Fist I would like to bring this up, because it was the first question my wife asked me when she started reading the bible, and we are well in to it now….what’s up with everyone having multiple wives and women giving slaves up to their husbands?????
That was the custom of the day. We have to remember that it is not until Leviticus 18 that the Lord hands down laws concerning sexual relations. It is verse 18 that reads: " 'Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living. Just as brother was not used as a direct brother, but often used a term for fellow man or any other man, the word sister here carries the same meaning, fellow woman, or another woman. However, if there was ever if there was ever a clear picture as to why it is not a good idea to marry more than one woman, this is it. Let alone SISTERS. I do not know about everyone else, but I have enough trouble keeping up with one woman, let alone two…or more! We have to remember that one of the wonderful things about the bible is that it was written by about 40 different men over about 1500 years, yet they all carry the same message. They do not contradict each other. Especially in the Old Testament one builds on the other. Any given book or chapter is a glimpse into the world at that time. Here in Genesis, God is very much still forming a relationship with his people, and shaping them. Just because it happened in the book of Genesis does not mean that it will remain acceptable as God advances his plan.
Now on to the whole flock dividing part.
TO outline the deal that has been made, the flock will be divided and the speckled , striped, and black will be taken from the flock, then moved three days away. All striped speckled, or black offspring FROM THE FLOCK THAT IS LEFT will be Jacob’s. So Laban is thinking he got a pretty good deal. All of the flock that could produce (or one would think) the correctly marked offspring have been removed from the flock, so they will not be able to breed with the remaining flock that Jacob is tending. Plus Jacob is only getting the offspring, not the original flock. Since the markings that Jacob choose were rare it would only stand to reason that not many of the new offspring would go to Jacob.
However not wanting to be outdone in the con game Jacob comes up with a great idea, first he creates stripes on sticks by stripping off the bark, then he places them in the areas where the flock breed, thinking that if they see stripes when they breed, then they will produce striped offspring. Yes, I know what you are thinking, but hey the solid flock start throwing striped offspring, so Jacob thinks well it must be working, and is striped sticks work, then how much better will looking at the actual product, so he faces the breeding flock to the striped offspring that he is keeping in a cross fenced section. That works as well if not better, so to top things off he only breeds the strong part of the flock. Now I am guessing here, but the strong part is either a reference to the actual build of the breeding stock, or it has to do with when they were born. I know that cattle born late in the season are considered stronger because they go through winter at a younger age, thus they must be “stronger”. At any rate the chapter closes with Jacob increasing greatly. The sad part is that Jacob thinks it is all his conning that has made him that way……….. Is that not the case so often today? When things go well, it is because of what we did, or actions that we took…..just as Jacob, we all to often forget to say thanks for the blessing.
Peace,
Brian
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