BIBLE ECONOMICS – AGRICULTURE
UK
Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous Murrain. (Exodus 9:3)
In the last sixty/seventy years we have experienced at first hand the results of our mishandling of agriculture. We are only just emerging from the plague of Foot and Mouth disease, and the results and effects of this epidemic upon our economy will be felt for a long while to come. We also have the horrors of “mad cow disease”, caused by the greed and folly, if not downright wickedness, of feeding animal remains to animals, thus turning herbivores into cannibals. These disastrous blows have not come upon us as a spiteful act of the “vengeful God of the Old Testament”, as some modern theologians would term their Creator. They are the inevitable result of our refusal to observe the laws of nature, and the laws for animal husbandry that God has given us in the Bible. Our land is sick, so our animals are sick, and therefore, our people are sick.
To add to the worries, scientists are now tampering with genes in the hope that they will create super plants, but they tread on holy ground, and do not fully understand the repercussions from such tampering. They have taken genes from completely different species and introduced them into food crops. When challenged whether they should be interfering with Nature in this way, they reply that we have always interfered with nature in the crossbreeding of animals. This activity does not introduce foreign genes from completely different species, and this seems to be forbidden by God in His Word. In Genesis 1:11-12 we read,
And God said, let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth: and it was so.
And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
The phrase “after his kind” is repeated throughout that chapter, referring to plants, animals and insects, and its meaning becomes highlighted in this modern age with its genetic modification. The general public has largely shunned genetically modified foods, forcing the supermarkets and food manufacturers to provide food with non-GM ingredients. However, the Government has ignored the polls, which show that 90% of the people do not want GM foods in this country, and they have given the go-ahead for more GM crops to be planted. There is no way of guaranteeing that seeds from such crops will not escape into neighbouring fields, for they can be carried by animals, insects or the wind. Such blatant disregard of public opinion does not deserve to go unchallenged. I can foresee a time when there will be no way to guarantee that there is no genetically modified element in a product or a crop. I t does not bode well for future generations. The Lord has warned
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. (Matthew 24:22)
We have, in the past, interpreted this verse to mean a nuclear holocaust, but it could equally well be the result of our interference with Nature. Truly, when things have come to such a pass, only God can sort them out.
Our food is obtained by tilling the soil and by rearing animals, so it follows naturally that agriculture plays a very great part in promoting and preserving health. Agriculture provides the real wealth of a community too, and all life is dependent on the land. The farmer has the greatest responsibility of any producer. We have, however, departed from God’s laws in all aspects of life, even in farming, which is the most basic of man’s activities.
Moses was aware of the dangers of the wrong treatment of the soil, which may cause whole areas to become deserts, like the “dust bowls” of America. Through Moses, God laid down laws for the proper maintenance of the soil by crop rotation and years of lying fallow so that the land might recuperate its strength. Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 warn that abuse of the soil results in starvation.
Nowadays the mechanisation of farming has depleted the supplies of manure, and the increasing population demands increasing quantities of food, while, at the same time, it has caused large areas of arable land to be used for housing. Itis understandable, therefore, why the farmer has turned to chemicals, but the practice is dangerous. Greater quantity is obtained at the sacrifice of quality The adulteration of our food by insecticides and chemical sprays is concerning many, but although some progress has been made in combating these evils, many people are unaware of the facts.
We may not be starving in Britain today, but we certainly lack many vitamins and minerals in our processed foods, and consequently we are not completely healthy, neither are our cattle. Farmers who still keep to “old-fashioned” organic methods of farming have healthier stock.
We eat the meat from animals reared by unnatural methods, so we are further affected by the poor food value of their products. There are few people who can boast that they have never had a day’s illness, not even a cold, yet our natural state should be one of glowing health and vitality. It is quite possible that the upsurge of juvenile delinquency and the amoral behaviour of an increasing section of the community may be traced in part, to a vitamin deficiency. The “B” complex of vitamins islargely responsible for the health of the nerves which in turn govern the moods and outlook. Cooking and chemicals easily destroy these vitamins, so it is difficult to obtain a full complement of them in the ordinary modern diet.
There are a few enlightened people who are convinced that the key to successful farming is to farm organically, or to return to the natural and time-honoured ways of producing food. Their philosophy is gaining ground, and even supermarkets stock organically grown food nowadays, in response to public demand. God’s methods, as set forth in the Bible are the best answer to the problems of agriculture today, but they are not easily implemented because we have come so far from the perfect way. In nature there is the cycle of the Seasons, and the nitrogen cycle, by which decomposition revitalises the soil. God’s law of resting the land every seventh year dovetails with these natural cycles, and allows the earth to recuperate. We have lost the sequence of Jubilee years and letting the land lie fallow every seventh year, so it is obvious that, until the Lord returns, we shall not be able to return to the ideal way of farming.
In Genesis 3:19 we read,
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken:for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
and in Ecclesiastes 12:7, it states that plants, animals and man were formed from the dust of the earth,
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
From the quotations it can be seen that the substance now known as ‘humus’ is what is meant. It is God’s plan that all living things should contribute to this humus, while depending on it for their growth and nourishment. God’s plan is essentially economical, and nothing that He has created is wasted.
There have been articles about the Hunzas of Northern Kashmir, and a documentary film was made about them. The high standard of health and longevity enjoyed by these people is attributed to the fact that they only use natural methods of faming. They do not suffer from dyspepsia, gastric or duodenal ulcers, appendicitis, or cancer.
We look up to the experts in every field, those men who have studied their subject for years, and who have diplomas in all branches of human knowledge, just as men in former days bowed to the superior knowledge of their wise men. But our experts are in many cases further from the truth than those who lay no claim to special skills or erudition. The truly wise are those who lead simple lives as close to Nature and do their best to keep God’s laws, usually without understanding the whys and wherefores of those laws. Many scientific experiments and discoveries have explained the reason for some of God’s rules and regulations, but even with our increasing knowledge we are very little wiser how to run our lives, and in many ways we are less wise than the people of Moses’ days.
“Repent” is an old-fashioned Biblical term, but it expresses exactly what the experts will have to do before they can find a solution to all their problems. The dictionary defines repentance thus: “sorrow for what has been done or left undone; contrition for sin, producing newness of life”.
Repentance, therefore, does not apply only to the individual and to his spiritual life, but also to the nation and its material existence. The experts and leaders must realise where they have gone wrong. They must be sorry that they have added artificial fertilisers to the earth (what they have done), to try to repair the damage done by not resting the land according to God’ s Law (what they have left undone). They must be sorry for their sin (sin is breaking God’ s Laws, all the natural laws, not just the Ten Commandments), and they must produce newness of life. All this is expressed in the one word, “repent”. This is what we must do as a nation.
You see how comprehensive it is. We cannot simply have a Day of Prayer and flock to Westminster Abbey, confessing a lot of vague spiritual faults. We must all, from the greatest to the least, realise what it is that we have done wrongly and why, and how we must mend it. I do not wish to suggest that individual and spiritual repentance is not necessary, but I do wish to stress that it is not enough. Repentance and reform must come from the top downward, too. Our leaders and our experts must show us the way.
What can ordinary people do about all this?
Those who own gardens can grow as much as possible for themselves, and fertilise the soil with compost. Fruit, vegetables, flour and bread can be bought from Health Food Stores or from supermarkets which stock organically grown foods. We can boycott chemically adulterated and genetically modified foods and make more widely known among our friends and acquaintances the dangers of modern methods of agriculture. We can proclaim the benefits that would result from tilling the soil in the way in which God decreed from the beginning.
If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
And will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
And five of you shall chase an hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. (Leviticus 26:3-9 and 21)
