Written by: Nick Shepherd – Youth For Christ

Genesis 30 v 25-30
After the birth of Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Now let me go to my own home and country. Give me my wives and my children and let me go. I have earned them by working for you, and you know that I have served you well.”
Laban said to him, “If I have pleased you, please stay. I know the LORD has blessed me because of you. Tell me what I should pay you, and I will give it to you.”
Jacob answered, “You know that I have worked hard for you, and your flocks have grown while I cared for them. When I came, you had little, but now you have much. Every time I did something for you, the LORD blessed you. But when will I be able to do something for my own family?”

Notes 
When we think of the story of Joseph, this passage probably isn’t our normal starting point, but here it is. Joseph was born to Jacob and Rachel whilst Jacob was almost through working off the price of his two wives (Genesis 29 v 15-30)! In effect Joseph was born into slavery, way before he was sold into slavery.

This story models that one in many ways. The central character was in a situation of bondage. However, that scenario was to be transformed and become the launch pad for another chapter in the history of the people of God. But, I’m running ahead of the story.

This section is a classic case of someone moving goal posts on you. It illustrates a fundamental fact of life – it isn’t fair! The deal with Laban was that Jacob would work for fourteen years for him in return for the “payment” of his wives. He was now at the point where he was cashing this in. Laban rather craftily pointed out that the small print of the deal was two wives. “Tell me what I should pay you,” he asked. The catch here was that children were never part of the deal. Laban even rubbed in the fact that it could very well be down to Jacob that he was doing so well in the first place.

What was Jacob to do? Blow up in rage? Walk out? Take Laban to court? What would you do? What will you do the next time you experience the “life’s not fair” syndrome? Spend some time identifying where you experience unfairness and ask God for some practical steps to help.

Prayer
Life isn’t fair! Lord God, help me when I experience this feeling to know you are with me, to see where you may be at work, and to be able to sense how small disappointments don’t deflect your plans. Amen

Genesis 30 v 31-36
Laban asked, “Then what should I give you?”
Jacob answered, “I don’t want you to give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I will come back and take care of your flocks. Today let me go through all your flocks. I will take every speckled or spotted sheep, every black lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. That will be my pay. In the future you can easily see if I am honest. When you come to look at my flocks, if I have any goat that isn’t speckled or spotted or any lamb that isn’t black, you will know I stole it.”
Laban answered, “Agreed! We will do what you ask.” But that day Laban took away all the male goats that had streaks or spots, all the speckled and spotted female goats (all those that had white on them), and all the black sheep. He told his sons to watch over them. Then he took these animals to a place that was three days’ journey away from Jacob. Jacob took care of all the flocks that were left.

Notes
If you’ve just finished a biology exam, or can remember the dim and distant past when you last did that subject, then odds on you’re at an advantage to Jacob in your knowledge of genetics. However, by some stroke of wisdom or cunning, Jacob chose a strategy for creating a way out of Laban’s control that made use of recessive goat genes!

Jacob needed to provide a source of wealth that would enable him and his family to become independent from Laban. To do this he suggested this plan of taking the “multi-coloured” goats. Laban saw an opportunity to outwit Jacob again and tried to scupper this plan by removing various sheep and goats.

Had Jacob spotted the phenomena of the appearance of these goats in his time looking after Laban’s flock? It could have been a stroke of genius or an act of sheer desperation. However, I think there are a couple of principles from this story that can help us think about our approach to life. The first is that Jacob clearly understood his job. He hadn’t used his time working for Laban being miserable about being there (though I’m sure he had those moments), but excelled in his role. Also, in his heart he had a notion of a promise of being blessed and being able to move back to the land promised to his family. When the opportunity came, he put those skills into practice subtly and cleverly to move closer to this promise.

What skills are you developing that you might be able to employ in building God’s kingdom? What observations are you making in the tough times of life that are helping you grow in wisdom? 

Prayer
Lord God, help me to see where my skills can be useful in fulfilling your plans. Help me to take initiative in the areas that are challenges to me, and send your Spirit to inspire and empower me. Amen

Genesis 30 v 37-40
So Jacob cut green branches from poplar, almond and plane trees, and peeled off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them. He put the branches in front of the flocks at the watering places. When the animals came to drink, they also mated there, so the flocks mated in front of the branches. Then the young that were born were streaked, speckled or spotted. Jacob separated the young animals from the others, and he made them face the streaked and dark animals in Laban’s flock. Jacob kept his animals separate from Laban’s.

