Law 4: We Reap More Than We Sow No fact is more significant and sobering than this one. When we sow good, we bountifully receive from the hand of God who is debtor to no man; for the harvest is always greater than the seed planted. If this were not the case, no farmer would ever plant a thing. If he only got back what germinated in the ground, he would be on the losing end and spend his life in utter futility. Reaping more than we sow is fundamental to the laws of the harvest and this is not just true for the agricultural world, it is true for nearly every aspect of life: for the physical and the spiritual, for believers and unbelievers alike. This law works in reverse as well. When we sow evil, we will generally reap more than we sowed as well. Of course, there are some exceptions due to the fact we live in a sin cursed world with natural and economic disasters. A farmer may sow bountifully and have his crop destroyed by drought or a tornado, or he may reap a good crop and not be able to reap a reward from it because of economic factors in his country. Also, due to God’s grace in this age, when there is genuine repentance and change, we may not reap the results of sin as bountifully as in Old Testament times, but the law still applies in general. Declarations of this Law from Scripture Proverbs 22:8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail. There is a kind of play on words in this passage through alliteration in the Hebrew text. “Iniquity” is u*wl> and “vanity” is a*w#n. “Vanity” here is better translated as “calamity” or “trouble.” It’s the Hebrew a*w#n, “trouble, sorrow, distress, misfor¬tune, idolatry, emptiness.” “The primary meaning of this word seems to have two facets: a stress on trouble which moves on to wick¬edness, and an emphasis on emptiness which moves on to idolatry.” The most basic meanings is “trouble.” This is seen in Gen. 35:18. Just before Rachel died, she named her newborn son, Ben-oni, (son of sorrow). In Deut. 26:14 and Hosea 9:4, a*w#n is associated with death. So it is a word of calamity and adverse circumstances. Proverbs 22:8 is telling us that when a person sows iniquity or wrong, they will reap trou¬ble and sorrow. Hosea 8:7a Hosea 8:7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. This is the same in kind, but it is more. The phrase “they sow the wind” is transitional. It alludes to the futility of Israel’s human solutions and strategies by which she was seeking to handle life and her problems, specifically, her idolatrous worship by which she was seeking to design God according to her own wishes (vss. 4-6) and her foreign policy (vss. 8-10). This she was doing in place of knowing and trusting in the Word and the true and living God (4:6). “Wind” represents that which lacks substance and is, like all efforts of the flesh, futile, worthless, and of no assistance (cf. Prov. 11:28-29). “Whirlwind” represents the harvest in kind which comes from sowing the wind. But it also represents the concept of “more.” The futility (wind) which she had planted like seed would yield a crop of destruction (represented by the whirlwind). “Whirlwind” is a Hebrew intensive form and means “a violent whirlwind.” God’s warning here is that you do not just reap in kind, but you may reap much more. All her efforts directed toward self-preservation would be self-destruc¬tive. The idea then is “sow wind (your solutions), reap a tornado (your consequences).” Illustrations of this Law from Scripture Negative Illustrations (1) Jacob: As a result of sowing the wind, the scheming of Rebekah and Jacob to get the family blessing (Genesis 27), Jacob and Rebekah reaped the whirlwind—trouble and heartache. • Jacob was forced to flee because Esau had threatened that after his father’s death, he would kill Jacob. • Rebekah had said that Jacob would only have to be gone a few days and then she would send for him. But she never saw Jacob again and he was gone for twenty years. • Jacob had schemed to get the blessing, later he would receive in kind and even more from Laban. First he received Leah in place of Rachel whom he loved. • Jacob used the skin of a kid to deceive Isaac, and it would be used against him by his sons. (2) David: We know the story of David and his sin with Bathsheba, but it is Nathan’s indictments and judg¬ments against David that tell the story of sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind or sowing iniqui¬ty and reaping trouble. • The indictment: You killed Uriah (2 Sam. 12:9). The judgment: The sword will never depart from your house (12:10). • The indictment: You took his wife (12:9). The judgment: Your wives will be taken before your eyes (12:11). • The indictment: You did this secretly (12:12). The judgment: Your wives will be defiled openly before all Israel (12:11-12). • The indictment: You gave occasion to the enemies to blas¬pheme the Lord (12:14). The judgment: Your child also born to you shall surely die (12:14). (3) The Tongue or Words James 3:5-6 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell Proverbs 10:19 In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. Proverbs 12:13 The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble Proverbs 13:3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction. Proverbs 18:6, 21 Proverbs 21:6 Proverbs 26:28 David: David did sin against the Lord, as a whole, he walked with the Lord and sowed what was good. When confronted with his sin by Nath¬an, he quickly confessed. This made him a man after God’s own heart. Compare 1 Kings 15:5. Most of David’s life was sowing good, not evil, and as a result, God continued to bless him and many of the kings of Judah for many years.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 16:06:31 +0000
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