“In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and
blossom and fill all the world with fruit” (Isaiah 27:6).
Hey Gang: My sixth Sign of
the Times is really a spin-off of number five because it, too, is dependent on
the miracle of drip irrigation. Now here
is a piece of trivia that most folks are unaware of – every crop that can be
grown in the world can also be grown in Israel.
How can this be? Because of the
difference in elevation and terrains.
From the eight thousand plus feet elevation of Mt Herman in Northern
Israel to the 2000 plus feet below sea level of the Negev, and Arabah in
Southern Israel, provides all of the conditions needed to grow all of the crops
of the world.
In Isaiah 27:6, the prophet said Israel would one day blossom and fill the world with fruit”. This
prophecy has been at least partially fulfilled, literally and symbolically.
Today, the land of Israel, which had been barren for centuries, is a leading
producer of agricultural products, exporting food to many countries. Their new
and innovative ways for agriculture and forestry are being copied by many of
the nations of the world.
Isaiah’s prophecy
foretells the glory of these deserts, which will be like the “glory of Lebanon”
(Isa. 35:2). Lebanon is a mountain range
area, which can store water in solid form as snow. This is mentioned in Jeremiah 18:14. In between the mountains is a valley, rich in
agricultural product. The cedars of
Lebanon appear often in the Scriptures, and this fine wood was used in building
Solomon’s Temple in Israel (I Kings 4:6).
The thirty-fifth
chapter of Isaiah is especially known, not only for this prophecy of the desert
blooming as a rose, but also the wonderful conditions that will be established
for the work of God’s kingdom. First,
evil must be subdued. This task will be
the mission of the church, and her Lord.
Will the church be
able to complete this mission? Yes,
because Satan will no longer be a factor, he will be chained and stowed in a
pit someplace on earth for a thousand years.
Would it not be neat to be sitting on the fifty-yard line rooting for
the angel that had chain in hand and Satan by the neck preparing him for
thousand years of darkness.
Think about that for a
week or two! During those years, of Satan in chains, the Savior’s mission as the
“Sun of Righteousness” will be to rise with “healing” in His wings” (Mal.
4:2). Abraham announced that “all the
families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). Notice the second half of Malachi 4:2, ”And
You will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall”. It has been a spell since my body has sent
messages to me that is ready, willing and able to do much skipping about like a
young energy filled calf.”
Having dedicated my
life to throwing out shirt-tails, to hang onto, to hurting young people who
were not blessed with daddies - I mean a daddy that they could crawl up on his
lap and feel his arms of love and reassurance around them. Verse six of Malachi 4 has always been a
super special prophecy for me: “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to
their children and the heats of the children to their fathers, so that I will
not come and smite the land with a curse” (Mal.6:6). I pray every day that I will see that happen
before I am called home.
Isaiah prophesied that
one day, “In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and
blossom and fill all the world with fruit” (Isa. 27:6). Ladies and gentleman, been there and seen
that, and done that. I have gotten my
hands dirty picking tomatoes- and eight to ten tomatoes would fill a five-gallon
pail. We have been blessed to see the
Negev and Arabah bloom like a rose and have seen the products of the desert
cover the entire earth with gifts of food blessed by God.
You
may not be able to go to Israel and get your hands dirty, but we are also
giving very specific instructions that we are to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psa. 122:6). Notice the second half of that verse “May they prosper who love you.” In Genesis 12:3 we are given an irrevocable
promise by God: “And I will bless those
who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse, and in your all the
families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen 1:3). Does this work? Malachi says “test me now in this!” (Mal. 3:10).
Blessings,
Gramps
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