Jacob's Stick Trick with sheep, goats, & cattle

Jacob's Stick Trick or God's Wisdom

by JWing
skeptical contribution by run_gavagai_run on G+

Knowledge of Genetics Indicated

Genesis 30:32-26
32 I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.
33 So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
34 And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
35 And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
36 And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.

We now know white to be dominant in sheep and all black to be recessive. While Laban immediately yanked all spotted sheep, goats, and cows to not give any animals to Jacob. So this means only the cows and sheep of a solid color, like all white and all black would have been left in Jacob's care. However in his haste to cheat Jacob out of any pay, what Laban failed to realize was what we now know in genetics that the dominate traits can mask the recessive traits of speckled and streaks. They are called heterozygous.

This means every single one of the speckled and spotted were completely recessive (bb). Laban had simply removed all the pure recessives (bb) from the herd and left Jacob with all the ones that only LOOKED unspotted and unspeckled (BB & Bb). 2/3 of the remainer of the herd still carried the recessive trait of spotted and speckled, hidden by the dominate trait of all white. So the herds under Jacob's care had the genes for speckled and streaks.

Unraveling the Mysterious Trees & Mother's Diet

Genesis 30:37-39
37 And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.
39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.

For a long time no one could figure out what these peeled rods of green poplar, hazel, and chestnut trees would do to cause ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. Some atheist to this day jeer at the Bible as they view this as nothing but fantasy, fables, lies, and the outright use of sorcery. However science itself has discovered WHAT THE MOTHER EATS CAN AFFECT THE OFFSPRING.

Some of the mothers consumed supplements high in very simple molecular compounds that zip around the genome turning off genes. One silenced gene was for yellow fur; when it is turned off, the mouse's fur color defaults to brown. For the mice, it wasn't just that "you are what you eat," but that you are what your mother ate, too." --biologists at Duke University Med Center, Durham, N.C.

"It's becoming unavoidable to conclude that there's something going on beside just genetics,"..."In people, a FOREBEAR'S DIET CAN INFLUENCE obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. In mice, DIET CAN INFLUENCE body weight, blood pressure and EVEN FUR COLOR. Because examples of this inheritance are only starting to emerge, scientists still don't know the full extent to which diet influences health. But they may be starting to figure out how." --'Molecular and Cellular Biology: Aug 2009' by Dr. Robert Waterland & Randy Jirtle, nutritionist at Duke University Med Center in Durham, N.C., reported in Dallas Morning News

These female mice (pictured above) are genetically identical, yet a change in the diet of the pregnant and nursing mothers is the reason the mouse on the right is brown instead of yellow and thin instead of obese.

Therefore the Bible is shown by science to be 100% right that what the mating herd's mothers drank in their water affected them coming out spotted and speckled. Did Jacob know about this or was it told to him by an all knowing God of the Bible?

Ref: Mom’s Diet During Pregnancy Can Affect Child’s Lifetime Cancer Risk | Mom's Diet Right Before Pregnancy Can Alter Baby's Genes | What a Woman Eats Before Conception Affects Her Child's DNA | EUFIC: Nutritional programming – mother’s diet and baby’s health

Selective Breeding to Keep the Strongest & Healthiest Animals

40 And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.
41 And it came to pass, whensoever the STRONGER cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.
42 But when the cattle were FEEBLE, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.
43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

Now that we know diet not only turns genes on and off and even can make recessive traits come out as is the case with the recessive brown fur of the mice. Therefore we know scientifically the recessive spotted and speckled animals came forth when the mothers drank from the water laced with the sap of the 3 trees. All that remained was for Jacob to simply put it into the water of the strongest animals of the herd to produce spotted animals that were stronger and healthier.

This is simple selective breeding and not as stunning as the previous ability to turn genes on and off by simple diet of the mothers.

Conclusion
Here again we see God's divine wisdom in genetics at play some 3700 years ago, and today verified by science & medicine. This goes to show even the stuff atheist want to point to as proving the Bible is filled with fables and legend, all have hard science and real life truth in them. The Bible proves itself undisputed with statement of facts long before anyone knew anything about genetics and how diet can change it.

Because the Bible is completely trustworthy even with these hard to crack TRUTHS, we know we can trust the Bible in everything, including those about the spiritual. The Bible says ALL men have sinned and come short of the perfection in Thoughts, Motives, Intents, and Deeds required by a perfect, holy God. And so, by default, we have to go to Hell because God can not allow sin into Heaven nor into His presence. But the Bible said that God demonstrated His love for us to provide a way out of Hell, by sending His only Son Jesus to die as payment for all our sins. The Bible says if we simply Believe on Jesus by inviting Him to be our savior from ALL our sins, we will be saved. Won't you do that today? Pray this prayer and BELIEVE ON JESUS.

Dear Lord God. I know I am a sinner and need your gift of salvation from my sins. I BELIEVE IN JESUS, the Son of God, as my personal Savior. I believe that His death on the cross and resurrection provides forgiveness for ALL my sins past, present, & future. Please forgive all my sins and come into my heart and life. I hereby trust in Jesus FINISHED WORK alone, and NOT upon me & my "good works", as sufficient to make me right with you and fit for Heaven. Please forgive ALL my sins and come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Seal me with your Holy Spirit until the day you come to take me home. In your Son Jesus’ name. Amen.