Jacob's rods 

Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks.  He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. (Genesis 30 37 to 39) 

To leave Laban, Jacob agreed to tend Laban's flocks and receive all the speckled or spotted goats and dark-colored lambs as Jacob's wages.  Then Laban removed all such kinds of animals from his flocks so that any newborn would be nothing but white.  So, Laban wouldn't need to pay Jacob anything.  Then Jacob placed the peeled branches by the watering places.  By facing those rods, those white goats and lambs bore young that were streaked, speckled and spotted.  It seemed to be impossible.  Yet, in Numbers, it described something similar.  When Moses was leading Israel in the desert, they grew impatient and spoke against God and Moses.  So, God sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people, and many Israelis died.  Then people pleaded with Moses to pray for them to God.  God responded as below. 

And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”  So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. (Numbers 21: 8 9) 

People were cured by just facing the bronze snake on the rod.  They were not only cured from the outside wound but also the inside venom.  In the gospel of John, it states as below. 

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3: 14 15) 

We may not know how Jacob obtained the knowledge to transform those sheep, but by faith we know that we could be saved and transformed by just looking at Jesus on the cross.  We would not only be transformed but also receive eternal life.  No matter who we are, no matter what we have done, if we believe in Jesus Christ and look up to him then we would be saved and transformed.  Emmanuel. 

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