Working the land was something I had become so acquainted with that my past life seemed alien to me.  Who I was now became the identity I most closely associated with.  This in of itself was confusing.

I longed for home.  This desire had never changed since the first day I met Noah.  Nevertheless, I had become so comfortable with this life.  I felt as though I would struggle intensely to assimilate back into the time I belonged in.

As I was in these thoughts I heard Jacob calling my name.  He was walking towards my tent and when his eyes fell on me, he waved me over to him.  I got up and followed him as our walk took us outside of camp.

“Clay, it’s time to confront Laban.”
“Confront? About what?” I asked.
“Laban is using me, you know this.  It’s time for it to end and leave this place.” He replied.
“What’s your plan?”
“I want you with me when I confront him if that’s okay.  What I want from him is payment for the past years of labor and to be free from this servitude.” Jacob stated.

In truth he could just walk away.  If he did so it would be with nothing but the shirt on his back and his family.  The way in which Laban continually manipulated the situation resulted in Jacob being an indentured servant.  It was like the goal was to maintain this status as long as he could.

“Alright.  I will go with you, but expect to be harassed.  He’s going to come up with something.” I pointed out.
“I know.  I am prepared to do whatever is needed.” Jacob was too confident it seemed.

A short while later we rode to Laban’s home.  It was coming close to evening and Laban’s family would be returning soon.  Jacob and I sat by the door of Laban’s home waiting.  Neither of us spoke much.  I could tell Jacob was a little nervous.

On the other hand, my mind began to wander.  I tend to associate the dumbest things together at the craziest of times.  I mean, here we are essentially sitting on Laban’s front porch.  A few thousand years from now you will still find people sitting on their porch.  Some things never change.

“Jacob!” It was Laban.  His thundering voice broke my concentration on porches.
“Hello Laban.” Jacob rose and embraced him.
“I see you brought my old friend Clay.” I really wasn’t his friend but it’s all family politics.
“What have you come for?” Laban asked.
“I need to discuss business” Jacob replied.

Laban invited us into his home and we sat at a low table on the floor.  I was immediately suspicious.  Any business that is done indoors is typically conducted with an audience of family representatives.  Here we had no one but us.  I didn’t like it.

We were brought tea and after some small talk the negotiations would begin.
“So, what is it you have come here for Jacob?”
“I have served you for many years now.  I have come to ask you to allow me, my wives, and my children to leave from here and start on our own.”  Jacob was quick to get to the point.

I could see the immediate change on Laban’s face.  In truth he had no right to withhold this from Jacob.  If the truth were to be told Laban owed Jacob a great deal for how prosperous he had become because of Jacob’s work.  The next phase of this would come down to payment.

“I understand.  If you will please hear me out.” Laban began. “I have come to know that God has blessed me because you are blessed by Him.  Please stay a little longer.  If you do, what would you ask in return?”

Here is where I was going to get nervous.  I knew that Jacob would be owed a lot based upon what I saw.  The cattle and other livestock that he managed had multiplied beyond any expectations.  I knew Laban would not want to give Jacob what he was owed.  It was Jacob’s time to set the price.

“You are right in that many blessings have come.  If I continue with you for a time, allow me to take any speckled and spotted stock that would be born.  In this way, if any solid color animal is found among mine, then you will know it belongs to you.” Jacob’s price was named.

When I heard this, I was shocked.  Laban’s livestock was predominantly cattle, sheep, and goats, but very few were speckled or spotted.  The dominant trait was solid colors.  Keep in mind I was from an archeology and anthropology background, not science.  Even I knew this was a very bad idea.

“Okay!  Excellent!  We have an arrangement then.” Laban’s face gleamed bright.
“Very well.  I will get to work.” Jacob replied as he stood and embraced Laban once more.

After we exited the house I waited until we were mounted and riding away.  I wanted some distance between us and any ears that would hear my thoughts.  After a few minutes I turned my horse to face him and stopped.

“Have you gone crazy?” I demanded.
“Clay, don’t worry.”
“What do you mean don’t worry?  You know Laban will cut his herds and remove the speckled and spotted stock so you are left at a disadvantage.  You will have nothing to work with.” I replied.

Jacob just looked at me and smiled.  I was so confused.  He would now be dependent upon a recessive genetic trait that he could not see.  It would be a complete shot in the dark much like a roll of the dice.  The deal was a really bad deal.

“Don’t worry Clay.  Yah gave me a dream.  All I have to do is my part; He will take care of the rest.”
“Are you sure about this?” I asked.
“Absolutely.  You will see.  First, we need to prepare.” He replied.
“Alright, I will see you in the morning.  This I have got to see.” I said with serious doubt.

