Genesis 30:37-43 "Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane..."

"Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the rods. He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the runnels, that is, the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, the flocks bred in front of the rods, and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled and spotted. And Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he put his own droves apart, and did not put them with Laban's flock. Whenever the strongest of the flock were breeding Jacob laid the rods in the runnels before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the rods, but for the feeblest of the flock he did not lay them there; so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. Thus the man grew exceedingly rich, and had large flocks, maidservants and menservants, and camels and asses" (Genesis 30:37-43 RSV).

Comment:

This passage is part of the larger story of the constant one-upmanship between Jacob and his father-in-law Laban, and part of the still larger story of Jacob's own spiritual journey. The two men consistently try to trick each other—first over the marriage of Laban's daughter Rachel, and here over Jacob's share of Laban's herds. Jacob agrees to accept only the sheep and goats that are striped, speckled or spotted. Laban agrees, but then removes all such animals from his herds and hides them. Not to be outdone in trickery, Jacob then uses the techniques described in this passage to cause solid sheep and goats to give birth to striped, spotted or speckled offspring, which he then claims. (The technique itself is a kind of primitive version of the spiritual truth that what we focus on becomes our experience: The animals see stripes (peeled rods) while they are breeding, and produce striped offspring as a result.)   Jacob's very name means "the supplanter," and he has demonstrated that quality throughout his life. He uses spiritual awareness to manipulate others (first his father, here Laban) in order to accomplish his intention. He is superficially successful at it—he "grew exceedingly rich." But the wealth was never comfortable, for he was intuitively aware that it was built on trickery. His sense of dissatisfaction causes him to undertake an arduous journey back to his homeland, to face his own past. In the process he wrestles with his spiritual calling and purpose so successfully that his name must be changed as a result. Jacob becomes Israel—the father of the Twelve Tribes.   Jesus emphasizes the teaching inherent in this story in his parable of the man who built his house on sand. No matter how much we may accumulate of earthly wealth, it will be meaningless and insecure unless we are firmly connected to our spiritual purpose.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed