{"id":45141,"date":"2020-11-11T22:24:44","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T19:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wingulamashahidi.org\/?p=45141"},"modified":"2025-05-09T14:26:45","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T11:26:45","slug":"45141","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wingulamashahidi.org\/en\/2020\/11\/11\/45141\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Did Jacob’s Livestock Increase So Dramatically?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
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Question:<\/strong> What did Jacob do with Laban’s flocks that caused them to multiply so much compared to his uncle\u2019s?<\/span><\/p>\n

When we study the Bible, we see that after serving his uncle Laban for 14 years, Jacob desired to become independent and provide for his own family. At that point, Laban asked what he could give Jacob in return for his years of service.<\/p>\n

Since Jacob had been tending Laban\u2019s flocks\u2014and through him, God had blessed Laban with prosperity\u2014Jacob requested a portion of the livestock. He proposed that any animals born with spots, speckles, or dark colors would be his wages. Laban, confident in the natural breeding patterns of his flocks, agreed, believing that the outcome would be either impossible or extremely unlikely.<\/p>\n

Thus, they made an agreement: Jacob would take only the spotted, speckled, and dark-colored animals, while Laban would keep the rest. To ensure they would not mix, they even separated their flocks by a three-day distance.<\/p>\n

However, Jacob then took a rather unusual approach. Let’s examine what he did:<\/p>\n

Genesis 30:35-43 (NIV):<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201cThat same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban\u2019s flocks.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cJacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood. He placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked, speckled, or spotted.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cJacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban\u2019s animals. Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, but if the animals were weak, he would not place the branches there. The weak ones remained with Laban, and the strong ones became Jacob\u2019s.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Jacob\u2019s method involved using branches that were peeled to reveal their white inner bark, which he placed in the watering troughs where the flocks gathered. Jacob believed that if the animals saw these branches during mating, it would influence the color of the offspring. However, the Bible does not specify why Jacob thought this would work, nor does it suggest that this was a scientifically sound method. Theological understanding would suggest that Jacob\u2019s actions, though appearing as clever strategy, were secondary to the sovereign will of God.<\/p>\n

The Bible shows that it was not Jacob\u2019s ingenuity that caused the animals to breed in this way, but the blessing and intervention of God. This is confirmed later in the text when Jacob reveals to Rachel that God was behind his success.<\/p>\n

Genesis 31:7-12 (NIV):<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201cYour father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God has not allowed him to harm me. If he said, \u2018The speckled ones will be your wages,\u2019 then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, \u2018The streaked ones will be your wages,\u2019 then all the flocks bore streaked young. So God has taken away your father\u2019s livestock and has given them to me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIn breeding season, I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled, or spotted. The angel of God said to me in the dream, \u2018Jacob.\u2019 I answered, \u2018Here I am.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In this passage, Jacob reveals that it was God who gave him the vision and strategy for his prosperity. The angel of God appeared to Jacob in a dream, confirming that God was actively involved in his success. The reality is that it was God\u2019s blessing and intervention that caused Jacob\u2019s flocks to multiply, not the physical methods Jacob used.<\/p>\n