Sow Righteousness

Hosea 10:12   The entire chapter of Hosea 10 shows how sinful the people of Israel had become.  It talks of them planting wickedness and reaping evil.  It speaks of idol worship and depending on themselves instead of God.

But there is one little section in that chapter that stood out in my mind.  Verse 12 gives them advice and a promise.  Hosea tells them:

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.”

This verse says to “sow” with a view to righteousness.  Sowing takes effort if you have a result in mind.  If, without a thought, I just scatter the seeds of my days without thinking – I am tossing my efforts to nothing. 

The way we live – sow, in this world - affects other people.  It affects our own lives.  It affects creation.  And dare I say it – it affects even God.  

That’s a little hard to believe, but if what we do has no effect on Him, then why would He have banished Adam and Eve from the garden.  Why would He have cleansed the world with the flood?  Why would He have been willing to become a man, to lead us and bring us back to Him?

So, we’re told to sow righteousness – that is, to sow with righteousness as the seeds, and the knowledge of God's unfailing love as the fruit we will harvest after the plowing.

I believe that it’s time for the world to seek the Lord.  

It’s time for me to break up my own unplowed ground.  I was thinking that this scripture may be saying, "seek the Lord in a way you’ve never done before."  The unplowed ground is a new place – not your old garden bed.  The scripture goes on to say we are to keep doing that until He comes back to take us with Him. 

Then He will shower His godly righteousness upon us.

I want to “break up my own unplowed ground.”  

But I wonder what that will involve in the next season of my life.  

Maybe my Heavenly Father will say to me.

Look around my child, and see the world.
Look around my child and cry,
for effort lost and gardens dry.

Look around my child, MY strength apply.
Then plow and plant for righteousness
in unplowed ground - in emptiness.
Look up to Me and try.