Today I would like to discuss divine strategies for multiplication. Our text is Genesis 30 and the context is the patriarch Jacob serving his father-in-law Laban as a shepherd, tending his sheep for fourteen years for his two daughters Rachel and Leah.
Jacob was about fed up with all the things he had been putting up with while living with and working for Laban, and he was ready to take his wives and children and move back to Canaan with his father Isaac. This occurred right after Rachel had borne Joseph. But when he told his father-in-law, Laban persuaded him to stay on and name whatever wages he wanted to be paid, and he would pay it, because God had prospered him greatly during the years that Jacob had served him. His flocks had multiplied greatly under Jacob's care, because the Lord's hand was with Jacob, and Laban knew he couldn't afford to lose him.
So Jacob told him that he wanted as his wages all the speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. He specifically asked for Laban to allow him to remove all such multi-colored animals from the flocks and to keep them as his own. Laban promptly agreed, but then he immediately proceeded to remove all such animals from his flocks and place them under the care of his own sons, thus going back on his word and cheating Jacob as soon as they had made the deal, so that Jacob had to begin with nothing. Here is how the conversation went:
“After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, 'Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I've done for you.' But Laban said to him, 'If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.’ He added, ‘Name your wages, and I will pay them.’ Jacob said to him, ‘You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?’ ‘What shall I give you?’ he asked. ‘Don't give me anything,’ Jacob replied. ‘But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.’ ‘Agreed,’ said Laban. ‘Let it be as you have said.’ That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban's flocks.” (Gen 30:25-36)
Now that all the multi-colored animals were removed, how was Jacob ever going to receive multi-colored ones as his wages?
God had previously given Jacob a multiplication strategy (reproductive technique for the animals he was tending) that resulted in him prospering greatly, and He did so through an angel speaking to Jacob in a dream (see Gen 31:10-12). This was not due to Jacob’s own ingenuity, but was a gift given to him directly by God that he could never have known otherwise. God can do the same for any of us as we seek Him and His kingdom first (Mt 6:33). Here is how Jacob received this amazing strategy from the Lord, as he later explained it to his wives:
"In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I answered, 'Here I am.' And he said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you." (Gen 31:10-12)
I believe the Lord did that to vindicate Jacob, since Laban cheated him so many times, despite Jacob trying to be an honest man, putting up with a lot of hardships in his occupation. So having previously been given this strategy by God through an angel in a dream, here is how he implemented it after Laban agreed to pay him all the multi-colored sheep and goats as his wages, but then removed all such animals and left Jacob with nothing to start with:
"Jacob...took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban's animals. Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys." (Gen 30:37-43)
Praise the Lord! Despite being cheated out of his wages, Jacob still prospered exceedingly through the divine strategy the Lord had supernaturally given him. What an amazing miracle! All things are possible with God, and all things are possible for him who believes. And interestingly, He did this right after the birth of Joseph, whose name Yosef in Hebrew means, "Jehovah shall add," "God will increase," or "he will add," indicating that the Lord adds or multiplies through him. The Lord can do the same thing for His beloved children today. In the twinkling of an eye, He can suddenly give us a brilliant idea or direction in a dream or a vision, through an angel, during prayer, while reading Scripture, or in any number of ways.
The second thing I observed in this story is that despite all we think we know from science and medicine, there is still much we don’t know. There is a realm of reality that goes far beyond what we can see. Our eyes can only see what is visible, but the things which are visible are temporary. However, there is an unseen realm that is eternal, where reality exists, and truths that have not yet been discovered by anyone, despite all their vast research. The way things operate and the cause and effect relationships that exist, which are still unknown to man, would seem like foolishness to the natural man. But to the one whom God reveals it to, it becomes an amazing discovery, and when that knowledge is applied, he achieves the desired effect.
No breeder, veterinarian, or scientist specializing in animal reproduction would believe that any external and merely visual stimuli could possibly ever have any effect on the genetic makeup of an animal’s offspring, but we see from this passage that the strategy God gave to Jacob actually worked. So just imagine how many other truths like this are waiting to be discovered by the humble man who seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and who waits upon the Lord in prayer, inquiring of Him, trusting in Him. There is no limit to what God could do, and the amazing truths He could reveal to us, especially if we ask Him to do so. Therefore, some of the things the Lord may lead us to do by His Holy Spirit may seem very strange to others, but be mighty and powerful through God for accomplishing His purposes.
