Jacob & Laban | Genesis 31–35 | Day 7 of 238
Jacob, the supplanter, met a more vicious supplanter in his uncle Laban. Remember, Jacob was advised by his mother, Rebekah, to flee his home in Canaan to her brother (Laban) in Harran for safety because Esau wanted him dead for taking his blessing (Gen 27:43). Jacob on his journey had encountered the Angel of the Lord (the Holy Spirit), the place of the encounter he then called Bethel (Gen 28:10–22). When Jacob arrived Harran in Paddan Aram, he met Rachel and fell in love with her. Rachel introduced him to her father Laban. Laban agreed to give Rachel to Jacob as his wife. Jacob [probably because he didn’t have much gold and silver at the time because he fled from his home] offered to work for his uncle Laban for seven years; this was to serve as a dowry for Rachel (Gen 29:18–20).
But this didn’t pan out as smoothly as Laban proposed it would. Jacob was cheated countless times by Laban and ended up serving Laban for twenty good years, of which he’s allowances were reduced 10 times during his service (Gen 31:41). Subsequently, all conspired to give Jacob, not only 20 years of labour under Laban, but two wives (Leah & Rachel) who became caught up in jealous childbearing competition (Gen 30:1–24).
In all this, God was not away from Jacob, he had seen all Laban had put him through. So, God gave Jacob a dream, and in that dream instructed him what to do (Gen 31:10–12). Jacob executed God’s instruction and in came his prosperity from nothing (Gen 30:31–43). Jacob eventually left Laban, more richer and more blessed than he (Laban) was, for God had blessed him.
LESSON: The devil is not a factor, your detractors are not a factor, your challenges are not a factor. The only factor directly proportional to your success is God. All you need is ‘God with you’, but guess what, now ‘He’s IN YOU’. Don’t leave him aside; walk with him, let him direct your paths. Irrespective of who may seem to be taking advantage of you; you will come out on top always.
Let’s talk about what Jacob did with the streaked and speckled flock. What we’ll find here would amaze you.
This story of Jacob’s creative imagination reminds of the insights I discovered in Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s book, the Power of your Mind: “Creation doesn’t end with you just simply imagining a thing and leaving it at that. After you’ve seen it, you’ve got to create it and form it.”
God did this. Remember, He created man in his image (Gen 1:26–27), then He formed man (Gen 2:7). What was this thing God did you ask? Imaginative power [meditation] (Gen 1:2). Your imaginative power is your creative ability; whatever you can imagine, you can create.
God taught Abraham this imaginative power when He helped his vision by showing him the numerous stars and asking him to count them. By seeing how uncountable they were he understood and further believed what God had promised, and that would be the first Abraham would believe God (Gen 15:4–6). Isaac also meditated: when Rebekah was brought to him, she found him meditating; as he meditated God told him to stay in Gerar and not go with everyone else to Egypt due to the famine, for He (God) will bless him. Now Jacob had learnt this from his fathers and he did the same thing.
First, you have to understand some things:
i) The livestock’s colours were; sheep (white), goat (black), cattle (brown). There were evidently no speckled, spotted or striped ones then. All pure/solid-coloured ones belonged to Laban.
ii) Jacob had to create the speckled, spotter livestock from the solid-coloured ones. The chances of that happening were close to zero.
So how did Jacob do this?
(Study Genesis 30:37–42)
Jacob took rods (branches) from poplar, hazel, and chestnut trees and made markings on them so they looked like the bodies of the speckled and spotted animals. He placed these rods where the animals came to drink and mate because he was trying to help his vision of them bringing forth spotted, speckled and striped young. He set his focus on this.
Did it happen? Emphatically yes. It worked!
Jacob wasn’t performing a ritual. He just put his imaginative power (meditation) to work. How did he know to do this? Because God showed him (Gen 31:10–12). God also gave you an instruction on how to use your imaginative power [meditation] (Joshua 1:8).
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