~Breaking Up Your Fallow Ground~

by Dewey Fox

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. [HOSEA 10:12] [KJV]

~What is Fallow Ground? ~

Fallow ground is ground that has once been tilled, but has gotten hard and lies in waste. This hard ground is waiting for tilling and to be made soft so it can be prepared for planting. Farmers in Hosea’s days had to till with mule or ox and plow, harvest by hand, weed with a hoe, and diligently seek God that He would, in His Grace, allow rain in the proper amounts at the proper time.

Most of us live in a rural area and have been exposed to farming or gardening. As you probably know, the ground is plowed after the summer harvest to lay dormant over the winter months. The ground in the winter is barren with no plant activity. What if the fallow land was left this way and not tilled or broken-up? As you know the ground becomes crusty hard. This ground that is not prepared for planting will probably only grow a few weeds. Hope you understand what I’m saying here and you understand the process of planting. I want to relate this hard fallow ground to our heart today.

~ It’s All About Repentance! ~

I looked in the Bible Encyclopedia and there was a comment on this verse of Hosea 10:12.

- Break off your evil ways,

- repent of your sins,

- cease to do evil,

- and then good seed of the Word will have room to grow and bear fruit.

When we plant our gardens, weeds are going to grow. The weeds are competing for the moisture, soil and sun. But as you know, you pull the weeds out, and let the good crop grow. If you don’t pull out the weeds, they will take over the garden. Look at Hosea 10:12 again. Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. [HOS 10:12] [KJV]

There is no salvation without repentance. See what Jesus said in the Gospel verses below:

• And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. [MARK 1:15] [KJV]
• I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. [LUKE 13:3] [KJV]

Having un-confessed sins in our heart will make it harder to have a real personal relationship with God. The reason a lot of people never experience God is because they haven’t realized that they have to hate evil and then separate themselves from that evil and establish a walk with a Holy God. For God is Love, but He is also holy! We cannot come into the presence of God with sin in our life. So let us clean up our Spiritual Life and go into the presence of God.

Brother Dewey E. Fox