Scientific Supporting Evidence
You may be thinking, as others have, that Jacob's breeding strategy was merely based on folklore or an old wives' tale, but it was not. The Lord gave it to him, and science has since discovered that this phenomenon does actually occur.
Scientists have found in studies on mice that there is something called agouti genes. They studied five cloned mice that were identical genetically, yet each have different-looking fur. They discovered that when a mouse's agouti genes are all turned on, then the fur is solid yellow, as one of the five mice had. Conversely, when all its agouti genes are turned off, its fur is solid brown, as one of the five mice had. Meanwhile, three of the mice had mottled fur, one slightly, one moderately, and one heavily mottled, which scientists discovered was due to some of their agouti genes being turned on and some turned off.
Moreover, they discovered that the mother's diet during pregnancy can affect the color of her offspring's coat of fur. If she consumes certain nutrients, the gene is either turned on or off, thus changing the gene expression and the fur color of the animal in her womb.1 And this change is actually passed down to as many as four generations, thereby greatly increasing the number of mottled offspring ultimately.
Furthermore, research has also documented that the branches of the trees used by Jacob during breeding actually do provide the nutrients needed to alter the expression of the agouti gene, which then actually does change the color of the lambs born.2 The peeled branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees contain nutrients (potentially methyl donors like folic acid, choline, and betaine) that influenced prenatal gene regulation of the sheep's fur color. The ingestion of these nutrients by the mother animal is called an epigenetic mechanism, which alters the agouti gene expression of her unborn, developing offspring in utero, leading to changes in pigmentation without altering the underlying DNA sequence. Both goats and sheep commonly chew on branches, bark, and twigs, with goats particularly preferring leaves and woody growth over grass. Goats frequently strip bark in autumn/winter, while sheep also enjoy munching on woody debris.
Therefore, if the female sheep and goats that Jacob bred had chewed on the branches, bark, or twigs that Jacob peeled and placed in front of them while mating, then that could certainly account for why they bore speckled, spotted, or streaked offspring. If you wait long enough, science always catches up to Scripture, proving it to be true and accurate. God revealed a secret to Jacob that scientists would only discover thousands of years later.
Closing Words
In this passage, we have learned some amazing lessons today. God supernaturally gave Jacob a multiplication strategy related to agricultural business, which resulted in him prospering greatly. Initially this prosperity belonged to his father-in-law Laban, but later the Lord miraculously enabled Jacob to implement the same strategy successfully under seemingly impossible conditions, where all the odds were stacked against him. We cannot deny that it was a miracle that this happened, even though Jacob had to start without any multi-colored animals. The Lord simply led him by faith to do what he had previously done, implementing the same strategy again, and it worked! It produced the desired results. Jacob could step out in faith and do that with nothing to start with, because he had already exercised his faith the first time he implemented this strategy, and saw how the Lord enabled him multiply the multi-colored animals. All things are possible for him who believes.
We learned that not only did the Lord give Jacob this amazing multiplication strategy that defied all human understanding of breeding, but He gave it to Jacob supernaturally through an angel in a dream, and then he even brought about a miraculous result when the strategy was effective despite having to begin with nothing.
The applications of these lessons in our lives today are endless, whether we apply this to ministry, business, child raising, or anything else -- even multiplying disciples. Whatever it is you need God to give you a strategy for, He can do it if you seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (Matt 6:33). Although Jacob didn't even ask the Lord for this, you may certainly ask Him to give you a strategy. The Lord said, ask and you shall receive (Mt 7:7). As it says in His Word, "Call unto me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things you know not of." (Jer 33:3). Once you receive your amazing, supernatural strategy from the Lord, you need to step out in faith to implement it, and trust God with the results. Then watch Him do amazing miracles for His glory in your life and the lives of those around you through your life and ministry, being sure to give Him all the praise, taking no credit for yourself.
Footnotes:
1[Dolinoy, D., The agouti mouse model: an epigenetic biosensor for nutritional and environmental alterations on the fetal epigenome. Nutr Rev. 2008 Aug; 66(Suppl 1): S7–11.]
2[Backon, Joshua, Jacob and the Spotted Sheep: The Role of Prenatal Nutrition on Epigenetics of Fur Color. Biology, 2008.]
Attribution: Scripture taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Image used per the Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes only.
___________________________________________________
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org. Partner with us online by giving to DMI.
