Land- that can enjoy and mourn [Part-2]..

Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying. Hosea 4:1-3

Land holds a special place in the Bible. Land can be an object of blessing or curse. But in this passage, land mourns. Land was made for Humans. God told them to toil and work on it. Even if they work, the result was on God’s hand. A special promise was made to Abraham and his descendants. That God would give them a land flowing with milk and honey. Israelites fought many wars and ultimately received the land of Canaan. They witnessed many great things done by God in that place.

Israelites sinned in the land that God gave them. The land required some protocols and code of conduct. When we live in the place that God gives us. God wants us to have faithfulness, love and acknowledgment of who He is. That is why God gave Israelites the ten commandments before entering the promised land. When one enters the promised land, He must know all that God requires.   

When God gives us something as a result of His promise. Remember, He is not giving it so that we can do whatever we want. He expects us to follow Him. If we fail to do so and cross all boundaries of God, that’s where the land mourns. And when the land mourns people of the land waste away. Once Abel’s blood mourned from the ground. And as a result one man had to restlessly wander the land all his life. Hence, don’t let the land mourn or else our life will get wasted.

It was reported to the King of Assyria: “The people you deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of that country requires. He has sent lions among them, which are killing them off, because the people do not know what he requires.” 2 Kings 17:26

God sent lions to the land when people were resettled in the towns of Israel. Because they did not know how to worship God or what God required. Similarly, we cannot simply hand over the things that God has promised us to others. As God has made it clear what His requirements are. He did not reveal them to those people. If God has entrusted us with a ministry, church, or anything else, we cannot temporarily give it to others or ask them to take care of it on our behalf. God gave us the vision, and therefore, we are the ones responsible for it. No one can snatch it away from us for the same reason.

The land enjoyed its Sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. 2 Chronicles 36:21

All those wars, all those sufferings, all those bloodsheds, to capture the promised land went down the drain when the land enjoyed its desolation. Don’t let your blessings or your promise to suffocate under you. Or else it will enjoy its desolation in your absence. Don’t be a burden to the land that God gave us.

Hence, land mourns when you fail to fulfill the requirement of God and might enjoy when God drives you away. Take on the responsibility and fulfill the requirement of God that you may sit in the QUIVER OF GOD.