This morning I felt like reading fro the Prophet Hosea, not one of my usual stops. I like rereading some of the minor prophets on occasion to remind myself of the religious climate and understanding that Jesus came into, to bring revelation of the Father! My verses for today are as follows - Hosea 10:12-13 NIV:
[12] "Sow righteousness for yourselves,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.
[13] But you have planted wickedness,
you have reaped evil,
you have eaten the fruit of deception.
Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors,"
I was just looking at some of the original language, and saw that the NASB translation reads a bit differently, which is closer to the original language, although not as easy to understand. Here are the same verses from the NASB - Hosea 10:12-13 NASB:
[12] "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.
[13] You have plowed wickedness,
you have reaped injustice,
You have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your way, in your numerous warriors,"
Sometimes it is good to compare the different translations, to see how certain verses are translated a bit differently. Although these read quite similar there are some significant differences that we can see. If we look at just at the concept of sowing and reaping, we see different things sowed and reaped according to the two translations:
NIV - Sow righteousness, reap fruit of unfailing love - sow wickedness, reap evil
NASB - sow (not stated) but with a view to righteousness, reap (not stated) in accordance with kindness - sow (not mentioned), reap injustice.
In my mind the NIV is easier to understand, especially in view of sowing and reaping. The idea the author is trying to bring out is that sowing and reaping are related, and we see this in the New Testament as well, as Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians 6:7-9 NIV: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. [8] Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. [9] Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
The key here is that in verse 12 - Hosea says we should sow - looking to God, seeking Him, sowing righteousness into our lives and the fields around us. We are called to look to God and depend on Him. In verse 13, Hosea is identifying the problem with depending on our own human thoughts and own works and dependence. We can think that we don't need God, and we end up eating the fruit of deception or lies, which is never good.
This was a regular theme for the Jews, and God was constantly calling them back to Himself, asking them to rely on Him, rather than on their own ideas and thoughts. They rejected His leadership at one point (1 Sam 8:4-9) and asked for a human King to rule them, like the other nations around them. They were constantly forgetting the statutes of the Lord, which were given to them to keep them focused on God and listening to Him. In the same way, Paul was writing about sowing and reaping - either looking to ourselves (flesh) or looking to God through the Holy Spirit.
We see the natural rule of sowing and reaping all around us, if we plant an acorn an Oak tree will grow, if we plant a corn kernel, corn will grow, if we plant a carrot seed, a carrot will grow. In this case, the sowing and reaping are about our attitudes and reliance. If we sow our own thoughts and ideas, depending only on ourselves, we reap the fruit of that, and it is not good. If we sow God's word into our lives we reap the fruit of that -- as God's unfailing love, and His righteousness showering down on us.
If we want to be fruitful in an area of our life, bearing good fruit that is pleasing to us and God, then we need to sow the right seed. Breaking up fallow ground is the addressing of unfruitful areas of our life. It is areas where we could bear fruit, but nothing has been planted (the definition of fallow - according to Webster's Dictionary). God is inviting them (and us) to look at their lives, to see areas where they have not allowed His Word to be planted, that they might have a harvest in the next growing season in that area.
I believe that God wants us to be fruitful in all areas of our life, and if we are not seeing good fruit in an area, or any fruit, then we should be looking to see what it will take to plow that area up and plant it with God's word. If you aren't seeing Godly fruit in the area of your relationships, then maybe you need to ask the Lord, what to do, how to plow and what to plant from His word! If you are not experiencing the blessing of God in the area of your finances, then maybe you need to take a good look at what you are planting. This principle works in all areas of our lives, and the Lord uses this simple law to draw us deeper in Him. He says if we will reap according to Him, and wait on Him, seeking Him, He will rain down on us His righteousness, and we will reap the fruit of His unfailing Love.
This morning I am encouraged to look at my life, to consider how I am sowing and what I am sowing, and whether I have any fallow ground in my life. I want to be fruitful, bearing good fruit in every area! I don't want to leave areas of my life unfruitful, and thus I am asking God for understanding and a plan, concerning any areas that seem unfruitful. He does love me and desires the best for me, so it is only right that I turn to Him, seeking His guidance and direction, pointing me to those places in His Word (Seed) and helping me to sow that into my life. Sometimes it might take a little plowing to get that area of my life ready, but I know its for the sake of bearing good fruit. I know that God will be faithful to send the rain to water the seed that I might bear good fruit!
Amen!
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