God is Like a Super Wise Farmer

May 2020 update: Now that we are in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, this blog post that I wrote three years seems more relevant than ever. The principles in it are applicable throughout this entire age until Christ returns, but they feel especially relevant during times of a worldwide crisis. There are so many things we don't know about how this is going to play out. But we can be confident that God does know, that He is in charge, and that He is using the present crisis and every crisis for good in our lives individually and also on the scale of nations and His great eternal purposes.

I can’t remember when the first time was that Isaiah 28:23-39 jumped out at me.  I think it was at least ten years ago, probably more.  I have been reading through Isaiah again (what a marvelous book!).  Once again these verses stand out.  They feel especially relevant at this time. Let me explain why.

The first part of Isaiah, especially chapters 13-35, are full of warnings and descriptions of God’s judgment.  Many of the warnings are specific to various nations, including:  Babylon, Philistia, Moab, Damascus, Ethiopia, Egypt, Edom, Tyre, Judah, and Israel.  Some of the judgments apply to the world in general.  There are wonderful notes of hope and future deliverance mixed in, but what stands out most in these chapters are the dire warnings of judgment. Right in the midst of all this we find a short section on, of all things, farming techniques.  Here it is:

Isaiah 28:23 Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say.

 24 When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?

 25 When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? Does he not plant wheat in its place, barley in its plot, and spelt in its field?

 26 His God instructs him and teaches him the right way.

 27 Caraway is not threshed with a sledge, nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin; caraway is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a stick.

 28 Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. The wheels of a threshing cart may be rolled over it, but one does not use horses to grind grain.

 29 All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, whose plan is wonderful, whose wisdom is magnificent.

Certainly, for all of us who eat, farming is very important.  Still, in the context of Isaiah’s prophecies, it seems that God must have had something more than literal farming in mind when He revealed this passage to Isaiah. But Isaiah doesn’t spell it out.  He’s in the midst of many chapters warning of judgment sprinkled with promises, prayers, and hope for the future, and then right in the middle of all this, without explanation, he drops in seven verses about wise farming techniques. I think these verses tell us something important. Here’s what I think this passage means:

* God is like a farmer.  He is preparing a great harvest.  Not a harvest of corn or wheat, but a harvest of righteous people who will love Him and be His people forever.

 * Just as a farmer has to separate the valuable grain from the useless husk, God is working to separate His people from sin.  This happens on at least two levels:  he is separating each of us from the sin in our lives, and He will eventually separate the righteous from the unrighteous.

* This process of preparing a holy harvest involves “threshing”.  God uses many types of trials, difficulties, and even disasters in order to call and purify His people.

 * Just as a farmer knows how much to thresh each type of grain, God knows how much “threshing” is needed.  He is not going to ruin His harvest by too much pounding and beating.  He is very wise.  He knows what He is doing.

Isaiah was writing about specific nations at specific times in history, yet these prophecies contain principles which apply to us today.  Both in our individual lives, and in our world, we experience a lot of “threshing”.  God uses many trials and difficulties to purify us as individuals and also to turn people to Him from among the nations.  From our point of view, it may often feel like the threshing is too much.  But God knows exactly what He is doing.  He is not going to “thresh” us too much as individuals, nor is He going to “thresh” the nations too much.

It can easily feel like three major hurricanes, a terrible mass shooting, ongoing wars in Africa, the Middle East, Afghanistan, and other places, and constant division and hate, is just too much.  There have also been times in my own life where my personal trials felt like “too much”.  I cry out, “God, I know You know what You’re doing, but really?  This feels like more than is needed.”

But then God reminds me that He is the super wise farmer.  He’s not making any mistakes. He works in each life, church, family, and nation according to His own perfect wisdom.  And the harvest will be worth it. He describes the results of that harvest near the end of Isaiah. People redeemed from every nation will be filling a New Heavens and a New Earth with joyful praise forever.  And then we won’t doubt that God really was like a wise farmer who knows how to produce a magnificent harvest.

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .