Genesis 30:28-33

Notice a strange thing related to the remainder of Genesis 30, when Laban told Jacob to name his wages. Jacob replied that he would not ask Laban to give him anything, instead to him would belong all sheep and goats that with thereafter be born speckled or spotted.

So he was doing the works part of faith, having faith that God would do the rest.

Today, and apparently back then also, the dominant color of Bedouin sheep is solid white and the dominant color Bedouin goats is dark brown or black. Spotted animals are in the minority and these are what Jacob proposed as his wages.

Moreover, he proposed to take only those that would be born thereafter and only those that would be born normally colored goats and sheep. This is why Laban removed that speckled animals from the others and place them in a three days journey away.

He may not have known much about genetics at that time, but he knew that speckled animals tend to give birth to speckled animals and solid colored animals tend to give birth to solid colored animals. Yet it was Jacob who proposed and welcomed this apparently disadvantageous arrangement, and he did so because he had faith in God.

His faith that God was going to bless him in spite of the cards not being stacked in his favor, and that he had been around animals for a long time and he knew that solid colored parents do sometimes give birth to speckled offspring, he felt very comfortable in making this agreement.

Now he would not be asking God for an outright miracle with no effort from him, but he would be depending on God to alter the percentages if he was to prosper. You have heard the old adage,” God helps those who help themselves,” and that this is certainly true here.