Fallow Ground
In my bible reading today…
Sow with a view to righteousness,
Reap in accordance with kindness;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD until He
comes to rain righteousness on you.
~ Hosea 10:12
I have a note written in my Bible that says:
“in order to bring a field into cultivation a massive turning plow must be run through it followed by criss-cross dicing to break up the clods into fine earth suitable to receive seed and rain.”
Ouch!
I think most of us like the idea of what rain means in this passage — God’s Presence, great worship, the anointing of the Spirit, powerful prayer. And I think most of us like the idea of seed — receiving God’s promises for a better and greater future, believing in faith for Him to fulfill His Word, and the hope of a future harvest in our lives.
We love to quote verses that bring us hope and joy like…
Isaiah 44:3 “For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants”
Isaiah 45:8 “Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds pour down righteousness; let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, and righteousness spring up with it. I, the LORD, have created it.”
But THE ONLY WAY to gain a harvest is to have a plow tear up your heart, and make you soft and ready to fully receive the Seed of His Word and the Rain of His Spirit.
We need to listen to the encouragement of Isaiah’s writings and the Psalms AS WELL AS hard nosed prophets like Hosea and Jeremiah: “For the LORD says to Judah and Jerusalem, “Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns.” Jer 4:3
