Genesis 30:37-43
Faith in an Old Wives Tale
It was not the placing of the rods and branches that caused the sheep to breed with the resulting mixed colored sheep. But, apparently, Laban and Jacob believed it was. Faith is a powerful force. People’s actions are based on their faith. We know today that science governs the outcome of the birth. In this case the gene pool. We know that if you want pure bred sheep they have to be bred to pure bred sheep consistently until the striped and spotted genes are bred out of the gene pool.
God has placed the laws of science in the world so that we can depend on the consistency of science. As we “discover” what has been here all along we can benefit from that knowledge.
Whether or not Jacob knew what he was doing was governed by science we do not know. But we do know that what he did and what Laban believed about what Jacob did was going to lead to some problems in the future.
The real problem was that Jacob believed he could do something that would benefit himself and put one over on Laban. It was a battle of the wills and of pride where man takes the credit but God who deserves the credit is not acknowledged at all.
Long before the rods and branches were put up, both Laban and Jacob had pride-fully believed in their ability to deceive and out maneuver the other. Pride begets pride and pure bred pride is a recipe for disaster, especially when two prides meet.
God’s truth is unchanging. Put your faith in His truth. It will set you free. (John 8:30-32)
Pastor Dave