Genesis (2011) 30B. Jacob, his four wives and eleven sons and one daughter (that we know of) are living in Haran, serving Laban

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1 Genesis (2011) 30B Jacb, his fur wives and eleven sns and ne daughter (that we knw f) are living in Haran, serving Laban Jacb has been living here 14 years nw In that time he s paid the dwry fr tw wives We remember that the extra seven years was made necessary by Laban s dishnesty In fact, Laban s plan all alng has been t hld n t Jacb frever Jacb s knwledge f shepherding has been a tremendus blessing t Laban Befre Jacb appeared n the scene, Laban had been frced t use his daughter t help raise the sheep And we saw the peratin was nthing t brad abut But nw as Jacb has reached the end f his 14 years, he is anxius t return hme Besides the bvius desire t see his family, Jacb wants t return t his wn inheritance He has wrked t pay ff his debt with Laban, s any further wrk at this pint will simply be building the inheritance f Laban s sns S Jacb is ready t leave, and he annunces his intentins t Laban Gen. 30:25 Nw it came abut when Rachel had brne Jseph, that Jacb said t Laban, Send me away, that I may g t my wn place and t my wn cuntry. Gen. 30:26 Give me my wives and my children fr whm I have served yu, and let me depart; fr yu yurself knw my service which I have rendered yu. Gen. 30:27 But Laban said t him, If nw it pleases yu, stay with me; I have divined that the LORD has blessed me n yur accunt. Gen. 30:28 He cntinued, Name me yur wages, and I will give it. Gen. 30:29 But he said t him, Yu yurself knw hw I have served yu and hw yur cattle have fared with me Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Genesis 30B 2 f 11 Gen. 30:30 Fr yu had little befre I came and it has increased t a multitude, and the LORD has blessed yu wherever I turned. But nw, when shall I prvide fr my wn husehld als? Fllwing the birth f the eleventh sn, Jseph, Jacb asked Laban t send him away Jacb tells Laban t give him his wives and children and allw Jacb t depart since his furteen years f service have been cmpleted We might ask why Jacb desn t just leave n his wn initiative Why des Jacb need t ask Laban t let him g? The culture f the day placed tremendus authrity in the leader f a tribe r clan Jacb has cme under the authrity f Laban since the time Jacb was welcmed int Laban s huse And since Jacb was bund by his wrd t wrk fr Laban t pay fr his wives, nly Laban culd release Jacb S Jacb is asking fr Laban t hnr his agreement and release Jacb accrding t the terms f the deal Laban still desn t want Jacb t leave As I said, Laban wuld prefer that Jacb never leave, s he must find sme new angle t play in keeping Jacb in his husehld Laban makes a cunterffer t Jacb Laban tells Jacb that he knws his husehld has been blessed t have Jacb in it In fact, Laban says that he has cme t knw that Jacb is a surce f supernatural blessing thrugh divinatin The Hebrew wrd fr divinatin is nachash, which is the wrd fr satanic srcery r incantatins Laban is a pagan wh turns t the ccult t find his spiritual directin 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Genesis 30B 3 f 11 And the enemy has instructed Laban that Jacb is the cause f Laban s blessing and he shuld remain in Laban s husehld Obviusly the enemy is wrking t keep Jacb away frm the prmised land The enemy wants t disrupt the Lrd s plan, and keeping Jacb in Haran is ne way t d that Take nte f the way Satan has manipulated Laban in this situatin and in the prcess is trying t cntrl Jacb Satan has tld Laban that Jacb is the cause f Laban s wealth, which is a partial truth The full truth is that Gd s prmises wrking thrugh Jacb are the surce f Laban s strength Nevertheless, by shwing Laban the means t greater wealth, Satan gains cntrl f Laban, wh in turns schemes against Jacb S Laban ffers t hire Jacb as a permanent emplyee Laban will pay Jacb t wrk and he ffers Jacb any wage he wants t name This may sund like a very fair and even generus ffer Jacb culd finally begin t amass his wn wealth after years f simply making Laban rich But remember, Laban is the wner f the flcks and the herds And in any business, wh gets richer? The emplyees r the wners? N matter hw generus the wages may be t an emplyee, the wner f a business is always