(Proverbs 12:11) He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.
I was explaining to my daughter today something of my understanding of the Bible. I usually need a topic of interest to keep me interested. I don’t learn much just reading here and there. I need a specific topic or question or doctrine at the forefront of my thinking in order that my studies be productive. I was telling her this to encourage her to study her bible.
To my surprise, she answered this, “Boundaries inspire creativity.” She has been taking a writing course of late and this is something apparently she has already learned. But when she said that I said bingo! Boundaries inspire creativity! So this verse got me thinking about our efforts in bible reading and study.
He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread…
Farmers don’t just throw seed out wherever and whenever. No, they prepare the soil. And they plant specific seed in specific soil at a specific time. There is a plan that must be developed. There is preparation that must be done. There is a program that must be followed. Without it, you can forget the bread.
Our daily bread…
Jesus himself says (Matthew 6:11) Give us this day our daily bread. Daily bread suggests regiment. There must be a plan or a program. It suggests frequency. Once a week is insufficient. It suggests a consistent effort. Sporadic consumption is insufficient. It suggests work. For the satisfaction of bread is not possible without first the tilling of the land.
Now Paul said to the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 3:10) For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. Daily bread to me suggests daily work.
The parable of the sower…
Think about the parable of the sower. (Matthew 13:18) Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. The parable of the sower is usually applied to many as opposed to one. For example, the way side is one individual, stony places is another individual, among thorns is another individual, and then the seed is sown in good ground which is the final individual. And when Jesus interprets his own parable he speaks of the different individuals respectively: he which received the seed by the way side, he that received the seed in stony places, he that received seed among thorns, and he that received seed into the good ground.
But when we apply this, why does he always have to be different people? There’s no reason in the world to believe that one individual is one single bed of good ground, never to be tilled, cleaned, weeded, harrowed, and fertilized. Every saved individual is plagued and hindered by the wicked one, tribulation and persecution, the care of this world, the deceitfulness of riches. The prophet Jeremiah said (Jeremiah 4:3) Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. It’s your fallow ground. Those thorns are on your ground. Everybody has got fallowed ground… if we’re honest.
When you look at it like this, there’s so many ways to apply this. Our whole being is one big farm in which the husbandman, the sower, the farmer, wants to cultivate, plant, grow, and reap. (John 15:8) Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. Paul said (Romans 7:4) that we should bring forth fruit unto God. There are way sides in your heart; stony places untouched; and thorns to be reckoned with. Even a patch of good ground, fertile and rich, when left unattended and neglected, will be rendered useless and fruitless in time.
Dig it and dung it…
Consider Jesus’ parable of the unfruitful fig tree. (Luke 13:7-8) Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?8And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: This really is not rocket science. We’ve been farming since the days of Adam. You till up the bad stuff and till in the good stuff. The point is that He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread…
So when I think of what my daughter said, “Boundaries inspire creativity.” I see the furrows of corn, rows of cotton, and fields of sorghum. I’m from Texas. That’s all they grow down there. But they didn’t sow all manner of seed in a field in some haphazard method. No, whole fields where dedicated to one crop. The field was prepared throughout the year. The furrows were made. The seed was planted in a consistent fashion within those boundaries. And as the seed came up it was cared for. It was sprayed for insects. It was harrowed. And this was done for every field for every crop.
Let me ask you this. Do you have boundaries in your bible study? Do you have a plan or a program? Are you tilling the land? This is why people ought to go to Sunday school; because if you don’t have a plan, at least you can benefit from someone else having a plan. But why stop there? If all the bible study you get is Sunday school, then you are essential going over to someone else’s farm and eating the fruit of their labors. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But what about your field? The stones still lay there unmoved and the thorns are left to grow.
I’ll say this: Coming up with a plan is work in and of itself. It’s not easy managing a farm. It’s much easier to just do what someone tells you. We need boundaries just to come up with the boundaries. Don’t give up. I want to encourage you to till your land. Break up your fallow ground. And there’s much ground to cover; not just bible study, but prayer, evangelism, good works, etc. “Boundaries inspire creativity.” I came across this in my readings this morning and it just jumped out at me and nearly knocked me over! “Limitation creates power.”
The next half of the verse may be a help in the matter.
He that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.
Try to find someone to follow that is fruitful not futile. This verse has been a great encouragement to me. (Jeremiah 5:5) I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God…
3 Point Message Idea
God will till his land
We ought to till our land
We ought to get others to till their own land.