There is much discussion in the commentaries about why our patriarch Yaakov was punished by not knowing of his son Yosef’s whereabouts for 22 years. Here are a few of the answers:
1. Even after Rivkah sent Devorah (the nursemaid who accompanied her from her childhood home to her new home with Yitzchak) to call Yaakov, he didn’t return straight away.
2. Once the 14 years were up he should have come back right away and not waited an additional six years.
3. It took him two years to come home after he actually left Lavan’s house.
4. Although he indeed listened to his mother, he had not fulfilled all of his father’s directives. As soon as he wedded Leah he had fulfilled the instruction to obtain a wife (and thus could theoretically have returned).
In summary, although Yaakov did not sin, he lacked the merit that can be achieved by honoring one’s parents. The Sages teach us that G-d judges the pious according to a much more demanding scale than regular people
