Wednesday, Aug. 28
Genesis 29:31 – 30:43 Read it here
The contest between Jacob and Laban to out-cheat each other takes a weird turn when Jacob uses an improbable plot to get the best sheep and goats for himself. However questionable the biology behind the plan, it seems to have resulted in him enriching himself at Laban’s expense. Considering Laban’s history of double-crossing him, though, it’s hard to be too sympathetic.
In the meantime, Jacob’s wives and their servants were also being prolific, starting a family that would eventually grow to 12 sons and a daughter.
In spite of all the family drama, Jacob is well on is way to seeing God’s promise fulfilled. Each of his sons will in turn be the father of one of the 12 tribes of Israel, which take their names.
Rachel, Jacob’s first and greatest love, is finally able to conceive after many years of barrenness, and is the mother of the favorite son, Joseph. She will later bear one more son, Benjamin.
Jacob, though still living in the household of his father-in-law, grows in wealth. Ultimately, though, it will be his sons and his place as the father of God’s people that earn him a place in history.

P.S. Leah and Rachel seem to engage in the family practice of questionable dealings when Leah conspires with her son, Reuben, to follow a folk remedy and use mandrakes to bring fertility. Rachel then makes a deal to get the mandrakes from her…ironically, the mandrakes don’t seem to help Rachel, but Leah conceives again.