QT 11/5/2025 Gen 30:37-43, Look to God for the amazing

Genesis 30:37–43 (ESV) —

37 Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. 38 He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, 39 the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. 40 And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban’s flock. 41 Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, 42 but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. 43 Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

 

NOTE: Today, we know for a fact that this method of breeding does not work. Why did it work? Well it didn’t; what happened is that God caused the results that Jacob desired, proving also that God does interfere in the affairs of mankind when it suits his grand purpose. At some point, Jacob will realize this. Jacob had quite a few years of herding sheep. The results are far out of proportion than anything he might have seen in the past, which would have been random and coincidental. Once he did get striped, speckled, spottled, and all black, he did breed the stronger together, which does work. Anyway, in the end, where Laban thought to deceive Jacob, Laban was taken to the cleaners. Jacob who thought he was deceiving Laban, soon would realize that it was not him but God who blessed him. This ultimately leads to a number of crises, the most important, a crisis of faith.

 

PONDER:

1. How often do we give credit to God for results?
2. We think our wise plans are delivering great results, and for all we know they are achieving nothing. Men plan, but God provides the results.

 

PRAYER: Father, I need to remember that it is not my creativity or ingenuity, but it is your grace which brings about miracles.