Notes
In response to this passage, I want you to find a goat farm and emulate this practice of animal husbandry. After all, we are supposed to do what the Bible tells us, aren’t we? Why are these stories here? This is of course just one section of the story of Jacob outwitting Laban to win freedom and release for his family. It is part of a bizarre scenario through which Jacob was being blessed. I love these stories! The Bible isn’t a manual for Christian living, but a dynamic collection of stories and incident, poetry and sermons that are intended to form part of our “memory”.

This story I think is meant to be slightly humorous, not in its being unusual, but in the fact that God’s people were again beginning to be revived in their fortunes despite the opposition and circumstance. It was told to keep us remembering that there are many different ways that God can provide for his people – through both his miraculous provision and the imaginative activities of his people.

P.S. If you’re interested in why Jacob chose the particular trees he did, see a book called Plants of the Bible by M Zohary (pages 66–67, 129 and 132)! 

Prayer
Lord God, thank you for the weird and the wonderful stories we have of your grace, provision and plans. Thank you for the miraculous provision you have provided for me (pause to think and remember any specifics). Be with me today and show me something surprising about you. Amen

Genesis 30 v 41-43
When the stronger animals in the flock were mating, Jacob put the branches before their eyes so they would mate near the branches. But when the weaker animals mated, Jacob did not put the branches there. So the animals born from the weaker animals were Laban’s, and those born from the stronger animals were Jacob’s. In this way Jacob became very rich. He had large flocks, many male and female servants, camels and donkeys.

Notes 
We see in these verses Jacob comprehensively outwitting Laban and producing the spotted goats that he was able to keep from the black and white ones. Jacob’s fortunes emulate Abraham in his gathering of a similar fortune (Genesis 12 v 16).

There is a certain amount of satisfaction at this point of the story. Jacob finally got the better of Laban, who had tricked him into fourteen years of service, trapped him in the circumstances that resulted from that situation and potentially robbed him of the “promise”. There is a degree of resonance with some of the wisdom literature in Proverbs. For example, Proberbs 10 v 9 says: “The honest person will live in safety, but the dishonest will be caught.”

However, these stories are powerful, not as morality tales but as offers of possibility. They remind us that God’s promises are possible. Righteousness and faithfulness will be rewarded. Circumstances can change. This is good news. We have firmness in our faith in God, in the promises that he has given, in the victories that he has won. Sometimes we lose sight or lose hope in these promises, but they remain there. Our task is to take chances on the possibilities.

Maybe you are in a situation that seems hopeless. What could you identify as possibilities of God’s blessing? Remember, Jacob had to act to see these become realised – he had to take some risks. Maybe you will have to as well.

Prayer
God of love, “O how the wicked prosper” was the lament of the psalmist. I confess that I have often been jealous of those who have cheated, mistreated or taken short cuts to success. Help me to remain true to you – to be righteous and wise. Help me to be true to you – to be giving and generous. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Genesis 31 v 1-3
One day Jacob heard Laban’s sons talking. They said, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned, and in this way he has become rich.” Then Jacob noticed that Laban was not as friendly as he had been before. The LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land where your ancestors lived, and I will be with you.”

Notes
For Laban’s sons, the rise of Jacob’s riches was an issue of unfairness. The tables had been turned – an appropriate expression in more ways than one! In the story from the gospels where that phrase finds its origins, Jesus explained his actions by declaring, “’My Temple will be called a house for prayer for people from all nations.’ But you are changing God’s house into a ‘hideout for robbers’” (Mark 11 v 17).

In our story, Laban had been the thief, stealing Jacob’s freedom and blocking his fulfilling of God’s promises made to Abraham and renewed to Isaac and indeed to Jacob just before he left the land of Canaan. All the patriarchs were promised offspring, the land, a covenant relationship, and that through them blessing would come to the nations. The tables were turning, Jacob had children, blessing (which symbolises that being in covenant had come), and now God told Jacob to pursue the final part of the covenant returning to the land.

