“Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.” Hosea 10:12 (ESV).

The expression, “Break up your fallow ground” (Hosea 10:12; Jeremiah 4:3) means, “Do not sow your seed among thorns”, i.e., break off all your evil habits; clear your hearts of weeds, in order that they may be prepared for the seed of righteousness. Land was allowed to lie fallow that it might become more fruitful; but when in this condition, it soon became overgrown with thorns and weeds. The cultivator of the soil was careful to “break up” his fallow ground, i.e., to clear the field of weeds, before sowing seed in it. So says the prophet, “Break off your evil ways, repent of your sins, cease to do evil, and then the good seed of the word will have room to grow and bear fruit.” Easton, Matthew George. “Entry for Fallow-ground”. “Easton’s Bible Dictionary”

Did you know that the very heart of who you are is likened by Jesus as soil? (Matthew 13) I don’t know many people who would say, “I have no desire to be the good soil that Jesus encourages us to become.” But I also know from experience that weeds left unattended truly do attempt to choke out the life that Jesus gives. I can remember praying early in my walk with God that my heart would be the kind of soil that produces abundant fruit. I would read the parable of the sower and ask Father to do anything he needed to do to make my heart fully his. I wanted to be the good soil that produced a harvest that exceeded the expectations of what was sown. I believe that to be your prayer as well.

I have come to understand something as I have walked with Jesus now for over 20 years. A good gardener knows that you have to continually work the ground in order to produce a bountiful harvest. The condition of the soil is always under duress therefore it needs constant attention. Have you noticed that about your own heart? Dryness, unwanted weeds, hardness, things buried deep that were previously unknown are all conditions that describe both a field and your own heart. You may say, “Wait! I don’t have a hardened heart!” But let me ask you a few questions–Do you have a root of bitterness toward anyone? Have you gone through a situation that caused you to become heart-broken and in turn it has left you a bit dampened in your ability to entrust yourself? Are you aware of a sinful pattern that keeps surfacing, but you seem powerless to overcome it? All of these things, if left unchecked are weeds that will continue to grow.

Adam was given a mandate in the garden of Eden to cultivate the ground. It is no different for us in caring for the soil of our own hearts. We must continually till up the fallow ground so that our hearts are able to produce fruit that carry Kingdom nourishment. This is part of what it means to walk in the authority that God has entrusted to us–that we would not be passive in our faith, but rather put our hands to the plow and work to show ourselves approved. But that work starts within before it can be effective without.

Let me leave you with this thought: Fallow ground has already been plowed or tilled for a purpose. It has just been left in that unused condition for some length of time. Hosea’s words were spoken to Israel. They were God’s people. Certainly, we want to see those whose hearts have never been touched by salvation be tilled up and ready to receive, but for this blog series, let’s grasp the truth that often those of us with plowed hearts, for whatever reason, need the weeds removed through fresh tilling.