Jacob’s Breeding Program

The next morning I met with Jacob at the stables.  We were by the watering troughs.  What I saw confused me further, at least at first.  On the ground by the troughs, I saw willow, poplar, and almond bark, twigs, and leaves.  It was then it hit me.

I learned from Shem how these tree species would produce a boost to immunity for livestock.  Naturally a healthier animal would be better for breeding.  It was here a flash back in memory to a college class came back to me.

When I was in my grad program, I read a study where these species produced a higher concentration of nitrogen, condensed tannin, and water soluble carbohydrates.  This aided in protein absorption and thus increased reproductive rates by as much as thirty percent.

In my early days with Shem, we used them to simply keep livestock healthy.  You steep them in water and the animals would simply drink.  It was an effective solution that was commonly used.  In this time no one realized or noticed the impact it had on reproduction.

“Thank you for coming Clay.” Jacob was smiling.
“Yeah, sure.  Nathan and Jared are coming too.”
“Let’s begin.” Jacob was excited.

We began setting the bark, leaves, and twigs into the water.  Nathan and Jared along with Jacob’s men began to round up the herds one at a time.  As the females would water it would not take long for the mating process to begin.

This process would continue through time.  It would take a little under five months before the first sheep were born.  Then it was the goats which would birth right at five months.  After this it was the cattle at around nine months.  What happened stunned me.

Not only was the birth rate multiplied, but the offspring were spotted and speckled.  It was just as Jacob had said it would be.  He told me that God showed him the outcome.  Here I could see the proof.  It was nothing short of a miracle that the recessive traits became the dominant birthed animals.

Jacob’s Secret Getaway

As time progressed the number of Jacob’s animals multiplied significantly.  Laban had tried to switch the agreement multiple times.  Each time it was changed the offspring would yield to Jacob’s favor.  It was unlike anything I had ever seen.

I was out with the sheep early one morning when Nathan came walking up to me.  The look on his face was grim.  I had come to know the look of trouble with Nathan due to his face seemed to carry subtitles with it.

“Hey Clay.”
“What’s going on?” I asked.

It was a cool morning which was nice.  The heat of the day would arrive soon where the animals would graze and then rest.  No one was around thankfully, and we could speak freely.

“It’s Laban and his sons.” Nathan began.
“I was over by their field getting some strays.  One of his sons began making off color comments about Jacob stealing all that his father had.  He said that Jacob shouldn’t be allowed to take any of the animals.”  Nathan’s report was exactly what I had been fearing could happen.

“Have you told Jacob?” I asked
“Yeah and I told Jared.  Apparently Jacob had already heard of this and he had a secret meeting with Leah and Rachel early this morning.”
“What did they say?” I was getting anxious.
“We are leaving in the dark tomorrow morning.  Jacob’s men will gather the herds.  He asked if we could run guard providing security when we leave.”

My heart began to sink.  I knew we could most likely get away, but it wouldn’t go without being noticed.  The point is that they couldn’t stop us once we were in motion, but they could come after us once they gathered manpower.  This could get ugly.

“Alright.  This has to happen at some point.  I guess it might as well be now.” I replied.  “Tell Jared to prepare with Xiang and Yu.  We are going to be one massive slow moving target.”

A Departure In The Early Morning

Early the next morning before the sun rose everyone was on the move.  Thankfully there was some distance between us and Laban’s camp.  We tried to be careful so that we would not be seen.

It was not until later that we discovered it would take three days before Laban noticed that we had left.  This in of itself I would have imagined to be impossible.  One thing I was sure of at the time is that Laban would come find us.

That morning we left was cool and dark.  Our security detail was stretched from the rear of the caravan to its middle.  I was truly afraid that we would be hit, but that day no one came.

Jacob had decided that we would return to his father Isaac.  This would place us in a dangerous position.  Laban would be behind us, and Esau could easily be laying in front of us.  Whatever happened next it would require another miracle for us to survive.

After we crossed the river and were arriving at Mt Gilead I wondered if we managed to slip away. A total of ten days had passed since leaving.  That initial moment of hope and comfort would quickly be stolen.

“Clay!” Yu came screaming while at full speed on his horse.
“Whoa Yu, slow down, what’s going on?” Nathan tried to calm him.
“Laban comes.  He has an army with him.  They are moving much faster than we can and will be here soon.” Yu explained.

“This is going to be bad.” Jared stated
“Yeah I will go tell Jacob.” I replied.
“Do you want us to set up for an attack or to defend?” Jared asked.
“Neither.  Let’s give Jacob a chance to decide.” I stated.

I mounted my horse and rode to inform Jacob that Laban was coming.  With whatever happened next I knew that people were about to die.  It would be impossible for us to defend against any attack.  We simply did not have the manpower, nor did anyone have that kind of training.