JACOB'S PROPOSAL LEADS TO PROSPERITY

PROCLAMATION

“And he said, ‘What shall I give thee?  And Jacob said, ‘Thou shall not give me anything; if thou will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock.  I will pass through all thy flock today, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown sheep among the sheep, and all the spotted and speckled among the goats; and of such shall be my hire.’”  Genesis 30:31-32 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the words of God which were revealed to and written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Jacob worked for Laban for fourteen years, seven before he married Leah, and seven more to marry Rachel.  During that time Jacob fathered twelve children, four with his wife, Leah, two with Rachel’s servant Bilhah, two with Leah’s servant, Zilpah, then three more with Leah, and one with his wife Rachel. (Genesis 29:31 to Genesis 30:24)  When Jacob wanted to leave in order to provide for his own family, Laban did not want him to go because he had been blessed by him being there. (Genesis 30:25-28)  Jacob caused Laban’s wealth to increase but he had gained nothing of his own or for his family.  They agreed to divide the herds of sheep, goats, and cattle between them, with the spotted and streaked animals going to Jacob and the solid color ones remained with Laban. (Genesis 30:32-35)  This appealed to Laban because he would get all of the pure breed animals.  Jacob moved his animals three days journey away, but he continued to tend both his and Laban’s herds and he grew exceedingly prosperous. (Genesis 30:43)

 

APPLICATION

It has been said that The Lord God works His wonders in mysterious ways for us to behold. (Psalm 105:5)  Our blessings do not always come in the way that we expect them, or from the source that we expect.  We should just be grateful that we are blessed and not concern ourselves with how it happens.  The Lord God knows our needs before we even ask Him. (Matthew 6:8)  All we need to do is to put God first and seek Him and His righteousness, and our needs will be provided to us. (Matthew 6:33 and Luke 12:31)  If we obey and serve Him, we shall spend our days in prosperity, and our years in pleasure. (Job 36:11)  Our Heavenly Father is rich.  All of the cattle upon a thousand hills are His. (Psalm 50:10)  We may not be rich materially but we need to be content and learn how to live in need and with plenty, hungry or well fed. (Philippians 4:11-12)  Whatever our present situation, all things will work together for our good if we love The Lord and stay true to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)