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Does Jacobs use of Poplar rods contradict genetics?
Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 8:14 pm
by Tomas99
I heard an atheist bring this up, saying that genetics arent affected by poplar rods, so this is false.
37Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white which was in the rods.
38He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the gutters, even in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink.
39So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted.
Was it a miracle than?
Re: Does Jacobs use of Poplar rods contradict genetics?
Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 9:27 pm
by Jac3510
Yes. Miracle. I've actually never heard anyone suggest that this wasn't a miracle.
Re: Does Jacobs use of Poplar rods contradict genetics?
Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 6:06 pm
by Tomas99
Huh. Thanks. I see now, it actually is quite similar to Moses hitting the rock with a stick in the desert to produce water now that i think about it.
Re: Does Jacobs use of Poplar rods contradict genetics?
Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 4:50 am
by Starhunter
Laban, Jacob's father in law, was a shrewd man, and a con artist. He agreed with Jacob who had looked after both flocks, that he could have all the striped and dotted cattle or goats and sheep, knowing full well that the striped goats were wild and tended to breed seasonally, whereas the plain brown sheep/goats were aseasonal, they would breed all year. Job 39:1-4.
Jacob chose the stripped and mottled, because they were in the minority and because he knew how stingy Laban was. He would have lost in the deal, but God showed Jacob something about the wild ones in a dream. There were mountains around the deserts, covered in snow during the winter. The wild ones were tough breeders, they had very little loss at birth, while the brown ones were not so tough.
The wild ones used to live in the mountains and sometimes mingled with the domesticated ones, and every winter when the grass was covered, they would start nibbling, chewing and stripping the bark of the trees, leaving a green odor and stripes on the trunks and branches. This time coincided with their normal breeding season and stimulated the goats to ovulate and breed ready for the spring births.
So when Jacob made the striped sticks and branches near the watering troughs, it stimulated the wild goats to breed, even out of season. And because of their successful births, he had a strong flock.