Land is a place where we live. God made this land on the third day of creation. The very first man was given a piece of land to work on. Abraham was called by God to go to a ‘land’, He would show him. Likewise, ‘Land’ holds a special place in the Bible.
Land is something people are proud to own. Families, tribes, countries and many others have fought over a piece of land. People eye for good, and productive land.
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. Genesis 3:17,18
In Genesis chapter 3, God pronounced curses upon the serpent, the woman, and the man. To the serpent, He decreed that it would crawl on its belly and eat dust. To the woman, He said that her pain in childbirth would greatly increase. However, when it came to the man, God cursed the ground itself, saying, “Cursed is the ground because of you.” This curse upon the land was a consequence of God’s initial plan for man. God had entrusted man with a piece of land, the Garden of Eden, and had given him the responsibility to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15) The curse on the ground was a result of man’s disobedience and fall from grace.
Essentially, the curse on the land meant that it would no longer yield its fruits easily or abundantly. Man would have to toil and struggle in order to cultivate the land and obtain sustenance from it. It was a reminder of the brokenness that entered the world due to sin.
Sometimes, God gives us something to take care off. It may be some talent, wisdom, or even people to take care off. We might enjoy toiling in it. God always want you to yield good fruits but when we disobey God, results may come contrary to what we expect. Thorns and thistles are produced for our painful toil. We find it very depressing. Hence, obeying God is the only solution to avoid the desired results from getting tarnished.
The curse was to work or toil on the ground to produce harvest but it would not ensure good harvest, sometimes thorn and thistles would be produced. But later on in Leviticus 25:4,5 God says, “But in the seventh year the land is to have sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest.”It would remind everyone that the land has the capability to produce on its own. The land doesn’t need our toiling to produce. Sabbath year is to remind us all, that God is the only one who sanctifies us, He is the one who decides what the results need to be, and how we must get it.
Sometimes we mistakenly believe that we alone are responsible for our family, church, office, or any place where we work hard. We assume that the results we achieve are solely due to our own hard work and effort. However, the truth is that God is the one orchestrating everything, and we are merely puppets dancing to His tune. The applause we hear is directed towards the one who is pulling the strings, God Himself.
Let’s consider the story of Noah. He was instructed to build the ark and given the blueprint, but that did not mean Noah had control over the ark. It is God who determines when to close the door of the ark and where it will ultimately go. When God takes charge, Mount Ararat becomes not a symbol of destruction, but a resting place for the ark. Hence, it is important to realize that while we have a role to play in our endeavors, it is ultimately God who holds the reins and deserves all the credit for the outcomes we experience.
The land we are proud of, the land that God gave us, needs to be worked and toiled upon. But remember we are not the only ones responsible for the result but a God who controls the result. For He is also toiling and working on our lives and we are waiting in the QUIVER OF GOD.
May GOD bless u all..