the richer And Jacb knws this t Jacb isn t interested in wrking fr smene else when he has his wn flcks and herds waiting him in his father s huse S Jacb says t Laban, yu knw this isn t a gd deal Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Genesis 30B 4 f 11 Yu knw I ve served yu fr furteen years and made yu rich in the prcess, because I have the ability t multiply herds In v.30 Jacb says Laban s herds have increased In Hebrew the wrd is parats, which means t break frth In Jacb s day, Laban s herds have leaped frward in prsperity And Jacb reminds Laban that the surce f this blessing is the Lrd Wh brings success t Jacb at every turn Here we find hpeful evidence that Jacb has been listening t the Lrd and the prmises Jacb understands that the Lrd has been at wrk t bring abut these blessings S Jacb asks Laban if he cntinues wrking fr Laban s husehld, wh will prvide fr Jacb s husehld? Laban tries anther tactic Gen. 30:31 S he said, What shall I give yu? And Jacb said, Yu shall nt give me anything. If yu will d this ne thing fr me, I will again pasture and keep yur flck: Gen. 30:32 let me pass thrugh yur entire flck tday, remving frm there every speckled and sptted sheep and every black ne amng the lambs and the sptted and speckled amng the gats; and such shall be my wages. Gen. 30:33 S my hnesty will answer fr me later, when yu cme cncerning my wages. Every ne that is nt speckled and sptted amng the gats and black amng the lambs, if fund with me, will be cnsidered stlen. Gen. 30:34 Laban said, Gd, let it be accrding t yur wrd. Laban ffers t give Jacb sme f Laban s husehld as Jacb s inheritance This is a sign f Laban s desperatin He is basically willing t adpt Jacb as if he were a sn and include him in the inheritance ver Laban s wn sns Jacb can build wealth fr his family in this hme rather than returning t the land f Abraham and Isaac In hearing Laban s ffer, Jacb makes a cunterprpsal f his wn 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Genesis 30B 5 f 11 He first states that he will nt take anything frm Laban Jacb means he is nt interested in becming party t Laban s inheritance Jacb still wants t return t Canaan and t his family, s he has n interest in waiting fr Laban s death and fr the inheritance t be split Plus, Jacb is fllwing in the ftsteps f his grandfather wh did nt wish t be enriched frm the largess f pagan benefactrs Jacb knew the Lrd was blessing him and wuld depend n the Lrd S knwing that the Lrd was wrking with Jacb, Jacb enacted a plan t utsmart Laban Jacb tells Laban that he is willing t cntinue t keep Laban s flcks if Laban will allw Jacb the pprtunity t build up a herd fr himself Jacb says he will take nly the sptted and speckled lambs, the black lambs and the speckled and sptted gats In this regin, the lambs were generally white and the gats were slid black r brwn Speckled gats and lambs were few in number and black sheep were very rare S Jacb is asking t keep a minimal number f animals frm the herd as a way f btaining a herd fr himself Jacb emphasized that this plan wuld als make it easy fr Laban t knw which animals were Jacb s prperty and which were Laban s Otherwise, it wuld be nearly impssible fr Laban t knw whether Jacb was building his flck hnestly r stealing frm Laban s herds Jacb s plan is built n tw assumptins First, Jacb is assuming that his knwledge f animal husbandry will allw him t multiply the herds t his advantage 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Genesis 30B 6 f 11 Secndly, Jacb is expecting the Lrd t cntinue blessing him in these effrts Ntice this plan has n timeline Jacb is agreeing t wrk under these terms indefinitely Bth parties assume they will get the better end f the bargain Laban assumes he will have Jacb emplyed frever, since it wuld be very hard t build a meaningful herd by nly cllecting the dd clred animal here and there Jacb is assuming this plan will nt last lng because as his wn herd grws quickly, it will becmes a threat t Laban s husehld S Jacb embarks n at least several mre years f wrking fr Laban, but Laban still has a few tricks up his sleeve Gen. 30:35 S he remved n that day the striped and sptted male gats and all the speckled and sptted female gats, every ne with white in it, and all the black nes amng the sheep, and gave them int the