Bible Study Online Article
Within six years, Jacob had just become a wealthy man, thanks to the new business agreement that he had made with his father-in-law, Laban. Now that Jacob had become very wealthy, we find that the business relationship with his father-in-law would begin to turn sour. "Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father," Laban sons would say amongst themselves. We would also read that Laban attitude towards Jacob had took a turn for the worse. Now there are some things that I would like to point out, when we get to this part within the account. It's at this point when teachers and preachers begin to accuse Jacob of being a deceiver once again. For those that have been traveling along with me, you should know by now, that I've been defending Jacob for his actions and once again, I find that I must stand by him and go against the majority. Everything that Jacob had did when it came to him accepting the spotted, streaked and speckled young as his wages, was done through the guidance of the Lord, from a dream that he had. "In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating wit the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I answered, 'Here I am.' And He said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your nativeland.'" (Genesis 31: 10-13) Now I don't want to get ahead of myself, but in order to make my point, I had to reveal that particular scripture a little bit earlier than anticipated. So let's go back to when Jacob and Laban had made the new deal and do a quick summary. After Jacob had worked honestly and hard for his father-in-law for the last fourteen years, we are told how Laban had prospered because of his son-in-law. Remember when I kept pointing out, that Jacob wanted to get this on record, by getting Laban to acknowledge all that he had done for him the last fourteen years? This is the reason why. When Laban had came to Jacob and pleaded with him to stay and continue on managing his flocks, it was because of the success record that Jacob had with those flocks for those past fourteen years. Laban was willing to pay Jacob a top salary to stay on and keep getting those same results with his flocks. Because of the dream that he had, in which God showed him a vision, that dealt with the young that were spotted, speckled and streaked. After seeing this vision Jacob would take advantage of what God had shown him. He would start by making a counter proposal with Laban, when it came to his wages. This is when he told Laban to pay him with the spotted, speckled and streaked young, instead of some kind of salary. Laban would quickly agree, for he felt that since the spotted, speckled and streaked young were so few in number, he would be paying Jacob next to nothing for his expert services. First Laban would separate the majority of his flock and put them under the management of his sons and placed a three day journey between them and Jacob. By Laban doing this he thought that he would be taking the advantage away from Jacob. But instead, he hurt himself. By him giving majority control to his sons when it came to managing his flocks, he instantly put his business in a state of stagnation. For his sons were not as skilled as Jacob when it came to tending the flocks. As a matter of fact, Laban's daughter, Rachel was the head shepherd when Jacob had first arrived and not his sons. That alone should say something about their skill when it comes to managing the flocks. So this means that Jacob would not have the huge flocks that he had built up for Laban over the past fourteen years to work with. He would basically be starting from scratch when it came to managing Laban's flocks. As for his own flock which consisted of the spotted, speckled and streaked. Jacob would simply be a good steward of what was rightfully his. Since it was his flock, he took more aggressive measures when it came to them. This is where the mating branches techniques would be applied. And let's not forget the mental focus methods he would use on the female livestock, in hopes of getting them to give birth to spotted, speckled and streaked young. Which was an overreach being that God had already shown him what his results were going to be. So bottom line, if Jacob wanted to risk the health of his own flock by using aggressive methods and techniques, than... that's his business. Fortunately for him, it paid off. Remember in my last article, I gave Jacob the credit of being a master shepherd and I still stand by that comment, even though he had guidance from the Lord from that dream that he had. The reason why I stand by it, is for the fact that God did not tell Jacob how to manage the flock. He simply showed Jacob what the results were going to be. It would still take the skill and knowledge that Jacob had acquired throughout the years when it came to his craft in order for him to pull it off. In the telling of the scriptures, I did not read anything that would suggest that Laban did not have any progress when it came to his flocks. I like to believe that he did, but wasn't happy with those results when he saw that Jacob's flocks had done so much better. Laban had been very prosperous during the last fourteen years and through greed he decides to have Jacob start from scratch by giving majority control over to his sons when it came to his own flocks. Like I stated before, this was a big mistake on his part, for it caused his business to go into a state of stagnation. I stand by that statement, being that within the telling of the scriptures, there's no indication that Laban's son's had did well when it came to managing their father flocks. Jacob was just being obedient and following what the Lord had shown him. It's for this reason, I can't agree with calling him a deceiver in this particular situation. As a matter of fact, it was because of his honesty, work ethic and humbleness, the Lord had provided for him in a very special way. Laban simply reaped a bad harvest from all the bad seeds he had sown against Jacob during the past twenty years. He did well while Jacob was managing his business, but Laban's greed caused him to lose all that he had gain under the promise bearer.
Start at: The Introduction of Abraham Start at: The Birth of Isaac Start at: The Birth of Esau & Jacob 43) Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty 44) Jacob - The Stone Pillow Dream 46) Jacob - The Love Season of Reaping 50) The Mandrake Plant of Love 54) <-CURRENT PAGE->  CrossDaily.com Web Search where you can VOTE FOR THIS SITE & other great ones. Christian search engine, directory & voting index. You'll find Bible, chat, churches, jobs, music, reviews, software, theology, & more. See the best sites!
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