Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. 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, the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. (Genesis 30:37-39)
Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. (Genesis 31:9)
Would Jacob have prospered if he hadn’t ‘manipulated’ the breeding of the livestock?
In retrospect, we say it
was God at work to bless Jacob. His ‘work’ of tending the breeding flock would
not have had an impact one way or the other. And in light of what we know now
regarding genetics, even his actions are laughable. I can understand the motivation of Jacob….in
a difficult situation, we HAVE TO DO SOMETHING! Imperfect faith trusts
imperfectly. Trust is earned and, having been burned by our human counterparts,
either intentionally or not, we still are wary to trust. And so we do what we
can to help God out.
I understand Jacob…I would
do the same…. I DO do the same! I pray, ‘Lord, help me with this situation.’
And then I get down to working out the details and hope God helps me. But God’s
grace extends even to our feeble faith as witnessed with Jacob. It is recorded
to reflect man’s flailing trust, unnecessary efforts and God’s amazing patience
and understanding of our weakness. It makes no judgment on Jacob’s actions but
very poignantly demonstrates man’s actions vs God’s provision. God's grace grows us from faith to faith,
patiently enduring our worthless efforts while divinely providing all that we
need.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