care f his sns. Gen. 30:36 And he put a distance f three days jurney between himself and Jacb, and Jacb fed the rest f Laban s flcks. In v.35 we re tld that Laban pulls a fast ne n Jacb On the day this bargain is struck, Laban immediately rders that all the speckled and sptted and black animals be remved frm amng the main herd These animals were assigned t the care f Laban s sns Then the sns traveled three-day s jurney away frm the main herd and shepherded the flck there The pint f this maneuver was t make Jacb s task as hard as humanly pssible Laban remved the stck that Jacb wuld have used t begin breeding mre speckled and sptted animals Laban assumes that Jacb will nw have t wrk many decades t prduce a sizable flck 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Genesis 30B 7 f 11 Clearly, this is a devius trick, yet nthing in their agreement prhibited this actin S Laban was taking every advantage he culd But Jacb had a few tricks f his wn Gen. 30:37 Then Jacb tk fresh rds f pplar and almnd and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, expsing the white which was in the rds. Gen. 30:38 He set the rds which he had peeled in frnt f the flcks in the gutters, even in the watering trughs, where the flcks came t drink; and they mated when they came t drink. Gen. 30:39 S the flcks mated by the rds, and the flcks brught frth striped, speckled, and sptted. Gen. 30:40 Jacb separated the lambs, and made the flcks face tward the striped and all the black in the flck f Laban; and he put his wn herds apart, and did nt put them with Laban s flck. Gen. 30:41 Mrever, whenever the strnger f the flck were mating, Jacb wuld place the rds in the sight f the flck in the gutters, s that they might mate by the rds; Gen. 30:42 but when the flck was feeble, he did nt put them in; s the feebler were Laban s and the strnger Jacb s. Gen. 30:43 S the man became exceedingly prsperus, and had large flcks and female and male servants and camels and dnkeys. As Jacb cares fr Laban s flck f white lambs and slid clred gats, he begins t emply careful techniques fr selective mating First, Jacb takes fresh rds r sticks f pplar and almnd trees He peeled the bark back n this rds And he placed the rds in the watering trughs where the animals drank Then in v. 39 we re tld the flcks mated by the rds, and in the prcess f mating the animals brught frth striped and sptted animals Then as the sptted and speckled lambs and gats grew lder and were ready t mate, Jacb psitined the animals in a certain way He faced the black and striped animals tward each ther, but the slid animals he set apart, since they were Laban s flck 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Genesis 30B 8 f 11 Furthermre, when the strnger animals were in mating seasn, Jacb placed the rds in their water but the feeble animals he didn t give the rds S ver time, Jacb built a flck f speckled, stripped and black animals that were very strng and healthy And he left Laban a weak and sickly flck f slid clr animals S what s ging n here? Yu can find many views in the cmmentaries, and mst f them prvke mre humr than insight Yu ll see every explanatin frm superstitin t supernatural causes Mst draw a cnnectin between the appearance f the animals and the appearance f the rds themselves As if the animals reprductive prcess was changed in sme way by what their eyes saw in the water Remember ur review f Evlutin s claims which we cmpleted after we finished chapter 2 f Genesis? We nted that the early naturalist and evlutinist Jean-Baptiste Lamark prpsed a thery f inheritance f acquired characteristics He said that said an animal that acquires physical changes brught abut by envirnmental factrs can pass thse changes alng t ffspring Example: if yu cut ff the tail f the muse, then the muse s ffspring wuld have shrter tails Or if yu wanted taller children, yu shuld stretch yurself everyday Later scientists disprved this thery, and ur present day knwledge f genetics tells us exactly hw parents genes pass alng characteristics t children S clearly the sight f these rds culd nt pssible explain hw Jacb prduce a flck f speckled and sptted and black animals 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Genesis 30B 9 f 11 Nevertheless, we knw precisely what Jacb was ding here, since farmers d it