Good Morning Friends,
“‘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 was ready to leave his father-in-law
and return to his own land – to Canaan. Laban was pleased with the work Jacob
had done for him and recognized that he had prospered greatly while Jacob was
caring for his flocks. Laban asked Jacob what he should give him for the years of
labor Jacob had provided him. Jacob’s answer is recorded in the passage above,
“Don’t give me anything.” The only thing Jacob asked for were the speckled,
spotted and dark-colored sheep – those that were deemed to be worth less than
the pure white sheep. And Laban readily agreed.
Before leaving Laban, Jacob spent additional
time tending Laban’s flocks. And God blessed Jacob so that many speckled,
spotted and dark-colored lambs were born. Each of them became Jacob’s own. Jacob
prospered and Laban’s flocks decreased. God was faithful to provide for Jacob. Those
animals that produced the discolored lambs were among the strongest of Laban’s flocks
and those that produced the white lambs were among the weakest. So the
scripture reports, “So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to
Jacob. In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large
flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.” (Genesis
30:42-43)
Jacob was always a schemer. Even in this story
he tried to determine which sheep would give birth to discolored lambs by
setting striped sticks in front of the sheep as they conceived. But Jacob’s
scheming was not the reason he prospered. God’s blessing was. No amount of
striped sticks placed in view of conceiving sheep will cause speckled, spotted
and dark-colored lambs. Only God could move to cause Jacob’s flocks to grow and
Laban’s to shrink under the plan that Laban had approved.
I don’t know if Jacob ever learned that
lesson. Did he ever learn that it is God --
and not our scheming – that brings blessing to us. That is a principle
that is still true today.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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