God's Careful Watch

God's Careful Watch
Words of Faith 6-3-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 30
[31] "What shall I give you?" he asked.
"Don't give me anything," Jacob replied. "But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: [32] Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. [33] And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen."
[34] "Agreed," said Laban. "Let it be as you have said." [35] That 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. [36] Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban's flocks.
[37] Jacob, 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 of the branches. [38] Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, [39] they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. [40] Jacob 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's animals. [41] 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, [42] but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. [43] In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.

Do not try this at home. This passage is not an instructional text for animal husbandry, but it does make a strong point! When Jacob finally left Laban, the great blessing he would take with him did not come from Laban-- it was a gift from God. Just as Abraham had rejected the offer of wealth from the king of Sodom (14:21), so now Jacob refused to take anything from Laban except an agreed wage.
Jacob proposed a plan by which it appeared he would gain little. His wages for working would be the black and multicolored goats-- the rarer kind-- and speckled and spotted sheep, which would be born. Laban didn't have to think long before closing such a sweet deal!
But Laban, as usual, had to make the deal even sweeter! Laban removed all the animals of abnormal color in his usual tricky way, giving them to his sons and not to Jacob. This would lessen the likelihood of such animals being born under Jacob's care. He also put a three-day journey between the flocks to ensure that Jacob would have difficulty acquiring a large herd.
But who was in charge here? The Lord God.
God unusually blessed Jacob. There was nothing scientific or magical about the peeled branches in the water troughs. Still, they did place an expectation before God. The striped branches may have even served as a prayer focus of sorts.
There is an interesting play on words in this text because the word for "white" is "laban." So Laban was outwitted by the "laban-striped" or white-striped branches. God intervened to fulfill the hope and expectation Jacob had. In addition, Jacob used a sound technique of selective breeding by mating the stronger animals for himself and the weak goats and sheep for Laban. The result? Jacob prospered greatly in fulfillment of God's promise at Bethel. Jacob's gain was at the expense of Laban, who now received in part what was due him.
Jacob was learning that it was not by his wits that blessing would come! He had to work, of course. But God was keeping a promise and blessing that had been upon him all his life. God's promise at Bethel was being fulfilled.
What do we learn here? God has His eye upon us even when it appears we have been cheated. God is in charge even when the deck seems to be stacked against us. God can bless in accordance with His promises and plans. We can lift our hope and expectation to God in prayer.
Are you in a difficult situation where it seems that things are stacked against you? If God is for you, no one can be against you. The blessings God has for you are not subject to the restrictions or even the conniving of others. God is God, and He is watching over you.

Thank You, O God, for watching over me. Thank You for blessing me even when those around me are unfair. I give thanks that Your care and blessing are not dependent upon the restrictions of this world. You are God Almighty. You are Lord. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.