all the time tday Jacb was simply applying Mendelian genetics t perfrm selective breeding In the DNA f these animals was all the genetic infrmatin required t prduce all the clr variatins f the herd A slid white sheep r slid brwn gat has in its DNA recessive genes fr speckled r sptted cats In fact, yu can breed a black sheep frm tw slid white sheep In sheep, the clr white is the dminant gene and black is the recessive gene If yu mate sheep and gats carefully, yu can select fr the kind f clr yu want The key t yur success is ensuring that yu can cntrl which animals mate with each ther If yu allw the animals t mate in any way they want, then the expressin f clr will fllw Mendelian prbabilities Simply put, yu ll end up with a lt f slid clred animals but very few f the speckled and sptted variety On the ther hand, if the animals with recessive clr genes mate exclusively with each ther, then yu will reliably prduce ffspring that share the parent s clrs S hw des Jacb get these animals t mate n cue? He can t set a rmantic table and play sft music... As we ll see in later chapters, Jacb can t even get his sns t date the right wmen Jacb used the sticks r rds f pplar and almnd trees t cntrl the mating Ntice in v.38 it says that the flcks mated when they came t drink The wrd fr mated is chamam, which is the Hebrew wrd get ht r t heat up 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Genesis 30B 10 f 11 S literally, it says that when the animals drank the water with the bark in the water, they became ht Or as we wuld say tday, they went int heat The female animals entered a time f fertility and attracted the attentin f the male animals Jacb must have learned that these barks cntained chemicals that caused the animals t g int heat S this was Jacb s catalyst Rather than waiting fr the female animals t g int heat n a randm basis, Jacb frced them t becme fertile at certain mments Then he carefully arranged which animals were present in that mment Ntice in vs Jacb peels back the bark and places the rds in the water but nly fr certain animals First, Jacb nly placed the rds in the water when the speckled r sptted animals were drinking Later, Jacb nly placed the rds in the water fr the strng ffspring f these animals Then nce Jacb had the right females in heat, he turned his attentin t the male animals Ntice in v.40 Jacb separated the male animals s that nly the speckled and striped and black males were faced tward the fertile female animals The rest were separated s they culdn t mate with the female animals The Hebrew wrd fr face tward means t gain the attentin f anther Jacb basically intrduced the males f his chsing t the females f his chsing t prduce ideal mates Jacb was running an eharmny fr sheep and gats 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Genesis 30B 11 f 11 This prcess had tw striking utcmes First, it wuld have resulted in a rapid grwth in the herd Sheep can begin t reprduce at six mnths ld and give birth in five mnths That means lamb can becme a mther befre its first birthday and average better than tw births a year And they can have multiple ffspring per pregnancy S if Jacb is inducing fertility at will, then he wuld have been running a serius breeding peratin Despite Laban s trick f remving the sptted and speckled animals at the utset, Jacb culd have prduced a sizable flck f these animals in nly a few years Secndly, by islating the strnger animals fr himself and leaving nly the runts fr Laban, Jacb wuld have quickly altered the nature f the tw flcks Laban s flck wuld have quickly turned weak and unprductive Many wuld have been infertile r sickly r unable t prduce milk Meanwhile, Jacb s flck wuld have been awarded FFA blue ribbns In v.43 we see that result Jacb became exceedingly prsperus In fact, Jacb earns s much wealth at Laban s expense that he can affrd t purchase servants, dnkeys and even camels, which was a sign f immense wealth in that day Remember, Jacb s grandfather Abraham nce left the land fr Egypt This was a jurney that began with Abraham s sin but resulted in a great blessing frm Gg as Abraham returned enriched at the expense f the Egyptians Here again Jacb leaves the land n the basis f a sin, but he is preparing t return a blessed and rich man 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.