This is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I’m Mario Diaz. We left our story with an amazing discussion of the sons of Leah and the change we see in her through the naming of her children and the Providence of God (which has been a theme all along our journey—this God who is never a victim of earthly circumstances but who is in complete control of every situation and whose wisdom, though beyond our full comprehension, is unimpeachable). We saw that she named his son Judah saying “this time I will praise the Lord,” and we noted that the promised Messiah will come from the tribe of Judah. Now, I just stated that because I did not want to jump ahead too far, but I know some of you are astute enough to be wondering about that. So, let me pause here and do a quick preview of what we will see as we near the end of our story with respect to the Messiah coming from the line of Judah. In Genesis 49, Jacob, near his death, calls to himself his 12 sons, representing the 12 tribes of Israel and he prophecies about their descendants. In verse 10, he addresses Judah and says: The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. The reference to the “scepter” and the “ruler’s staff” points us to kingship (King David will indeed come from the tribe of Judah—and there are numerous other prophecies associated with that link between David and the Messiah). But also the breath and scope of the promise reminds us of the eternal nature of Messiah’s Lordship. John’s vision of the last days in Revelations 5:5 notes, “behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered…” There is, of course much more to discover down that rabbit trail, so to speak, but we must get back to our story. Genesis Chapter 30 shifts the focus to Rachel. She is jealous of Leah’s many sons and so she expresses that frustration towards Jacob who basically says take it over with God, I can’t do anything. So, Rachel implements the plan she has seen other in her family attempt, she will give her servant Bilhah to Jacob to bear her a son. So Bilhah conceives Dan and then Nephtali. Then, we are told, Leah gets jealous and gives Jacob her servant Zilpah, and they bore Gad, and later Asher. This is what jealousy and envy will do to you, they will consume you, there is no end to the struggle it will spark within you. Beware of it- do not indulge in it. As if that wasn’t enough, we are told the story of a time when Rachel asked Leah for some mandrakes (a type of Mediterranean berry) and an argument ensued that leads to Leah getting Jacob to herself for a time, and she bears another son who was called Issachar, and then a sixth son called Zebulun; and after that, a daughter named Dinah. Rachel then had Joseph (a very important figure that we will briefly look at later on).Children were viewed very different in ancient times. Remember, there is no Walmart in those days. You work for what you eat, daily. So children are workers. They are essential for survival. So, it is at this point (when Jacob has 11 sons and a daughter) that he goes to Laban because he wants to branch out on his own. You will recall that Laban has dealt deceitfully with Jacob who has been the best thing that ever happened to Laban, as the Lord blessed him because of Jacob. Therefore Laban wants Jacob to stay and he tells him, name your price. Note that Jacob, after all those years was willing to depart with nothing, just his family (he had the promise of God that He would be with him), but now God will bless him with much wealth, even through Laban’s treacherous dealings. Laban readily admits he has witnessed God’s hand upon Jacob (how could he not) and he will try to do anything to keep him there. So, Jacob tells him that, since the sheep are usually white, and the goats black, he will take the spotted or speckled ones, which are comparatively rare, for himself. Jacob’s reasoning seemed to be that Laban could never accuse him of stealing (when the Lord inevitably blessed him) since the natural marks of the cattle would tell the story. The proposal seemed great to Laban who knew he was at a great advantage, ordinarily speaking. And, treacherous as he was, he went and took the speckled and spotted animals and gave them to his son, keeping him separate from Laban’s flock, so as to put him at a disanvantage right out of the gate.. But no matter. God is with Jacob and he is confident on his breeding abilities. Therefore, he employs a variety of methods to ensure he breaded speckled and spotted sheep and lamb. And it happened that the stronger and best of the them went to Jacob, and the more feeble to Laban. Thus, his wealth increased greatly. God did that. We are told that explicitly in chapter 31. Here is how Jacob explained it starting in verse 6— he told Rachel and Leah: You know that I have ...
