Break Up Your Ground
In the manual: Come, Follow Me lesson 47, “I Will Love Them Freely,” on Gospel Library
Start
The King James Bible calls a field left unplowed fallow ground. Its soil turns hard, and a farmer breaks it up with a plow before he plants.
Read Together
Hosea preached in the northern kingdom of Israel in the years before Assyria conquered it (Hosea 1:1). The people trusted their armies more than the Lord (Hosea 10:13).
12Sow 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. 13Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.
What It Teaches
“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy” (Hosea 10:12). What we plant is what comes up. Verse 13 describes the other harvest. “Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies.”
“Break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord.” A hard heart is like hard ground. Prayer, repentance, and time in the scriptures break it up so the word of God can take root (Alma 32:28).
The last promise belongs to the Lord. He will “come and rain righteousness upon you.” We plow and plant, and the rain comes from him. Paul said the same about missionary work. One person plants and another waters, and God gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6).
Talk About It
What does seeking the Lord look like in the morning, at school or work, and at bedtime? What is one seed of righteousness you could plant this week?
Take to Church
Hosea told Israel to break up their hard ground because it was time to seek the Lord. We do the plowing and planting, and the Lord sends the rain.