One of the men who came to our church was a brilliant plant scientist. With a Ph.D. from a major university in the Midwest, he built a prosperous business supplying plant food and fertilizer around the world. He knew how to make plants grow and turned it into a thriving industry.
True to form, Jacob had a plan for building up his own flock. It had to do with putting striped and speckled branches in the water trough. I have owned a few goats and cattle with my daughter. This strategy does not sound like one we would try in building a flock. This is descriptive. Jacob’s strategy worked and God made him very prosperous. This does not mean that if we do the same thing it will work for us.
Jacob’s gain resulted in Laban’s loss. How did it work? Jacob believed if he put striped sticks in the water trough when the strongest ewes were in heat, they would have striped and spotted offspring. All the striped and spotted belonged to Jacob, according to the deal he made with Laban. Laban ended up with the sickly and weak animals. Jacob became incredibly wealthy.
Sometimes deceptive plots work out for the deceivers. At no point does the scripture tell us, “Go and do likewise.” Laban had apparently taken advantage of Jacob for many years. Through Jacob’s plan, God allowed him to get what he felt he deserved. What did this do to Jacob and Laban’s relationship? It was not good.
If we feel another person has defrauded us, we may feel justified in creating an opportunity to get what we deserve. The New Testament cautions against this. Paul told the believers in Corinth, it would have been better to be defrauded than to try to pay our opponent back. Our actions ultimately reflect not only on ourselves but on our Savior. Can we trust God to take care of us? We can.
