SOWING & REAPING 2 | GOD'S BLESSING

1. Sowing and reaping

a) Most of the Bible was originally written to those living in an agrarian society, people familiar with working the land, managing livestock, and raising crops. Many of Jesus’ parables involve the farming life. Not surprisingly, then, the Bible contains many references to sowing and reaping, and here are some of the principles we learn.

b) Found throughout Scripture, the idea of sowing and reaping is an important principle imparting wisdom for both this world and the next.

2. God's blessing

i) God’s blessing comes generally to the whole world as He sends sun and rain to the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). In some cases His blessing comes more specially to those of His choosing, such as Isaac. Genesis 26:12 says that Isaac sowed a crop and received a hundredfold in one season because the Lord targeted him for blessing.

ii) Israel’s gratefulness for God’s yearly blessing was expressed in the Feast of Firstfruits, when the first of the harvest was brought to the Lord as an offering (Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 23:10).

iii) God warned Israel that, if they forsook Him and pursued idols, the law of sowing and reaping would be suspended and their crops would fail (Leviticus 26:16). This happened to disobedient Judah on a couple occasions (Jeremiah 12:13; Micah 6:15).