When we read these stories it is often difficult to grasp the importance of the land to the patriarchs and the nation of Israel. The promised land offered Israel the opportunity to be the people of God. The blessing was a gift of God’s grace that they needed to respond to by living as covenant people – “to do what is right to other people, love being kind to others, and live humbly, obeying your God” (Micah 6 v 8). Jesus’ rebuke in the temple, however, shows us just how quickly we can stray from this path even if we do receive God’s blessing.

Spend a few moments thanking God for his blessings and ask him to help you in the areas where maybe these blessings are not helping you act as God would want you to.

Prayer
Generous Father, thank you for the blessings you have given me. Help me to use the gifts you give wisely and to continue to place my life in your service. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Genesis 31 v 4-9
So Jacob told Rachel and Leah to meet him in the field where he kept his flocks. He said to them, “I have seen that your father is not as friendly with me as he used to be, but the God of my father has been with me. You both know that I have worked as hard as I could for your father, but he cheated me and changed my pay ten times. But God has not allowed your father to harm me. When Laban said, ‘You can have all the speckled animals as your pay,’ all the animals gave birth to speckled young ones. But when he said, ‘You can have all the streaked animals as your pay,’ all the flocks gave birth to streaked babies. So God has taken the animals away from your father and has given them to me.”

Notes
This could be regarded as an early example of evangelism. Walter Bruggemann, in his book Biblical Evangelism, sees evangelism as being a continual cycle of announcing what God has done, inviting people to be part of this and taking action to live in the benefit of God’s activity. At different parts of the story of the people of God, different victories are seen to have been won.

Jacob was announcing the victory to Rachel and Leah, but this had consequences for them. They may very well not have wanted to leave their father. They may not have understood how this blessing fitted into God’s promise. They may have agreed with their brothers that it was in effect robbery of what was rightfully their father’s (Genesis 31 v 1). Jacob was taking a risk. He took the women to a quiet place – where they couldn’t be overheard, or couldn’t overreact and create further difficulties - and attempted to explain what had been going on.

Sometimes it is hardest to communicate our thoughts about God and faith to members of our own family, or those whose opinion and relationship we value beyond all others. However, Jacob had to take this risk because he wanted Rachel and Leah to understand and actively join in the blessing that God had given – and choose to leave the things they knew behind to find the future blessing in the promised land. We’re in good company! 

Prayer
Lord God, lead me to the promised land of your kingdom. Show me where I can find your kingdom in my life, my work, my relationships and my leisure. Help me to face the challenges I have in communicating my faith in you to those who are closest to me. Amen

Genesis 31 v 10-13
“I had a dream during the season when the flocks were mating. I saw that the only male goats who were mating were streaked, speckled or spotted. The angel of God spoke to me in that dream and said, ‘Jacob!’ I answered, ‘Yes!’ The angel said, ‘Look! Only the streaked, speckled or spotted male goats are mating. I have seen all the wrong things Laban has been doing to you. I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, where you poured olive oil on the stone you set up on end and where you made a promise to me. Now I want you to leave here and go back to the land where you were born.’”

Notes
We are never asked to obey God in a vacuum. God has given us a rich framework in which to understand his commandments, see evidence of him in action and have a glimpse of the practical steps he wants us to take. You may think that is over simplistic and rightly argue that you have never had a dream about speckled goats mating to justify your concerns! Well I haven’t either, but we all dream about the events going on in our lives as a natural way for our brains to order emotions, stresses and ideas.

God used Jacob’s dreams as a way of identifying what he had been doing for him in the last few years and the significance of it all, namely that he had been with him and looking after him. He then reminded him of a powerful experience of meeting with God – where God promised to bless him and continue his covenant through him (Genesis 28 v 16-22). It would also have reminded Jacob that he too made a promise to God to follow him if God did look after him on his journey. The journey turned out to be longer than anticipated, but Jacob was now in a position to fulfill his promise.

Are you in a phase of life where you need to be reminded of what God has done for you or of an experience where you met with God in a profound way? Has God been reminding you of something you felt prompted by him to do but you haven’t done yet? Have you experienced God’s blessing and need to act to give something back to God as a sign that you know he has achieved these things for you?

Prayer
Lord God, today I commit myself afresh to follow you. Help me to hold on to the memories I have of your work in my life and use them as encouragements for now and the future. I ask, though, that in the coming months and years I would also grow further in my knowledge of you and add to these incidents fresh memories of your presence and power. In Jesus’ name, Amen


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes