HOSEA 10:12: “Sow for yourselves, with a view to righteousness; Harvest in accordance with kindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, For it is time to seek the Lord Until He comes and rains righteousness on you.” NASB

OBSERVATION: Sowing is an important principle in the Bible. Paul speaks of it in the New Testament when he says,

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Gal 6:7 NKJV)

A great deal of emphasis is placed on sowing today in the church. However, it is usually in the context of giving. The enemy is very subtle in how he gets us to move away from God’s heart and original intent. While the giving of our tithes and offerings is an important part of discipleship it is not the heart of sowing and reaping.

The heart of God is that we sow with a view to righteousness. Both the nations of Israel and Judah were very religious. They tithed, they attended worship, and they followed the festivals. Yet, their hearts had turned away from God. They were going through the motions and nothing was changing in their lives.

God speaks through Hosea. When we sow, we are to sow with a view to righteousness. The harvest God delights in is the harvest of the heart. It is a harvest of kindness. A harvest of love toward Him and toward our fellow man. God is not concerned about what we have or what we have accumulated. God is concerned about our hearts.

So, it is time to break up the uncultivated field of our hearts. It is time to plow the areas where we have become hardened, insensitive, and indifferent. It is time to sow seeds of righteousness and wait for the Lord to bring His reign of righteousness into our hearts and lives. The text uses the word rain, but this is a picture of the outpouring of His Spirit upon our lives. We begin to cultivate a harvest when we submit to the Holy Spirit and the reign of God in our lives.

The Lordship of Jesus Christ and His fruit growing in our lives is the fruit of righteousness. Whenever we equate righteousness with anything in this life we have missed the mark. Nothing in this life will last except the fruit that we have cultivated in Christ. Every seed of love, every act of kindness, every act of mercy in the name of Jesus Christ will bring forth an eternal harvest.

Neither Israel nor Judah were aware of how far they had fallen. I think this is true of many of our lives and the church in America. I do not say this from a lofty peak looking down in disgust and judgment. I say this from my knees, yielded before the cross of Jesus Christ, and recognizing that it is I who needs to break up the uncultivated ground of my heart.

We need a revival in America to turn the tide of our culture and our land. This revival starts with me. It does not start until I am willing to come to Jesus once again with a fully open and surrendered heart. I must reevaluate my seed. I must be honest about my harvest. I must break up the uncultivated ground through sincere repentance. I must sow the seed of His Word in my heart and in the world.

In every true revival, there has been an awareness of the spiritual emptiness of the heart and the need for God’s Word. I think of the words of Jesus to the church of Laodecia.

“Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.” (Rev 3:17-19 NKJV)

The only way to be zealous for God is to repent. The only way to break up the uncultivated ground is to repent. The only way to experience true revival and the fruit of righteousness is to repent and sow with a view toward righteousness. It is time to lay down the seed that the world has tried to pass off as God’s seed and take up the true seed of repentance and righteousness.

Lord, help me to pray the prayer that David prayed as he stood before you with a fully broken and contrite heart.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.” (Psa 51:10-13 NKJV)

In Jesus’ Name!