SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 30
BIBLE VERSES:
What shall I give you?” he asked. “Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied. “But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.” (Genesis 30:31-33)
“Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. ” (Genesis 37-39)
Rachel did not have any child. So, she told Jacob to sleep with her maidservant Bilhah so that she can build a family through her. Jacob slept with her and she bore the following sons with its meaning:
- Dan – God has vindicate me and listen to my prayer by giving me a son.
- Naphtali – I have had a great struggle with my sister and I have won.
When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as wife. Zilpah bore the following sons with its meaning:
- Gad – What a good fortune
- Asher – Happy I am.
During wheat harvest, the oldest son of Leah Reuben brought some mandrake plants. Rachel asked some of the mandrakes from Leah. Leah bargained with her by saying that she will give her mandrakes in exchange for sleeping with Jacob that evening. Rachel consented and Jacob slept with her and she become pregnant and bore a fifth son. She named him Issachar meaning “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband. Leah conceived again and bore a 6th son named Zebulun meaning God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor because I have borned him 6 sons. Sometime later, she gave birth to a daughter named Dinah.
Then God remembered Rachel. He opened her womb and she gave birth to Joseph meaning “God has taken away my disgrace”.
JACOB’S FLOCKS INCREASE (vs. 25-43)
Jacob told Laban that he wanted to go back to his own homeland. But Laban asked him to stay because through him, the Lord had blessed him. Now Jacob was asking for the labor he had rendered to Laban with his condition: “Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen” (vs. 33). Laban agreed.
Jacob took fresh cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white strips on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in hear and came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belong to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. Jacob grew exceedingly prosperous with large flocks of camel and donkeys.
THOUGHTS:
Rachel and Leah were locked in a cruel contest in their race to have more children by giving their maidservants to Jacob as concubines. Even though that custom was acceptable, Jacob should have been wise to refuse to avoid future family problems. This teaches us that before doing anything, look at the potential consequences to your actions that my cause future problems to you and to others. Resist the temptation to take matters into your hands. Have patience and faith to wait for God to act.
Jacob had served Laban for 14 years and he wanted to return to his homeland and provide for his large family. But the crafty Laban did not want to lose his valuable son-in-law. Laban asked Jacob to name his wages but he refused because he was deceived before. Instead he suggested to have the “rejects” of the flock and herds, and Laban agreed. However, Jacob was a schemer. He used “selection breeding” so that the spotted and stronger cattle would conceive and belonged to him.