other person or because of divine Providence, but he told each person exactly what he was doing. The only person we know Jacob deceived was his father when he posed as Esau to ensure that he received the blessing that Esau had already promised to him.

Jacob didn't cheat anyone even then, but that one deception was the root of many future complications in his life. Because Jacob lied to his father Isaac to get his brother Esau's blessing, Rachel's father lied to him in order to secure a blessing for his daughter. Because Jacob deceived Isaac with a goat in order to put division between his father and brother, his sons deceived him with a goat in order to put division between him and his other son, Joseph.

God turned each of these events to his own purposes, illustrating his grand plan of redemption and restoration through Jacob's trials and family drama.