Streaked, Speckled, and Spotted
(8 minutes)
The next story we're going to look at is going to show us that we become what we behold. If we keep our current point of view, it will keep producing the same thing in our lives over and over again. Whatever kingdom we're feeding from and being intimate with will determine what is being produced in our lives.
We're going to look at the life of Jacob. He's been working for his uncle, Laban, for years and he has already married Leah and Rachel, and has had plenty of children. Once Joseph, the favorite, was born, Jacob could finally make the decision to change his perspective and go back to his own country.
But Laban was a master manipulator and didn't want to lose Jacob, because he knew that so much of his success was tied to him. So Jacob struck up a deal. Jacob would stay and tend to Laban's flocks but he would start building his own wealth while he was there so he could support his family when they chose to leave. Here's where we pick up in the story:
“What wages do you want?” Laban asked again.
Jacob replied, “Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks. Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as my wages. In the future, when you check on the animals you have given me as my wages, you’ll see that I have been honest. If you find in my flock any goats without speckles or spots, or any sheep that are not black, you will know that I have stolen them from you.”
“All right,” Laban replied. “It will be as you say.” But that very day Laban went out and removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted or had white patches, and all the black sheep. He placed them in the care of his own sons, who took them a three-days’ journey from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for the rest of Laban’s flock.
Then Jacob took some fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of bark, making white streaks on them. Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated. And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. Jacob separated those lambs from Laban’s flock. And at mating time he turned the flock to face Laban’s animals that were streaked or black. This is how he built his own flock instead of increasing Laban’s.
Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of them. Then they would mate in front of the branches. But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s. As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, female and male servants, and many camels and donkeys. (Genesis 30:31-43 NLT)
The first thing we need to notice is how Jacob responded to Laban. He had just been mistreated, stolen from, and manipulated. And he didn't waste one single moment staring at that. He didn't waste one moment on Laban and how he had just been treated. He stepped right into the Kingdom solution that Yahweh had for this situation. That's incredible!
"Stop staring at what you don't have, and start asking Abba for solutions to the world's problems, primarily yours. But we spend so much time focusing on what's not happening, what we don't have, and what we're not getting that's due us." (Pastor Tim)
What Kingdom solutions are we missing out on because we are focusing on the wrong things?
"Until we change our point of view to match the Kingdom of God we will stay mired in the thinking of this world. We've got to come out of agreement with what the world says is possible, and start staring at what is possible." (Pastor Tim)
Jacob knew this Kingdom principle: we become what we behold. Whatever we focus on we will become. Jacob knew that this principle would work in his life, and he also knew it would work in the lives of the livestock that he shepherding. He knew that the only way to get streaked, speckled, and spotted sheep and goats was to have them focus on something that was streaked, speckled, and spotted. And that's exactly what he did.
When we focus on the wrong things and entertain this world's point of view, we relinquish the Kingdom authority and Kingdom solutions that Abba has given us.
We will always produce what we become intimate with. We will produce whatever point of view we become intimate with. So, what is your life producing? This will always tell us what we're being intimate with.
As you walk with Abba today, let Him put His finger on the areas of your life that need to start staring more at Him and His Kingdom. Come out of agreement with the world's point of view, and start feeding on Abba's perspective. Abba has Kingdom solutions for every area of our lives, but they can't be given to us as long as we're holding out our hands, while our hearts and minds are staring in a different direction.
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Worship: "We Make Space" by Melissa Helser
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