Strategies for Success

In Genesis 30, we read about Jacob’s agreement with Laban who was his uncle. He had come to live with Laban, when he ran away from his brother Esau after he stole his birthright. Jacob loved Laban’s daughter Rachel and agreed to work for him for seven years, so you could have her hand in marriage. Laban tricked Jacob by disguising Leah the older sister and giving her into marriage to Jacob as her face was covered with a veil. Jacob ended up working another seven years in order to gain Rachel‘s hand in marriage. Labon was also deceptive and often changed Jacob’s wages several times in order to take advantage of him. After the birth of Joseph, Jacob requested of Laban that he send him away to his own country. Laban begged Jacob to stay with him and admitted that he realised that God had blessed him because of his presence. Laban also promised to pay Jacob whatever wage he requested of him.

Jacob’s response to Laban was that he had served him and caused his livestock to increase significantly. His concern was that he did not have much which he could consider an inheritance for his own family. His request to Laban was to allow him to continue to care for his livestock and to take all those that were speckled and spotted as his wages. Jacob went through the livestock and removed all the animals that were speckled, spotted. Their agreement was that as the livestock produced more offspring, that Jacob would continue to keep those that were speckled and spotted. Jacob separated his livestock from Laban’s as he continued to care for them. He developed a strategy to increase his livestock and to get the animals to produce more speckled and spotted flock. He took rods of green chestnut and almond trees and exposed the white in the rods. He placed the peeled rods in the gutters where the flock came to drink water, so that they conceived when they came to drink. “So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted” ‭‭(Genesis‬ ‭30‬:‭39‬).

Jacob continued to put the rods in front of the stronger livestock, in order for them to produce speckled and spotted animals for him. As a result of this, he became very wealthy and increased in livestock and also in male and female servants. Laban’s sons became angry at Jacobs increased wealth and murmured that he had taken all that belonged to their father. Jacob also realised that his father-in-law was no longer happy with him and he no longer had favour with him. God instructed him to return to his own country and promised to be with him. Jacob sent a message to his wives to ask them to prepare to leave with him, because their father was no longer happy with him. He lamented about his years of service to their father and all the times that he had cheated him. He admitted that God had caused him to increase and allowed the cattle to produce, more speckled and spotted animals in order to promote him. Jacob spoke about the vision that he had, where an angel spoke to him about the speckled and spotted animals. He knew that it was the Lord who allowed him to have increase, because Laban would have continued to cheat him.

Jacob left his father-in-law’s house wealthy, as the Lord looked out for him and ensured that he had success. The strategy which he received to request all the speckled and spotted animals from his father-in-law was divine intelligence. His vision where an angel showed him to request all of the speckled and spotted the animals was his strategy for success. The wisdom of man is truly foolishness to God and confounds the wisdom of prudent (1 Corinthians 1:27). There are things that God will reveal to his children, that will not be revealed to the world. Staying connected to God, studying his word, praying and listening to his voice can give us strategies that will help us to outperform the world. We all encounter managers and leaders who can be crafty and deceptive. God always looks out for his children and just like Jacob, he will give us strategies to gain the advantage over them. We must not rely on our own strength nor should we try to match people who are crafty and underhanded. Trust God to cover you, to keep you and to give you what you deserve. 

“For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant” ‭‭(Isaiah‬ ‭61‬:‭8‬).

A.P.-Y. – Anneta Pinto-Young