Hello! Welcome to today’s Bible study on Genesis 30. According to Bible scholars, the events of Genesis 30 took place in 1921 B.C. – 1916 B.C. approximately.
I encourage you to turn to Genesis 30 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study Genesis 30. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is only through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God. He is my teacher and He is also your teacher. No one else can teach you better than the Holy Spirit Himself. I write these bible studies to share with you what the Holy Spirit has taught me and my observations. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you want to know.
In the Bible Study on Genesis 29, we read about how Jacob served his uncle Laban and how he ended up with two wives – Leah and Rachel. In today’s Bible study on Genesis 30, we will read about Jacob’s growing family and wealth.
Genesis 30 is a continuation of Genesis 29. There is a lot of deception and jealousy involved.
Backstory: Jacob had an agreement with Laban to work for him for seven years in exchange for his daughter Rachel’s hand in marriage. After the seven years were over, Laban deceived Jacob and gave him his older daughter Leah instead. Jacob then worked another seven years for Rachel.
Without any further delay, let us study together Genesis Chapter 30, shall we?
Genesis 30 at a glance
01
Genesis 30:1-24
Jacob’s Wives and Children
Rachel is unable to bear children and gives her servant Bilhah to Jacob, who bears Dan and Naphtali. Leah then gives her servant Zilpah to Jacob, and she bears Gad and Asher. Leah herself bears Issachar, Zebulun and a daughter named Dinah. Rachel then bears Joseph and said that God has taken away her reproach and asked the Lord for another son.
02
Genesis 30:25-34
Jacob’s Negotiation
Now, after many years, Jacob asked Laban to let him leave with his family since he had served Laban faithfully. However, Laban pleaded with him to stay, saying the Lord had blessed him because of Jacob.
Jacob negotiates with Laban about his wages for caring for Laban’s flocks. Jacob proposes to remove all the speckled, spotted, and brown animals from Laban’s herds as his payment. This was to ensure Jacob’s honesty, as any animals not of those colors found with Jacob could be considered stolen, if questioned later. Laban agreed to Jacob’s terms.
03
Genesis 30:35-36
Laban’s Deception
Being evil and deceptive, on the same day that Laban made an agreement with Jacob regarding his wages, Laban secretly removed from the flock all the speckled, spotted and brown male and female animals and sent them away with his (Laban’s) sons. In doing so, he left Jacob with the rest of the solid coloured flock and didn’t pay the wages that Jacob had negotiated with him.
He didn’t want to pay Jacob’s wages but wanted him to multiply his own flock and become rich off of the efforts of Jacob. Laban also put a three days’ journey distance between himself and Jacob.
04
Genesis 30:37-43
Jacob’s Prosperity
Jacob separated peeled branches of poplar, almond, and chestnut trees and placed them in the water troughs where the flocks came to drink. This caused the animals to reproduce streaked, speckled, and spotted offspring (even though the mating animals were not spotted because Laban had removed them from the flock) that Jacob retained as his wages according to the agreement he made with Laban. When the stronger livestock came to drink, Jacob would place the rods in front of them so they would conceive streaked, speckled and spotted offspring. Jacob separated these animals from Laban’s herds.
Whenever the feeble flocks came to drink, he did not use the rod method. Thus the feebler animals belonged to Laban while stronger, patterned animals belonged to Jacob. Jacob’s livestock multiplied greatly as a result.
Jacob became exceedingly prosperous with camels and donkeys besides having large flocks and female and male servants.
Note:
We will later see in Genesis 31, how Jacob attributes the success of his peculiar action (of breeding animals) to a special dream that he had from the Lord. It was the Lord who prospered what he did.
Genesis 30: Some Observations
1. Genesis 30:1-24 | Observation
Here, we witness the intense jealousy between Jacob’s wives Rachel and Leah. Both of them desired Jacob’s love and affection, and they competed with each other by trying to bear him more children.
Rachel, being barren, even went to the extent of allowing her sister Leah to spend a night with Jacob in exchange for some mandrakes that Reuben had harvested. She believed that the mandrakes would make her more fertile and help her conceive.
Jacob was caught up in a complicated relationship with four different women – the two sisters Rachel and Leah, as well as their maids Zilpah and Bilhah. As a result, he had two wives and two concubines.
2. Genesis 30:35 | Observation
Laban was not honest with Jacob, his son-in-law. Despite speaking to Jacob in a smooth manner, Laban took advantage of him and refused to pay him his rightful wages. It was clear that Laban had no intention of fulfilling his promise to Jacob.
3. Genesis 30:37-42 | Observation
Through divine guidance from the Lord, Jacob was able to increase his flock successfully, even though he did not have any to begin with. Laban had already removed the speckled and spotted sheep and goats (Jacob’s rightful wages) and handed them over to his sons. It was God’s hand at work as He prospered Jacob.
Three useful lessons we can learn from Genesis 30
1. You either trust the Lord or you don’t
Rachel received mandrakes from Reuben, Leah’s son, to increase her fertility and conceive. However, using the mandrakes did not result in conception. Eventually, God opened Rachel’s womb when it was time. Rachel trusted the mandrakes more than she trusted the Lord. However, she failed to understand that God is the only one who can open and close wombs, not mandrakes.
2. Talk is cheap, but actions speak louder than words.
Laban used his smooth words to deceive Jacob. He promised to pay Jacob’s wages and even claimed that God had blessed him because of Jacob’s presence. However, Laban acted wrongly towards Jacob by taking away all the speckled and spotted animals that Jacob had originally asked for.
Deceivers often deceive people with their smooth and sweet words, just like Laban did with Jacob. Therefore, it’s always better to not blindly trust someone solely based on what they say. We should always look at their actions and decide if they are trustworthy or not. Talk is cheap, but actions speak louder than words.
3. When the Lord blesses you, you will prosper
The Lord can use unconventional methods to bless you. When the Lord’s favor is upon you, regardless of who tries to deceive you, you will still prosper. An example of this is seen with Jacob, who acted under divine guidance when he separated and peeled almond, poplar, and chestnut tree rods and placed them strategically before his flock to help them multiply. As a result, the flock came out spotted and speckled.
Despite Laban’s attempt to cheat Jacob out of his wages, the Lord still blessed Jacob. As long as you trust in the Lord and obey Him, no one can prevent your prosperity.
Conclusion
This concludes the bible study lesson on Genesis 30. I hope you learnt something from this free bible study and found it helpful in your Bible study journey. Feel free to share it with others. Also, share your thoughts about it and what the Holy Spirit has revealed to you about Genesis 30. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Until Next Time, God-willing!