He cheated his brother out of his inheritance.  He deceived his father into giving him the inheritance which, by right of birth, should have gone to his brother Esau.  He lied to his father-in-law about the size of his flocks, yet he is venerated as the third of the patriarchs--remember Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?  And the writers of Scripture in several places refer to God as "the God of Jacob."  God, however, saw beyond the character defects which I've just mentioned.  He saw his heart.