Deuteronomy Chapter 11 ~ 13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. 15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. 16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; 17 And then the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you. 18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: 21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. 22 For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; 23 Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.
I am not a farmer. I am not a connoisseur of horiticulture. I do not own a subscription to Better Homes and Gardens. I do not have one pair of gardening gloves. Dirt is dirty and I like it better on the ground instead of on me. I enjoy nothing about gardening. In fact, I do not even have a "green thumb". I do not grow a garden in the summer. I do not plant exotic flowers outside my home or hang ornate baskets from the shepherd's hook outside (actually there is one that someone gave me, and it's dead....imagine that! I can't keep anything alive). I just do not have an innate ability when it comes to growing things or caring for things that reside in soil. Perhaps it's due to not growing a garden in the summer or planting a lot of flowers, but I don't really pay a lot of attention to the lack of rain we have like I probably should or on the contrary, the abundance of it. It doesn't effect my career like it does others and so I really do not give it a lot of thought. Some people however depend on the rain for their livelihood and their families depend on the money they obtain from crops during the growing season. Their lives depend on the land, and then land depends on those people to cultivate and use it effectively.
In biblical days, the land was essential as it still is today. The land had to be utilized in every possible way to achieve it's full potential. People depended on the land for survival. They couldn't pick up a bag of genetically modified, chemical filled, processed cheesy puffs or the Big Mac in the drive-thru line. They needed the land for their food and their well being. They needed the land to be plentiful for their crops, and the animals that graze on it. In this passage of Deuteronomy, a promise in trade is made. If the people will serve and keep the commandments of the Lord, the promise of rain and prosperous land is made to them. While I do not have a green thumb, I am so glad that the Lord does! Their land is promised to be bountiful in yielding fruit. The Lord promised to care for the land and look after these people for all the days to come. They were being promised life, through this promise of rain and care taking of land. They were being promised the blessing of abundant life.
An opposite situation is also illustrated in this passage. The image of idolatry is presented clearly. Heed warning should be a heading atop this part of the scripture. If the people choose to NOT serve the Lord or turn to other God's and idols, there will be consequences. Contrary to the pleasantries existing in the first few verses, the people who do not take heed of his commandments and choose to serve false Gods, will crumble. No rain will fall. Fields will not yield fruit. The people will perish because of their disobedience to the Lord.
I do realize, even though I do not farm, that my life is very dependent on the land. Without the rain and thriving crops, my family would go hungry eventually. With that in my mind however, I also realize my income is not supplemented or created by farming or agriculture. I do not directly depend on the land/rain for my livelihood. I can however, still relate this passage to my own life.
God promises in Deuteronomy, the bearing of fruit. We have two choices, we can serve the Lord and follow the path he has set out for us, or we can deny him, depart from his will, and serve the world. We have two paths in which to take. One takes us down a road of blessing and bearing of fruit. The other, to destruction and death. I am thankful that in June of 1998, I chose the path of blessing. Although the path has become weedy and covered at times, it is cleared now. The brush has been removed and I am inherently seeking the will of God and receiving the blessings he has bestowed upon me. Seeing the fruit that has become plentiful in my life, from choosing to serve the Lord, is overwhelming. I pray that all of my life, I will continue to have a longing to serve him and that my family will serve with gladness and receive the promises God has made to us throughout the scripture.